If the most vulnerable persons were identified and isolated, there really would be no reason for the rest of us to be shuttered. My father is 91 and in a nursing home. I haven't seen him in weeks. And if this goes on long enough, I may never see him again. But the facility he is in must be locked down to keep the virus out. That I understand, tough as it is. But I don't understand the need to lock me and my family down, too. We are not in a high risk group. And anyone who is, like my father, shouldn't be able to be exposed anyway. It really doesn't make any sense.

By all accounts, the survival rate is in excess of 98.5%.

A prominent economist predicted this week that there will be far more people financially destroyed by the Coronavirus than are killed by it.

You can be a carrier of the virus and be able to spread it, and not even have the symptoms.

https://www.sciencealert.com/here-s...ose-who-can-pass-corona-without-symptoms

And who qualifies as most vulnerable? Yes, it seems to kill the elderly disproportionately. But young people have dropped dead from it even after having been admitted and released from the hospital.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/c...irus-kills-some-young-people/ar-BB12c0gu

You can rebuild your life after this is all done. But you can't rebuild your life if you are dead. The attitude you are taking is just selfish from my point of view. Ok so we isolate only the high risk group of individuals and the rest of you get infected and most survive. Who is going to take care of all the people you isolated? You bunch of infected people? I don't want you anywhere near me, fixing my meals, bringing me food, or life's necessities. I'm so sorry you are inconvenienced by all this and have to suffer the horror of not going out to work, eat, or whatever else it is that you feel is so important that it eclipses the safety and well being of others. I'll stop there before I go any further.

The man in the MSN article was 30 years old. And died at home with no medical care although his wife had already tested positive. In hind sight, he might have handled that better.

At any rate, the mortality rate for a 30 year old is not more that .2%. Probably lower once a better understanding of how many people are actually infected. So, that example is a real anomaly. That exact thing happens every year with the flu, too and we don't shut the country down for it.

He is certainly not the only one. If every 30 something in the world is infected and .2% of them die how many people is that?

Man, get a grip. You are really overreacting. Too much CNN, maybe.

Who is taking care of those isolated (like my 91yo father) now? The thing is, you take as many precautions as you can.

I'll ask again, what is statistically different about this Coronavirus? The only real difference is the hype. And the emotional overreaction displayed here. Nothing based on facts, just emotions.

My business is classified as essential. So, other than not being able to see my dad (which I understand), I have not had much inconvenience at all. So, having said that, am I still selfish? My concern is not for myself. At least not financially. We'll be fine. My concern is for what I see happening to friends and neighbors. And I can't help but ask, is it really necessary? You emphatically say yes. Me? I'm not so sure.

Once again, about the same as every year with influenza. The ONLY difference here is the hype and notoriety. Do a little research.

Maybe you missed this part of the story...

"At the hospital, Ben received oxygen and responded well, Brandy said. They gave him fluids and Tylenol and then sent him home that same evening. "Keep doing what you're doing at home," they said.' In other words - went to the hospital on Friday. At the hospital he looked well enough after some treatment to be sent home. Doing well at home Sunday. Sunday evening having issues breathing. Dead Monday morning...

But hey, it's your life, and the lives of everyone you come in contact with....have you been tested? Are you sure you're not a carrier? Are you sure the people you will encounter aren't carriers?

My wife just told me that here in MICH we can go out fishing... BUT when you go/in into the launch ramp
the DNR will ask to see proof of where you live and the persons on the boat better have the same
address.. if not you get a $500-$1000 ticket at the boat ramp... that is FACT

Statistically the entire population has some form of immunity to most viruses. Even the common flu you are somewhat resistant to, especially if you had a flu shot for that year. Even if there were to be a giant "measles outbreak" today, the vast majority of folks have been vaccinated and have little to worry about. Perhaps a booster is needed, but they can administer vaccines immediate and people have the antibodies to fight it already.

The difference here with COVID is that there appears to be little-to-no immunity to it. Some people can fight off with mild symptoms, some do not. Timing is a huge problem. When the general population gets the same illness at the same time, which can greatly consume machines which are not plentiful [ventilators], the system reaches capacity extremely fast. Even then, those people are spending 14-21days on a vent, rather than the typical 3-4 days. For every severe patient that exceeds the capacity of local facilities is pretty much a 1-for-1 death. People go from staying at home with a fever to dead within 12-48hours.

That said, this is the same mindset that took Italy by storm. Italy currently has a 12.3% death rate. [that's a lot]. 15,887 deaths for 128,948 cases. I understand in the grand scheme of things, the numbers aren't astronomical, but it is a pretty ruthless illness that is extremely contagious in close quarters.

The whole goal of this exercise is to make it seem like an over-reaction, that is ideal! People get back to their lives, people recover, life is good. It's quickly reaching a point to where it's not an over-reaction, people are not doing what they should be doing and will continue to make things worse. States are being left to fend for themselves and Governors, many of which have never dealt with a situation remotely to this magnitude are left to their gut feeling for guidance.

I feel like the 100k-240k death projections for the US is extremely low, but we shall see.

Wife and I went to the grocery store today. We live on the border of Detroit and drove about an hour north to more rural area (not country) to a large chain store. This is the 2nd time we've done this in a week. The store was WELL stocked except anything paper product or disinfectant. There were limits on 2 of most items like meat or water bottles. We bough $400 worth of food Thurs and another $300 today. We don't PLAN on going shopping for at LEAST a month. We both wore N95 3M masks from Home Depot (I have a few left at my shop that I use when handling fiberglass insulation) and black, nitrile gloves. I felt like I looked paranoid BUT I cant believe how many people, even though everyone was respectful of spacing, weren't wearing masks or gloves AND HAD YOUNG CHILDREN WITH THEM. I'm not paranoid and not afraid to die but at 57 I feel I've worked DAMN HARD for 45 years from a paper route at 12 to my own small business and I'd be PISSED to go drowning in my own fluids through no fault of my own. I don't drink (well an Old Fashioned every couple weeks) or smoke, could lose 15-20lbs but I am VERY physically active at work for 12-18 hours every day. Even today, Sunday.

Good luck to all that don't take this as serious. Prepare for the worst. Hope for the best.

Some will take this serious, others.....

I haven't watched TV in over 2 weeks and still don't have any TV here. Never watched CNN. I hear ABC news and local news on the one radio station we get. So most of my information comes from the internet. We will see what happens in the coming weeks with the peak expected around the first of May. As for me, I'm staying out here in the woods for as long as I can.

Perhaps it is this statement that makes me think you are being selfish and not as concerned about your neighbors as you are yourself.

Wow.......now I understand why some people need to be told to isolate themselves, yet they can’t understand.

I know right? I guess the overwhelmed health care system, shortage of hospital beds, ventilators and the amount of people infected world wide in just a few short months just isn't enough to convince them.
What I want to know is, if as has been contended, this is no worse than any other annual flu, then why are hospital ships being pulled into ports on both coasts? Why don't we hear about hospitals being overwhelmed every year with annual flu victims? And I guess every country on the planet is over reacting as well and only a few chosen people know better.

Isn't there already an official coronavirus thread at the top of the page? Since the OP posted his info in that thread, why not share all of your thoughts there?

If you really isolate yourself, what does it matter what anyone else does? This is not the first time that this kind of thing has hit in recent memory. Although it is usually an influenza, this happens to be cold. But this is the first time that the United States economy has been shut down over any of it.

If a 98.5%+ survival rate isn't proof enough that this isn't that much different than other recent flus, what would be? 99%? And it just might be that high. The only real difference in this is the rapidity of it's progression. And the constant hyping. But overall, it is not that much different than many other recent flus. Although some have been much, much deadlier than this one.

"From April 12, 2009 to April 10, 2010, CDC estimated there were 60.8 million cases (range: 43.3-89.3 million), 274,304 hospitalizations (range: 195,086-402,719), and 12,469 deaths (range: 8868-18,306) in the United States due to the (H1N1)pdm09 virus."
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/2009-h1n1-pandemic.html

Obviously, they don't even know really how many cases or deaths there were due to the H1N1 because it was just another influenza albeit more deadly.

Why didn't we shutter the economy on that one? It did roll out somewhat slower than this one. But the end numbers may very well be quite similar. Is the only difference the time frame?

Look at the CDC's own numbers. Look at what some of our other leading medical centers report. That is my point. This is just not that astronomical of an event.

Not going to engage with you any longer until you answer my questions. You apparently can't see the forest for the trees.

Well 71TA, weeding thru the few "thread crapper troll" comments on here I hope your daughters friend can spend that "$13K a week" after this is all done. Wish them the best of luck and thanks. I do not have a Primary Doctor. I have a Primary PA and am very happy to have a PA.