Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Coronavirus / Corona Virus

It should be noted that Italy is not a third world country and, with all its problems, has an advanced and free health care system. Italy has done more testing for the virus outside of any other country with the exception of China. I think that on that basis we can take the figures as being reasonably reliable.

To say that 4 out of 5 people will only get a mild form of the symptoms is a little ingenuous. The Italian experience is that roughly 55% have mild symptoms and 45% need to be hospitalised. Nearly 10% of those need intensive care, that may mean life support. Italy simply does not have enough intensive care beds and departments and even buildings are being equiped in record time. So even with all the restrictions the current situation is close to overwhelming the health system.

All this in in addition, not instead of, all the usual causes of illness, hospitalisation, and death. By and large all those things are still happening (with perhaps a reduction in road and work related trauma in Italy due to the curfew like restrictions). If you saw the film of the rows of coffins building up at places like Bergamo I think your question would be answered. If it were not for modern medicine and emergency provisions (in other words if it was allowed to spread without control) we could be seeing mass graves come into use similar to when some of the great plagues occurred in the past.