“Are we looking at a prelude to a “Planet of the Apes” type infectious disease that’ll wipe out 1/3 of the population?”
No.
But it is more fun to scream and run around predicting all manner of doom because folks are bored.
Sars killed 10% of 8,000 cases. Maybe I don’t know “medical math,” but for a “plague,” isn’t that on the low scale?