Perhaps in the past, earlier in the virus's exponential growth, many people had it but still an order of magnitude less than now. And that order of magnitude is

Perhaps in the past, earlier in the virus's exponential growth, many people had it but still an order of magnitude less than now. And that order of magnitude is the difference between a slammed hospital and a regular day. And because an order of magnitude people less had it, groups like the elderly were an order of magnitude less likely to be exposed en mass.