
Coronavirus: Infection 'could reach 60% of population if unchecked' - charlysl
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/11/coronavirus-expert-warns-infection-could-reach-60-of-worlds-population
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DarthGhandi
That graphic seems wildly out of sync with the tone of the article.

Everyone has been saying it's only two weeks away from doom for the last 6
weeks.

Caution is good but it's hilarious to watch in realtime how petrifiy people
are. Practicing good hygiene should happen all the time, not just when the
media scares people into it.

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ryanwaggoner
Yeah, tens of thousands are infected, thousands of them in severe or critical
condition, more than a thousand dead, hundreds of millions on lockdown while
the virus continues to spread. Hilarious.

More people _should_ be concerned and taking reasonable precautions. And that
doesn’t just mean “basic hygiene”. This virus is spreading because it’s highly
contagious, has a long incubation time, and can be spread by asymptotic
carriers.

~~~
DarthGhandi
Should they be as concerned as the flu of which they they are far more likely
to die of in the next year? Where does the greater risk lay in your mind?

Would you take bets on the common flu, which has vaccines, killing more this
year than Coronavirus? I certainly would. Would mortgage the house on it.

> it’s highly contagious

As opposed to SARS, MERS, and again, the flu? Going to need a source on that.

Given how many people die annually of the flu, where are all these comments
telling people about basic hygiene, banning international travel and avoiding
all human contact where possible? Why don't they come out of the woodwork each
and every year to warn us?

I'll present my hypothesis: it's because the news didn't tell them to worry
about it.

The average human being is shockingly bad at accurately assessing risk. That's
the average.

