President Trump took to Twitter Monday morning to try to promote calm amid an increasingly panicked public — and stock market — by posting some statistics to help put the coronavirus epidemic in perspective.
“So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu,” the president tweeted. “It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life [and] the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!”
So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 9, 2020
Trump is not alone in pointing to flu statistics with the intent of bringing a measure of calm to the public. As The Daily Wire highlighted, physician David Drew Pinsky, or “Dr. Drew,” made a similar argument on CBS News last week, comparing a bad flu season to what we’re currently experiencing in the U.S. with coronavirus and chiding the mainstream media for promoting unnecessary “panic.”
“A bad flu season is 80,000 dead, we’ve got about 18,000 dead from influenza this year, we have a hundred from corona,” Dr. Drew told CBS News. “Which should you be worried about, influenza or Corona? A hundred versus 18,000? It’s not a trick question. And look, everything that’s going on with the New York cleaning the subways and everyone using Clorox wipes and get your flu shot, which should be the other message, that’s good. That’s a good thing, so I have no problem with the behaviors. What I have a problem with is the panic and the fact that businesses are getting destroyed, that people’s lives are being upended, not by the virus, but by the panic. The panic must stop. And the press, they really somehow need to be held accountable because they are hurting people.”
As The Daily Wire reported, “panic” has indeed set in, including in the global market, which plunged Monday amid the most dramatic decline in oil prices since the 1991 Gulf War. “Japan’s Nikkei index fell more than 5% on Monday, and European stocks also plunged, with London’s top index down nearly 8%. France’s CAC 40 dropped more than 7% and Germany’s DAX was down 6%,” The Daily Wire’s Joseph Curl reported Monday. “In the U.S., the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were all down more than 12% from their recent all-time highs. Dow futures were down more than 1,200 points just before the markets opened. Shortly after they opened, the Dow was down more than 1,800 points. Stock trading halted for 15 minutes after the S&P 500 cratered 7%.”
The latest risk assessment from the Centers for Disease Control includes the following:
- For most people, the immediate risk of being exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19 is thought to be low. This virus is not currently widespread in the United States.
- People in places where ongoing community spread of the virus that causes COVID-19 has been reported are at elevated risk of exposure, with increase in risk dependent on the location.
- Healthcare workers caring for patients with COVID-19 are at elevated risk of exposure.
- Close contacts of persons with COVID-19 also are at elevated risk of exposure.
- Travelers returning from affected international locations where community spread is occurring also are at elevated risk of exposure, with increase in risk dependent on the location.
The CDC also provides the following description of what might take place in the coming days:
More cases of COVID-19 are likely to be identified in the coming days, including more cases in the United States. It’s also likely that sustained person-to-person spread will continue to occur, including throughout communities in the United States. It’s likely that at some point, widespread transmission of COVID-19 in the United States will occur.
Widespread transmission of COVID-19 would translate into large numbers of people needing medical care at the same time. Schools, childcare centers, and workplaces, may experience more absenteeism. Mass gatherings may be sparsely attended or postponed. Public health and healthcare systems may become overloaded, with elevated rates of hospitalizations and deaths. Other critical infrastructure, such as law enforcement, emergency medical services, and sectors of the transportation industry may also be affected. Healthcare providers and hospitals may be overwhelmed. At this time, there is no vaccine to protect against COVID-19 and no medications approved to treat it. Nonpharmaceutical interventions would be the most important response strategy.
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