Re: Falsified death figures?
Originally Posted by
Percy Vere
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Too a certain extent, yes.
I (that's just me and only me) think that the overall reaction has been one of panic, panic and then some more panic just because this is a new virus. SARS was a new virus a few years ago, as was bird flu and pig flu. It barely registered in the western hemisphere but quite a few east Asians died because of it. Did anyone panic over there? Not to my knowledge (and I was working in Malaysia for a couple of months at the time).
The annual flu go around is always deadly, some years worse than others, Government reactions - Get a jab (but a suitable strain of vaccine might not be available). Does the flu bother us usually? No, of course it doesn't. Do peeps panic? No, of course we don't, we all take it in our stride and get on with life.
To sum up, yes, a goodly number of extra people have died than would be expected but, because of the media onslaught, I think things have got out of hand and caused most governments to over-react.
Originally Posted by
OldGreyFox
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My thoughts exactly Percy.....
And I don't think we are the only ones.
Possibly this is a more virulent virus than other's in the past, the fatalities certainly are high in number but the coverage given in the media seems to be never-ending. Just from this aspect it is probably causing far more real concern than if there was less of it. Most of us don't object to knowing facts but the supposition element seems well OTT to me, trying to work out the truth is not easy, in fact impossible at times.
Another one here who joins you two in what you are thinking!