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Please Social Distance Now before it’s too late – a reblog I’m urging you to read

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I’m not a doctor and I’ve never used Monkey Miles politically, but I have been practicing Social Distancing myself and pleaded with everyone I know to do the same. I don’t repost entire articles, but these are extraordinary times and the information contained in them need as much exposure as possible. If you’re reading this, please use their links to share – not mine.  I’m purely trying to get it in as many faces as possible.

The following Facebook post is long, but the math presents an over-whelming catastrophe we have a chance at minimizing and getting under control. I implore you to apply it to your location to understand how dire things could get.  This isn’t just about the elderly, everyone will be affected.

This is from Jason Warner via Facebook

This is a long post addressing two underlying issues with the current response to the pandemic that leave me concerned. It’s the longest post I’ve ever written.

For those of you not taking action, or believing the pandemic to be “over hyped”, you can make fun of me as much as you want now or when this is over. You can make me the subject of memes and post it everywhere. I will pose for the picture. I am not trying to convince you, but I do feel compelled to share information that I deem critical to all of us, which is why I am posting this at all.

WHY YOU SHOULD TAKE 5 MINUTES TO READ AND CONSIDER THE INFORMATION I AM SHARING:

As of 3/15/20 at 9 am PST this post has been shared over 50k times since it was posted 2 days ago. So a lot of people find value in the post and although it’s a long read, I believe you will find this information valuable too.

For those of you who don’t know me well, I am analytical and metered. I don’t freak out nor do I respond emotionally. I also don’t post a bunch of bullshit or political or controversial stuff on Facebook. I founded and am CEO of a successful software company that provides SaaS based data, analytics, and dashboards to recruiting departments at companies we all know. As you would expect, I am data driven and fact based. Before founding my company I held executive roles leading very large recruiting teams at some of the world’s fastest growing companies such as Starbucks and Google. At Google I was fortunate enough to report to Sheryl Sandberg before she took the Facebook COO role. I was a Chemical Engineering major in college and have a business degree from a top undergraduate business school. I am not one for hyperbole or histrionics. My bullshit factor is close to zero.

I share all this personal information only to help solidify that this post may be worth reading and sharing with others. I would encourage you to forward or share this post at your discretion. Many people do not understand what is happening with the pandemic to the degree required which is why I took the time to write this and share this on Facebook.

Now that I’ve gotten the introduction out of the way, here are two issues I want to bring to everyone’s attention.

ISSUE ONE: SOCIAL NORMS ARE POWERFUL MOTIVATORS AND GETTING IN THE WAY OF PEOPLE TAKING THE RIGHT STEPS IN RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC:

One of the current problems with addressing the pandemic is the social pressures of taking action today. It’s awkward, and feels like an over-reaction. The reason it feels like an overreaction is that most people OVERWEIGHT the currently reported cases and inherently UNDERWEIGHT the mathematics of how the virus is spreading and what will happen in about 30 days time. This is because our brains tend to think linearly as opposed to logarithmically. It’s the same reason many people don’t save for retirement or understand compound interest.

To create a new social norm, human beings like to see behavior modeled. This serves as a signal that says, “oh, someone else is doing it so I should do it also.”

SO HERE IS A SOCIAL BENCHMARK FOR REFERENCE – THIS IS WHAT I’VE DONE FOR MY FAMILY TO DATE:

I have already isolated my family. We have canceled EVERYTHING. We have canceled previously scheduled doctor visits. Social get togethers. No play dates. Normal routine meetings. Everything has been canceled. It’s difficult and socially awkward. Some of you think I’m crazy, but I’m doing it not because I am afraid, but because I am good at math (more on that in part 2). I had to have my 16 year old daughter quit her job coaching junior gymnasts at the local gym, with one day’s notice and also tell my kids they can’t attend youth group at church. Both of those were tough discussions. I told a very close friend he shouldn’t stay at my house this weekend even though he was planning to and had booked his flight from the Bay Area. I canceled another dear friend’s visit for later this month to go snowboarding on Mt Bachelor.

We are not eating out. Our kids are already doing online school so we don’t have to make changes there. I would not send my kids to school even if they were in public or private school. We have eliminated all non-essential contact with other people. We will only venture out to grocery shop when required. We will still go outside to parks, go mountain biking, hiking, and recreate to keep ourselves sane and do other things as a family, just not with other people. We have stocked up on food and have a supply for ~2 months. We have stocked up on other goods that if depleted would create hardship, like medicines and feminine hygiene products. We have planned for shortages of essential items.

THE REASON I HAVE CHOSEN THIS ROUTE FOR MY FAMILY IS MULTI FACETED:

1. Although my family is considered low risk (I’m 49 in good health, Angi is 46 and in good health, and our kids are 14 and 16), we must assume that the healthcare system cannot help us, because the hospitals will become overwhelmed very quickly. Most American hospitals will become overwhelmed in approximately 30 days unless something changes. More on this in part 2 below. So although we are in great health and unlikely to become gravely ill, the risk is greater if you do not have access to the medical care that you need. This is something for everyone to consider. As a society we are accustomed to having access to the best medical care available. Our medical system will be overwhelmed unless we practice social distancing at scale. That said, the medical teams in Italy are seeing an alarming number of cases from people in their 40s and 50s. Triage tents are already going up in the parking lots at many hospitals close to the epicenters in the United States.

2. It’s not a matter of if social distancing will take place, it’s a matter of when. This is because social distancing is the only way to stop the virus today.

As I will explain in part 2 below, starting now is FAR more effective than starting even 2 days from now or tomorrow. This has been proven by Italy and China (and soon to be France and other European countries who have been slow to respond.) . Wuhan went on lockdown after roughly 400 cases were identified (and they had access to testing that America has systematically failed to do well to date). The US already has more than 4 times this number of known infected cases as Wuhan did when it was shut down, and our citizens are far more mobile and therefore spreading the virus more broadly when compared to Wuhan. Yet our response is tepid at best.

If hand washing and “being smart” were sufficient Italy would not be in crisis. So I pray the draconian measures are coming from our government, because they are required to stop the spread of the virus. It’s better to start sooner than later as the cost is actually far greater if we wait. I pray they close all schools and non-essential services the way that Italy and China have done.

3. Spreading the virus puts those in the high-risk category at much greater risk. This is the moral argument. It’s a strong argument because there are only two ways, as of today, that the virus can be stopped: let it run its course and infect 100s of millions of people, or social distancing. There is no other way today. If you don’t practice social distancing, people downstream from you that you transmit the virus to will die, and many will suffer.

4. The risk of infection is increasing exponentially, because the quantity of infected people, most who will not show symptoms, is doubling every three days. So the longer you wait to self-isolate, the greater the chance of you or someone you love becoming infected and then you infecting others because more of the population is becoming infected. There are twice as many infected people today as there was on Tuesday.

5. The virus is already in your town. It’s everywhere. Cases are typically only discovered when someone gets sick enough to seek medical attention. This is important as it typically takes ~5 days to START showing ANY symptoms. Here’s the math: For every known case there are approximately 50 unknown cases. This is because if I become sick, I infect several people today, and they infect a few people each tomorrow (as do I), and the total count of infected people doubles every 3 days until I get so sick I get hospitalized or get tested and become a “known case”. But in the time it takes me to figure out I am sick 50 others downline from me now have the virus. So every third day the infection rate doubles until I get so sick that I realize I have the virus an am hospitalized or otherwise tested. Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital estimate that there are 50x more infections than known infections as reported (citation below). The implication of this is that the virus is already “everywhere” and spreading regardless if your city has zero, few or many reported cases. So instead of the 1573 reported known cases today there are likely 78,650 cases, at least, in the United States. Which will double to 157,300 by this Sunday. And this will double to 314,600 cases by this coming Wednesday. So in less than 1 week the number of total infected in the United States will quadruple. This is the nature of exponential math. It’s actually unfortunate that we are publishing the figures for known cases as it diverts attention away from more important numbers (like the range of estimated actual cases).

6. Some people cannot, or will not, practice social distancing for a variety of reasons and will continue to spread the virus to many people. So everyone else must start today.

The reasons above are why I have begun to practice social distancing. It’s not easy. But you should do it too.

The hospitals will be at capacity and there are not enough ventilators. You will hear a lot about this issue in the coming few weeks… the shortage of ventilators.

ISSUE TWO: MANY PEOPLE ARE FOCUSED ON THE WRONG NUMBERS:

Yes, the virus only kills a small percentage of those afflicted. Yes, the flu kills 10s of thousands of people annually. Yes, 80% of people will experience lightweight symptoms with COVID19. Yes the mortality rate of COVID19 is relatively low (1-2%). All of this true, but is immaterial. They are the wrong numbers to focus on…

The nature of exponential math is that the infection rates start slowly, and then goes off like a bomb and overwhelms the hospitals. You will understand this math clearly in the next section if you do the short math exercise. Evergreen hospital in Seattle is already in triage. I have heard credible reports from people on the ground that they are already becoming overwhelmed. And the bomb won’t really go off for a few more days. Probably by Wednesday, March 18th (next week). In just a few days from now we will hear grave reports from Seattle hospitals.

You should assume the virus is everywhere at this point, even if you have no confirmed cases in your area.

YOU SHOULD DO THIS SIMPLE 2 MINUTE MATH EXERCISE (NO REALLY TAKE TWO MINUTES AND DO IT):

To further understand exponential growth, take the number of confirmed cases in your area and multiply by 10 (or 50 if you believe Harvard and Massachusetts General estimations) to account for the cases that are not yet confirmed. If you have no confirmed cases choose a small number. I’d suggest 10 cases in your city, if no cases are yet reported. But you can use whatever number you like. This number of infected people doubles every ~3 days as the infection spreads. So literally take your number, and multiply by 2. Then do it again. Then do it again. Then do it again. Do this multiplication exercise 10 times in total.

2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x (the number of estimated infections in your city today (not just the reported cases)).

This result is the estimate for the actual cases in your area 30 days from now. The math will take 30 seconds to complete with a calculator and it’s worth doing the math to see how it grows. This end number is the number of cases in your city 30 days from today if a large percentage of the population do not practice social distancing.

2 to the 10th power is 1024. When something doubles 10 times, it’s the same as multiplying by 1024. The infection rate of the virus doubles every 3 days. In thirty days there will be 1,024 times the number of infected people in your area as there is today if your community does not immediately put social distancing into practice. One thousand and twenty four times as many infected people as there is today, in just 30 days.

Next, divide the final number (the scary big one) you just calculated by the current population of your city and you will be able to get the percentage of people THAT YOU KNOW PERSONALLY who will be infected 30 days from now.

Next take 15% (multiply by 0.15) of that final 30 day number of total infected people (the number you calculated by multiplying by 2 ten times). This will provide an estimate of the serious cases which will require hospitalization, and compare it to the number of beds and ventilators available at your local hospital. Google the “number of beds” and the name of your local hospital now. It takes 2 seconds and the number of beds is easy to find. 65% of beds are already occupied by patients unrelated to the coronavirus. St Charles in Bend, Oregon where I live, has 226 beds and the town is roughly 100,000 people. Most hospitals have on average, 40 or fewer ventilators. 5% of patients require ICU treatment. There are very few ICU beds compared to regular beds in hospitals. There are very few negative pressure areas in any hospital to deal with the containment of airborne diseases.

These numbers you just calculated are the Big Problem: Too many patients, not enough beds, and a serious shortage of ventilators (the biggest problem) if we don’t immediately begin social distancing. More on this biggest problem related to the insufficient quantity of ventilators is below.

COUNTRIES THAT GET OVERWHELMED WILL HAVE A MUCH GREATER MORTALITY RATE BECAUSE THEY WON’T BE ABLE TO ADEQUATELY CARE FOR THE SICK.

And by sick I mean not just coronavirus patients. Your son or daughter that needs acute care surgery this May for his badly broken leg will be attended to by an orthopedic doctor that has been working at maximum capacity and working 18 hour shifts for 7 days every week for 6 weeks because it was required to care for all the coronavirus patients at her hospital. Or the orthopedic surgeon will be sick with the virus and your son or daughter will be operated on in a tent in the hospital parking lot by a non-expert or a member of the National Guard. Your elderly Mom that has diabetes and goes into acute distress next month may not receive ANY medical care because the doctors are consumed and have to prioritize patients based on triage guidelines based on success rate probabilities. Your sibling’s family that are all injured in a terrible car crash in June will have diminished care. If one of them needs a ventilator there will be none available because all of them will be in use by critical coronavirus patients. Your young friend with cancer and a compromised immune system from treatment will succumb even though the cancer was curable and the treatment was working, because their body was too fragile to combat the coronavirus due to the chemotherapy and they couldn’t receive the customized, acute care required due to the hospital being overwhelmed. All of the above is currently happening in Italy, who had the same number of infections we have today just 2 weeks ago. You must start social distancing today.

The count of actual virus infections doubles every ~3 days. The news and government agencies are lagging in their response. So we hear that the US only has 1573 cases today (3/12/20) . Extreme social distancing is the only response available to stop the virus today. The United States is not responding well nor are other countries like the UK. Countries that do not respond well will pay a much larger, catastrophic price.

But hospital beds are not the big problem. The lack of ventilators is the big problem. Most estimates peg the ventilators in the United States at roughly 100,000 to 150,000 units. See the study from last month: http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/…/200214-VentilatorA…

The primary and most serious comorbid (comorbid is a medical term that means co-existing or happening at the same time) condition brought on by the Coronavirus is something called bilateral interstitial pneumonia which requires ventilators for treatment of seriously ill patients. So if 1.5M people of the 10 million infected 30 days from now require hospital care (15% of the 10M estimated total infections), 1.3M may not get the care that they need because we don’t have enough ventilators, beds, and ICU beds in the United States. And remember, this is only if ALL OF US EFFECTIVELY start social distancing by April 11th (30 days from today). This increases the mortality rate significantly.

BUT IF WE START EXTREME SOCIAL DISTANCING BY MARCH 23 (12 days from original writing), WE AVOID OVER 1.4 MILLION PEOPLE GETTING CRITICALLY ILL AND OVERWHELMING THE HOSPITALS:

If everyone takes extreme measures to social distance, and the United States can dramatically reduce the spread of the virus 12 days from now, the math is very different, as the exponential growth will only be 2 to the 4th power (12 days divided by the doubling rate of every 3 days equals the exponent of 4):

2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 16

So instead of 10 Million cases in the United States if we wait 30 days, if we act 18 days sooner, we will have only 160,000 cases (16 times the estimated 10,000 actual cases as of today), of which 15% are likely to require hospitalization. This is 24,000 critical patients (a huge difference compared to 1.5 million acute patients). The difference between taking extreme measures now, versus waiting even a few days, is very large due to how exponents work in math.

THE OUTCOME IS EVEN BETTER IF WE TAKE ACTION IN THE NEXT 6 DAYS: If the vast majority of the population self isolates and implements social distancing in only 6 days from now the exponential math is 2 to the 2nd power (6 days divided by the 3 days it takes the virus to double means the exponent is only 2). In math this is “two squared”.

2 x 2 = 4

Multiplied by the estimated 10,000 ACTUAL cases as of today (3/12/20) that means only 40,000 total cases will develop, 15% of which may be critical which is 6,000 critical patients.

This is why you should share this post broadly. If people begin social distancing in the next 6 days it will greatly reduce the impact on all of us. It’s why they say a “post goes viral”.

SOCIAL DISTANCING WILL REDUCE THE FINANCIAL IMPACT TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY:

Finally, the longer everyone waits to practice significant social distancing the greater the economic hardship will be on all of us. Lost jobs. Mortgage defaults. Closed businesses. Bankruptcies. All will be minimized if you start social distancing today.

Some of the reasons the economic impacts will be reduced are worth mentioning: If we stop the virus now the overall duration of the outbreak will be far shorter. The stock market will normalize more quickly and recover more quickly. Businesses and people will be able to survive a shorter duration outbreak vs a longer duration outbreak. More companies will avoid bankruptcy if we begin to practice social distancing now.

This is a big financial reason to begin social distancing if you are employed by any company: if companies see that the virus is being slowed, they will be less likely to conduct layoffs. You will be more likely to be laid off or experience a job-related event if we don’t practice social distancing immediately. As an HR executive, I’ve been involved in many, many layoffs. It’s the last thing companies want to do. But if they see that the pandemic will be shorter lived vs long and drawn out, they are less likely to make the permanent decision of laying off staff.

The overall economic impact that hits your bank account will be greater if you wait or you don’t practice social distancing. This is why Norway acted now, because it’s less economic impact to take drastic measures early than to do them later, and it saves a lot of lives and suffering by doing so. And Norway has only one confirmed death as of this writing.

Many people have suggested they want to support local restaurants and other businesses, who have seen sales drop by 50-90%. Stopping by and visiting them won’t save them. What will save them is social distancing and what you do after the pandemic is over. If you are concerned, call them and buy a gift certificate over the phone.

START TODAY. I CAN’T STRESS THIS ENOUGH. YOU MUST START TODAY.

Finally, the article that I posted yesterday written by Tomas Pueyo has been read 30M times in the last few days and has been updated with new information. It’s worth reading again.

Here’s that link.

https://medium.com/…/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-d…

Other up to date data I frequently consult regarding the pandemic is here:

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

I hope this is helpful and useful. My brain focuses on the math and I try and be fact based in my analysis and interpretation of how I should respond.

THERE IS MORE INFORMATION IN THE COMMENTS BELOW WORTH READING AND I WILL BE UPDATING THIS POST, AND THE COMMENTS, WITH MORE INFORMATION, (AS OPPOSED TO CREATING NEW POSTS).

MY FINAL PARTING THOUGHT: Please share or forward this post at your discretion. If everyone shares this post and two of your friends share this post and so on, we use the power of exponential math to work in our favor, which seems appropriate given the virus is using that same exponential math against us.

HOW YOU CAN REALLY HELP: If you know people who have large numbers of followers, or people in the media, please leverage your personal relationship with them and ask them to amplify this post by sharing it.

For people not on Facebook you can email or text the link. It would be useful to get the post on Twitter and LinkedIn. If you know people in government this fact-based post may help inform them to make the best decisions.

It’s time for us humans to go on the offensive against the virus. We must fight back.

There is only one way to do so: Social Distancing.

Do it today.

NOTE: Anyone, including the media, is free to use this post, any related content, in all or in part, for any purpose, in any format, with no attribution required. Please direct message me if you have other ideas for how to raise awareness.

Finally, I can no longer keep up with friend requests given how much this post has been shared. To receive updates or follow me, please use the “Follow” button on Facebook.

Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

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12 Comments

  • beth March 16, 2020

    Thank you for this article. My parents are still set on trying to go on a cruise and I am going to point them here. Everyone needs to do their part to flatten the curve.

    I appreciate your use of math in this, but would you ever consider adding some graphs or an easy to follow example in a separate post? I have a STEM degree but I know several people who would have given up early on. I know that’s on them, but I’d love to send people to it. Just a thought. Thanks again for the post.

  • GRD March 16, 2020

    Thank you for posting this sobering and yet reflective opinion piece. Trump will never rise to the leader that the USA and world needs because he is a pathological liar, blame shifter, is a piece of excrement and he thinks of no one except himself. He has always been that way and he will until the day he dies. I heard say that he blames the COVID-19 issue, what he calls a “foreign” virus or “Chinese” virus (more xenophobia and racism) on Obama, and of course, by extension Abraham Lincoln, who freed the slaves. So it’s all LINCOLN’S fault! How can you seriously believe in anyone who says “I take no reasonability for anything.”? That’s the first words of truth I have heard out this man’s mouth.

  • Jon Gassett March 16, 2020

    Overall your passion is very valid, but sometimes “math guys” can overlook the importance of the numbers. Your focus on how quick the population can get the virus is very valid. However doesn’t your “dooms day” warning also rely equally or more on the “15%” factor yoou barely mention. No comment on the 15% number, just use it! Doesn’t your warnings deserve some comment on the 15% rate? If the rate is more like 5% for example that changes your warning significantly. Nice to point out in your article that we are “looking at the wrong numbers…” but again as you describe yourself as a numbers guy, some mention of the the rate that people will need medical attention deseves some discussion (unless I missed that part?)

  • Rose March 16, 2020

    This is an important post. Thank you.

  • Mike March 16, 2020

    I appreciate your concern. There are definitely a lot of big scary numbers being thrown around. Here’s why I am not as concerned. The fatality rate that is being presented is based on number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 divided by the number of known cases. But according to the post, it’s estimated that the actual number of cases is 50x the known number of cases – “So instead of the 1573 reported known cases today there are likely 78,650 cases, at least, in the United States.” The post says 15% of infected people will require hospitalization. (I don’t see a source for this number). Assuming that it is correct, that would be 235 of the 1573 known cases required hospitalization. But if I use the “likely 78,650 cases”, the hospitalization rate is 0.3%. And the same goes for the death rate. I keep hearing two things over and over. One, “it’s much worse than the regular flu, the death rate is 3%”. Two, “It’s worse than you think because the symptoms are typically so mind most people don’t know they have it. If we tested everyone there would be a lot more cases.” More testing = more known cases. More known cases = lower hospitalization and death percentages. Using the worst case number presented, 10,000,000 infections in 30 days, that’s a total of 30,000 hospitalizations and 4,000 deaths. Not great but certainly not as bad as this post makes it seem.

    Stay calm, wash your hands. We survived the H1N1 pandemic (From April 12, 2009 to April 10, 2010, CDC estimated there were 60.8 million cases, 274,304 hospitalizations, and 12,469 deaths in the United States due to the (H1N1)pdm09 virus). We will survive this.

  • Kate March 16, 2020

    Thank you for sharing this post! I’ve been social distancing for almost two weeks and it’s not easy, but I remind myself of other challenges people have faced, and in that context, in my warm, comfortable house with plenty of food and the infinite possibilities of the internet, it seems ridiculous to complain too much.
    People are having a hard time comprehending that the issue is not just saving the lives of people who are hospitalized for Coronavirus, it’s about not crashing the medical system for people who need it for so many other reasons.

  • Your daddy March 16, 2020

    Or maybe this is the world’s way of saying it’s over populated…

    • Matty Tailwinds March 16, 2020

      William,
      I don’t think you’re an idiot, not least because of your lack of grammatical finese. I think you’re a moron and a bigot. When you call your friends do you typically get their voicemail? Worse yet, do you actually leave a message?

  • William March 16, 2020

    I really appreciate your concern for this topic. I know social distancing is important as well but I hate to tell you that maybe your to optimistic about the American people. I’m American and I can tell you most people are stupid as hell and unaware of what’s going on in the world or organizations like the CDC to social distance.

    I was in line yesterday getting a money order for you know what and a woman I kid you not said “ I’m not gonna wash my hands, I think they want you to use purell because it makes you more sick”

    As many experts have said this will continue to come back until we have a vaccine or the herd situation occurs where most of our population naturally has it and gets over it or becomes immune.

    I’m not saying I know exactly what’s going to happen I’m just telling you your vastly underestimating American stupidity and and lack of desire to trust the government.

    How many people do you think know who the CDC is working at McDonald’s or Walmart? Two of the biggest chains in the country. Let alone would trust the people that have been lying to them as the stock markets tanks and the average person has no idea why.

    Continue to protect your self and those in your community you care about but unfortunately look to Italy to see what we can maybe expect… but we don’t have Italy elderly population you say? … well they don’t have our obesity levels do they? If you look into the data disregarding age temporarily you’ll see that those with cardiovascular issues are the most susceptible. We’re arrogant and think we’re invincible in this country it’s going to take a whole lot more than numbers on a calculator to scare our inept general public.

    Stay hydrated, focus on building your cardiovascular system up (exercise) and eat your greens to build your immune system is the best you can do for yourself and others because likely a good percentage of the world will get this before we get a vaccine (12-18 months). Just hope it doesn’t mutate.

    And last but least watch Contagion everyone while your stuck at home (amazon prime) … best rated pandemic movie so far and very close in story line to our situation right now.

    • Matty Tailwinds March 16, 2020

      William,
      “Most” people are not stupid, but many are ignorant…definitionally unaware. You besmirch your fellow Americans as if there is some viral strain of American stupidity as if stupidity has a nationality. Take for example your first sentence alone and note your apparent inability to understand the differences of “you’re/you are vs. your” likewise for “to vs. too.” Perhaps you’re not stupid or ignorant, but maybe you are based on face value inference of your comment alone. Americans in particular have a healthy dose of skepticism of their government and governance in general. It would be naïve otherwise. Additionally, speak for yourself (take note..that’s one word) when you say “We’re arrogant…” It is precisely your statement that is arrogant and condescending towards your countrymen. How about you love your neighbors and take some damn pride in the gift that is America and her people, you know, the ones the provide outsized charity, defense/protection, technological innovations, entertainment, and economic assistance to the world.

      • William March 16, 2020

        “most” people are not stupid… their ignorant you say?

        stupid definition: having or showing a great lack of intelligence or common sense.

        ignorant definition: lacking knowledge or awareness in general; uneducated or unsophisticated.

        First off there is very little difference in the definition and Americans whether educated or not are UNINFORMED. That is the general basis for stupidity. Is the fact their uninformed make them stupid?… NO… but being uninformed and deciding not to further seek out information or guidance (common sense) makes you stupid. It’s been exhibited throughout our country with people shopping at Costco and Walmart’s panic buying… Costco’s customer base is supposed to be higher class individuals, meaning they likely make more money and are better educated yet are still uninformed and don’t seek to get informed (common sense) that makes them stupid.

        Second, you state “American stupidity as if stupidity has a nationality.” ….. I proclaimed most American’s are stupid as if to say there is NO NATIONALITY. It is common sense based. That mean’s a good portion of Americans (you know a lot of them don’t travel like us) no matter their ethnic background have adopted the idea that America can do no wrong because we are the best. That sense of arrogance creates a lack of what… common sense (stupidity) … that gives us a false sense of security.

        Third, you next jump into correcting my grammar as a point of reference. Often times I mess up my grammar, but you know what just like I tell every other idiot who tries to correct me, intelligent people discuss ideas, idiots point out grammar. You took the time to attempt to point out I could be seen as “stupid” because I used improper grammar yet I was able to communicate my ideas clearly enough that you were able to respond to them weren’t you? they were based in fact and were informed statements so only someone purposely looking past them would point out grammatical errors…. I often see people from other countries comment on peoples post. Their English or the grammar they may be using may not be perfect or correct but I understand what they are saying conceptually and I’m not they IDIOT like yourself who would simply think because someone spelled something wrong they may show a lack of common sense. wow you look STUPID lol.

        Fourth, You said “Americans in particular have a healthy dose of skepticism of their government and governance in general” ……. fine that’s well and good…. how many of those same people that have skepticism go out and do more research on who’s running departments, how their being run, what new policy’s are and how they’ll be enacted…. and how many go on youtube and watch Alex Jones or just outlets providing misinformation and creating their own narrative? again I go back to lack of common sense makes people what… say it with me… STUPID. On top of that I have a friend for example, he’s a really great good guy, works for boys and girls club and I really respect him…. hes so busy with life and hes an extrovert that he doesn’t keep informed or try to stay informed. I’ll send him information to read that will be important and he’ll shrug it off til I mention it on the phone with him. This is the feeling I’m talking about in America. He’s a better case scenario because at least once I tell him information he’ll head my words and pay attention from there on out. Most people, like the woman I mentioned at walmart, I would never even try with because their uneducated and If I a dark skin person try and tell them, people often take it the wrong way or don’t trust my words.

        Fifth, when I say were arrogant… go talk to our military members, the 40% of the country who backs trump and all the Americans who have never traveled or are just generally uninformed ( a huge percentage of Americans) and assume everything is best here and tell me that total number doesn’t add up to a good portion of people. Maybe not most, excuse my language if it bothered so much, how about ENOUGH people who don’t care to be informed or don’t trust information when it’s given that the virus will continue to spread until the outcomes I mention occur.

        also KATIE this statement “in my warm, comfortable house with plenty of food and the infinite possibilities of the internet, it seems ridiculous to complain too much.”

        …. sounds like you must be privileged. Hard to complain from where your sitting huh. But how about the homeless people across the country who have none of that, who lack information and will be last to be cured even if we slow the rate of spread. How about kids at home who don’t have internet or access to school lunches or before and after school programs? It’s people like yourself who think because your situation is good it must be good for everyone else that are the most stupid AND IGNORANT. You live in a bubble and are clearly unable to grasp the greater extent of the situation.

        …As I said before, I want everyone to take precautions, I’m not an idiot republican telling you to go have dinner with your family, I just truly don’t believe a long post like this will persuade anyone who hasn’t already made the decision as you elude to already doing. And anyone uninformed or lacking education by percentage is pretty unlikely to find this article let alone read it or follow its advice.

        Go ahead argue my grammar down again lol

        • Matty Tailwinds March 16, 2020

          William,
          I don’t think you’re an idiot, not least because of your lack of grammatical finese. I think you’re a moron and a bigot. When you call your friends do you typically get their voicemail? Worse yet, do you actually leave a message?

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