Numbers - a Little Perspective Please!

Last night the inimitable BBC News proclaimed 79 Coronavirus Deaths for the day and they also gave us the average for the past 7 days as 64!

I have no idea what reaction we, as the public, are meant to take from this, but let’s put things into perspective.

In the UK, the following numbers (averages courtesy of the National Statistics Office) died yesterday approximately (that’s the numbers are approximate – they were definitely dead!):

Cancer: 450 died

Dementia: 213 died

Heart Disease: 175 died

Flu (this is an average across the year remember): 72 died

Yet none of these figures are reported daily!

AND, the Daily Coronavirus Death Rate continues its trending downward track:

If we are going to treat Coronavirus as an exception, then let’s do it properly. Let’s get anyone with the disease into the Nightingale Hospitals. That way all the other hospitals can get on with sorting out the long list of patients with more critical issues, without any fear of adding Coronavirus into the mix!