We shouldn't only be looking at death rates for Covid-19, but also at the 20% of people who get moderate to severe symptoms. They will be sick for 8-10 weeks, and increasingly medical professionals are concerned for long term health impacts on their systems.
Viral load seems to be the big factor in how severe the disease is in your system. That relates directly to how long you are exposed to someone with the disease.
Make sure you keep contact with people outside your households to a minimum, wear a mask in public and reduce your geographic footprint.
For my friends in countries that are easing up their lockdown restrictions, this is especially important to remember. Yes, get your hair done. OK, go to a restaurant. But make sure you keep 2m apart from other people, that those serving you are wearing masks and shields and sanitising regularly, and minimise your time there. If that doesn't sound like fun, just think of how much "not fun" a severe case of Covid might be.
Remember, it isn't just about that less-than-1% death-rate everybody quotes; it's about the 20% of people who get really sick and appear likely to have long-term, lifelong after effects.
Here's a news report I contributed to on this topic today. Also available at: https://youtu.be/OfLsPHqcWGc
Comments