More than 700 employees at one Detroit hospital system test positive for coronavirus

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

9. That's a very important question.

Yes, it is clear this is far more deadly than flu, and infinitely more deadly than a cold (I don't think anyone ever dies of a cold, after all) but even without the difference in deadliness, the infection rate is important to know.

We keep on being told that a very large majority of those infected, perhaps as many as 80%, show few or no symptoms. If that is true, then this virus isn't really all that awful. It's bad mainly in that it's a novel virus, meaning we've never experienced it before and so no one has an immunity, but if only 20% of those infected show symptoms, and a minority of those are sick enough to go into hospital, and a further minority die. . . .

The reason the number of fatalities is as high as it is is that there are a fuck of a lot of people out there available to be infected.

Shall we discuss overpopulation? Shall we consider the fact that the planet is well beyond its carrying capacity and that if the population doesn't drop by a truly significant amount, none of us are safe.