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Old Posted Mar 6, 2020, 8:12 AM
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Pedestrian Pedestrian is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by austlar1 View Post
^^^^This!! Thank you, Gantz. I don't want to start a flame over the severity of Covid 19, but the research out of China suggests that 20% of the known cases are considered "severe" enough to require hospitalization. Probably 10% of the hospitalized patients die. Most of the deaths are patients over 50 with additional health factors, but other hospitalized patients are often gravely ill for a period of two to four weeks. Even the less severe cases that don't require hospitalization can be quite incapacitating with high fever and severe bronchial symptoms that last around two weeks. Keep in mind that even "low risk" infected persons such as children require a minimum 14 day quarantine (usually at home) with minimal exposure to other persons. People that want to compare this to a flu epidemic are whistling in the dark.
One virologist was on TV today saying he thought most Americans--in fact most people around the world--would eventually be exposed. In the US, with an overall mortality rate of even 1% (less than half what we are seeing in China which takes into account a large number of undiagnosed cases there and here and better average medical care here) and a population of 327 million, that's over 3 million deaths.

I am 74. I don't mind admitting I am pretty worried (and I'm a doctor--I am realistic about these things). At least one participant here has posted he is not bothered by the likelihood of millions of older people dying--we are an expense for social benefit systems. But the prospect isn't alluring.
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