On a scale of 0-10, how worried are you about coronavirus?

[Honeyman]

Media is hyping this because that’s what they do. The vast majority who catch this do not die, especially in a first world country. Do some actual research and you’ll see this much less serious than Ebola or other scares.

I have not changed my life one iota since this.

How many Americans would have to die for you to change your number from 0 to, let's say, 2?

[bmw]

So the number of American deaths should be, in your view Honeyman, the way we decide how worried we should be about something?

35,000 people die every year in the US from the flu. That's more than 200 per day during the peak of flu season. How worried are you about the flu on a 0 to 10 scale?

How about getting in your car and driving? How worried are you on a 1 to 10 scale of dying in a car accident every time you get behind the wheel? The numbers here are virtually identical to that of the flu - about 34,000 Americans.

Coronavirus thus far has killed 14 Americans total. Compared to other things that people barely bat an eye at, the death toll thus far is MUCH, MUCH lower.

[fuzzpower]

I can’t give a hard number. Percentage of those infected who die is a more accurate statistic, and even then, not all who have symptoms go to the doctor.

Still a zero for my rating. If you want to buy twelve cases of hand sanitizer and 35 cases of water, go ahead.

[Rate This]

So the number of American deaths should be, in your view Honeyman, the way we decide how worried we should be about something?

35,000 people die every year in the US from the flu. That's more than 200 per day during the peak of flu season. How worried are you about the flu on a 0 to 10 scale?

How about getting in your car and driving? How worried are you on a 1 to 10 scale of dying in a car accident every time you get behind the wheel? The numbers here are virtually identical to that of the flu - about 34,000 Americans.

Coronavirus thus far has killed 14 Americans total. Compared to other things that people barely bat an eye at, the death toll thus far is MUCH, MUCH lower.

Let’s give it a year before we compare shall we? You are comparing 3 weeks to 52...

The death rate here in the US so far Is like 17%... that far outpaces the flu... those numbers come from doing the math on deaths divided by infections... nobody is talking about the increased mortality rate...

[Honeyman]

My point is everyone should be concerned and vigilant. To trust the words of our idiot president over the CDC and WHO is foolish.

[craig11152]

So the number of American deaths should be, in your view Honeyman, the way we decide how worried we should be about something?

35,000 people die every year in the US from the flu. That's more than 200 per day during the peak of flu season. How worried are you about the flu on a 0 to 10 scale?

How about getting in your car and driving? How worried are you on a 1 to 10 scale of dying in a car accident every time you get behind the wheel? The numbers here are virtually identical to that of the flu - about 34,000 Americans.

Coronavirus thus far has killed 14 Americans total. Compared to other things that people barely bat an eye at, the death toll thus far is MUCH, MUCH lower.

Let’s give it a year before we compare shall we? You are comparing 3 weeks to 52...

The death rate here in the US so far Is like 17%... that far outpaces the flu... those numbers come from doing the math on deaths divided by infections... nobody is talking about the increased mortality rate...

Most of those deaths are in a nursing home aren't they?

[fuzzpower]

My point is everyone should be concerned and vigilant. To trust the words of our idiot president over the CDC and WHO is foolish.

Are you concerned about a regular flu? Driving your car? Swimming? An operation? These cause deaths too. Should we just stay locked in our homes for the next six months with our cases of hand sanitizer and water and toilet paper?

I am not going to let the media run my life. I will live as I normally do. I was on Guam when this whole thing was really starting to scare people, and I didn’t let it ruin my trip. I didn’t wear a face mask either.

[bmw]

RT - the high death rate in the US, as Craig pointed out, is because of the very small and skewed sample size. I will concede that you have a point about waiting a year to compare stats, but as of RIGHT NOW, there's no need to panic. Yet. That's all I'm saying.

[Rate This]

So the number of American deaths should be, in your view Honeyman, the way we decide how worried we should be about something?

35,000 people die every year in the US from the flu. That's more than 200 per day during the peak of flu season. How worried are you about the flu on a 0 to 10 scale?

How about getting in your car and driving? How worried are you on a 1 to 10 scale of dying in a car accident every time you get behind the wheel? The numbers here are virtually identical to that of the flu - about 34,000 Americans.

Coronavirus thus far has killed 14 Americans total. Compared to other things that people barely bat an eye at, the death toll thus far is MUCH, MUCH lower.

Let’s give it a year before we compare shall we? You are comparing 3 weeks to 52...

The death rate here in the US so far Is like 17%... that far outpaces the flu... those numbers come from doing the math on deaths divided by infections... nobody is talking about the increased mortality rate...

Most of those deaths are in a nursing home aren't they?

And that’s true... but the U.S. does have a relatively old population... that 17% will come down no doubt.. will it get all the way to 3%?

[Honeyman]

Do you understand the differences between the words "concern" and "panic"?

To me, any thinking individual would be CONCERNED about the possibility of an unknown virus such as this spreading. They would be CONCERNED when the World Health Organization tells them that a pandemic is possible. They would be CONCERNED when the NYSE drops 8+% in a week.

That is all I am saying. Look at what has happened in the 5 weeks since I started this thread. I understand the media hype can be overblown, but to not give any credence at all to this situation is ignorant and short-sighted

[Turkeytop]

I'm probably not as concerned as I should be. It's so beyond my control, I just avoid thinking about it. I just live from day to day hoping the finger of fate doesn't point at me.

[Rate This]

RT - the high death rate in the US, as Craig pointed out, is because of the very small and skewed sample size. I will concede that you have a point about waiting a year to compare stats, but as of RIGHT NOW, there's no need to panic. Yet. That's all I'm saying.

Saw some revised numbers... 4.6% currently is the mortality rate... my ex-wife was an EMT... her reaction was... “ITS THE FUCKING FLU!”... she’s probably spot on with that and everything about it so far is similar... it may be more contagious and probably will roll along into the summer rather than dissipating and reappearing next year...

[bmw]

It is kind of interesting to look at the breakdown of reported cases by continent:

91,378 - Asia
5,685 - Europe
283 - North America
63 - Australia
29 - Africa
28 - South America

Excluding Antarctica, I can't help but notice that only 1 in 812 cases are reported on the 3 warmest continents. Perhaps evidence that the virus doesn't do well in warm, humid weather?

[TC Shuts Up]

Many of you are too young to remember what they were saying about AIDS back in the 1980s. It was pretty much "we're all gonna die", because it was going to spread to the heterosexual population. The truth is, certain sexual practices spread AIDS much more efficiently than others, and of course it never happened. The same thing has been true of other virus scares. Is it possible that this could be the end of mankind? Anything is possible, but it's unlikely.

[Rate This]

Many of you are too young to remember what they were saying about AIDS back in the 1980s. It was pretty much "we're all gonna die", because it was going to spread to the heterosexual population. The truth is, certain sexual practices spread AIDS much more efficiently than others, and of course it never happened. The same thing has been true of other virus scares. Is it possible that this could be the end of mankind? Anything is possible, but it's unlikely.

Some of us didn’t exist in the 1980’s... AIDS really isn’t contagious in the same way that this or the flu is though... if there ever was a poster child for how the media went awry and started trying to scare everybody to death this current situation would probably be it though...