If you're concerned about the coronavirus and afraid to show it because people around you say it's all a media hyperbole and you're overreacting, read this, I've got the science summarised for you (from the Lancet, Imperial College London, HKU-Harvard studies):
1) It is definitely not like the flu - on average an infected patient would infect 2.6 people (vs. 1.1-1.5 for the flu). It has a symptomatic fatality rate of 1.4%, more than 10-50 times higher than the 2009 influenza fatality rate depending on the country you’re in.
2) It only affects the elderly and people with preexisting conditions - just for a second ignore the fact that it’s such an irresponsible thing to say and as if they have no grandparents or parents, the fatality rate of people above 80 is about 6%, 4x the average rate.
3) Putting on a mask is useless - to start with, the masks most people (in Asia) use are surgical grade masks that doctors use. Second, the mask is not solely for protecting yourself, it’s also to protect others from you. 80% of the cases have mild or no symptoms.
4) Most people have mild symptoms our healthcare system can handle it - no vaccine yet for the disease so whoever infected would need to be put in isolation wards to prevent spreading. COVID19 is highly infectious and large number of infected population could cripple the system.
5) We have lives to live, we can’t just cancel everything - a 2.6 rate means that transmission needs to be cut by 60% to stop the spread. That means social distancing - avoiding events, pubs. A 2.6 rate means the higher temp in summer will not reduce transmissions - unlike flu
6) China’s draconian measures seem to be working - China needed the measures because actions were delayed due to censorship of info early on. In contrast, experts say SG and HK have managed the outbreak well with timely government actions and effective social distancing measures.
7) The gov't is not telling us to change our way of life - Since when we would just take the gov't word for it? “Individual behaviour will be crucial to control the spread of COVID19. Personal, rather than gov't action, in western democracies might be the most important issue. "
Don’t take my word for it. I am just repeating what the epidemiologists and public health experts are saying.
The Lancet article
thelancet.com/journals/lance…
ICL transmissibility study
imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial…
HKU-Harvard fatality rate study
med.hku.hk/en/News/-/medi…
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The Lancet article
thelancet.com/journals/lance…
ICL transmissibility study
imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial…
HKU-Harvard fatality rate study
med.hku.hk/en/News/-/medi…
//end
