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Re:Ask HN: Why is everyone I talk to in the real world so un... by thu2111 on Wednesday March 11, 2020 @07:14PM (#22551819)
That's a lot higher than regular flu though.

The real issue with these numbers isn't whether it's larger or a lot larger than regular flu but to what extent any of these numbers are meaningful at all. The same virus supposedly causes death rates of between 0.5% and 5%, an order of magnitude difference. Seems more likely that nobody really knows.

Re:Ask HN: Why is everyone I talk to in the real world so un... by p1esk on Wednesday March 11, 2020 @07:45PM (#22552025)
Also, we don't know how many people have been infected. I'm guessing for the flu we have better estimates, as it has been tracked for decades. Besides, "flu" has been a diagnosis commonly used by doctors whenever the symptoms fit. I was told I had a flu by a doctor more than once without any blood tests. So we might have another order of magnitude correction once more data is available.

Yes, it's better be safe than sorry, I get that. However we probably shouldn't use mortality rates as the main reason to panic (or not panic). I shouldn't have done that in my previous comments.