Midtown Urbanist
Superstar
Italy hit a 10% death rate by testing mostly those that were already in hospital. It is nowhere near 10% in actuality. The total number infected must be much higher. That will be revealed if we eventually develop an antibody test and tested the population.Without a doubt. There are over 330 Million people in the US. The federal government isn’t taking this seriously. It’s being estimated that 30% of the population will be infected. That’s 99 million people. If the death rate of 3.4% holds, that’s over 2 million deaths.
Nobody wants to believe this number because it’s just unfathomable... until it happens.
But the 3.4% is the worldwide average. Italy hit a 10% death rate. Now look at the US population of which 40% are overweight and 44% suffer from cardiovascular disease. Now add the factor that this is happening in a country with no public healthcare, with a high rate of uninsured who will rather try to get better at home than go broke paying hospital bills.
I’ve been saying for months (since Wuhan) that this is going to be a calamity of biblical proportions if it hits the United States. It’s there now. Hunker down and be glad we’re on this side of the border.
Italy had certain factors that led to it being particularly hard hit (elderly population for one). You are right though, the USA's demographics are also very concerning (with their prevalence of health issues), especially given the stats coming out of the UK where a much higher proportion of young people (with a common denominator being obesity) dying to the virus compared to Spain/Italy.