midtskogen wrote:Norwegian authorities estimate that the mortality rate of Covid-19 is 0.31% or three times that of the seasonal flu. So far 275 deaths have been associated with Covid-19, and more than 90% of the deaths have been in the 70+ age group. The 2018/19 flu season gave about 1400 deaths by comparison. This probably means that the social restrictions since March (no large congregations, work-from-home recommendations, quarantines, etc) will make the total deaths in 2020 lower than average. Currently there are around 150 new confirmed cases daily in Norway and the number is fairly stable. The two largest cities in Norway have been worst hit. 22 people are currently hospitalised in the country for Covid-19, of which 3 receive intensive care.
In short, the effects, or manageability, of Covid-19 seems to correlate pretty strongly with population density.
well population density correlates pretty well to other things also, like higher air pollution and asthma rates, as well as (especially in NY!) we have a high rate of diabetes and obesity because of unhealthy processed food consumption. The clincher for me are the hospital studies that show that the people being hospitalized are overwhelmingly (96%!) those that have either asthma, diabetes, obesity or some other comorbidity.