Actually, it has. It is comparable in transmissibility to its benign cold virus cousins, and the death rate in those infected is nearly 5%. In addition, no one has any previous immunity, so without control measures, it will spread rapidly. Thus, it exhibits behaviors that have long been identified as those of pandemic capable pathogens. The number of new cases continues to grow exponentially.
5%? LOL. The death rate is between 1-2% at the most. It seems to be about 1.6% in South Korea precisely because they did more testing. When you only test the people who show up deathly ill at the hospital, of course your death rate is going to come out higher. But the real death rate has to be based on EVERYBODY who gets the virus. So it’s almost certain that the real death rate is lower than every single death rate reported so far. But South Korea is likely to be the closest to the real rate.
The “exponential” growth just isn’t happening. The pattern everywhere is that this thing spikes at a certain point and then levels off and drops. It’s already happening in Washington state as it has in many other countries who had it earlier. What seems to be happening is that infection truly is widespread, but severely underreported. And the virus is vastly more harmless than we even realize. And the herd immunity gets built up just as rapidly as the virus spreads.
“...and the death rate in those infected is nearly 5%. “
Yes, 5%, we’re being buried under statistics instead of corpses, I get that, but where are the piled burning corpses? This is an epidemic of statistics. Me? I want to see an actual problem before I light my hair on fire and run around screaming. Statistics, only, supporting a sense of urgency are empty. In this day of instant international travel this virus had all the time a real killer would need.
and the death rate in those infected is nearly 5%. “””
No it isnt. THAT is my point. If it were 5 percent we would be awash in the dead. When killer bugs get a start they KILL enough people that then justifies this rediculous response we’ve been indulging in.