DarthMicrowave

I'm not saying you're wrong, but I don't see the same concerning mortality rate and public data. Maybe you mean case fatality rate...? Here's what I did find on Johns Hopkins website though.
Even on the low end, I think 20x is a bit of a stretch.
20 x 24,000 = 480,000
We're currently at 172,000, which is often debated (both too high and too low).
On the high side 62,000 x 20 = 1.2M. I think we can all agree it won't get there in the US this year.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

My uncertainly is based on my knowledge.
I know that my exhaled breath contains water vapor - very evident around here in Winter.
In fact, I hold my breath briefly then when I photograph to avoid messing things up.
I know that virus is said to ride the water vapor out, so you have particles large enough to filter.

What i am not certain of is what happens next - whether the viruses are still large enough to filter on the way in.

srt101fan

Valid question. But protecting yourself from contamination that has already passed through someone else's mask filter is only one scenario.

I tend to think that the threat environment, and hence the filter challenge, could contain contaminants in a spectrum of sizes ranging from small, aerosolized clusters of viruses to much larger contaminated droplets.

When I go out in public, I have no idea on what point on that spectrum of sizes my mask exposure might end up or what the probability of occurrence of each point could be.

I know my mask can't protect me from the small stuff. I'm pretty confident it will protect me from droplets. Where on the spectrum line from aerosols to droplets does the mask fail? I don't know. But I know it can significantly reduces my risk of infection! I'll take that risk reduction, whatever it is!

DarthMicrowave

Yeah, my comment was purely because you seemed surprised to hear that masks could be anything but positive. I was just trying to show that it's not a 'first' and that it came from a credible source.

However, I don't buy the excuse to avoid a run on masks. I think they were just trying to save face. And it seems to have worked with the majority of people. I just wonder if it was worth the hit in the credibility department.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

The ‘chaser’ was to “save masks for first responders" - but when people sent masks to Gov Cuomo, he made a display of them; maybe New Yorker sensitivities are different from mine, but I thought - even then - that it was a tacky use of them.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

By the way - local news reports that the Notre Dame count is now up another 75 - but the local sports news last night was still about their football practice.

My wife - who taught Chemistry at one time - says Chemistry students need lab time as much as football players, but right now learning is “remote”.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

I am an historian. In your 72 years (I am 74) - that is part of the problem. Most people do not think in terms of more than their own memory. The "Spanish Flu" of 1918-1919 was much worse. Aprx 1/3 of the world population got sick and depending on whose figures you use from 20-150 million people world wide died. The world only had 1.5 billion people then. Yes, lock downs were used and in spite of that about 675,000 died in the US. And yes, it had a "season". But they went back to living life - it was that or hide and die anyway as all the jobs disappeared and people ran out of money, food etc. People in those days still accepted death as a common part of life. In a way our medical advances have made us forget that - we now expect the vast majority of people to die of old age and its related problems.

Others have taken place, some worse, and some in local areas. The worst version of the plague in the 1300's killed from 25% to 60% of the population in Europe, Asia and Africa. We just ID'd one case of that same plague version in California and reports out of China have them surrounding and locking in people in one village where Bubonic Plague has appeared.

Look here for a brief history of major pan/epidemics: https://www.mphonline.org/worst-pandemics-in-history/
Notice the "Hong Kong Flu" killed 15% of the population of that city.

Before Covid 19 appeared we had a major flu season starting, then suddenly no mention of flu and no stats on deaths - did it disappear, or did flu deaths get counted as Covid (hospitals get more federal money for Covid cases than anything else and flu/covid share symptoms). Someone dies with Covid but not of Covid. There is a difference. Even people killed by injuries have been listed as Covid because they had tested positive for it at the time of death.

Here is the recent history of flu in the US, and we have effective treatments for most strains of flu.
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/past-seasons.html

redlegfrog

Be careful, you thank "the deity", Which deity?, there are many and they can deceive you. You one to address the "one true God"

redlegfrog

Well Said!

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

The local news has just announced that Notre Dame's football practice will be canceled today - and maybe tomorrow - while the coaches consider the situation. I personally believe it should be canceled as long as classes are held remotely - perhaps that would make it 'real' for their students.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

In my state, even with weather that varied from warm to cool, deaths related to flu totaled only 131 last 'season', while Covid deaths - even with the shutdown - have been over 20 times as many so far. In this ruby red state, the state government has taken the death toll very seriously - I really think it is that much more serious.

jayluber Loc: Phoenix, AZ

I wonder if China didn't export the plague to us as well as the China Virus. On the other hand these pandemics have repeated throughout history and seem to be episodes of natural selection. It seems that those impervious to AIDS have ancestors that survived the Bubonic Plague in Europe. Who knows - I'm curious to see how our descendants will view this point in time 200 years from now.

exakta56 Loc: Orford,New Hampshire

WEAR THE MASK!!!!!!

redlegfrog

Here is another pile of information gathered by the AFA. Please add this to your evidence file before you pass judgment.

https://www.afa.net/the-stand/culture/2020/08/lockdowns-dont-work-period/

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

I was a supporter of American Family Radio at one time - but I have zero trust these days in them as an unbiased source {I took several lines out where the "-" is because I didn't want to include anything that might lead to this thread going to the Attic}.

Now, in fact, Indiana's time of "lock-down" did work.

It gave industry time to re-examine how they did things, so they could re-open with plants that provided the necessary distancing aids which will work with masking so that there are few infections there now.

It gave time for retailers to also re-arrange how they do things {for example to put shielding between clerks and customers} and for customers to obtain the needed masks.

It gave time for restaurants to re-arrange their seating to provide the necessary lack of crowding, and their customers time to decide when sit-down eating is appropriate and when take-out will work.

It gave medical facilities time to determine which changes were needed to make patients trust them again.

It gave time for Churches to think about their seating and practices so that worship should not threaten anyone.

It gave schools experience with "remote learning", and time during the Summer to think about how make in-person learning work, and time during the Summer to improve on what they did during the Spring with "remote learning".

It gave citizens to re-think their lives.

Yes, hospital usage and related measures are slightly higher than they were back on March 1, but there was little infection here to catch then.

Yes, hospital usage and related measures are slightly higher than they were back on April 1, but activity is now very close to what it was on January 2.