As many as 46,000 people may have died in the United States alone during a period of time between Tuesday, October 1, 2019 and Saturday, February 22, 2020 from influenza out of as many as 45 million influenza illnesses, according to preliminary burden estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As Many as 46,000 People May Have Died in the United States Alone From…
Violence is the reason why 1.5 million people have lost their lives each year, according to data from the World Health Organization — and greater than 3,700 people die every day on roads around the world.
Cigarette smoking is responsible for greater than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States alone — including greater than 41,000 deaths resulting from exposure to second hand smoke, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — which is approximately one in five deaths annually, or the death of 1,300 people every day…
…and yet, the 2019 Novel Coronavirus — which is also known as COVID-19 or 2019-nCoV — has people around the world in a widespread panic…
…to the point of which I have heard stories of people afraid to touch or accept delivery of anything which was shipped from China, plots to steal masks from medical offices, stores completely depleted of their supplies of toilet paper, and the sale of guns increasing significantly.
At the time this article was written, at least 3,380 people have died of the minimum of 98,192 confirmed cases in 88 countries and territories worldwide, according to Situation Report 46 of the World Health Organization pertaining to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus…
…but of those statistics, 3,045 of those deaths — or slightly greater than 90 percent of the worldwide total — have been in China. 80,711 of those confirmed cases — or slightly greater than 82 percent of the worldwide total — have been in China…
…which means that the percentage of deaths worldwide outside of China due to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus is at fewer than ten percent; and the percentage of confirmed cases worldwide outside of China is at fewer than 18 percent — and yes, additional confirmed cases and deaths will be reported, which will change those numbers.
How many people in how many countries worldwide have confirmed cases of influenza — from which people can also die — every year?!? Does anyone remember the widespread panic of the swine flu in 2009 and the Ebola virus in 2014 and the Zika virus in 2016?
Should You Travel?
The majority of confirmed cases are people who are older than 45 years of age, and many of them have already had underlying health concerns. If you are a healthy human being who is not traveling to one of the aforementioned areas of the world where travel is officially not advised, enjoy your travels elsewhere. If you have a history of respiratory illness, an auto-immune disorder, or some other weakening of your health, you should strongly consider postponing your travel plans.
The 2019 Novel Coronavirus situation is expected to generally diminish when the weather becomes less conducive to the spread of the virus as the air temperatures become gradually warmer during the spring and summer seasons in the northern hemisphere. Although this forecast is not guaranteed by any means, you may not want to cancel your trip just yet if you are scheduled to travel in June or thereafter.
Before you travel, however, ensure that your travel plans are successful during this time until the world eventually returns back to normal. In the meantime, expect flights, major events, and other components of travel to be artificially limited during the current mass hysteria which may affect your travel schedule in the next few months.
Summary
Should you panic about the 2019 Novel Coronavirus?
NO.
Should you worry about the 2019 Novel Coronavirus?
NO.
Should you be concerned about the 2019 Novel Coronavirus?
YES. Simply take the proper — and logical — precautions to help both prevent the further spread of this disease and to reduce your chances of contracting it. Stay informed on the latest developments pertaining to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus. Follow advice given by your health care provider, your national and local public health authority, or your employer on how to protect yourself and others from contracting the 2019 Novel Coronavirus.
In fact, you should be more concerned about the widespread concern pertaining to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, which will likely affect you or impact you more than the virus itself.
Unfortunately, we have media outlets which are obsessed with intentionally scaring the public into a frenzy, politicians who have no idea about what they are talking, people quarantined around the world, stock markets plummeting, airlines reducing the number of flights they operate by the thousands, hundreds of hotel and resort properties temporarily shut down, marathons and major events being canceled left and right worldwide, schools closing, people unfairly discriminating against others who may have been exposed to the virus, hand sanitizer and alcohol being quickly wiped off of the shelves in stores, pharmacies inundated with frightened customers, and scams starting to emerge and take advantage of unsuspecting individuals.
Are people for real?!?
I do not know about you; but I am sick — pun intended — of reading and hearing about all of the irrationality which currently surrounds the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, as it has become the virulent viral virus du jour.
Instead of panicking in a mad hysteria like the world is coming to an end and running around like chickens without heads as the sky is falling, how about we calm down and take a collective deep breath at the actual facts pertaining to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus?
That is a rather comprehensive article on which I am currently working; and I will post a link to it here when it is released, which should be some time over this weekend.
I traveled to Asia during the swine flu scare in 2009. Nothing happened to me because I washed my hands properly.
Remember: almost 700 more people worldwide likely died today only from being on the road versus everyone who has died from the 2019 Novel Coronavirus over the past three months…
…so why is there not a widespread panic on driving or riding in vehicles on roads around the world? Why are people who are susceptible to contracting influenza not nearly as frightened about that as being exposed to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus? Why don’t we do more to diminish violence in what is supposed to be a civilized society? Why do I get vilified about wanting to be protected from people who smoke tobacco products — whose second-hand smoke alone has killed more people the 2019 Novel Coronavirus — and people complain more when an airport actually does something about banning smoking than when the travel industry does something about this virus?
All photographs ©2015 and ©2018 by Brian Cohen.
