Corona Virus. The End is Near.

[Zelja]

The hysterical & selfish way some have reacted to this makes me wonder what the behaviour would be like in a real, honest to goodness crisis. Scary...

 

[walrus]

Some facts, which as frono pointed out, don't sell well:

Annually, 3 - 5 million people get the flu worldwide, approximately 650,000 deaths.

Corona virus (so far) 102,000 cases, with 3,400 deaths.

walrus

 

[fronobulax]

Some facts, which as frono pointed out, don't sell well:

Annually, 3 - 5 million people get the flu worldwide, approximately 650,000 deaths.

Corona virus (so far) 102,000 cases, with 3,400 deaths.

walrus

To the extent that I can find information I am willing to trust, I will note that the mortality rate for those above 60 appears to be higher for the Corona Virus than "the flu". Maybe on LTG some anxiety is justified? ;-)

 

[walrus]

To the extent that I can find information I am willing to trust, I will note that the mortality rate for those above 60 appears to be higher for the Corona Virus than "the flu". Maybe on LTG some anxiety is justified? ;-)

If you have respiratory issues already, yes. And you if are quite a bit over 60. i.e. according to WHO, 80+ years has a 22% risk of dying from it. 70 - 79 is 8%, and 60 - 69 is 3.6%.

walrus

 

[F312]

I could pass for 60.

Ralph

 

[Westerly Wood]

I mostly drink Bud bottles...should be ok.

 

[dapmdave]

To the extent that I can find information I am willing to trust, I will note that the mortality rate for those above 60 appears to be higher for the Corona Virus than "the flu". Maybe on LTG some anxiety is justified? ;-)

Possibly explained by the existence of an annual flu vaccine, which is apparently ineffective for corona virus.

 

[Walter Broes]

The Corona thing is awful on so many levels. Two friends of mine have had tours canceled and lost a lot of money. And I'm afraid this is only the beginning as far as international travel etc...goes.

 

[walrus]

The NBA is considering playing with no fans in attendance. You know how many people this would put out of work?! Totally insane overreaction by so many people on so many levels...

And the Summer Olympics - also talk of no spectators. Huh?!?

walrus

 

[fronobulax]

Totally insane overreaction by so many people on so many levels...

Well... I think the folks who are hoarding toilet paper are over reacting but based upon what we are being told now canceling or avoiding large public gatherings may be reasonable. This is one of those things that will play out. In three months people who know nothing about public health are either going to be complaining it was all unnecessary or complaining that too many people died and that the response was not effective.

I was on a cruise ship that had had a norovirus outbreak a couple weeks before. The ship was taken out of service, cleaned, and passed inspection. The incoming passengers were briefed on what to do to prevent an re-occurrence. The first event was a buffet lunch. Passengers were told several times not to serve themselves but to allow the staff to serve them. Needless to say there were a number of idiots who either did not understand those instructions or thought they were so special they did not have to obey. In any event I trust a cancellation more than people washing their hands if the public health measures are going to keep me healthy.

 

[walrus]

My point is that the "prevention" routine is the same as for the flu. As you say, hand washing, etc. However, the total impact on the populace of the flu (every year!) is significantly greater than the impact of this virus. See post #22 above.

Did they quarantine ships if someone got the flu? Have they closed colleges because some students have the flu? Major events cancelled over the flu? etc. etc. etc.

The reaction just seems over the top to me, fueled heavily by the media. YMMV.

walrus

 

[Cougar]

My point is....

And that's a pretty good point. But then there's the stock market. I guess the media can take some of the blame there, too, but as most everyone says, it's largely the uncertainty of where this epidemic is heading. Thankfully, the market finally seems to be stabilizing and turning around a bit. Don't quote me on that. :indecisiveness:

 

[walrus]

The mayor just cancelled the annual St. Patrick's Day parade in Boston...

walrus

 

[Cougar]

The reaction just seems over the top to me, fueled heavily by the media.

On the other hand, the fatality rate seems to be about 30 times higher than with the flu. It's still pretty low, though, with roughly 97 out of 100 infected people NOT dying from it.

 

[Default]

Some facts, which as frono pointed out, don't sell well:

Annually, 3 - 5 million people get the flu worldwide, approximately 650,000 deaths.

Corona virus (so far) 102,000 cases, with 3,400 deaths.

walrus

The problem with those figures is the flu quote is for an entire year, and the COV-19 virus has only been in the US for 2 months, and the world, since December, iirc. Also, there is no tamaflu for COV-19, so we don't have a treatment for it, other than putting people on oxygen and hoping they can outlast it. One of the unknowns that drive uncertainty is the flu goes away when the weather gets warm, and there is not enough data on whether this will be similar. If it disappears with the spring, everything goes back to "normal". If it does not, we have to wait for a year, year and a half for a vaccine.

 

[Westerly Wood]

probably the Beechwood Aging process with Budweiser that is the key...

 

[bluesypicky]

The NBA is considering playing with no fans in attendance. You know how many people this would put out of work?! Totally insane overreaction by so many people on so many levels...

And the Summer Olympics - also talk of no spectators. Huh?!?

walrus

Indian Wells, the largest tennis tournament after the 4 "grand slams" and scheduled to start tomorrow (in California) has been cancelled.
As said before, I believe it's only the beginning of these major public events getting cancelled one after the next.....

 

[F312]

Just got an email from LRO (

individuals under the Lucent pension plan that embodies all Lucent and Bell Labs retirees, including those who retired when the company was known as Western Electric and/or AT&T) that cancelled there meeting this month. We are going to find a lot of cancellations with groups of people involved.

Ralph
​

 

[fronobulax]

Western Electric

I remember Western Electric

 

[bluesypicky]

I remember Western Electric

I was gonna say... "one more reason to double your guard against the virus", but then, thought better of it. :teapot: