Earlier quoted context omitted.
Easy. %20 of the cases require some type of hospitalization. %80 are mild and don't require medical attention. If you have Covid-19 rampant in your town - the hospitals will fill with persons experiencing a bad flu - that %20. https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-80-percent-cases...
Yeah, this is more serious than the flu, but not as serious as MERS or SARS. Like the seasonal flu, the main worry is older people and/or people who are already respiratory compromised. I don't want to catch this much like I don't want to catch the flu, but my main worry is for my parents and grandparents.
We have, essentially, a hurricane off the coast (so to speak) and no one can say with certainty whether it will blow over or whether people are going to take a direct hit.
Like with storms, there’s the fear that hyping it up too much will lower trust in the future. However, not preparing people and then having the worst happen is many times worse.
This thing should absolutely be taken seriously. The responsible thing at this point is to prepare for worst and plan. The worst being an overwhelmed healthcare system because too many people require hospitalization all at once.
If the hurricane blows over, we’ll have stocked up our emergency kits that we, frankly, all should have had in the first place.
But we should really stop comparing this to the flu.