2020 Year of the COVID

Countries all over the world declared a national pandemic emergency as 2020 started.

We have all adjusted to strict guidelines, quarantines, cancelled activities, business closures, and mandates to stay home. Six months later people are slowly returning to work and schools are implementing strategies for reopening safely. But the conversation continues about how to avoid new surges of COVID-19 infections.

It’s September 2020. The country, much of the world, is still hunkering down hiding from the Coronavirus. Restaurants, bars and Pubs are still closed. Hotels are running limited capacity. Grocery stores are on rations. A lucky few (like me) are working normally from home but millions are out of work or furloughed waiting for an end to the ‘Rona.

In the words of John Snow “winter is coming”, and now we are expecting seasonal flu variations. Will there be a seasonable COVID-19 variation? I expect so.

That’s a scary thought.

Or is it?

I am left scratching my head after spending months following the main medical news sources, epidemiologists and novel virus specialist sites like CDC, WHO, Yale, Harvard Medical, all telling us to act sensibly and not panic.

Corona Virus is simply not as scary as the media make out. Common sense tells us to quarantine yourself if you are ill, symptomatic or at risk. It’s been this way forever. But, if you’re fit, healthy and not exposed then it’s time to get back to living.

Me. Sipping a whiskey on ice (for medicinal purposes you understand)

But then, entirely different views published most mainstream media sites saying panic, doom and gloom. It’s almost as they enjoy the revenue click rates from fearmongering and bad news opinion pieces. #canyouimagineit

I have a Coronavirus Hangover

The numbers for COVID-19 deaths are not as terrifying as I’m seeing broadcast on Media platforms.

Without going down the rabbit hole of the ‘deaths with vs deaths from COVID-19’ the reaction to Coronavirus far out weighs the threat.

Let’s get the country back to work

Let’s get the World back to normal, a new normal with improved hygiene standards and better handling of personal space if you are ill.

I am not a fan of facemasks.

To be honest, they really grind my gears but…. nobody likes to be sneezed on.

“Until an effective vaccine against COVID-19 is available, we have to continue to do the hard, albeit tedious, work of keeping ourselves safe and healthy—by wearing facial coverings, keeping our social distance, practicing good hand hygiene, and staying home when we’re sick,” says Jaimie Meyer, MD, MS, a Yale Medicine infectious disease specialist.

Source: Yale Medical

When to wear a face mask?

Ignore the media hype – The World Health Organization has some very simple and clear guidelines. They make sense:

• Wear a Medical Mask if you are health worker
• Wear a Medical Mask have Flu/Covid symptoms
• Wear a Medical Mask if you care for someone that has Flu/Covid symptoms
• Wear a Medical Mask, or Fabric Mask, if you are traveling/working in an area rich with contagious Covid+ people
• Wear a fabric mask if you have no symptoms but suspect you are in an area rich with contagious Covid+ people
• Wear a fabric mask if you cannot do 1 metre (3 feet social distancing)
• Wear a fabric mask if you cannot do 1 metre because of your job – servers, cashiers, tellers, etc
• Wear a fabric mask if you cannot do 1 metre in crowded public locations like busses, share taxis, workplaces

Seems pretty bloody obvious to me?

Where did Corona Virus Come From?

SARS-CoV-2 is a virus that scientists haven’t seen before. Like other viruses, it is believed to have started in animals and spread to humans. Animal-to-person spread was suspected after the initial outbreak in December among people who had a link to a large seafood and live animal market in Wuhan, China.

Source: Yale Medical

Is Coronavirus as terrifying as the Media makes out?

Coronavirus shows symptoms like an influenza virus, peaking with pneumonia type symptoms.

We all know that spending time close to someone who has the Covid19 Corona Virus means we face a risk of catching it, during the virus’s contagious stage i.e. within the first ten days of them catching it.

If we do catch the ‘Rona, then the infection can develop anything from 1-14 days later, adding a few days to be safe.

• The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, tiredness, and a dry cough
• Some people may have aches and pains, a blocked nose, a runny nose, a sore throat, or diarrhea
• These symptoms are usually mild and begin gradually
• The majority of people who become infected, do not develop any noticeable symptoms, they are asymptomatic. This means they do feel ill.
• Over 80% of people who catch the ‘Rona recover from the disease without needing any medication or special treatment
• Of the 15-20% needing medication after testing positive, the majority have pre-existing medical conditions or fall into the infirm / at-risk bracket
• Roughly 10% of people who test positive, and feel ill, need hospitalization.

Statistics are tricky

In a nutshell this can be translated as “roughly one out of every ten people with COVID-19 becomes ill and develops difficulty breathing. Half of these can be serious enough to need monitoring in hospital. Elderly people (70+) and those with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, are more likely to develop serious illness.”

People who get the severe disease are more likely to fall within certain categories. From what we have seen so far, that’s people who have underlying conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, ischemic heart disease, and chronic lung disease. Generally, it seems that young people, children, and teens don’t really seem to get the severe disease. We’re not too sure why that is.

We do know that being fit and under retirement age you are most likely not at risk.

Who does Coronavirus Kill?

Since I live in the sunny United States – I’m going to look at USA statistics from the Center of Disease Control and Prevention:

Average mortality rate is 59 people per 100,000 Covid Cases!

This means that 0.06% of COVID-19 cases are fatal!

Even looking at the highest recorded COVID-19 infection rates, resulting in deaths – which is New York in September 2020 – the numbers are so low it shocks me that the coronavirus reaction is so heavy-handed.

This for 1% of population who need hospitalization?

Leading Causes of Death

Who Does Covid19 kill?

So, you face most rick of dying from Covid if you are well past your three score and ten – knocking on Heavens Door! It sounds harsh to point this out but it’s a sad fact of our species mortality.

My opinion?

Corona Virus isn’t nearly as scary as the media are making out. I will concede that an elite group of powerful people in Government and Media positions stand to make $Billions from pharmaceutical companies lobbying them to provide drugs at extortionate rates – but I’m not quite ready to slide down that rabbit hole just yet. I am however, very clear that this massive over-reaction to this flu virus needs to come to an end.

Me. Not wearing a Mask.

I hope we can all agree World Health Organization Guidelines seem to make sense:

Live, Love and Look after each other

I’ve bored myself waffling now.

If you are fit, healthy and not at risk – let’s get back living.