The time has come to look at some numbers. We have been thrust into this state of concern and worry because of how media has, through mass coverage, spread information about the virus. We know very little about the disease itself, yet we know everything about the populations, and areas it has affected. We know how many people have been tested, how many have been cleared, and how many have been unfortunate in the results, including the amount that have not made it. All of this information is everywhere, yet we are still rather clueless about the long term possibilities, as we have no prior experience with this. Still after all of the time that has passed since the discovery of this particular Corona Virus, we can look at the numbers to date and see a rather hard to understand scenario that has played out. Plus the fact that we really are going "all in" on just one, of many illnesses that plague our world every year. Take a look for yourself:
I am going to paste the current numbers in pieces here to show some of the US versus world totals.
-USA Today reports that the death toll in the US has surpassed 1,000, hovering closer to 1,050, per a Johns Hopkins University data dashboard, which put the overall number of known cases in the US at nearly 70,000.
-The total number of known cases worldwide, per the Times, is more than 465,000, with nearly 21,000 dead. Johns Hopkins' numbers are slightly higher, citing upward of 480,000 cases worldwide and upward of 21,500 deaths.
-The United States ranks third in the world in terms of total confirmed cases: China is first, with almost 82,000 cases, per the Hopkins database, while Italy comes in with nearly 74,500.
One can see that the numbers are massive, and alarming in their own right. However, we must also look at a few other numbers. The data I am about to paste here is only about the common flu. Mind you, these are the United States statistics alone.
- During the 2018-2019 season, the CDC estimates 16.5 million people went to a health care provider for the flu and more than 34,000 people died in the U.S. The prior season saw 61,000 deaths.Jan 30, 2020
While there are so many other illnesses that we are not even mentioning, which have their own statistics, the flu's numbers are eye popping. As I was mentioning before, the media has covered this pandemic so closely that we are all shocked by the devastation it has caused. How surprised would we really be if the flu numbers were so well followed and plastered all over the world's media coverage each season? Yes this is a horrible thing that has come along. Yes it is different from the common flu. But how different is it really in the way it is transmitted. Common flu is very contagious and easily transmitted to others by water droplets. If you are in contact with someone who has the flu by shaking their hand, or touching something they touched, or they accidentally spit on you, or you are sneezed or coughed on it is likely you will contract the virus. From there, you will either get the flu, or be a carrier to transmit to others. How different is that scenario from what we are seeing with COVID-19? So pardon me if I am questioning the action the government has taken in shutting down most of our country. Is it really worth the massive economic domino effect this will have? I just don't understand where the need for such drastic measures came from. Is there something we are not being told about this virus? Because otherwise we are really over reacting considering the numbers have not gotten even close to last years flu mortality, much less the year before. What about all the other contagious disease related data? I am certain the total number of such loss is astounding.
To avoid creating or spreading conspiracy theories, I won't go there. I am merely pointing out that it is difficult to understand why such extremes have been necessary. Projections about this virus have been mind boggling as well. Perhaps the unknowns have made us react this way since we are clueless about a long term prognosis. I feel that we truly don't know which direction to turn or what to believe anymore. So I will emphasize the importance of getting the facts straight. It is more evident the harm that can come from paying too much attention to hype rather than troll the facts. With information comes knowledge, and with that comes comfort. The more we know, the less we wonder, and that can calm us. Until next time, be well, stay informed, and stay home. God willing this will all be over soon.