COVID-19 is an extremely deadly virus, and nobody should be trying to downplay the severity of this outbreak. By now, you have probably heard a lot of people try to convince you that COVID-19 is not that dangerous because the flu has killed far more people this winter. And that is true. But what they aren’t telling you is that the death rate from the flu is extremely low. Tens of thousands of Americans die from the flu each year, but if this coronavirus spreads all over the planet the death toll will be in the tens of millions. This coronavirus outbreak is likely only in the very early stages, and if it becomes as widespread as the flu, it will become a public health crisis unlike anything we have ever faced in modern times.

After taking a look at the numbers, hopefully you will understand what I am trying to say.

On Tuesday, the World Health Organization announced that the global death rate for COVID-19 is now 3.4 percent…

World health officials said Tuesday the case fatality rate for COVID-19 is 3.4% globally, higher than previous estimates of about 2%. “Globally, about 3.4% of reported COVID-19 cases have died,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a press briefing at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva. In comparison, seasonal flu generally kills far fewer than 1% of those infected, he said.

I have a feeling that number will continue to go up, but for the purposes of this article let’s assume that number if accurate.

As for the flu, the CDC says that there will be between 32 million and 45 million illnesses in the United States during this flu season, and somewhere between 18,000 and 46,000 deaths.

That means that the death rate from the flu this year will be about one-tenth of one percent.

So can we please stop with the comparisons between COVID-19 and the flu?

COVID-19 is at least 34 times more deadly, and experts are warning that up to 70 percent of the global population could ultimately catch the virus.

If that happens, we will see a death toll in the tens of millions at a minimum.

Here in the United States, the death rate is running well above 3.4 percent so far. Out of 118 confirmed cases, nine victims have died so far…

The eighth and ninth persons confirmed to have died in the U.S. from the coronavirus lived in Washington state, just like the previous seven victims. Washington accounts for 27 of the 118 cases so far reported in the U.S., and state officials said 231 people are under public health supervision.

I have a feeling that the death rate in the U.S. will go down once we start testing more people, but we will see.

At this point, coronavirus clusters are starting to pop up all over the nation. For example, the number of victims in Santa Clara County has now risen to 11…

Santa Clara County announces 2 new cases of COVID-19 Total now 11.

Over on the east coast, a newly confirmed case in New York City is making headlines. Authorities are telling us that it is a “community spread case”, and this particular victim just happens to be a lawyer with a firm in midtown Manhattan…

The latest coronavirus case in New York City is a 50-year-old lawyer who resides in Westchester County, about 20 miles north of New York City, and is a partner at a firm based in midtown Manhattan, multiple sources confirmed to Business Insider. The office building is in the vicinity of Grand Central Terminal, which sees about 750,000 daily commuters.

Before he was finally diagnosed, was he spreading the virus to countless others in midtown Manhattan?

We shall see what happens in the coming days.

As I discussed yesterday, the U.S. has been much slower than other nations to conduct widespread testing for the virus, and it looks like that was a major mistake.

Down in South Florida, one woman was recently told by her doctor that she probably has COVID-19, but officials refused to test her for it…

In what may be the first case of coronavirus in South Florida, a woman who recently returned home from Italy says she was told by doctors at Jackson Memorial Hospital that she “likely” has COVID-19, but that they are unable to verify it because state and federal officials refused to conduct the necessary tests to confirm it. “The doctor himself told me that, you know, he thinks that the results of my [preliminary] tests mean that I most likely have the COVID-19, but that the Department of Health did not want to pursue it further,” said the woman, who requested that her name not be used to protect her privacy. “It was either the Department of Health or the CDC that decided not to further pursue the inquiry. But I was basically told that it is most likely that I have this virus and that I should self-quarantine.”

As Dr. Matt McCarthy has said, this refusal to test probable patients is a national scandal. There is no excuse for this sort of negligence, and it has the potential to create all sorts of problems.

At this point, fear is spreading like wildfire all over the nation. Due to concerns about COVID-19, Twitter is asking “its entire workforce” to “work from home”…

Twitter is asking its entire workforce of 5,000 people to work from home, part of its effort to keep employees safe and prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The company said working from home was mandatory for its workers in Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea, where there are higher rates of the COVID-19 disease.

Other companies are taking similar steps, and this will inevitably slow down the economy.

But this could be just the beginning. If you can believe it, one NBA owner is actually saying that the NBA could eventually “ban fans” from games if things get bad enough…

Marc Lasry, co-owner of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, told CNBC on Tuesday that sporting events could possibly ban fans if the coronavirus outbreak worsens. “If you’re going to do it to basketball, you’re going to do it to baseball,” Lasry said on “Fast Money.” “I hope we don’t get there.”

I hope we don’t get there either.

Because once we start banning public gatherings, we won’t be able to go back to normal until this pandemic is over.

And sometimes pandemics can last for a very long time. The Spanish Flu pandemic lasted for three years and killed tens of millions of people. If what we are facing is similar, then all of our lives are about to change in a major way.

Sadly, some people are saying that if they get the virus they will actually purposely go into large crowds to try to spread it. Here is one example…

Denver Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca is getting major blowback over a controversial tweet sent on Friday. CdeBaca quoted a tweet that said, “For the record, if I do get the coronavirus I’m attending every MAGA rally I can.”

How sick in the head do you have to be to say something like that?

We live at a time when hearts are growing very cold, and it is only going to get worse as time rolls along.

Hopefully by now most of my readers understand that we need to take COVID-19 very seriously.

This isn’t anything like the flu. This is an extremely deadly virus that has the potential to kill millions of Americans.

Let us continue to keep praying that this outbreak will eventually subside, but let us also continue to brace ourselves for a worst case scenario.

About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.