cc_rider wrote:
 
  Yes, I think most of the nations engaged in WWI censored reports about victims of the 1918 flu in their countries (to keep up "morale" or some such).  Spain was not at war and reported their cases, so I guess people just attached their name to it.

 ScottFromWyoming wrote:
 
Yeah, it's nothing to sneeze at. Get it? Flu? Sneeze? See what I did there?

Apparently the Spanish Flu (1918) killed somewhere upwards of 50 million, with some estimates as high as 100 million. Point of origin is still disputed, but 'Spanish' is a misnomer regardless. What is NOT disputed is the flu's spread was aided by secrecy imposed due the war. Woodrow Wilson has been singled out for his iron-fisted control of the media and its effect on the spread of the virus. What goes around...

c.

 cc_rider wrote:
 

Worldwide flu typically kills 290,000 to 600,000 annually. COVID-19 is just getting warmed up but some back-of-the-envelope math I did last night (assuming some wildly unpredictable numbers but taking the most conservative of each) says it is likely to double that.

 islander wrote:
 
Sadly true.
Also, we should remember the regular old flu kills something like 10-15,000 people EVERY YEAR. Still, I am not suggesting COVID-19 is trifling.
c.

 rgio wrote:
 
Single digit death tolls don't do it for us anymore. Unless it's in a church or school, you need at least a dozen (to give a little margin for ambiguity about the shooter) to bump the news cycle. 

 rgio wrote:
 

Just another day in 'Merica. FREEDOM!

 black321 wrote:
 
Agree 100%.  There are 5 dead in a mass shooting yesterday, and it's in the "other news" section of the NYTimes already.  

 rgio wrote:
 
Still, the virus has hit populated areas with hundreds of millions  of people. 30 years ago this would be buried in the news. A risk? Absolutely, but the optics may be making it seem worse than it is. 

 Red_Dragon wrote:
 
They have been in lockdown in the highly infected regions, with businesses and schools closed for weeks now.  They are slowly lifting the bans (with some companies paying bonuses for employees who actually show up to work).  Let's see what happens when people start interacting again.

Seems to be leveling off in China...

 kurtster wrote:

 exactly why we need a simplify the immigration process...so migrants dont have any incentive to do it illegally. 

 miamizsun wrote: 
No, there's no way that would happen.  I think that mostly everyone has too much class to make this part of the political game.

 islander wrote: 
Yea wouldn't it be a shame if someone were to use this virus to make political points?

 kurtster wrote:
 
Nicely played.  A global pandemic and you manage to twist it to your crusade against people not like you.

 kurtster wrote:
 
China. And that first case is already there (and unlikely to be the only one). Likely from someone who flew to/from or from/to China. As more time passes it could come from anywhere.

So where will the first case that makes it into the country undetected come from ?

From someone legally entering the country or someone who comes in illegally across the southern border avoiding the safeguards we have established ?

 ScottFromWyoming wrote:
 

I guess it's too soon to ask you to design a "Free the COVID-19!" shirt

Pence: "I got this. I am rolling out a comprehensive program of thoughts and prayers for everyone as we speak!

I will also be heading a new task force together with the President's spiritual advisors to first determine whether or not this new plague was actually sent by God."

 Red_Dragon wrote:
 

Personally I would go with P100 filter masks but then I use them all the time while doing woodwork and auto wrenching.

The US economy is about to take a hit but overall I reckon the health system should protect Americans.  Some other countries with fewer resources and even stupider politics will not make out as well.