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Bert Dirschell
Centertown
Dear Editor:
People need to step back, catch a breath to gain some perspective on COVID-19. Government and the media are only going to continue fanning the flames of hysteria.
World Health Organization Situation Report 61, the latest available as I write this letter, says there have been 3,261 COVID-19 caused deaths in China, with its 1.45 billion people. During the prior 24-hour period only eight new deaths were reported.
In Spain, Germany and France, total population 198 million, there have been a total of 1,497 COVID-10 related deaths. The CDC's website says there have been 201 COVID-19 related deaths in the U.S.
In 2017 there were 16,350 HIV related deaths in the U.S. Since 2014 syphilis has increased by 71 percent, 35,063 cases; gonorrhea has increased by 63 percent, 583,405 cases, and chlamydia has increased by 19 percent, 1.8 million cases. Newborn deaths related to congenital syphilis increased from 77 in 2017 to 94 in 2018. A responsible sex life is all it would take to virtually wipe out HIV & STDs in two generations.
Leading causes of U.S. deaths are heart disease, 650,000; cancer, 600,000; accidents (unintentional injuries), 170,000; chronic lower respiratory disease, 160,000; cerebrovascular diseases, 146,000; Alzheimer's disease, 121,000; diabetes, 84,000; influenza and pneumonia, 56,000, etc.
COVID-19 hysteria is badly damaging our economy, over the potential of only 5-10 percent of the deaths that are caused by the flu each year? Certainly some common-sense precautions are in order, especially for older people like me. I won't knowingly come in close contact with someone who is coughing. I would appreciate stores offering shopping hours for only higher risk individuals. I will refrain from attending mass gatherings of people, but not from small groups of people whom I know. I need the government to furnish me with facts so that I can make responsible decisions. I find it incredible that government and the media leap to inform us of a local COVID-19 death, but refuse to give us specific information on the death. What was the age of the person, was the person in generally good health, where had he/she been traveling, etc.?