# How concerned are you about this Coronavirus? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [January 29, 2020, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164 "2020-01-29T15:23:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![Jim\_Peebles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Jim\_Peebles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_Peebles)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/422 "2020-03-03T16:05:02Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > Pretty sure the quoted sources in the article say the opposite of your claim. They are (implausibly) claiming that previous cases of “vape lung” may actually be coronavirus. Yeah but that has been going on since September 2019. So we were fine with coronavirus until the new year 2020, at least. Hence, if the conjecture is true, it is inconsistent to freak out now. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/423 "2020-03-03T16:11:27Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > Pretty sure the quoted sources in the article say the opposite of your claim. They are (implausibly) claiming that previous cases of “vape lung” may actually be coronavirus. Yeah, this sounds like an attempt to say that Covid-19 may have originated in the US and not China. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_Peebles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Jim\_Peebles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_Peebles)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/424 "2020-03-03T16:20:02Z")
> [@C3](#): > > Yeah, this sounds like an attempt to say that Covid-19 may have originated in the US and not China. Who cares where it originated? The people panicing should see some cause to be optimistic because of it. That’s the main point. I’m sure they are sick of walking around the bags of flour they are hoarding in hopes of using them to barter in the new zombie apocalypse world they were imagining (aluding to another post about someone’s in-laws). ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/425 "2020-03-03T16:21:05Z")
In answer to the OP’s question, I’m pretty concerned about the coronavirus. One of the Florida cases is in Hillsborough County, which happens to be where my father-in-law lives. FIL is 78 years old, and has some major health problems. Yes, I’m nervous. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/426 "2020-03-03T16:21:19Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > Apply that observation to the rest of the world, and add the fact that the outbreaks outside China are not yet “mature”, and it looks like there is a big increase in cases on the horizon. One thing to note is that a “big increase in cases” doesn’t mean they have to occur over a short time. In other words, now that the virus is out there (in 60 countries and counting), it _will_ continue to spread. Until a vaccine is available, the only thing that governments and healthcare systems can do is to try to spread out the incidence of new infections over a longer period of time. There are two extremes: ‘everybody’ gets it in the next couple of months or ‘everybody’ gets it over the next couple of years. At least the latter scenario will lessen the chance of healthcare systems becoming overwhelmed at any point. As an example, and as has been pointed out, even if only a few percent of infected individuals need ICU care, there are not nearly enough ICUs out there to provide it if everyone gets sick around the same time. On the other hand, if cases are spread out over a year or two, the system would be more likely to be able to handle it. Bottom line (IMO) is that the policies being introduced are not really to prevent the spread of the virus so much as to delay its spread (while waiting for a vaccine). ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/427 "2020-03-03T16:35:07Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Bottom line (IMO) is that the policies being introduced are not really to prevent the spread of the virus so much as to delay its spread (while waiting for a vaccine). And not just a vaccine. Dozens of drugs are being investigated as well; I expect we’ll have something which at least decreases morbidity and mortality somewhat long before we have a vaccine. Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/428 "2020-03-03T17:43:30Z")
> [@Jim\_Peebles](#): > > Yeah but that has been going on since September 2019. So we were fine with coronavirus until the new year 2020, at least. Hence, if the conjecture is true, it is inconsistent to freak out now. No, once again you’ve misinterpreted a speculative scientific paper. We were never fine with this specific coronavirus, and the concern is still warranted. Your conjecture is not supported by the evidence. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/429 "2020-03-03T18:30:49Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > To follow up on this, today worldometers has decreased the number of Diamond Princess deaths to 6. Perhaps one of them got better. Maybe this happened… > [@Monty Python](#): > > CART MASTER: Bring out your dead! > CUSTOMER: Here’s one. > CART MASTER: Nine pence. > DEAD PERSON: I’m not dead! > CART MASTER: What? > CUSTOMER: Nothing. Here’s your nine pence. > DEAD PERSON: I’m not dead! > CART MASTER: ‘Ere. He says he’s not dead! > CUSTOMER: Yes, he is. > DEAD PERSON: I’m not! > CART MASTER: He isn’t? > CUSTOMER: Well, he will be soon. He’s very ill. > DEAD PERSON: I’m getting better! > CUSTOMER: No, you’re not. You’ll be stone dead in a moment. > CART MASTER: Oh, I can’t take him like that. It’s against regulations. > DEAD PERSON: I don’t want to go on the cart! > CUSTOMER: Oh, don’t be such a baby. > CART MASTER: I can’t take him. > DEAD PERSON: I feel fine! > CUSTOMER: Well, do us a favor. > CART MASTER: I can’t. > CUSTOMER: Well, can you hang around a couple of minutes? He won’t be long. > CART MASTER: No, I’ve got to go to the Robinsons’. They’ve lost nine today. > CUSTOMER: Well, when’s your next round? > CART MASTER: Thursday. > DEAD PERSON: I think I’ll go for a walk. > CUSTOMER: You’re not fooling anyone, you know. Look. Isn’t there something you can do? > DEAD PERSON: [singing] I feel happy. I feel happy. > > _[whop]_ > > CUSTOMER: Ah, thanks very much. > CART MASTER: Not at all. See you on Thursday. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/430 "2020-03-03T19:29:52Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Not at all, except for the fact that the store I cashier at sold 1,000 little bottles of hand sanitizer in one day and we still have people asking for it. > > I’m tired of this nonsense. Get an immune system, folks. Yes, seriously. I stopped by the store where I work to do some shopping on my off day. Not just the hand sanitizers but also all the analgesics - Tylenol, Advil, etc. - were sold out. Except about a half dozen bottles of store brand (People! Name brand is not any better! The store brand is even made _in the same factory_, just with our label instead of the Big Name Label). While I waited in line to get my scrip filled (my annual one for a new asthma inhaler) there was one lady waiting in line who was wearing a mask. Who was also coughing. And whether it was the common cold or something else I was totally OK with that because when momma said bring enough for everyone that is NOT what she meant you should share! I want to start wearing a t-shirt that says “CALM THE F\*\*\* DOWN” ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/431 "2020-03-03T19:31:38Z")
> [@Jim\_Peebles](#): > > Now some experts are looking at vape lung as a cause for the freak out: > [http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1181292.shtml](http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1181292.shtml) > Was this the spread of my idea, or near simultaneous discovery? You already have a thread where you are pushing this nutball theory of yours, why are you posting this in multiple threads? What part of “no, we don’t agree with you” are you having trouble accepting? ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/432 "2020-03-03T19:57:13Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Hate to break this to you, but the case fatality rate to date in this older cohort actually makes _the exact opposite point_ that you think it does. > > Case fatality rate for this older cohort on the ship, 65+ let’s call it (even though the group apparently actually skews to high 70s), is, as you state, about 1%. > > [Case fatality rate _for seasonal influenza_ in the United States _for those 65+_](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/2018-2019.html) runs roughly the same **0.9%** in the 2017-18 year, **0.8%** in the 2018-19 one … Clearly not an apples-to-apples comparison. The CDC data isn’t based off of a random sample of people with the flu, as it’s based on the Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network, i.e. people who were already hospitalized. One would expect them to have more comorbidities than people taking a luxury cruise line. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/433 "2020-03-03T20:10:41Z")
> [@Surreal](#): > > Clearly not an apples-to-apples comparison. The CDC data isn’t based off of a random sample of people with the flu, as it’s based on the Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network, i.e. people who were already hospitalized. One would expect them to have more comorbidities than people taking a luxury cruise line. No. The mortality rate of patients 65+ hospitalized with the flu is closer to 10%. See the bottom row of the second chart on this page: [https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/2017-2018.htm](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/2017-2018.htm) Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/434 "2020-03-03T20:18:03Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > No. The mortality rate of patients 65+ hospitalized with the flu is closer to 10%. > > See the bottom row of the second chart on this page: [https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/2017-2018.htm](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/2017-2018.htm) > > Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/435 "2020-03-03T23:16:43Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > @magiver, it has been 30 years since Tiananmen. Mao on a pogo stick, nearly half of China’s population was born after that event, the economy has doubled multiple times, third world nation to a middle class larger than the US population, the interwebs happened, etc. Whilst the Chinese government isn’t an model of impartial reporting, it is not any where near the backwater it was 3 decades ago. Chose a different and relevant yardstick if you must. OK, I’ll Choose the current China that actively prevents it’s citizens from viewing information about the Tianamen massacre. The same China that rates it’s citizens on what they read, say or type, what products they buy and all infractions that can be recorded so they can restrict their citizen’s travel if they don’t measure up. And I’ll add the China that is actively rounding up Muslims for “re-education camps”. That’s not 30 years ago, it’s today. Right now. When you talk about 3rd world nations it isn’t about money, it’s about freedom. I’d say the people in China are less free than they were 30 years ago because of the technology used against them. They don’ t need the labor of one person watching over another. They have a computer with algorithms to do it for them. My yardstick measures just fine. We know for a fact that China tried to hush it up. We just don’t know the severity of it. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/436 "2020-03-04T14:15:27Z")
The store got more Purell and sold out in three hours. A cashier put some under her counter to buy and someone took them! And the phone kept ringing. “Do you have Purell?” I am very sick of it all. Talk about mass hysteria. It’s really ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/437 "2020-03-04T14:23:29Z")
First Dog on the Moon: [The Coronavirus Diaries part 1: it could have been the end of the world!](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/04/the-coronavirus-diaries-part-1-it-could-have-been-the-end-of-the-world) _(Thank goodness everyone bought all the toilet paper!)_ ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/438 "2020-03-04T17:13:49Z")
Here’s a good article from _Slate_ on the likely CFR and what the Diamond Princess tells us: [**COVID-19 Isn’t As Deadly As We Think**](https://slate.com/technology/2020/03/coronavirus-mortality-rate-lower-than-we-think.html) > [@](#): > > This all suggests that COVID-19 is a relatively benign disease for most young people, and a potentially devastating one for the old and chronically ill, albeit not nearly as risky as reported…We need to focus on the right people and the right places. Nursing homes, not schools. Hospitals, not planes. We need to up the hygienic and isolation ante primarily around the subset of people who can’t simply contract SARS-CoV-2 and ride it out the way healthy people should be able to. > … > Healthy people who are hoarding food, masks, and hand sanitizer may feel like they are doing the right thing. But, all good intentions aside, these actions probably represent misdirected anxieties. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/439 "2020-03-04T18:20:07Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Here’s a good article from _Slate_ on the likely CFR and what the Diamond Princess tells us: [**COVID-19 Isn’t As Deadly As We Think**](https://slate.com/technology/2020/03/coronavirus-mortality-rate-lower-than-we-think.html) I have no reason to doubt any of his statistics and he’s probably right about how governments and communities should approach this disease. Thing is, is that where it stands now, if you test positive for the disease, you are likely to be asked to self-quarantine in your home for at least 2 weeks. It’s pretty irresponsible for this writer to tell people not to prepare for that and to characterize it as “hoarding.” Until we have a clear directive from the powers-that-be, I think it’s smart to have some extra meals stocked, wash your hands frequently, and use hand sanitizer when you can’t wash. And follow the request to not buy masks. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_Peebles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Jim\_Peebles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_Peebles)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/440 "2020-03-04T18:28:16Z")
Here’s a good window on Seattle-ites level of concern: > **[Seattle feels like 'ghost town,' business owners say as they face life in...](https://www.yahoo.com/news/seattle-ghost-town-residents-face-040500149.html)** > > As the death toll in Washington climbed, Seattle's mayor declared a civil emergency and businesses braced for economic fallout. The article tries to paint Seattle as a ghosttown due to coronaviris concerns, but the vast majority of comments (at least the way they were default sorted for me) are like “no, it is just as crowded as usual”. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/441 "2020-03-04T21:46:55Z")
> [@Jim\_Peebles](#): > > Here’s a good window on Seattle-ites level of concern: > > [https://www.yahoo.com/news/seattle-ghost-town-residents-face-040500149.html](https://www.yahoo.com/news/seattle-ghost-town-residents-face-040500149.html) > > The article tries to paint Seattle as a ghosttown due to coronaviris concerns, but the vast majority of comments (at least the way they were default sorted for me) are like “no, it is just as crowded as usual”. Yesterday things didn’t feel much different in Seattle. Today, though, traffic during morning rush hour was less than it usually is mid-day. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164.md?page=23)