Fear is a powerful force.

Unless you have one foot in the grave and the other foot on a banana peel, go live your life. Wash your hands often and don't go licking flipper buttons, you'll most likely be fine. I fully plan on attending the MGC.

There are many people that have coronavirus and don't even know it because all they have are the sniffles and do not get tested. That 30x figure is inaccurate and complete BS.

True, but once you feel symptoms, they come on fast.

What data do you have that shows that?

Even if that were true, which I am suspect of, why then would you want to catch it and carry it to “unhealthy “ people?

This stuff is based on 10’s of thousands of known cases across the planet. It’s not some barstool musing by me.

not a bit concerned about the virus, which has been been overplayed by the media. just use hand sanitizer and wash hands regularly like any person should do anyway. My family and I will attend as we have in the past.

Which is what I said in that post and which is why this is spreading so fast.

What I'm saying is that the number of deaths figure may be accurate but the number of people infected is not so that 30x figure you stated is BS....it's much, much lower than that.

Right, but all the people with sniffles and a cough are recovering and not getting testing or reporting a case. Thats why the mortality rate is not accurate at all. New England Journal of Medicine published an article a few days ago stating that the true rate is likely MUCH lower.

It is spread across age groups.

For example, regular flu, say .1% Death rate for a 40’s guy, corona .4%...that’s 4x. As age goes up, along with any other conditions, diabetes, heart disease, smoking history, death rate goes up.

Numbers are numbers. Total cases currently show average of 3.4% death rate.

Don’t be mad at me, it’s a virus.

Bingo!

You can say the same for the flu though. I've never been to a doctor for the flu in my life...its pointless. That also means I am not counted in flu statistics. Stay home, don't infect others. If you have other medical issues compounded by the flu, then yes...go to the doctor.

For additional perspective, heart disease kills 1774 persons PER DAY, cancer 1641, accidents 466, and strokes 401 per day. The tornado in Tennessee claimed 24 lives, almost twice the number of Americans who died from coronavirus thus far.

Americans also die each year from unusual causes. 160 die each year from autoerotic asphyxiation, 67 are victims of serial killers, 986 are killed by police, 75 from lawnmowers, 31 struck by lightning, and one American dies each year being trampled on Black Friday.

I haven’t heard any media angst over lawnmowers or auto-erotica. Medical errors are also far more dangerous than any viral epidemic. From 250,000 to 400,000 Americans die each year from medical errors, the third most common cause of death in the U.S.

So if it’s not 3.4% according to pinside, say it’s 1%...that’s 10x more deadly. Again it’s skewed for age groups so do you want to kill grandma because you are tough and can handle the sniffles?

What are you actually debating?

3 people don’t catch those events for each occurrence.

"If one assumes that the number of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic cases is several times as high as the number of reported cases, the case fatality rate may be considerably less than 1%. This suggests that the overall clinical consequences of Covid-19 may ultimately be more akin to those of a severe seasonal influenza (which has a case fatality rate of approximately 0.1%) "

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2002387

I sadly often forget how many people in pinside are also regular watchers of fox news

Shit is rotting your brain!

Crap... there go my hotel plans.

Oh hey the "normal flu" comparison again. This thing is just getting started. Save this argument for next year and see what it looks like.

What good is throating the plunger knob if you can't lick the flipper buttons after? I'm out.

No. Italy is currently locked down and under quarantine. Reports are many hospitals there are overflowing with sick COVID19 patients.

I don't ever recall seasonal flu quarantining entire countries and leading to the measures currently being taken by governments and companies here and around the world... but then again, I wasn't alive on 1918 during the Spanish Flu.

lofl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Corona virus is serious folks. Countries are on lockdown!

Guess you are younger and don't give a rat's ass about your parents, seniors, or those less fortunate then yourself health wise.

Honestly, the complacency and selfishness around this thing by too many on social media these days is disturbing.

Bold assumption about someone you do not know because they do not share in your panic mongering. I assure you that you couldn't be more off base.

Yeah, everyone knows I don't use social media.

Here's the important thing to remember when comparing the deaths by the flu (or anything else really), those numbers are based on the majority of people having been exposed to it. Yes, many more people have died from the flu, but that's because many more people have been exposed to the flu. The reason events are being cancelled and quarantines are happening is to slow the rate of exposure. As others have stated, the death rate of the flu is about .1%, we don't know the actual death rate of covid19 right now because it is still new, but estimates right now are 1-2%. If those numbers are even close to accurate that 10x-20x the number of people who could die from it. If the exposure spreads rapidly, that would be very, very bad.

We don't know, and that's the reason for caution. Yes, most of us will probably be fine and it will be like the flu. But no one really knows what the impact could be, so these steps are being taken to reduce risk. I'm not saying tpf should be cancelled, I'm still planning to go. But I'm not ignoring that there is a risk to people beyond myself. I'm worried about catching it there, coming to work the next day without having symptoms yet, and exposing many, many more people to it. That is a thing that can happen.

I don't understand people acting like this is nothing at all. I understand that it might be a minor thing, but we really just don't know yet and when so many lives could be at risk, why just ignore it?

This is concerning.

https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-latestcoronavirus-research-reveals-that-the-virus-has-mutated-gene-similar-to-hiv-and-is-1,000-times-more-potent-

Pleasantly surprised to discover so many global pandemic experts among a group of people I wouldn't trust to rebuild my flippers.

How many of those are at Pinball conventions?

Coincidentally, a couple months ago they were all constitutional scholars!

Governments don't quarantine millions of people and large companies like mine suspend all air travel over seasonal flu.

If you want to compare this to the flu, fine. At least be accurate and make the comparison to the Spanish Flu. If this spreads to the same number as those that typically get the flu, it is going to take a much heavier toll health wise and economically.

I'm just tired of those downplaying this as if it is no worse than the flu. It just isn't true as none of us have immunity to it and the numbers that would require treatment or hospitalization should it spread like No. Italy, could overwhelm the healthcare system.

We all have contact with the elderly and immune compromised everyday just by going out and living life.

If you're infected, you will spread this to others. That is why they are asking people with known exposure to self quarantine for 14 days

Nope. Virus is a super cold we just haven't been introduced to yet. Coronavirus has been around a long time other than that, this is just a strain we've never seen before.

I understand and respect your concern. However, neither Eric nor I compared this to the flu, or downplayed it. If you are going to lash out and accuse people of not caring about others, make sure you are directing it at the right people.

If we linked to articles with experts explaining how to rebuild flippers would that be valid?

Depends if it's a republican or democratic flipper rebuild website.

We'll all be exposed to it eventually. There isn't much point in avoiding exposure.

https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/coronavirus-doctor-says-high-blood-pressure-a-major-death-risk-1.1583772143148

It slows stress to healthcare system. Instead of a spike, a gentle curve. So you should definitely delay getting it.

I just figured out why all the we-have-normal-flu-deaths-so-what!!!! posts popped up today....developing

You have to look at the seasonal flu vs Covid-19 from:
12-1-19 to 3-9-20
And do the comparison based in China.

China is the only fact sheet we have on Covid-19 at this time and the information is brand new and is changing by the second.

There is no way you can take the regular data from Seasonal flu of the past and compare it to this epidemic!

This is a different situation.

Dr, I have a question. If it's worse for older people and I delay getting it, won't I be older when I get it?

As fervent a discussion as this is generating here demonstrates, show organizers- especially MGC- have a big problem. Already what 10 cases in Illinois?. Doesn’t matter how illogical it may be, people that make show profitable will stay home. Die-hards will be there, grandparents with the family will not. Youth soccer games- in WI with 1 cured case - people already aren’t shaking hands, they’re going to a gaming classic to press moist buttons all day?? It doesn’t matter what news channel you listen to, Targets everywhere are selling out of gloves, masks, isopropyl alcohol.. It’s game over man. The great sit in of spring 2020 has begun. Cut losses and rebuild for next year.

Relevant to the topic, I can only offer the following observation:

- I attended LAX 2020 this past weekend, as I have annually since 2015. KY reported its first cases this same weekend. Week prior, the local sanitizer sellouts had begun. Still, I opted to go anyway...

- This was, by far, the lightest 3-day crowd I have ever experienced at LAX. It was almost eerie. Every year, the aisles were packed, and for a stretch on Saturday it was hard to move. The organizers rearranged things this year to help with that but there was no escaping the fact that attendance - as compared to my previous 5 years' experience of game wait lines / times, break-out room crowds, and even cosplay and other tournament crowds - was down.

The fear is for real, and precaution is sensible.

AAAAGH!

Pretty soon we'll have to wrap ourselves in alcohol moistened bubble wrap just to leave the house!!

While I agree gathering places should be clean,this overuse of sanitizer is gradually making things worse.

I work in a school where I now have to wipe down / sanitize door handles ,bathrooms about every hour.

The thing is,it's not the kids fault,it's the parents not teaching the kids general hygiene because they're too busy playing on their phones.

Two words......Soylent Green. We're 3/4 of the way there .

It has arrived.

RIP TPF.

I mean, I'm joking, but am I?

Doomsday panic crowd is hysterical!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/03/09/asia/south-korea-coronavirus-intl-hnk/index.html

True mortality rate is about .5% in South Korea which exhibited the best testing procedures and now on the decline like China

A vaccine has been developed by the same company that solved MERS. It’s in the same strain as that and SARS

If they scream pandemic then the government can do whatever it wants in terms of rollout and avoid the testing process

Hardly worse than the normal flu

People have lost their damn minds

The world should lock down every winter from here on out due to the flu and current loss of life