CDC: 'coronavirus is inevitable.' Trump: 'not inevitable.'

I love that he spelled it like “Sharona.”

Confirmed. A run of the mill flu took me out for 3 days last week (and I work from home–how bad does it have to be to take 3 days off in a row??). I am still needing a nap every day at 5pm and going to bed early.

Also, super cool detail. I am working this week in SF, which declared a state of emergency over COVID-19, expecting outbreaks soon…

10 Likes

And to complicate things, if half the men in China smoke, what percentage of non-smokers are actually second hand smokers?

9 Likes

wild-eyed orange Don said it’s ‘not inevitable,’ and everything is under control.

4 Likes

This is likely way too pessimistic. The 70% infection risk is based on most people getting almost no symptoms, while the 2% fatality rate is based on those who get sufficiently ill to be diagnosed with Covid.

10 Likes

Many, because regulations are lax. Not long ago, you could smoke literally anywhere in China. Now, some places are smoke-free, but most restaurants, bars, public areas, businesses, etc are full of smokers. So, I would say nearly 100% of the population in China are first- or second-hand smokers.

I was doing this exercise earlier. Let’s say ‘only’ 10% of the US population gets COVID. When I say gets, I mean in the way that it is detectable as COVID. Just like it is in other places. They cannot report what they do not see. 10% of 330 mil is 33m. If 33 million get COVID, 2% means 660,000 fatalities.

That is more than the 650,000+ who die annually from heart disease in the US.
More than the 600,000+ who die annually from cancer.
10x to 50x more than the 12,000 to 61,000 who die annually from “regular” flu.

I agree that 70% of the population getting this bug would be high. Annually, it’s estimated that 20 to 25 million get the flu in the US. So, even with the virality of this one, the evidence does not support 230 million people contracting this disease. However, it has a much higher case-fatality rate, so this is not the flu to catch. Hard pass.

10 Likes

Are you sure you didn’t have COVID-19? I’m mostly serious. I would think a number of people in the USA probably already have it or have had it, and it just hasn’t been recognized as such.

1 Like

I know this is off topic, but can anyone photoshop Trump’s face so that his skintone matches they colour around his eyes?

I would really like to know what he looks like under all that spraytan.

Now, regarding the Coronavirus, another problem affecting the Chinese is air quality/air pollution. I would not be surprised if exposure to low air quality (ex: smog days) left a lot more of Chinese people more vulnerable to developing severe complications from Corona virus infections similar to the way the air pollution of the industrial revolution left more British city dwellers vulnerable to tuberculosis. (This is in addition to Chinese smoking statistics)

9 Likes

Not to mention that those are the same Americans who are least likely to be able to afford taking several weeks off work to self-quarantine if they happen to be exposed to the virus.

19 Likes

You know, very good point. I was in Shanghai and Wuxi in early January for about 5 days, just as the outbreak was starting to pick up steam (and not having an impact on those places at that point). Was my first trip to China. OMFG the pollution is just as bad as I had been led to believe, really even worse. Would make sense that what I have to imagine are the already-taxed lungs of Chinese people do not set them up for the best COVID-19 outcomes, in a relative sense.

9 Likes

I’ve been wondering, if part of the apparent higher death toll in China is linked to the famously terrible air quality in many Chinese cities. As a layman, it sounds to me like it would put a lot of unnecessary strain on their lungs, which then causes trouble when infected with the coronavirus.

7 Likes

Thoughts and prayers. Well, prayers, at least.

Let’s seem how many huge rallies he has now, that will tell you whether he believes it’s under control.

5 Likes

The Don’s first legitimate crisis (i.e. not a fake crisis he creates to impress). He’s handling sooo well. I’m assured by the establishment press corp that this guarantees his reelection.

Meanwhile in Iran:

And meanwhile in Ethiopia:

1 Like

No data, no clue. I was asked if air pollution can do this too. Same answer.

6 Likes

Vaping will be a statistic to watch, assuming that people get to medical care that isn’t overloaded and has the luxury of recording stuff like that.

4 Likes

Took me a moment to realize you meant China. And you are absolutely correct. Did a double take the first time I saw smoking on an elevator. And there’s another way everyone is effectively a second hand smoker: air pollution. It’s gotten better since 2015. Subjectively I’d say half as bad now.

7 Likes

Puerto Rico dice chingas tu madre

3 Likes

I bought “The Hot Zone” on the way home from work ( in a bookstore ) when it was just released. Finished it on the bus before I got home ( i.e. it was that compelling ). I know it has received valid criticism ( particularly wrt description of the effects of the virus ) but still…

4 Likes