This morning, I started thinking about the death toll of the coronavirus.

[MineralMan]

It happened while I was paging through the five pages of obituaries in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Five pages of photos and stories about people who died of something other than the coronavirus in my own city. That helped put all this in perspective for me.

[Pantagruel]

1. Today's obits

not what worrying me. How will they read 4-6 months from now is what worries me.

[MineralMan]

5. Hmm...that wasn't really my point, though.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. I read the obits every Sunday.

I'm checking to see if my old boyfriend is dead yet.

[MineralMan]

4. LOL!

I just look to make sure I"m not in there.

[zeusdogmom]

8. I've outlived three of 'em 😁

[cwydro]

3. Yes, people are pretty silly about it here imo.

I saw posts where people were “practicing” wearing masks, others were declaring that a person could live on a spoonful of honey, spoonful of flour, and water for some time (as though this would be necessary) others planning hermit-like lives...on and on.

It’s made for amusing reading at any rate.

[Falcata]

10. Doesn't take much

for this place to go off the deep end

[flotsam]

6. Try this...

If it only infects 20% of the country and only kills 1% that would be 70 million with 700K excess deaths...the problem is between 10-20% will require extensive hospitalization. That equals 7-14 million with a percentage of those requiring respirators and I doubt we have nearly enough hospital beds and heard we have only 75K respirators....That means even at a low infection rate the gozintas are horrible as if you divide even 7 million by 1% and see how those in full respiratory arrest "Goes in to" (divides into) just 75K respirators. How happy are you when every hospital is deciding who lives or dies by unknown parameters? If we escape it is pure luck and if instead projections are correct you will see friends die because US leadership failed...take that to the bank.

[demigoddess]

7. we need to compare it to the death toll of other diseases.

It may be that the death toll from this 'horrible coronavirus' is smaller than a lot of other things and they are just scared. Taking measures and developing vaccine isn't bad idea though. Like any new virus it is going to spread widely and kill off a number of people. It is just how many.

[Grasswire2]

9. But the expert says 2% will die and 30% will contract it. nt

[cwydro]

12. Which expert?

30% of where?

[Grasswire2]

13. Dr. Fauci, in the initial press conference w/Trump.

That's the point where T. narrowed his eyes and pursed his fat lips.

[Grasswire2]

14. of the population of this country. 2 percent die and 30 percent infected. nt

[onenote]

15. do you have a link? I just watched the press conference and didn't hear Fauci say that.

[Grasswire2]

16. I checked the transcript -- it was not in that press conference.

But I know I heard him say it at some point. In any event, the data in this Johns Hopkins report agrees.

[link:https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_ABX_Guide/540143/all/Coronavirus|

[onenote]

17. Not seeing it in the Hopkins report either.

There were 3700 people on board the Diamond Princess. Fewer than 19 percent tested positive for the virus.

[Grasswire2]

18. from the report:

"Cause of upper respiratory tract symptoms and pneumonia. Most cases not severe but mortality rate not yet precisely understood but appears to be ? 2%"

I'll keep looking for that quote.

[onenote]

20. It's the percentage of people likely to get the virus that I'm looking for

[Kathy M]

11. Thank You ... Agree .

[uponit7771]

19. Twice the rate of flu sickness iinm, no one wants to get to sick