The healthcare system is only under stress in a few certain areas. Not the whole nation. In my own county, as of today, there is only one confirmed case and she is at home, in isolation and recovering. As are almost 99% of the known infected.

This pandemic is causing more infections and deaths than some years, but not as many as others. Data proves that, all you have to do is look. This virus has come on fast and has had an unusually high demand for ventilators. So the bad news is more concentrated both in time and in the locations where your news originates.

The news have been covering the Comfort in New York quite a lot and as of today there were 20 patients on board. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/nyregion/ny-coronavirus-usns-comfort.html

Oh, and by the way, "in 2015, the New York State Task Force on Life and the Law noted that New York would need to purchase thousands of ventilators in the event of a major outbreak, as well as train additional personnel in how to use them. Instead of following through on these potential lifesaving measures, Governor Andrew Cuomo's administration sought ways to cut healthcare spending; endorsing the Task Force's November 2015 Ventilator Allocation Guidelines. This is a 272-page report that essentially discusses how to determine which patients will or will not receive respiratory assistance in a severe outbreak. Quoting from the report, page 37: New York State has stockpiled 1,750 ventilators to help reduce ventilator need in the face of the moderate scenario; however, there are no current plans to buy enough ventilators for the most severe model. The State's current approach to stockpiling a limited number of ventilators balances the need to prepare for a potential pandemic against the need to maintain adequate funding for current and ongoing health care expenses. Furthermore, severe staffing shortages are anticipated, and purchasing additional ventilators beyond a threshold will not save additional lives, because there will not be an enough trained staff to operate them. In the event of an overwhelming burden on the health care system, New York will not have sufficient ventilators to meet critical care needs despite its emergency stockpile. If the most severe forecast becomes a reality, New York State and the rest of the country will need to allocate ventilators and other scarce resources".

In 2015 New York knew that they would not have enough ventilators nor enough trained personnel to operate them. And did nothing.

I arrived at my opinion with data primarily from the CDC. But I also have information from Mayo Clinic and other top US health institutions and have saved you the trouble of doing any research by providing links to those sources. So far, you are regurgitating news reports. I haven't seen you list a single reference source. Show us some comparatives that prove this event is enough worse than similar recent events to shutter the entire country. That is the crux of my position. And I have tried to support that position with links to nationally accredited disease centers. What are your sources other than news reports, most of which originate from the epicenters of the Coronavirus. They have no perspective.

You are welcome to your own opinion, but not your own facts. Why don't you supply some facts from reliable sources. You want to throw your opinion around and call me names, but you neither acknowledge nor dispute any of the sources I have referenced. Why is that?

The CDC says that almost 99% of those known to be infected, fully recover. Can you dispute that? That would seem to be more significant that an empty hospital ship on the east coast.

Most of my information has come from links posted in the virus thread. I can't post links from this crappy tablet I have here, trust me I've tried numerous times. You do what ever you have to do and I'll do what I have to do. I didn't call you any names that I know of, I said I felt you were being selfish with that attitude and I still feel that way. Hope you and your family don't get sick.

This is a hugely exaggerated crisis perpetrated by people hell bent on transforming the world in a way that does not benefit anyone but the puppeteers.
Follow the money to see who benefits from all of this.

Oh jeebus, more tin foil hat conspiracy theroies. Yeah I know, China locked down an entire province because this is no big deal. Tell the Italians it was no big deal all their loved ones died. The Chinese want to kill me, now you guys kill me. Good Lord is it any wonder this world is in the state it is in? You people have gone insane.

I used to respect the older dudes because I thought that they had lived long enough to see things, learn things and know things. I now see that some older people have dodged bullets all their lives and many are no smarter than people half their age. Warning labels, civil obedience and who knows what else have protected the weak and the stupid from an early demise. It used to be that only the strong survived. The older you get, the more cautious you become.
I don't dismiss this virus entirely, I just see it as a matter of opportunity for some very influential people. Just because it sounds way out there doesn't mean that it has to be invalid.
Remember "The Usual Suspects" ?
The greatest trick the Devil every played was to convince the world that he didn't exist.
It may be unlikely but it isn't impossible.
I prefer to keep my mind open to many possibilities. I also am skeptical at the same time. Seems smarter than to hunker down and do everything that the MAN says to do.

Will some profit off of this? Absolutely. Many more however will go broke. Was this virus man made? Possibly, however research says that is unlikely. Was it unleashed on the world intentially? Also possible but most likely not. Accidental release? Also possible. Natures way of cleansing itself? Very probable.

This has gone off topic, so let's keep it contained to the pinned thread.