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In most countries, a few people or a few hundred people have been infected with this virus, and a dozen or so countries have seen a handful of deaths. Many more people die each year from simple influenza.
Two years ago, the US had 45 million flu infections, more than 300,000 thousands hospitalised, and 61,000 deaths. Why wasn’t that considered an epidemic? All those infections and deaths weren’t even noticed by the media. But 100 infections and 10 deaths from a coronavirus is sufficient to request $8 billion in funds and curtail air transport. This year in the US, more than 10,000 have died of the flu, but ten people out of 330 million have died from the coronavirus and we have a pandemic.
In most infected countries the statistics are quite similar: about one person will die of each million of population.
Iran, with 80 million people, has less than 100 deaths, roughly one out of each million of population. Statistically, this is nothing. The only curiosity about Iran is that the virus seems to attack primarily the political leaders of their Parliament.
Italy has roughly 50 deaths out of 50 million of population, roughly one in a million. So what? More people die from from eating bad pizza or falling off bridges, but all the schools and universities are closed.
Korea is similar. Out of 50 million people, 40 deaths. Roughly one in a million. Where is the pandemic?
On this basis, China appears to be the worst with about two people dying out of each million. (3,000 deaths from 1.5 billion population). Probably more mothers-in-law are strangled each year.
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Larry Romanoff is a retired management consultant and businessman. He has held senior executive positions in international consulting firms, and owned an international import-export business. He has been a visiting professor at Shanghai’s Fudan University, presenting case studies in international affairs to senior EMBA classes. Mr. Romanoff lives in Shanghai and is currently writing a series of ten books generally related to China and the West. He can be contacted at: 2186604556@qq.com. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research.
The original source of this article is Global Research
Copyright © Larry Romanoff, Global Research, 2020
