What it means for us now [also see author’s note below]

[1] If SARS-CoV-2 does infect the brain, then antiviral treatment targeting the airways should be made urgent to inhibit virus replication before it spreads to the brain during its latency period, Li and colleagues recommended.

[2] If SARS-CoV-2 spreads to the brain via the nose, like SARS-CoV, then face mask or any nasal protection for that matter, is more crucial than ever, they emphasized.

[3] If SARS-CoV-2 behaves like a typical brain virus in its ability to lie dormant in the neuronal genome, then it likely stays for life with the possibility of reactivation in the future under conditions of immunosuppression and cellular stress. “Since SARS‐CoV-2 may conceal itself in the neurons from the immune recognition, complete clearance of the virus may not be guaranteed even the patients have recovered from the acute infection,” Li et al. explained.

“Therefore, given the probable neuroinvasion, the risk of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection may be currently underestimated.”

[4] “It is important to screen the patients for neurological signs early and late in the course of COVID-19,” Manna remarks, “as this could be life-saving in our fight against COVID-19 pandemic.” Autopsies should also be conducted to examine any signs of brain damage of COVID-19 victims. But autopsies to date only look at the lungs and not the brain.

“They’re just not thinking that the brain could be the site of the problem,” asserts Professor Anderson.

[27/3/2020 update]

And Professor Anderson was right. There’s a new case of Covid-19 encephalitis (i.e., brain inflammation) with SARS-CoV-2 being identified as the causative agent. In brief, researchers have detected the presence of SARS-CoV-2 genes in the cerebrospinal fluid of a Covid-19 patient. This shows, for the first time, that SARS-CoV-2 has directly attacked the brain.
Me: My points exactly. Hence my salt water cure, which you all must be bored silly of me repeating here, over and over again. The salt water cure guy.