For people in their 80s, 15% chance of death if you catch it (and 60%-70% are likely to).
For people with pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes, 8% chance of death.
For the general population, 1-4% chance of death (different countries are seeing different stats).
The US has a president who thinks it's a hoax and cares about the stock market. He tries to tell people not to worry. But these are genuine risks.
Pence is slightly better, but not that much.
The CDC can't hire back the folks they got rid of: they have new jobs, many of them probably in other countries.
The US health service will probably be overwhelmed, because the number of cases is exponential.
The key is to slow the virus down to give researchers time to create a jab. Will Americans accept limitations on their freedom of movement WHEN that proves necessary. Because they should be planning for it now.
They are already talking about it in the UK. They are already doing it in Italy.
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