A Hungry, Violent Mob wrote:
You are basing your argument on a positive feedback loop. The more you test, the more the public demands testing, and the more cases you have. And again, more testing is demanded. You will find as many cases as tests you have available. There probably have been 500000+ cases of this in the US and nobody can know. The death rate is something like .0000006% EXCEPT for those who are already on their deathbed (like in a frigging nursing home).
Oh and the cases where there had been "no known international travel"? It's because it's been spreading domestically for months.
So clearly you don't accept the actual statistics. Can't do much about that. But try to come up with reasonable answers to the following questions that fit your assumptions:
-If this is really no big deal, why were Wuhan's and Northern Italy's medical facilities completely overwhelmed by Covid? I'm guessing they were not filled with people coming in with mild cases to get checked out. They were filled with people needing respirators. In Italy, the docs and nurses didn't have enough respirators to go around, and had to essentially choose who lived and who died.
https://www.thelocal.it/20200315/coronavirus-in-italy-368-deaths-recorded-one-day-as-lombardy-warns-of-a-hospital-bed-shortage-Why are some of the biggest businesses adjusting in significantly unprofitable ways to Covid? The NCAA is losing an estimated $1 Billion in ticket sales, merchandising, and TV revenue due to cancelling the tournament. When has the NCAA ever put something, anything, above their bottom line? You all are runners and sports fans, you know the answer to that. The answer is never. The NBA and NHL are similarly in line to take major financial hits. The next wave is the retail industry (see Starbucks, REI, etc). Business don't shut their doors for no reason.
-Why are infectious disease experts around the country, who presumably know more than your average LR poster, tolling the bells of warning? If you're wrong about something like this, and you are in position of profile, it will end your career.
To be honest, three weeks ago I thought this would all blow over. I was about to travel to Europe, and a lady at work was warning me to stock up on rations. I thought she was nuts. I certainly didn't believe the reporting out of China. Luckily I got back in time to miss the craziness going on in O'Hare and other international airports. The preponderance of evidence, reporting from Italy and the rest of the world, the behaviors of some major corporations, the warnings of medical experts, the unrelenting statistics, all have convinced me that Covid is a disaster waiting to happen in this country.
We can still head this off by self-isolating.