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Personally I'm not afraid of the sanitary aspect of this virus. I don't think the mortality is extremely alarming per se. What I'm afraid of is the emotional po

Personally I'm not afraid of the sanitary aspect of this virus. I don't think the mortality is extremely alarming per se. What I'm afraid of is the emotional population reaction and the practical impact on daily services fueled by FUD and sensationalist media coverage. Schools closing unnecessarily forcing many working people to stay home to babysit their kids. Teachers/Drivers/Cashiers going on strike to avoid risks while there is a now globally confirmed shortage of face masks (which might or might not be very useful anyway but it will keep people working if they feel it helps). It's virtually impossible to find a useless face mask where I am in the EU (at a normal non 10x inflated price from opportunistic vendors) and even less possible to find a useful one (N95/FFP2/FFP3 rating). Interesting times for sure.

cs702 7y ago
> I'm not afraid of the sanitary aspect of this virus. I don't think the mortality is extremely alarming per se. Agree. It seems to be most like another global strand of flu.
- xapata 7y ago
  And the flu kills 10s of thousands annually in the US, despite our widespread vaccination system.
- platz 7y ago
  Do doctors typically suit up in full biohazard gear when confronting flu?
  - nelblu 7y ago
    > Do doctors typically suit up in full biohazard gear when confronting flu? This was posted earlier on HN Life and Death in a Wuhan Coronavirus ICU - https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/reporters-notebook-life-and-death-in-a-wuhan-coronavirus-icu https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/reporters-notebo...
James_Henry 7y ago
From what I've read, the virus can be a pretty nasty and long one even for those that recover from it. https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/reporters-notebook-life-and-death-in-a-wuhan-coronavirus-icu https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/reporters-notebo...
mantap 7y ago
The mortality rate is unknown. The best estimate is on the order of 1%, but it could be a factor of 10 either way. The mortality rate will be different depending on the health system, since a significant number of people with this virus require either supplementary oxygen or more seriously ICU care. If this were to become an epidemic in India for example, a higher mortality rate would be expected. In Africa it could be severely bad due to the large numbers of people with AIDS and the tendency of this virus to suppress the immune system.
- Cantbekhan 7y ago
  Also Sub Saharan Africa only has 2 labs (South Africa and Senegal) capable of technically confirming cases. Which might be a reason there aren't any confirmed cases on the continent.
  - krn 7y ago
    > Which might be a reason there aren't any confirmed cases on the continent. There is not a single confirmed case of coronavirus in the entire Central and Eastern Europe, yet[1]. Most likely because there are almost no direct flights from Asia to this region, since it lacks major international metropolitan areas and global tourist attractions. [1] https://ig.ft.com/autograph/graphics/coronavirus-map.svg https://ig.ft.com/autograph/graphics/coronavirus-map.svg
    - mantap 7y ago
      There are strong links between sub-saharan Africa and China as China has been heavily investing there and there are many Chinese people there. So we would definitely expect to see some cases there by now.
    - biztos 7y ago
      Hungary has a pretty big Chinese community mostly in Budapest, plus plenty of Chinese tourists, and I would assume there was a lot travel around the New Year. If we are guessing about why (and whether) there is no Coronavirus in CE Europe, “no Chinese” is probably not a good guess.
platz 7y ago
The current outbreak is expanding exponentially, with a frequency of approximately 20% severe infections requiring advanced respiratory supportive care. Mortality is at least 3%, and probably higher given the time lag between reported infections and deaths. Analysis of Wuhan Coronavirus Deja Vu: Conclusions http://virological.org/uploads/short-url/z0cOhZzme3C6HtlcOcE61uMwJmU.pdf http://virological.org/uploads/short-url/z0cOhZzme3C6HtlcOcE...
sn56 7y ago
Well this is the typical French reaction to a slightly hot day. For sure.
- petre 7y ago
  It's the appropriate reaction in this case however.

cs702 7y ago

> I'm not afraid of the sanitary aspect of this virus. I don't think the mortality is extremely alarming per se. Agree. It seems to be most like another global strand of flu.

xapata 7y ago
And the flu kills 10s of thousands annually in the US, despite our widespread vaccination system.
platz 7y ago
Do doctors typically suit up in full biohazard gear when confronting flu?
- nelblu 7y ago
  > Do doctors typically suit up in full biohazard gear when confronting flu? This was posted earlier on HN Life and Death in a Wuhan Coronavirus ICU - https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/reporters-notebook-life-and-death-in-a-wuhan-coronavirus-icu https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/reporters-notebo...

James_Henry 7y ago

From what I've read, the virus can be a pretty nasty and long one even for those that recover from it. https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/reporters-notebook-life-and-death-in-a-wuhan-coronavirus-icu https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/reporters-notebo...

mantap 7y ago

The mortality rate is unknown. The best estimate is on the order of 1%, but it could be a factor of 10 either way. The mortality rate will be different depending on the health system, since a significant number of people with this virus require either supplementary oxygen or more seriously ICU care. If this were to become an epidemic in India for example, a higher mortality rate would be expected. In Africa it could be severely bad due to the large numbers of people with AIDS and the tendency of this virus to suppress the immune system.

Cantbekhan 7y ago
Also Sub Saharan Africa only has 2 labs (South Africa and Senegal) capable of technically confirming cases. Which might be a reason there aren't any confirmed cases on the continent.
- krn 7y ago
  > Which might be a reason there aren't any confirmed cases on the continent. There is not a single confirmed case of coronavirus in the entire Central and Eastern Europe, yet[1]. Most likely because there are almost no direct flights from Asia to this region, since it lacks major international metropolitan areas and global tourist attractions. [1] https://ig.ft.com/autograph/graphics/coronavirus-map.svg https://ig.ft.com/autograph/graphics/coronavirus-map.svg
  - mantap 7y ago
    There are strong links between sub-saharan Africa and China as China has been heavily investing there and there are many Chinese people there. So we would definitely expect to see some cases there by now.
  - biztos 7y ago
    Hungary has a pretty big Chinese community mostly in Budapest, plus plenty of Chinese tourists, and I would assume there was a lot travel around the New Year. If we are guessing about why (and whether) there is no Coronavirus in CE Europe, “no Chinese” is probably not a good guess.

platz 7y ago

The current outbreak is expanding exponentially, with a frequency of approximately 20% severe infections requiring advanced respiratory supportive care. Mortality is at least 3%, and probably higher given the time lag between reported infections and deaths. Analysis of Wuhan Coronavirus Deja Vu: Conclusions http://virological.org/uploads/short-url/z0cOhZzme3C6HtlcOcE61uMwJmU.pdf http://virological.org/uploads/short-url/z0cOhZzme3C6HtlcOcE...

sn56 7y ago

Well this is the typical French reaction to a slightly hot day. For sure.

petre 7y ago
It's the appropriate reaction in this case however.