Coronavirus is having a big impact on our daily lives
Listen to this articleThe World Health Organization has now classified the coronavirus a “Pandemic” and President Donald Trump is preparing to issue a Disaster Declaration, which will free up more funding to fight the deadly virus.
The COVID-19 is at least 10 times “more lethal” than the seasonal flu, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the House Oversight Reform Committee on Wednesday. The WHO said the current mortality rate is 3.4%.
“I can say we will see more cases and things will get worse than they are right now,” Fauci said.
When asked how many people will die, Fauci responded:
“I can’t give you a number. I can’t give you a realistic number until we put into the factor of how we respond. If we’re complacent and don’t do really aggressive containment and mitigation, the number could go way up and be involved in many, many millions.”
Health officials said those aggressive containment policies will be limiting the number of people who can attend sporting events, conventions, concerts and in some cases banning people from attending games — such as for the upcoming March Madness tournament. San Francisco already has limited attendance to a maximum of 1,000. The NBA Golden State Warriors will play their game Thursday without fans.
A deployable vaccine might not be ready for 18 months.
The Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) has a map of the growing pandemic that is continually updated. As of this writing there are more than 153,000 confirmed cases worldwide, including 5,789 deaths. Over 50 have died in the United States, 37 in the state of Washington.
Also, four of the five men’s professional sports leagues, NBA, NHL, MLS and MLB, have suspended their seasons and the NCAA cancelled March Madness. Our reporter, Claudia Gestro, was in Arizona covering the Cactus League Spring Training when the announcement was made. By Friday afternoon players had been sent home from the Spring Training facilities, although a directive from the league says players, coaches, and other team personnel are allowed to stay in the area of their ST facility, go to the team’s host city or return to their homes.
Top photo is a YouTube screenshot of Dr. Anthony Fauci testifying before Congress
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