"The challenge - according to the historian of the Hoover Institute Niall Fergusson - it is resisting that strange fatalism that leads most of us not to cancel our travel plans and not to wear uncomfortable masks, even when a dangerous virus is spreading exponentially " and that, according to Professor Gabriel Leung (photo), dean of the faculty of Public Health of the University of Hong Kong, "It could infect more than 60% of the global population if containment methods fail". And it wouldn't be a nice scenario, given that "Even if the death rate stood at one percent, it could still kill millions of people". For this, "Viruses can have more devastating effects than terrorism", in the words of the president of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, addressed to an assembly of 400 eminent scientists.
To protect humankind, "Today we must do everything possible using the weapons available ... also because the growing number of diagnoses in patients who had never visited China could be the tip of the iceberg".
In the same hours, the number of infected passengers on the Diamond Princess ship we had previously dealt with still rises: now 5% of those present on board upon arrival in Yokohama.
We already talked about this case two days ago (v.articolo), claiming that the number of cases officially accredited by the Chinese government ... "not one, not two, but three zeros are missing". The vast majority of readers reacted with skepticism, giving evidence precisely of the "strange fatalism" described by Fergusson and ignoring the admonition of his almost namesake Neil Ferguson, an expert at Imperial College London, according to which "We are currently in the early stages of a global pandemic" with a number of cases it should "Double every five days": so, following the normal logic of exponential growth, we go from 5.000 to 600.000 new cases a day in a month!
Meanwhile, the coronavirus crisis affects the global economy: cancel the Mobile World Congress and the Shanghai Grand Prix, the assembly lines of FCA and Hyundai are blocked, luxury and sales of electric cars are struggling, non-Chinese suppliers stormed ...
What do we still have to wait before we worry?
Photo: rthk.hk frame / presidency of the council of ministers
