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Originally Posted by Pierre
Dear Lord.
ITS THE FLU
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No, it isn’t...
https://www.sciencealert.com/the-new...hing-in-common
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No, Coronavirus Isn't 'Just Like The Flu'. Here Are The Very Important Differences
Aches and pains, sore throat, fever – although they may feel similar to those suffering from their symptoms, the novel coronavirus is not the same as the seasonal flu, experts stressed Wednesday.
COVID-19, the illness caused by coronavirus, proves deadly in around 3.5 percent of confirmed cases.
While this is not the same as its mortality rate, given many people may be infected but not realise it, it is significantly higher than seasonal flu, which typically kills 0.1 percent of patients.
"There is still considerable uncertainty around the fatality rates of COVID-19 and it likely varies depending on the quality of local healthcare," said Francois Balloux, Professor of Computational Systems Biology at University College London.
"That said, it is around two percent on average, which is about 20 times higher than for the seasonal flu lineages currently in circulation."
But the true danger of coronavirus is unlikely to be the death toll. Experts say health systems could easily become overwhelmed by the number of cases requiring hospitalisation – and, often ventilation to support breathing.
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The other major difference between flu and COVID-19 is that scientists have studied seasonal flu for decades. So, despite the danger of it, we know a lot about flu viruses and what to expect each season - however, very little is known about COVID-19, because it's so new; this means COVID-19 is something of a wild card in terms of how far it will spread, how it will mutate, and how many deaths it will cause.
On a related note, mum-in-law’s care home is now locked down - only visits being allowed are "end of life" visits.