Let figure it out, flatting the curve doesn’t fix anything, it just spreads it out. What would happen in 6 months probably will now happen in 12 months. Wearing a mask might slow down the virus. To flatten the curve, look at the area under the curve. This represents everyone that could be infected. The area under the original curve is still the same in the flattened curve. The outcome is not changed, it is only delayed.
People think that if they wear the mask, it prevents them from getting the virus. Ok suppose that it does, the virus still wants you. If you hide from it, it will find you. It just takes a little longer. The time it takes to get to you is what “flattening the curve” is all about. Not everyone is in the hospital at the same time.
The Corona virus has been hyped to panic mode for political reasons and it is no more lethal than the common cold for most people under the age of 70. Above that age it is a very serious deadly virus. Plus, there can be more than one cause of death when a person dies over the age of 70. The real odd thing is that old age is not considered as a cause of death.
When people see 145,000 deaths in the USA, their reaction lacks real perspective. About 2.7 million people die every year, that’s 1,700 a day. It has been reported that the total deaths for the current period matches pretty close to the deaths from last year. These deaths this year would have been attributed to other causes given the absence of the virus.
The anti-Trump newspapers could turn measles into the plague. Their coverage of the Corona virus deliberately squashes any glimmer of hope or optimism with the intent to panic the masses. The news rooms are not reporting the decrease in deaths each day, only the number of new cases and the total dead.
Most people when you mention the word "Rest Home” imagine some nice hacienda like setting with a bunch of seniors setting around playing cards drinking wine (don't confuse it with "Assisted Living"). A more realistic view is elderly who are senile, stroke disabled, incontinent, and bed ridden, with the room laced with lots of air freshener. Sad to say, many of these deaths can be a relief to relatives, footing the bill for rest home care, which range between $60,00 to $100,000 a year. Usually the infirmed end up in rest homes because they are a danger to themselves or others. Some of the elderly are lucky enough to avoid that, and they are the few.
If we project out about 45 days, the deaths from the virus should dwindle down to an acceptable level of about 200 a day. That is my best guess. And of course, the whole pandemic will be over the day after the election. At that point chicken little can come out and review the economic carnage. You don't have to social distance at places that will never reopen. The real suffering will start then.
