But it is more likely for cases to be underreported by multiples than mortality to be underreported by those same multiplesCorrect, very important, has to be said over and over.
Each death yields a body. Yes, they can be disposed of discreetly, but somebody, somewhere, knows.
Minor illnesses where the person recovers? We have no idea.
“Minor illnesses where the person recovers? We have no idea.”
Interestingly, last night on the way home I was listening to a local (San Antonio) radio host whom I respect as a very level-headed guy. He was talking about this issue, and said that he did a (very unscientific) test to see if his hypothesis about the disease being vastly under-reported was correct. He said that he’s the oldest guy (about 50) on his team, and that he asked his staff members if they had ever gotten the flu. Everyone said, “yes.” Then he asked them if they ever went to the doctor or a clinic for it. He said that he got a lot of strange looks, but one person had done so. Then he asked if anyone had ever gone to the hospital for the flu, and no one had. So, his hypothesis is that especially for young people, you will get sick and no one but you, your family and close friends would be aware of it. They tend to suck it up, sleep a bit more and take some analgesics until the bug goes away. That suggests to him (and to me) that the disease is far more communicable than is being reported, and also less lethal (just like the flu, etc., but we have *somewhat* better stats on the flu).
FYI, I am 58 and have been to the hospital twice - once when I was born, and I objected to most of the treatment :>) The second time was when I had my wisdom teeth out (and that was for about 4 hours). I have had the flu probably 6 or 8 times, and NEVER went to a doc, clinic or hospital for it. There is NO question in my mind that this corona virus is WAY under-reported, and I would say that even if I believed every word that the lying Communist sacks of schiff in China told us (and you might have picked up on me being just a tad bit distrustful of their honesty).