# How concerned are you about this Coronavirus?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164>\
**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:** 1\
**Showing post:** 631

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**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-concerned-are-you-about-this-coronavirus/847164/631 "2020-04-19T14:20:32Z")

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> [@AK84](#):
>
> Here is a video which does an great job of explaining exponential increases.
> 
> [https://youtu.be/e02eiX866N4](https://youtu.be/e02eiX866N4)

Nice video. Interesting that it uses similar language at the end as the _Washington Post_ article I linked to.

> [@](#):
>
> It was never going to seem that bad…until it was.

Incidentally, I posted a link to that same Washington Post article [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=22188415&postcount=17) last month, and commented that:

> [@How do I counter the the flu v COVID-19 argument?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-counter-the-the-flu-v-covid-19-argument/849427/17):
>
> [ul]  
> [li]The mortality rate for COVID-19 is at least an order of magnitude greater than that of influenza.[/li][li]The number of cases of COVID-19 are increasing exponentially.[/li][/ul]  
> Note that “exponentially” is not a synonym for “a lot.” It’s a mathematical term.
> 
> [When a danger is growing exponentially, everything looks fine until it doesn’t](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/10/coronavirus-what-matters-isnt-what-you-can-see-what-you-cant/)
> 
> The problem isn’t the current number of cases. It’s how many cases we will have in a few weeks or months.
> 
> More detail here:  
> [Coronavirus: Why You Must Act Now](https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca)

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