To just describe it as the flu would be highly irresponsible of health officials, mostly because it is clearly not the flu. In a town of 50000 with a 1% incidence and 1% mortality rate, this means that 50 people would die over and above those that die from the flu. Why would anyone want to claim it is just the flu when it isn't?
Flu death rate is 0.1%, Corona virus could be as high as 2%
Flu is less easily spread, Corona virus is more easily spread
Flu kills younger children, Corona virus doesn't seem to
Older men, but not women, in their >40s are more likely to die from corona virus
Corona virus appears more likely to lead to pneumonia versus flu
There are antiviral drugs/vaccines for the flu, there are none for corona virus
This outbreak is something that should be contained and managed if at all possible.
Of course there aren't vaccines for it , it didn't exist 3 months ago !
Or maybe it did and noone realised what it was until it started spreading?
Pneumonia can actually occur in people just out of the blue without being caught. For example a family member of my wife's died from it after seemingly recovering from her health issues. My mother in law got it despite not leaving a warm house or having any contact with anyone who had it.
All these facts and figures are based on essentially 3 months recorded history and in no way can be used to create a mirage of how deadly the virus is. If you step away from what the papers are saying, the symptoms are the same, the way it acts is the same and it provides the same risk as the regular flu.
I've said it before but this isn't the first flu outbreak the world has seen. It's not the first this country has seen. The only difference with the Corona virus compared to every other one is that the media haven't shut up about this one. It's had far more coverage than any other virus to have existed in modern times without a single news outlet printing the real facts about it. Everyone that reads about it doesn't get the full story , doesn't get the reality of it.
What they get is the killer virus that poses a risk to everyone without telling people who it is deadly to. You get the whole isolation thing without telling people that in all honesty you won't even know you had it.
Why aren't anyone talking about the truth of it? It's only killing old people / serious health issues. Most people barely have any symptoms even if they do get it.
Or perhaps people should look at the reality. A massive surge in the healthcare system that is not needed (28000 don't have it to 200 who do). The panic buying that has led to people spending money that they otherwise would be saving.
Or even the fact it's actually stopped spreading in China already without a vaccine.
