Death rate for the US is 1.8% for 2,229 people who died out of 123,781 people confirmed Corona Virus infected. Compare that to Italy, 94,472 infected, 10,023 deaths which is 10.84%, Spain 78,797 infected, 6,528 deaths which is 8.28%, Iran 38,309 infected, 2,640 deaths which is 6.89%, France 37,575 infected, 2,314 deaths which is 6.16%, UK 17,089 infected, 1,019 deaths which is 5.96%. China 81,439 infected, 3,300 deaths which is 4.05%. This figures from the Real Clear Politics website which I copied and now posting.
Trump’s public health advisers project that the coronavirus could kill 100,000 to 240,000 Americans — even with strict social distancing guidelines in place, Axios reports. Meanwhile, Andy Slavitt reports “numbers floating around the White House are 400,000 and some think that requires optimism.”
“More than 2,600 deaths nationwide have been linked to coronavirus outbreaks in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, an alarming rise in just the past two weeks,” the AP reports.
So the virus that originated in Wuhan, China because of unsanitary conditions at a market, like many other Chinese viruses that preceded it, including SARS, Avian Flu, H1N1, as well as many of our annual global flu outbreaks, regardless of which US Presidential Administration, came here how? Open borders, perhaps? The Avain Flu occurred during the Obama Administration and decimated the US poultry industry, including chickens and turkeys. A large number of wild birds also died. Would it be fair to blame Obama? Is it fair to blame open borders? More reasonable is there has been a long standing policy gap relating to the recognition of a serious problem. Another vector of future infections is "Bush meat" imported from Africa to satisfy the feelings of homesickness by African immigrants into the US. Bush meat can be acquired in meat markets in our most populated cities. Ebola Marsburg, with its 40% death rate or Ebola Zaire with its 90% death rate are an accident waiting to happen in the United States. Events other than accidents are known to happen as well. Reference: NEJM.org "Bush meat", "Ebola". When dealing with viruses, time lost are lives lost. Cooperation between policy makers, both domestically and internationally are crucial in avoiding or minimizing pandemics. The following are basic policy ideas that may merit consideration: 1. Global meat market and livestock sanitary standards. Assistance to Third World Countries may be required. 2. Decentralize policy decision making. Health decisions should be made by experts, not politicians. 3. High quality biohazard personal protection equipment(PPE) should be available to the public. This includes well designed masks, googles, and gloves. Masks that have the thin aluminum nose pinch are not quality, as the mask tends to remain open on either side of the nose, among other issues. 4. The public must be advised of the necessity of strict adherence to best practices concerning PPE and instructed on the proper use of PPE. 5. On critical infrastructure, such as food distribution, public contact between food handlers and transporters should be minimized. Monetary transactions and receipts should be done online and not person to person. A more bio-safe way of transferring food from the seller to the buyer should be explored. 6. In areas where travelers congregate such as rest areas, travel plazas, and airports, infrastructure changes should be made. These include minimizing the number of surfaces that have to be touched, improving ventilation in confined areas, such as bathrooms, employing the use of copper where practical on permanent items that are frequently touched, having regular disinfecting operations in high risk areas such as bathrooms when under a virus alert, have dual bathrooms for each sex so one bathroom can be open, thus avoiding people congregating unnecessarily while the other is being sanitized, employment of built-in UV sanitation if practical, utilizing devices that automatically maintain people density within established parameters when under alert, etc. The key is to "Defend in depth", from food cleaningness standards on a global scale, to well though out policies dealing where people congregate, to the availability of quality PPE for the public and training on such, to decentralization of decision making, and finally to hardening of our key infrastructure against natural as well as unnatural biological events.