Will a halt in new science undercut our ability to deal with those disasters to a greater extent than it makes those disasters more likely? What if the halt was only in certain domains, life genetic engineering of deadly viruses?
There's no reason to believe that we've reached the optimum point for ending scientific research in any particular field. If we'd stopped medical research in 1900, the 1918 flu pandemic would have been worse. And basic research doesn't have a label telling us how it's going to be useful, yet the evidence is pretty strong that basic research is worth the money.
Regarding your specific example, isn't it worth knowing that the mutations to make that virus (1) already exist in nature, and (2) aren't really that far from being naturally incorporated into a sin...
If it's worth saying, but not worth its own post (even in Discussion), then it goes here.
(I plan to make these threads from now on. Downvote if you disapprove. If I miss one, feel free to do it yourself.)