Apologies--And A Recommended Read Re COVID
Apologies--it's past lunch, and I haven't even read the news. Or, not much of it. I've been engaged with other things.
Here, however, is an interesting article that addresses the issue of, How many people really have been infected by this Wuhan virus? Covid19 "deniers" want to say that so many have been infected that we already have 'herd immunity.' There's no comfort in this article for that view. Even with the highest levels of infection, it's not enough for that.
On the other hand, there's the puzzle of it all. Why are infection rates and deaths at high levels in some places and low levels elsewhere? We can understand high infection levels but low deaths on a Navy ship, since most of the persons on board are young and healthy, with few if any co-morbidities. But you get differences between entire countries--Germany and Italy/Spain/France, for example, or between Western Europe and the US. And within the US the New York Metro area--not just the city but really stretching from New Jersey to Boston--stands out glaringly from most of the rest of the country.
There's a lot that's simply not known about the Wuhan virus. Or, not well enough known to be comfortable making policy decisions that affect so many people's lives. And yet decisions will need to be made.
These are some of the issues that Trump has to wrestle with. Here's the article, with a very brief excerpt:
Reports Suggest Many Have Had Coronavirus With No Symptoms
If infections are more widespread than previously understood, it’s possible that more people have developed some level of immunity to the virus. That could stifle the spread through what’s called herd immunity, but scientists caution that there is still much to learn about whether mild illnesses confer immunity and how long it might last.
It will probably be months before enough reliable testing has been done to answer those questions and others, including how widespread infections have been and the virus's true mortality rate, which has only been estimated so far.