Confirmed cases of COVID-19 are up across the country, so, naturally, the anchors, reporters, and on-air “experts” at CNN have all but lit their own hair on fire to give them an excuse to pull the alarm.
Chris Cuomo on Monday solemnly declared as now-Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett was sworn in that the pandemic “has never been worse than it is tonight.”
As positive cases climb in El Paso (as they have all over the United States and in Europe), CNN TV doctor Sanjay Gupta said Tuesday with regret that, “What this means to me is that people really aren’t wearing masks. That’s what it comes down to, regardless of where you are.”
Mind you, positive cases have been steadily increasing in the U.S. since mid-September, while COVID-19-related deaths have been on a downward trend since late August. And El Paso is, according to the New York Times, “among the communities where … you are least likely to encounter maskless people.”
But, hey, there’s an election to influence, so let’s not let those niggling details get in the way.
The overwhelming hysteria can’t be stopped, but while we’re on the subject, it’s a good time to take stock of our pandemic situation.
We just saw two people who fit the definition of high-risk find themselves infected by the virus and then back on their feet in a matter of days. Those two people are President Trump, an overweight 74-year-old, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a very overweight 58-year-old with an underlying health condition (asthma).
With the constant fear and panic caused by the media, anyone could be forgiven for believing that both Republicans were touched by God himself and given a new chance at life that defies all medical science.
However, divine intervention was likely unneeded. Science and medicine appear to have been sufficient.
Both Trump and Christie were hospitalized, perhaps requiring varying degrees of treatment, and both have since made it out. That was the overwhelming likelihood from the get-go.
According to the Centers for Disease Control — listen to the experts! — the average person in Christie’s age group is given a 99.5% survival rate if infected with the coronavirus. Admittedly, that number is perhaps a little lower if you take into account the former governor’s weight and asthma, but that’s the latest data we have.
For Trump in his mid-70s, the survival rate is 94.6%.
Of the nearly 9 million total cases of COVID-19 that the U.S. has seen since the beginning of the year, more than 7 million of them will almost certainly require no hospital treatment at all.
The typical COVID-19-related death is 78 years old. That’s the exact same number as life expectancy in the U.S.
CNN hopefully provides its top talent with excellent health insurance because keeping your heart rate up all day, as they do, especially now that we’re a week away from Election Day, must really take a toll on the body.
