Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2/Covid-19 Megathread

[viper37]

Even at elevated ages, where the risk of death is very high (say 16.3% for a 90 year old man), I think most people would resoundingly answer the question negatively. I realize there is a value judgment there, and people will respond differently, but bringing this up doesn't make me an "edgelord".

On the one hand, you dispute the % of deaths as being fabricated by the media, or at best, being distortionned because many, many, many, many people have experienced only mild symptoms and have not been tested (and we know that isn't true, it's simply a matter of time before most people feeling sick get tested and join the official stats, but let it pass for now).

But then, you come and say that the virus has 16.3% chance of killing elderly people, based on the same stats you dispute.  That is strange...

In any case.

Let say you are 75 years old.  You are an healthy 75 years old, and you want to live.
Or you are like Merry, younger, much, much younger, generally healthy, but slightly overweight and with minor health problems that do not bother you so much in your daily activities.

You want to live.

Someone, somewhere, decides that these two categories of people will die shortly anyway, they are currently a burden to society and their life expectancy is obviously lower than an active 30 something.

That person somewhere takes matters into in his own hands.  He uses his God given right to own an assault rifle, load himself with cartridges everywhere he can, and goes on a rampage killing approximately 0,8% of the population, mostly the elderly and the not 100% healthy.  Anyone overweights he croses his dead.  Anyone with grey hair he crosses his dead.

Do we hail him as a hero?

Should cops refrain from acting to stop him, given his targets?

If he were to get arrested, detained and put to trial, should the jurors accept his defense that he only hastened the death of people who would have died anyway?

And would you feel grateful to have been killed rather than living the remaining of your life partially dependant on others?

[grumbler]

Which reminds me, could the originator of the deadpool thread or a mod, lock it for a while as I feel posting in it would be in bad taste at this time?

Why not just resist the temptation to post there, if you think it in bad taste?  That's something under your own control.

[Grey Fox]

Til Lindemanmn (Rammstein) is in intensive care, but he's no longer critical.  At least that is positive.

In case someone still hasn't understood something, here's his picture:


Not old, not fat, not cripple, not diseased, yet infected and in intensive care.

Although true that the virus will be deadlier on older people and/or people with co-morbidity, there is just no way at this time to predict how someone will react to the virus, wether that person will experience mild symptoms or end up in intensive care.

Stay safe, stay at home, pretend Trump his mute.

He's old.

[Eddie Teach]

He looks like a wax figure.

[celedhring]

He was also a heavy drug user. That takes its toll unless you're Keith Richards - then they make you immortal.

[Tonitrus]

He was also a heavy drug user. That takes its toll unless you're Keith Richards - then they make you immortal.

I was going to say...can any true rock & roller claim to be in excellent health? 

[Zanza]

Age and sex (yellow=female, brown=male) distribution of cases in Germany


Average (or median?) Age of fatalities is 81 here.

[DGuller]

Dorsey, the thing you're missing is the potential for lethality to spike when medical resources are exhausted.

Yes, I think that's the one flaw in AR's otherwise completely reasonable take, but it's a rather major flaw.  The COVID-19 fatality rate wouldn't be equal to your regular life fatality rate if everyone got it at the same time.

[Fate]

Dorsey, the thing you're missing is the potential for lethality to spike when medical resources are exhausted.

Yes, I think that's the one flaw in AR's otherwise completely reasonable take, but it's a rather major flaw.  The COVID-19 fatality rate wouldn't be equal to your regular life fatality rate if everyone got it at the same time.

Other problems arise - AR gets in a rollover car accident requiring level 1 trauma hospital. Has severe burns on a large surface area of his body and internal organ injury.

No ICU beds available? You're going to die quickly. If you do manage to get an ICU bed, you're likely to get COVID-19 nosocomially from the ICU doctors who have been treating COVID-19 patients all day. And hopefully there are still ventilators available when you inevitably need one due to the burn injury.

That mortality rate will spike as well...

[Zoupa]

Dude in the back forgot his mask.

That's AR.

[Berkut]

Is a ventilator and intubation the same thing?

For the lay press they're probably trying to say the same thing. Intubation is the act of placing an endotracheal tube through the mouth into the trachea. Ventilator is the machine that pumps air through the tube into the lungs. In order to be ventilated you have to be intubated.

Is the reverse true?

Are people who need ventilators always intubated?

[The Larch]

Til Lindemanmn (Rammstein) is in intensive care, but he's no longer critical.  At least that is positive.

In case someone still hasn't understood something, here's his picture:


Not old, not fat, not cripple, not diseased, yet infected and in intensive care.

Although true that the virus will be deadlier on older people and/or people with co-morbidity, there is just no way at this time to predict how someone will react to the virus, wether that person will experience mild symptoms or end up in intensive care.

Stay safe, stay at home, pretend Trump his mute.

He's old.

Went to check it, he turned 57 earlier this year.

[alfred russel]

Dorsey, the thing you're missing is the potential for lethality to spike when medical resources are exhausted.

Yes, I think that's the one flaw in AR's otherwise completely reasonable take, but it's a rather major flaw.  The COVID-19 fatality rate wouldn't be equal to your regular life fatality rate if everyone got it at the same time.

Other problems arise - AR gets in a rollover car accident requiring level 1 trauma hospital. Has severe burns on a large surface area of his body and internal organ injury.

No ICU beds available? You're going to die quickly. If you do manage to get an ICU bed, you're likely to get COVID-19 nosocomially from the ICU doctors who have been treating COVID-19 patients all day. And hopefully there are still ventilators available when you inevitably need one due to the burn injury.

That mortality rate will spike as well...

The lockdown vs. no lockdown effect on auto fatalities is likely to be significant. Locking down is going to save many lives. Over a million are killed globally in traffic accidents, and I'm sure that as people are confined to their homes that will decrease significantly. If we extend the lockdown many more lives will be saved. That effect is going to dwarf any difference because resources are no longer available in trauma centers.

[celedhring]

During the first days of quarantine deadly accidents in Spanish roads fell something ridiculous like 90%.

[crazy canuck]

Hopeful update from BC - curve is flattening but heath officer not prepared to speculate on where it will go.  Everything depends on people following the distancing rules.