lodi90 stated: "At 50,000 flu deaths per year it is about 1000 dead per week from the flu. Keep that in mind while this corona bug is hysterically hyped. And most of these deaths will be of already sick/old people that would have been done in by something else like the flu."
I was taught if you use numbers you should provide a reference for those numbers. Anybody can throw numbers onto a forum. Do you have a reference?
Death Rate: Early estimates of the coronavirus death rate from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak, have been around 2 percent. But a new report on 1,099 cases from many parts of China, published on Friday in The New England Journal of Medicine, finds a lower rate: 1.4 percent.
On average, seasonal flu strains kill about 0.1 percent of people who become infected. The 1918 flu had an unusually high fatality rate, around 2 percent.
Summary: Coronavirus has a higher death rate
Infection Rate: Coronavirus appears to infect 2.2 other people.
The seasonal flu is roughly 1.3
Summary: Coronavirus virus is more contagious
Other facts: This coronavirus is a new kid on the block and has only been around since last Dec. Scientist do not know if this will mutate into less dangerous or worst. They do not know if it will fade away for the summer then come back in the fall like the flu. We do not have perfect facts or numbers until they collect more data. This could be real bad or it might just blow over.
The flu has been around in one form or another. We have vaccines for the flu each year. The doctors know how to handle it.
From my point of view: If you want to believe it hysterically hyped go ahead, I do not care. If I want to believe what I am hearing from reports and studies that is my business. I have skin in the game, apparently you do not. If the virus is bad as reported and enters my household, I will lose a love one. I will not take any chances.
New England Journal of Medicine - Covid19 Navigating the Uncharted
Flu deaths are widely reported. I shouldn’t need to foot note those stats. Today 100 something people died of the flu. 1 died of coronavirus. We can project this and that but those are the facts. I deal in facts.
This coronavirus hysteria really reminds me of a hurricane season. A big cat 4 hits on the radar, everybody prepares and then hardly anybody is effected.