86% of people infected have no symptoms at all – they are basically immune.
Of the 14% who show symptoms, 82% of those are mild and resolve themselves.
So .86 + .14 x .82 = .86 + .12 = .86 +.1148 = .9748 ~ 97.5% either have no systems or a normal mild two week cold.
This leaves the unlucky 14% x 18% = .14 x .18 = .0252 ~ 2.5% who are severe or critical, almost all of whom are elderly and with existing conditions like cancer, leukemia, heart disease, smokers, vapers, emphysema, liver and kidney disease.
About 3 million people die (a little less than 1%) in the United States each year from all causes, mostly elderly again, it doesn’t harm society. So now, at the worst, we may - may have 7 million die this year, again mostly elderly, - it will not affect anything to lose these people, they are just dying a couple of years sooner than they would normally have.
99% of Italians who have died had other illnesses.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-18/99-of-those-who-died-from-virus-had-other-illness-italy-says
The average age of those who’ve died from the virus in Italy is 79.5
State Governors are destroying our economy and society to “protect the vulnerable” –the extra 1.5% very oldf who are already sick and would die in a few years anyway. This is insanity.
They are yelling “Fire!” in a crowded theatre, when all there is a cigarette smoldering in a corner.
The next thing will be the cancellation of elections to maintain their new dictatorial powers.
More will die from shortages of blood from cancellation of blood drives than will die from the virus – and these deaths will be the young and otherwise healthy – car accidents., etc.
Minorities should be up in arms! Their future is being sacrificed for a small number of old already sick white people near the end of their lives.
1) Those who only get a two week cold, but who are fully infectious to others.
2) Those others become infectious.
3) Finally the virus lands on someone in that 2.5%.
The problem is, it's not just, "oh, you're 80, fall down and die (wipes away tear) ok, that's over with."
Instead, it's 3-5 WEEKS in the hospital in the ICU, on a ventilator. Oh, and you're contagious to the doctors and nurses all that time. Oh, and the air in your room is infectious; ideally, you need a negative airflow room.
So what happens is, if you don't do really strict distancing, pretty soon the hospitals fill up.. And not just with out-of-it Bernies and Cat Ladies; I can't remember the number offhand, but i'ts like 35% of the ICU folks in Italy are ages 20-50.
So all the ICU beds (not a lot of spare capacity at the best of times) fill up; and we already see elective surgeries canceled. How long till cancer, accident victims, gunshot, stroke, heart attack victims, get crowded out/? And then you have the aftereffects for those sickened -- loss of 20% -30% of lung function; possible sterility (the testes are loaded with the ACE2 receptor); possible cardiac and kidney damage.
We're trying to head that off.
While I believe and hope the chloroquine drugs work, we cannot blithely assume that they do, or that they are side-effect free for all patients.
Here is an interesting post by Jim Robinson. A lot of comments from FReepers who are not waiting for the government to tell them how to improve their health. Also willing to explore less popular ideas. Especially since Big Pharma has a vested interest in discouraging the use of readily available, low cost items like Vitamin C.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3826556/posts