On Saturday almost 800 people in Italy died from it -- most of those fatalities happening in a fairly confined geographical area.
Saw multiple news reports the last couple of days that Italy is also recording every death by someone who has the virus as being killed by the virus.
Pneumonia? COPD? Heart attack? You died of the virus.
That certainly inflates the numbers.
I went to my primary care doctor last week for something totally unrelated and asked him his frank opinion. He said he thought much of the panic was overblown. He noted several factors in Italy's alarming numbers: a more elderly population, a healthcare system that's substandard when compared to ours, much greater interaction with China, and a few other things. He wasn't overly concerned about it overwhelming the American health care system and noted (keep in mind that this was last week) that the off-label use of the malaria drug was showing promise in treating the virus.
On trips, I often stop for restroom breaks at fast-food restaurants. Most of them have closed their lobbies, even to carry-out service (although many sit-down places are still allowing people to come in and carry out their orders). Convenience stores will for the most part be open, but in general their restrooms aren't as tidy as restaurants. I'd rather stop at McDonald's than Speedway.
