In reply to <a href="https://macdailynews.com/2020/04/23/the-covid-19-data-is-clear-stop-the-panic-and-end-the-total-isolation/#comment-2190674">tweaker</a>.
Nor do we know the number of deaths. The basic mortality rate is a fraction for which we only have estimates of either the numerator or denominator. Based on testing data from the few areas where there have been reasonable sampling of both active virus and antibodies, the best guess seems to be 0.5 to 1.0% (which was also the best guess when I quoted that number here in February).
If 50% of Americans catch the virus, that could still be a million deaths.
Most of the comments here are sheer fantasy. The main article is well out of the mainstream of scientific opinion. We need to get out of lockdown, certainly, but mass fatalities have their own economic effects.
