Global pandemics and you
Sep 12, 2020
When the world is going crazy sometimes you just need to stay quiet and focus on what is important to you and those who are closest to you. You may not be able to save the world yet in many cases you can save your own small piece of the world.
Granted the pandemic has changed many things in fundamental ways. We no longer just pick up our bags, jump on a plane/train or rent a car and go away for the weekend. We stay at home or make elaborate plans when we need to leave the home. We take precautions because the scientists are still not completely sure how COVID-19 is transmitted and though current treatments are effective when taken early there are still lots of risks to take into consideration.
This situation reminds me of the 80s and 90s when AIDS/HIV first came to national attention. There was widespread panic and misinformation then as well. The biggest difference between how things were handled then and now is that AIDS seemed to be limited to the gay population which was a marginalized group. So there was no big outcry to close businesses, no riots, not even much news. Though like today there was a lot of fear in some circles.
In the COVID-19 reality, anyone can catch it, many are carriers with no symptoms, and it has led to death on a global scale.
However when compared to
· the Black Death (1347 – 1351) – killed an estimated 75 – 200 million people
· The Spanish Flu (1918-1919) – killed an estimated 20-40million people
· Swine Flu (April 2009-April 2010): 60.8 million cases reported. The CDC estimates 575,400 people died worldwide. This equates to 1% of the reported cases die from the disease.
Covid-19 worldwide cases confirmed: 28.2 million, 909,927 deaths with 19 million recovered. This equates to 3.5% of the confirmed cases succumbed to the disease.
At this time, COVID-19 appears to be more virulent than the Swine Flu when looking at the number of deaths. Only time and further research will tell us why.
Keep safe and keep learning.
I believe in you!
