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-2191007">KingMel</a>.
Right. The basic reproduction rate (R0) is not independent of the case fatality rate [CFR). If the virus is reproducing faster while deaths remain constant, the CFR will fall. It mathematically has to. However, that does not change the number of fatalities. Your dependents do not care if you are one of 100 patients with a CFR of 1% or one of 1000 patients with a CFR of 0.1%.
We have well over 50.000 dead Americans over the last two months. If the CFR were 1%, there would be roughly 5 million infected individuals. If it were 0.1%, there would be 50 million. The lower CFR means that your chance of encountering the virus is 10X more likely. That is an argument FOR protecting yourself with social distancing, not an argument against it.
