The Other McCain

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Wuhan Coronavirus Panic Continues

Posted on | March 15, 2020 | Comments Off on Wuhan Coronavirus Panic Continues

 

On Saturday night’s episode of The Other Podcast, Dianna Deeley was discussing the reaction to the Wuhan coronavirus in Georgia, where she lives, and I cited the number of actual cases in Georgia: 66 so far, with exactly one death, in a state with a population of about 10.5 million.

Anyone may offer speculative estimates of how far the virus will eventually spread, but so far, the danger of contagion in Georgia is infinitesimal, with the majority of the cases in three metro Atlanta counties. Math and logic, however, are powerless to stop hysteria:

Georgia elections officials postponed the presidential primary scheduled for next week because of the coronavirus pandemic, becoming the second state forced to push back a vote in the race for the White House due to the outbreak.
The state rescheduled the presidential vote previously scheduled for March 24 until May 19, the same date as the regular primary for a U.S. Senate seat and many other offices, elections officials told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Saturday. “Events are moving rapidly and my highest priority is protecting the health of our poll workers, their families, and the community at large,” said Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

This is arguably unnecessary, and its efficacy as a public-health measure is dubious, but the new rule is: EVERYTHING MUST BE CANCELLED!

As a matter of speculation, let’s just suppose that by March 24, Georgia’s Wuhan coronavirus cases quadrupled: 264 cases, four deaths. Still, in a population of 10.5 million people, such a number would not be a crisis. If 11 people died, that’s still just a one-in-a-million chance, and you might as well wager a month’s salary on the Powerball lottery, I guess.

Mere statistics cannot prevent panic, however, when the cable-news networks are now 24/7 in their reporting of the DEADLY PANDEMIC! People are reacting on the basis of emotion, not reason, and yet I feel the need to continue citing the actual numbers, so that those who have not yet succumbed to hysteria will at least have access to information that contradicts the media’s incessant drumbeat of doom.

So far, 2,826 cases of Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported in the United States, with 59 deaths. State-by-state:

Washington State …… 642 (40 deaths)
New York ……………….. 613 (2 deaths)
California ……………… 286 (5 deaths)
Colorado ……………….. 101 (1 death)

These four states have more than half (1,642, or 58%) of known COVID-19 infections, and 81% of the deaths reported from the virus. The rest of the country, 46 states, is comparatively unaffected in real terms, yet schools are shut down, the NBA is cancelled, and people are stampeding stores to buy up all the hand sanitizer, bottled water and toilet paper.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – There has been one confirmed case of the coronavirus in Montgomery County, and after health officials say they anticipate the virus spreading quickly in the coming weeks, locals are stocking up with supplies if they need be quarantined.
Household items like toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and bleach are flying off the shelves. Customers are desperate to stash up, leaving stores in Montgomery noticeably empty.
“There is no toilet paper on the shelves so I just got the paper towels and hopefully that will suffice,” said Walmart shopper Vanessa Ball.
Some families are even having to preorder their toilet paper because it is such a hot commodity.
“I feel lucky and probably like we need to get it in the car before we’re mugged or something for toilet tissue,” said Walmart shopper Steven Smith.
But toilet paper isn’t the only supply running out, says Renfroe’s Market Store Manager Clark Psalmonds.
“Disinfecting sprays, wipes, sanitizers are unheard of right now,” said Psalmonds. “You can’t find a sanitizer nowhere in the area.”

Ain’t none of them dadgum sanitizers nowhere in Alabama!



 

Category: Health Care

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