General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Some folks tell me the common flu is worse than this new virus [View all]peggysue2
(10,826 posts)One estimate is as long as 9 days. However long the survival rate, the basic hygiene measure of washing your hands, particularly before and after you're out at public places, becomes ever more important. And try to not touch your face, anywhere near eyes, nose and mouth. That in itself is hard because we all do this automatically.
The spread rate of this virus is greater than the seasonal flu and we still don't have a firm mortality rate. But, the patients over 65 appear to be more at risk and anyone with underlying medical conditions, as in diabetes or kidney problems, etc. At one site, I read the mortality rate for those over 70 is 8+% and for those 80 and older almost 15%. However, the death rates in Iran and Italy right now are much higher. Either their confirmed case numbers are wrong or the virus is more deadly than China reported. Or it could have mutated over the last 3 months. Also, at least from the Chinese stats, men are more prone than women in contracting the illness. Analysts still aren't sure whether that's because of increased smoking in Chinese men.
There's a lot we don't know which only increases anxiety. And is why transparency from the medical community is so important. Judging on the latest news from Trumplandia, we're not going to get a full picture because the WH has already put a gag order in place for any updates. Everything has to be cleared first through the Administration.
We could be in for a rough time. A whistleblower just reported today that healthcare people working with the cruise ship patients were not provided with proper gear. The spread has already started. Then the original CDC testing kits were configured incorrectly.
It's a mess and we've only just started.