The lining of the airways has cilia, tiny hair like things which sweep the mucous up and out of the airways. Nicotine paralyses the cilia, and causes the mucous secreting cells to proliferate and produce thicker mucous to protect the interior of the airways. With the cilia paralysed, you then have to cough to clear the mucous. This damages the lungs and eventually produces COPD. Substances in the tar reduce your resistance to infection.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/18/world/asia/china-coronavirus.html

20 times more deadly than flu.
64% of deaths have been male even though both sexes having similar infection rates.

Reuters reporting half a billion people have had travel restrictions imposed on them, seen speculation that this since has increase to over 700 million since.

https://graphics.reuters.com/CHINA-HEALTH-LOCKDOWN/0100B5EF3LJ/index.html

Ren:20 times more deadly than flu.
That statment is still pure unadulterated nonsense.


CDC.gov
Key Updates for Week 6, ending February 8, 2020
The percentage of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza is 6.8%, below the epidemic threshold of 7.3%.


~2% is not 20 times more than 6.8%

EMP, I don't understand why you are continually attacking fellow members.

Jeanette Isabelle

Hi

Jeanette Isabelle,
Do you believe covid-19 is 20 times more lethal than flu?
Do you believe covid-19 is 1000 times more lethal than flu?

I don't understand why you're not pointing out any errors in my logic or facts.
I don't understand why you're "slandering" a fellow member .

I'm not here to say who's correct or who isn't with the numbers. My concern is with what you said to Ren. Given that your post remains unedited, we can assume that the administration disagrees with my assessment.

Jeanette Isabelle

Just reported NYT numbers, as mainstream media finally realising it's more serious than the common flu.

Death rate varies over time. So both rates estimated at different times can be accurate.

In the beginning over 60% of infected patients were dying. Probably due to host of factors, such as unaware they're infected with something other than common flu, and the disease quickly killing people with compromised health. Also as people become aware of the disease they more likely to get checked out.

So would always expect the death rate to drop, it was just hard to see it fall to flu like rates.


Edit: Ah I see the problem, NYT have edited the article. Can't find the original version, but here is USA Today with the same claim.
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/natio...vid/4792597002/


Edit2: Found an archive http://archive.is/r6gRV

"Coronavirus Live Updates: Disease Roughly 20 Times Deadlier Than Seasonal Flu
Official figures from China suggest that the disease caused by the coronavirus has a fatality rate of at least 2.3 percent. By contrast the flu’s fatality rate in the United States is 0.1 percent."

Worth to point out, the CDC info is for the U.S. The NYTIMES article is correct, the death rate for Coronavirus in China is much higher than the death rate for seasonal flu in the U.S. This is, in part, due to the much higher rates of cigarette smoking in China, and the Chinese Government's inability to address the issue.