On 3/2/20 7:33 PM, Elmar K. Bins wrote:
so...why the fuss?
Hi, I really don't know if it's fuss or not, if the topic has been overstated or not, if the outbreak is going to be contained or not. I'd just stick to the facts: the seasonal flu has been studied for decades, there is an effective vaccine and the death rate is around 0.1% (in US), despite the high number of deaths (18k), and a R0 (how easily a virus spreads) value of 1.3. OTOH, very little is known about the new coronavirus and the disease it causes, there is not a vaccine so far, the death rate is around 2.3% (in China), and a R0 value between 2 and 3. Anyway, as Jim recalled, a lot of events are being cancelled to which I would add ITB Berlin: "The responsible health authority of the district of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf in Berlin imposed significantly tighter restrictions on holding the event". https://www.itb-berlin.de/en/Extrapages/HealthInfo/ IMO, we as a community should care of it and tackle this issue with a correct, rational, prudent attitude. -- antonio