Posted on 03/13/2020 3:26:54 PM PDT by USA Conservative
President Donald Trump declared a national emergency on Friday, the most significant move yet by the U.S. government to head off the coronavirus outbreak.
Trump’s declaration came as many public and private institutions have taken action — including canceling major events, temporarily banning large gatherings, closing schools and telling people to work from home — in an effort to slow the spread of the virus.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled, soared, and then closed with a gain of 1,900 points after the emergency declaration. Wall Street had reeled Thursday afternoon after coronavirus fears drove the markets to their worst day since the Black Monday crash in 1987.
The United States as of Friday afternoon had 1864 confirmed or presumptive cases of the coronavirus, and the death toll climbed to 41.
Colorado announced its first coronavirus death on Friday, bringing the national death toll to 43. The current mortality rate in the US is 2.2%.
But everyone seems to forget that the fly took more lives, a lot more to be precise.
While health officials in the United States wait to see just how bad a public health challenge COVID-19 will pose, they still have to deal with an all-too-familiar challenge: flu.
It’s been a bad flu season. Not the worst ever, but bad.
“It started very early this year,” says Emily Martin, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. She works with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collecting statistics about flu.
This year’s flu season started picking up steam around Thanksgiving.
The CDC doesn’t test everyone who has flu symptoms to be certain they really have flu, rather than some other viral infection. Still, the CDC estimates are reckoned to be pretty accurate, and they are updated regularly.
There have been 222,000 confirmed flu cases in the US this season. And there have been 22,000 flu deaths this flu season.
There were 144 children who died from the flu this season.
This chart comes from the CDC. It shows weekly flu numbers and seasonal flu numbers.
This morning Dr. Anthony Fauci was on Fox and said that 80% of the people who get Corona will suffer little to no symptoms and return to good health rather quickly. The remaining 20% are generally older people or people with underlying health problems.
The problem becomes when the -Rate- of people being affected with serious (like bilateral pneumonia) conditions Exceeds the capacity of US hospitals to deal with it.
If that happens, the deaths skyrocket. So the Rate needs to be slowed down.
It’s, essentially, a lab-made common cold (with an HIVspike protein added on) that no one has ever had before. Across 3 large waves, nearly 6 billion people will catch this. Most will be just fine, But, they can go around wrecking the weak and old without realizing it.
So, by Slowing the Rate of infections, the number of serious (potentially fatal) cases, at any particular moment, becomes lowered .. potentially by as much as 95%.
Calm down people we gonna be just fine.
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There have been 222,000 confirmed flu cases in the US this season. And there have been 22,000 flu deaths ...
Using those figures, influenza has a 10% fatality rate. 10% confirmed positive and hospitalized die.
Lots of confusion outside the industry, on the way the medical industry expresses statistics.
“Already out of date...
2,269 cases and 48 fatalities in the USA.”
I’m pleasantly surprised at the low death count, so far of course.
“Influenza has nowhere near the lethal rate as the ChiCom Virus.”
You have no idea what the lethal rate is.
Boy this is the best insight! That is what I love about FR I come here and read these brilliant statements.
Man, mind if I copy this one? Sooo true.
With a shortage of test kits we have no idea how many Americans have caught this virus. If the number of people with COVID-19 is quite high that means the kill rate is quite low.
The numbers are way off. There are many more than 220,000 flu cases. the death rate is not 10%
Hey! How dare ya! Goes against the narrative so beloved by some FReepers.
Just said the same thing to my husband. And Sue them out of business
Testing people that had symptoms....4% had COVID-19 and 96% had flu or a cold. From one of the Docs at the President’s press conference.
Something like 2-5 million. Many more than the flu.
How many in the US after an estimated two month exposure if not longer?
Didn't you say 48?
Stay focused here bro, we're talking about the United States........
Not sure where you got those #’s, but the CDC is reporting 35,520,883 “regular flu” cases for the current season with 34157 fatalities for a “fatality rate” of 0.096%.
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/2018-2019.html
I’d still like to find out how many Americans lost their lives at the hands of illegal aliens during the same period that 48 have died of the coronavirus. My bet is that it is at least twice as many, yet no hysteria from the media.
And if it is same at each nursing home that gets infected, that will be really, really bad. Sure, Kidd’s are fine, but say goodby to grandma.
2.5 weeks since “community spread” in the USA.
What, you don’t want cold-like symptoms for three days? Or are you afraid of getting the dreaded glass lung disease?
I’m not sure where the author is getting his numbers from, because the CDC statistics for the current seasonal flu I just looked at far different. Aside from that, one mistake that many commentators make is to compare an entire flu season to the mere toe of the Corona virus curve. For instance, the CDC statistics for the current flu season began October 1 and run through March 7. The Corona virus is at least as infectious as the regular flu with an infection rate that increases exponentially. We are barely one month into the Corona virus curve, and we can expect as many Corona virus cases in five months from now as have developed from the regular flu in the past five months. The scary part is when you compare the fatality rate of the regular flu with the fatality rate of the fewer Corona virus cases we have to this point. It is then clear that the Corona virus is many times more deadly, perhaps ten times more deadly, that the ordinary flu. If we assume a similar number of Corona virus cases in the five months from now, as we have had regular flu cases from October to now, we can foresee over two-hundred thousand deaths, which is similar to the toll taken here by the Spanish flu in1918.
Us old impaired folks who go down quick will do our part to help out the SocSec and Medicare funding shortfalls.
It really is doubling.
I am 60, in decent health, but have had H1N1 and week in hospital, and have persistent chest cough/congestion. Would self-quarantine if I could.
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