- The coronavirus (COVID-19) is much deadlier than the seasonal flu with a fatality rate of 2.3 percent.
- Comparisons between the virus and the flu are irrational.
- COVID-19 has caused a decline in the economic sentiment of major countries like Germany.
When coronavirus was first publicized, many were quick to drive the narrative that the seasonal flu is more dangerous than the contagious virus. New analysis shows COVID-19 is at least 20 times more fatal than the flu.
Irresponsible to claim flu is worse than the Wuhan coronavirus
The narrative that the seasonal flu is worse than coronavirus widely spread in early February, possibly in an attempt to downplay how fast the virus can spread.
Several publications heavily criticized analysts and newspapers that compared the flu to coronavirus for valid reasons, describing it as a poor case of whataboutism.
Out of 44,672 patients confirmed with coronavirus in China, 1,023 individuals had died within a short period after being diagnosed.
That leaves coronavirus with a fatality rate of 2.3 percent. Compared to the season flu’s 0.1 percent, coronavirus is significantly deadlier.
On top of that, coronavirus is more contagious than the flu. A case in Hong Kong showed that the virus spread within an apartment through a pipe, infecting two more individuals.
Coronavirus is more fatal than the flu, spreads faster than the flu, and is more dangerous than the flu.
COVID-19’s impact is unprecedented
Apart from the fatalities the coronavirus outbreak has caused, it has also started to impair major economies around the world.
Julianna Tatelbaum, a reporter at CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe, revealed that the economic sentiment of Germany sharply missed expectations due to the virus outbreak.
She said:
ZEW survey of German economic sentiment sharply MISSES expectations for February as coronavirus concerns take toll on confidence. Current conditions at -15.7 (poll -10.3). Sentiment at 8.7 (poll 21.5). Is bad data actually good though for fiscal spending prospects?
The coronavirus outbreak has led even the biggest companies in the global market such as Apple and Tesla to see a sharp decline in their stock prices.
The stock price of Apple, for instance, plummeted by 4.2 percent in aftermarket trading hours, which is a substantially large single-session drop for a trillion-dollar company.
Such effects have led business and economic sentiment, productivity, and sales of many companies to decline steeply in a relatively short time frame.
The negative impact coronavirus has had on the global economy does not compare to what the seasonal flu has done in previous cycles.
As previously reported by CCN.com, COVID-19 virtually froze the economy of China to the point in which President Xi Jinping had to reaffirm the nation’s focus on economic and social development objectives.
This article was edited by Samburaj Das.
