coronavirus is harmless
I feel compelled to write this article due to the complete madness surrounding this virus. Let me start by stating that 'coronavirus' is not correct. It should be corona virus in two words since there are many others. Unfortunately our media doesn't care about facts and doesn't hesitate to make up or mangle words if it serves their purpose. It should be called COVID-19 and nothing else. I guess that isn't as catchy as 'coronavirus'.
First of all, even according to WHO numbers - which are wildly inflated because only people with severe symptoms get tested, not those with light ones, or those who never see a doctor - this virus is no worse than the common flu. It is completely harmless (are you equally scared by the common flu?) except for old people (like any influenza virus) and those with pathologies that would be compounded by COVID-19 and potentially become life-threatening (again, like any influenza). While my Ph.D isn't in virology, I do have a solid background in both virology, medicine and forensics. I also am a trained and mentored organic chemist, just to say that I'm not some ignorant quack. The truth is that, for reasons I haven't figured out yet (see below), we are throwing the world into chaos, destroying billions in wealth every day and risking a world-wide recession over something that is no more threatening than any flu (influenza) strain. I can't repeat this often enough!
Next, let us take a look at the sanitary measures. If this virus strain was truly virulent, those half-measures wouldn't stop it - not a chance. If you think otherwise you are fooling yourself. Yes, we might slow down its spread, but that's all and is counter-productive. So again, governments and the media are doing everything they can to keep this panic alive as long as possible. It has to stop now, before it is too late. It has gotten to the point where some governments are claiming there's a lack of Alcohol for sterilization. Apart from the unlikelihood of that, do they realize that any kind of alcohol, e.g. isopropyl (instead of ethyl) is perfectly suitable for the purpose and available in mass quantities from a number of sources? Longer chain alcohols should be fine too, but I haven't bothered to dig out the literature on that. Not to mention there are many other sterilizing agents: heat (steam), chemical substances, iodine (the best), etc. Why anyone would need thousands of gallons of hand-sterilizer is beyond me. Just don't put your hands in your mouth and nose! Then use soap (scrub hard) and your hands are as clean as they'll get (the human body is never sterile, we're a giant, walking bacterial and viral culture). If that's not enough for you, there's a thing called gloves... In other words, more panic about nothing - even if what they claim is true (which would be the government's own fault). It is all silly beyond belief and would be funny to watch from afar.
Let me explain something about virii (viruses, while an English word, isn't technically correct and sounds utterly wrong to me): they cannot survive outside the body for more than a few minutes. While there are exceptions, which can linger a bit longer, unlike bacteria - which can survive thousands of years - they can't live on indefinitely. They need the host - in this case a human cell - to survive and, unlike bacteria, are vulnerable to every common disinfectant. Another thing that people should realize is that virulent virii (viruses if you insist) like Ebola, burn themselves out very quickly if they kill their host within days. Look at the statistics yourself: the Ebola outbreaks with an 88% mortality rate affected only a small number of people, but the strain with a ~40% mortality rate affected many thousands. Mind you this isn't Ebola - not by any stretch of the imagination. Virii that aren't so deadly, survive for longer periods. Influenza (flu) strains have a low mortality rate which is why they spread and live on for a couple of months. COVID-19 is no different - as attested by the (inflated) WHO figures. But all virii (viruses) have one thing in common: sooner or later they burn themselves out: either by killing all the available hosts, or due acquired immunity of the hosts (e.g. influenza). This is (one reason) why influenza vaccines have to be tweaked for specific strains every year - the same strain doesn't come twice in a row (though it may live on somewhere, hidden from sight).
In other words, everything governments and the media are doing and saying - is wrong. Considering the (relative) harmlessness of this COVID-19, we should simply go on about out lives and forget about it. Perhaps we'll get a little sick and build immunity or maybe it won't affect us at all (some of us are already immune - the history of the plague is fascinating if this interests you). While something like Ebola needs to be contained due to it's dangerous nature, COVID-19 doesn't! Note that when I say contained, I'm referring to real containment measures, not the stupid, half-hearted and completely useless things governments are doing. I'll add that, even with the best containment measures available, it proved practically impossible to contain Ebola in Zaire (and other places). So much for virology. If you take issue with any of my statements, which are obviously superficial, just contact me me and I'll be happy to debate this with you. As you can see, even just from an epidemiological point of view, it is hard not to think that this isn't a manufactured crisis, but there is more.
The media, obviously, isn't helping. They love such stories, and take advantage of them as long as they possibly can. As I've said before (about financial news) the best thing you can do is to switch off the television, the radio, and stop reading those sensationalistic newspapaer articles. Listen to the lone voices of reason, which from time to time are able to cut through the noise (and then get attacked by all the doomsayers and pseudo experts). I'm one of those voices, and I'm happy to discuss this with you and dispel any doubts you might have on this issue. Just contact me. Again, while the media is obviously just trying to make money out of this - and the real culprits are the governments - the nonsense they bombard people with has to come from somewhere. Whether it's self-proclaimed experts, other 'experts' (who must have an agenda), or other sources doesn't matter. They are spreading lies and should know better: it's called journalism. Still believe this isn't a manufactured crisis
Like it or not, we have an artificial crisis on our hands that is orders of magnitude more dangerous than the harmless, pitiful, thing that is COVID-19. People have literally lost their minds, and thus any sense of reason, and are preparing for a WW3 scale situation. We're past hysteria and firmly in the territory of complete insanity. Mass panics are always dangerous - for all kinds of reasons - and once they take hold they are hard to banish (which might be exactly what an unknown entity hoped for). I give this virus another month - though mind you that this isn't more than an educated guess - until it burns out like every virus in the history of mankind. The problem is that another month like the one we've had so far will lead to a world-wide recession. Please, talk to friends and family and explain them that this isn't what it's purported to be. Point them to me if they have doubts or specific questions. I'm happy to do anything I can to end this irresponsible, stupid, dangerous and unnecessary mess.
The most maddening thing about all of this, at least for me, is that there can be no doubt that it is a manufactured situation and I have no idea (yet) who would want this kind of situation or, for that matter a world-wide recession.
The eternal question remains: cui bono? (who benefits). I don't know...