I wasn't going to bother posting any further comment and I'll take the chance of getting banned for not trotting along with the hysteria.
ASR is supposed to be an evidence based site. It's why I joined. There are hundreds of subjectivist style sites that completely ignore the scientific data and empty your wallet with a form of of hysteria, all based around 'I hear this so it is so.'
There are pages of data on past epidemics that anyone who is at all interested in evidence based reasoning can access.
I rather expected to see some of this in the posting on ASR regarding the current virus, but it seems that common sense and reason has deserted many.
Much like in the world of HiFi, there are a few voices that tell you to measure, reason and build a statistical picture form evidence rather than the hyperbole that has infected the world of HiFi. Instead it seems many prefer to soak up the constant barrage of out of context graphs and information posted by some in this thread and indulge in political and idealogical slanging matches.
I've been polite in my comment. The same can't be said for some of the replies to what I've written.
I am certainly not denying the human tragedy involved in this epidemic, but people seem to have lost their sense of proportion.
So, below is some evidence. These are not figures concocted by some communist plot. These are figures widely accept as accurate withing thhe data gathering limitations.
I'm just going to present figures for the USA here. The tragedy of the hysteria will be much much worse in other countries.
It is almost impossible to give an accurate start point for infection in the USA. Flu stats are generally presented by season.
As of March 2020.
2,229 deaths have been attributed to Covid-19 in the USA.
Worldwide in this season, or over the last three months
30,935 deaths have been attributed to Covid-19.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1093256/novel-coronavirus-2019ncov-deaths-worldwide-by-country/
Last years flu season
in the USA alone it is estimated that
80,000 people died from 'the flu.'
https://www.statnews.com/2018/09/26/cdc-us-flu-deaths-winter/
Why didn't the world grind to a halt last year?