# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/101 "2020-02-10T01:19:16Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Yeah, the economic consequences of this are going to be HUGE, even if it’s successfully contained next week. “next week” is not “next week.” Some people are allowed to go to work today, but most are work for home. The ones that can go to work, have a residence permit for that locale and can show they did not leave during the past 14 days. So, imagine this, you have a factory with a lot of managers from all over the world, and 20% line workers that qualify as local. That means, you’re looking at factory open date + 14 more days minimum before you have a quorum to really get back to work. And if your downstream suppliers are not back up and running, your just in time system now has a shortage. And if your downstream suppliers, who have been suffering from the trade war, go out of business, then you have a supply interruption. If things get back to pre-Chinese New Year level by the end of May, IMHO that will be a miracle ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/102 "2020-02-10T01:59:53Z")
As I understand it, it’s less fatal than influenza, and I’m not particularly worried about influenza. So, not too concerned about the Wuhan coronavirus. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/103 "2020-02-10T02:09:24Z")
How concerned am I about this Coronavirus? Not at all. West Nile didn’t kill me and various iterations of flu didn’t either. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/104 "2020-02-10T03:30:18Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > “next week” is not “next week.” > > Some people are allowed to go to work today, but most are work for home. The ones that can go to work, have a residence permit for that locale and can show they did not leave during the past 14 days. So, imagine this, you have a factory with a lot of managers from all over the world, and 20% line workers that qualify as local. That means, you’re looking at factory open date + 14 more days minimum before you have a quorum to really get back to work. And if your downstream suppliers are not back up and running, your just in time system now has a shortage. And if your downstream suppliers, who have been suffering from the trade war, go out of business, then you have a supply interruption. > > If things get back to pre-Chinese New Year level by the end of May, IMHO that will be a miracle I said “next week” as an exaggerated way of saying “sooner than is actually possible”. Yes, I know that this is a massive massive hit to productivity. Not just in China, in all the world, since we are so interconnected these days. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/105 "2020-02-10T03:47:13Z")
> [@MacSpon](#): > > As I understand it, it’s less fatal than influenza, and I’m not particularly worried about influenza. > So, not too concerned about the Wuhan coronavirus. It’s not. It’s far more fatal than the flu, 2%+ vs 0.10%. The flu has killed more people but only because 5-20% of people (at least in the US) get the flu every year so we’re talking 16-64 million people infected in the US alone. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/106 "2020-02-10T04:19:23Z")
> [@Marcus\_Flavius](#): > > I’m just waiting for the next zoo gorilla to be shot, or the next mass murder spree to happen, and then we’ll all forget about the tequila virus. Americans are overgrown babies. Look over here, look over here! Hey, now look over here! Lol. This often comes as a surprise but there are more than Americans in the world and even on the Dope. ---
**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:** [February 10, 2020, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/107 "2020-02-10T09:56:29Z")
> [@MacSpon](#): > > As I understand it, it’s less fatal than influenza, and I’m not particularly worried about influenza. This is incorrect. While the flu has killed more people in absolute numbers, the flu infects _millions_ of people every year. You are much, much less likely to catch the new corona virus, but if you do, your chances of dying are MUCH greater than if you had the flu. Far fewer people in absolute numbers have died of the new virus because only tens of thousands have been infected. The fact that many more people in numbers have died of flu is being put out there, I believe, in part to calm fears about the new virus and also in a hope that people will take ordinary influenza more seriously. In fact, basic precautions like washing your hands will help protect you against many illnesses and it would be a great thing if people in general were more diligent about this sort of thing. > [@MacSpon](#): > > So, not too concerned about the Wuhan coronavirus. Nor should you be, unless you’re currently in China or on an affected cruise ship. The vast majority of people are not at risk at this time, and hopefully never will be. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/108 "2020-02-10T11:31:47Z")
The number of infected on the cruise ship in Japan has hit 130 and they have only tested 336 people, with Japan saying they can’t test everyone. What a nightmare for those involved. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/109 "2020-02-10T11:56:54Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Yeah, the economic consequences of this are going to be HUGE, even if it’s successfully contained next week. Yep; having the whole country take a week-long holiday for Chinese new year is crazy and disruptive enough as it is. Making the whole country take _several weeks_ off, then essentially under curfew after that, is some of the biggest disruption to a major economy ever seen, outside of total war. What’s going to be interesting too is what the government will do to try to assuage the economic hit. The government has a lot of power and capital and you can be absolutely sure that they will try to use it. I would not be at all surprised to see mandatory 6-day working weeks for the whole country, and hundreds of billions of dollars investment projects, once the virus appears under control. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/110 "2020-02-10T14:56:08Z")
Maybe 1 – I have a shipment of coin canisters coming from China that might get delayed by the disruption to international trade/travel. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/111 "2020-02-10T15:06:23Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > The number of infected on the cruise ship in Japan has hit 130 and they have only tested 336 people, with Japan saying they can’t test everyone. The resources might not be available to do this … but I wonder if it’s possible just to medically treat everyone on the ship as if they had coronavirus and not worry about testing anyone else? _ **Question:** _ Is it known yet whether or not a high percentage of known infected persons develop only mild symptoms? IOW, is this coronavirus the kind of illness where out of 100 people that get infected: [ul] [li]95 have sniffles, post-nasal drip, and a 100.5 fever and never get any worse[/li][li]3 are positively miserable – upper respiratory distress, fever over 102, diarrhea, etc. – but they ultimately regain their health[/li][li]2 succumb to the virus and pass away[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/112 "2020-02-10T16:16:57Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I live in shanghai. As I posted in the other forum, I started out concerned about this but I think the way this is being spun internationally is out of all proportion. > 10,000 Americans have died of flu this winter season. All indications are that this new coronavirus has a similar level of risk to a strain of flu – that’s not a good thing, and so China is doing broadly the right thing on pulling out all the stops to nip it in the bud. > > But the way this is being covered on international media while ignoring current deadly infections, and the harsh treatment of Chinese, is not justified. Yeah but the flu has a mortality rate of 0.1% while the coronavirus is at 2-4%. Is Beijing under any kind of lockdown? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/113 "2020-02-10T20:51:05Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > _ **Question:** _ Is it known yet whether or not a high percentage of known infected persons develop only mild symptoms? IOW, is this coronavirus the kind of illness where out of 100 people that get infected: > > [ul] > [li]95 have sniffles, post-nasal drip, and a 100.5 fever and never get any worse[/li][li]3 are positively miserable – upper respiratory distress, fever over 102, diarrhea, etc. – but they ultimately regain their health[/li][li]2 succumb to the virus and pass away[/li][/ul] Stumbled upon a link that addresses my question. Looking at the Wuhan coronavirus from a glass-half-full perspective, [4 out of 5 people infected will get only mild cold symptoms](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/10/coronavirus-latest-updates.html) (CNBC 2/10/2020): > [@](#): > > **10:34 am: WHO officials say 15% of all patients get pneumonia** > The World Health Organization’s Dr. Sylvia Briand told reporters the disease produces mild cold symptoms in about 80% of the cases they’ve seen so far. About 15% of the people who have contracted the virus have ended up with pneumonia, with 3% to 5% of all patients needing intensive care. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/114 "2020-02-10T20:53:34Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Yeah but the flu has a mortality rate of 0.1% while **the coronavirus is at 2-4%.** The coronavirus mortality rate is going to drop like a stone at some point, won’t it? With so many infected apparently having mild symptoms … there are probably many people carrying it around who’ve never been identified and may never be. "_I had a nasty cold toward the end of December_ :shrug: " ---
**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:** [February 10, 2020, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/115 "2020-02-10T21:18:33Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > The resources might not be available to do this … but I wonder if it’s possible just to medically treat everyone on the ship as if they had coronavirus and not worry about testing anyone else? Not sure what you’re thinking about there - there isn’t a medication for this thing, it’s all about supportive care. Facial tissues and cough drops? Sure, we can pass those out. But it’s not like everyone is going to wind up in intensive care on a respirator. It’s looking like most people don’t need to be in a hospital, what they need is the standard rest and fluids of most corona virus infections. And to be quarantined so as not to infect others. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/116 "2020-02-10T21:55:36Z")
> [@](#): > > [@bordelond](#): > > The coronavirus mortality rate is going to drop like a stone at some point, won’t it? With so many infected apparently having mild symptoms … there are probably many people carrying it around who’ve never been identified and may never be. "_I had a nasty cold toward the end of December_ :shrug: " Exactly; and the highest mortality rate by far is being reported within overstressed Hubei. We would expect mild cases in the epicenter to be under-reported, because of difficulty in obtaining medical care but also patients being reluctant to go to hospitals – perceived as extremely dangerous places to be – until they absolutely need to go. And therefore the apparent mortality rate would appear higher there. ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/117 "2020-02-11T01:06:35Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > It’s not. It’s far more fatal than the flu, 2%+ vs 0.10%. The flu has killed more people but only because 5-20% of people (at least in the US) get the flu every year so we’re talking 16-64 million people infected in the US alone. Ignorance fought. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/118 "2020-02-18T00:43:36Z")
So…the Westerdam cruise ship finally found a country, Cambodia, willing to let them dock, and they just let the passengers go without any sort of quarantine. And now one passenger definitely is positive for the coronavirus, and her husband has pneumonia, so he’s probably positive too. I hope not too many of the other 598 American passengers who are coming home have it too… ---
**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:** [February 18, 2020, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/119 "2020-02-18T01:41:50Z")
Well, that’s not going to end well… Will most like result in some new outbreak clusters. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/120 "2020-02-18T02:22:39Z")
Awesome. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164.md?page=7)