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Fueled by incessant media reports, panic is beginning to set in in various places around the US leading to shopping frenzies and price gouging amid growing cases of infection in various states, while various municipalities issue states of emergency. In this article, we’ll explore how much is hype and how much should you worry.
Media hype is leading to a sense of panic among Americans. Shoppers are emptying store shelves, retailers are gouging prices and some municipalities are announcing a state of emergency before an actual emergency has occurred.
In areas where states of emergency have been declared, the number of cases and deaths are quite low.
Currently, the coronavirus in America has spread to at least 12 states, reaching a total of nearly 90 cases.
The US Surgeon General is telling Americans to “stop buying masks” and says that wearing masks could actually “increase the spread of coronavirus.”
“You can increase your risk of getting it by wearing a mask if you are not a health care provider,” US Surgeon General Jerome Adams said. “Folks who don’t know how to wear them properly tend to touch their faces a lot and actually can increase the spread of coronavirus.”
The Surgeon General added that masks are “not effective” to the general public, and by wiping out the supply of masks it will actually put medical professionals and healthcare providers at risk by creating a shortage for those who need them most in order to care for sick patients.
The symptoms of coronavirus are similar to those of a cold or flu. The severity of symptoms can vary.
Typical symptoms are:
The most common transmission of coronavirus occurs through the air by people sneezing or coughing.
Additionally, it can be spread through the hands by touch or by touching a service that has the virus on it, then touching your mouth, nose or eyes before washing your hands.
It can also be spread through the air with close personal contact (within 6 feet).
One thing that helps put the new coronavirus outbreak into reality is comparing it to other infectious disease outbreaks.
Here is a rundown of how coronavirus compares to other diseases in terms of the spread of infection, mortality rate, and speed of infection, as well as a comparison to influenza.
While the thrust of media attention has been focused on coronavirus, so far this influenza season, the flu has killed 10,000 people in the US alone. Physicians are criticizing the media for overhyping the danger and creating fear.
This flu season, at least 19 million people in the US have contracted influenza, with 180,000 of those requiring hospitalization. Flu season runs from September 1 through May 31 and is currently at its peak.
Influenza poses a greater health threat to the US than the new coronavirus, physicians claim.
However, the mortality rate for the new coronavirus is higher than influenza.
The following comparison shows the number of people infected by a single individual with the following diseases:
In addition to coronavirus, the other two outbreaks of concern were MERS and SARS, here is how the death rates compare.
Number of deaths for every 50 people infected with the disease:
One area to be concerned about with coronavirus, however, is the speed in which transmissions occur. The infectious outbreak is significantly faster with the new coronavirus as compared to SARS or MERS.
For the first 1000 people to be infected:
Last week, based simply on warnings from the CDC, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the state of emergency in the city.
However, at the time of the mayor’s announcement there had not yet been any reported cases of coronavirus in San Francisco.
Nonetheless, Mayor Breed said she was issuing the emergency because of “the global picture” surrounding the virus, and arguing that city officials “need to step up preparedness.”
“We see the virus spreading in new parts of the world every day,” Breed stated, “and we are taking the necessary steps to protect San Franciscans from harm.”
However, at the same time, in Santa Clara County, which is 50 miles southeast of San Francisco, three more people were diagnosed with coronavirus, public health officials said on Sunday.
After two people tested positive for the coronavirus in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis issued a public health emergency on Sunday, March 1.
These are the only two known cases of the virus in the state.
A state of emergency could soon be declared in Washington State. Public health officials announced on Sunday that a second person, a 70-year-old man, has died in Washington State due to the effects of the coronavirus.
The announcement comes one day after a 50-year-old man died from the disease.
Officials also confirmed 3 new cases in the state, all older individuals in their 70s/80s/90s.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in King County, Washington is 10.
A New York City-based woman in her late 30’s who had recently traveled to Iran has been diagnosed with coronavirus, making it the first case in the state, as announced by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Fueled by media-driven fear, supermarkets in Brooklyn and Queens, New York have seen shoppers clear out shelves in panic buying over concerns about coronavirus.
This morning, a massive line of shoppers backed up into the parking lot of a Costco in Brooklyn. Shoppers stocked up by buying multiple packages of water, toilet tissue, hand sanitizers, rubber gloves, rubbing alcohol, and masks.
