The government and media have been sensationalizing the issue of coronavirus but statistics say otherwise.
Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, is not only spreading sickness among nations but is also spreading fear. The city-state of Singapore, home to 5.6 million people is now experiencing a shortage of face masks, hand-sanitizers, and other necessary items for preventing catching the disease.
Pharmacies have reported shortages on masks and sanitizers. This led the government to subsidize the masks by giving 4 masks to each family. They can only be collected once per household, and those collecting them must bring their Identification Card along. Those who are vulnerable need not to collect it themselves because volunteers will deliver the masks.
As of this past weekend, Singapore's reported cases are already 89 or 0.002% of the total population. Keeping in mind, that Singapore is more open to their numbers than China is.
Most of the cases of COVID-19 is in China, and most of the countries affected are in Asia.
Meanwhile, the United States a huge country of 300 million people have 59 cases as of Tuesday. This number, although not alarming yet, has already caused a lot of fear and panic among the citizens. Do you want to know why?
Simple, it's because of how our government and the media have sensationalized the spread of this disease. Although deadly, COVID-19 is far less deadly than influenza which strikes any person at any season.
This sort of thing sells the newspaper and produces more clickbait but it does not make any of us safer and does not tells us the scope of the disease in the United States.
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About 81 percent of the cases are considered mild, 14 percent are severe cases and 5 percent are critically ill. In the U.S., it has recorded a 0.05 percent mortality rate among those who caught the virus and about a 1 percent mortality rate who has caught the flu, which means that the flu is much more deadly than the COVID-19.
The mild cases reported are described by virologist Matthew Frieman of the University Of Maryland School Of Medicine as a "bad, heightened cold" that is between SARS and the common cold.
The coronavirus has thus far, claimed a zero percent fatality rate in the United States. Compared to the number of deaths for influenza, which is affecting more people in the US, the Centers for Disease Control has tallied a total of 14,657 cases during the week ending of February 15.
The constant on-the-nose reporting is found to be difficult to resist especially when the people are afraid and the government has taken draconian actions. People will tend to compare and contrast the available facts but the thing is, fear and anxiety usually trick the mind.
John Allen Paulos, Temple University math professor pointed out that the formula to get the death rate is determined by dividing the number of dead by the number of infected. However, it could be tricky because COVID-19 might be blamed as the cause of the death of someone who already has a medical condition before infection.
"The coronavirus might be blamed for the deaths of vulnerable people, especially seniors, already suffering from other illnesses, such as diabetes and other chronic conditions. On the other hand, some deaths will be attributed to other illnesses that might more accurately be ascribed to COVID-19." Said by Paulos.
Moreover, figuring out the number of infected could also be problematic. People experiencing the symptoms and have been tested positive are included in the tally, but how about those who are being treated without formally having been tested? Or those who might be infected but are asymptomatic?
But of course, without panic how else will governments keep accelerating their hold to power? As they say, one man's loss can be another man's gain; and one of the most notable effects of sensationalizing COVID-19 is the ridiculous growing cost of surgical masks knowing that it is on-demand right now.
