Re: Doesn't check out
> No, I don't think this virus is really as scary as people make it, the main problems are that it seems to spread easier and quicker than an influenza and that there is no vaccine.
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> Mortality seems to be comparable, so maybe we are overreacting a tad?
On the face of it, mortality seems to be reported as in the 1-2% range, whereas 'flu is in the 0.1% range. So only an order of magnitude more fatal.
However, not sure if this initial estimate of mortality is now falling due to people actually getting treated rather than just attempting to shrug off a nasty cold/flu, or more cases getting diagnosed due to increased awareness of the issue..
A possible problem for the nation, however, is the rate at which people require hospitalisation for the bit of the virus that causes breathing difficulties. There are only just over 100K hospital beds available for General/Acute patients (source), and they're usually over 90% occupied. That leaves fewer than 10K beds available for such patients (assuming they can be suitably quarantined away from other patients, and that the bed availabilty matches the spread of the virus).
As a healthy(ish) person, I have no significant concern about the virus, but I *do* have a concern as to the ability of our health service to cope with the numbers of those that might be affected