IF YOU’RE concerned about the coronavirus potentially destroying civilization, don’t worry. Corona is nowhere near as bad as the worst pandemics known to man.
I’ve touched on this topic in previous articles, but it’s worth revisiting now that there’s a new uptick of corona infections in Iloilo.
As bad as the situation may be, the coronavirus’ infection and fatality rate is nowhere near as lethal as the pandemics that nearly destroyed some civilizations. The most destructive, most well-known plagues have fatality rate of around 30% to 60%, killing off entire chunks of local and global populations.
This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t be concerned about COVID, but it is not a civilization-ending event. Let’s examine a few examples.
First is the well-known Black Plague which occurred sometime in the middle of the 14th century. It was said to have reduced the global population at that time from “475 million to 350 – 375 million.” Philip Daileader, a medieval scholar, estimates that it had killed off 45 – 50% of the European population.
Up next, we have the Justinian Plague (527 to 565 AD) which is considered “one of the deadliest pandemics in history,” resulting in 15 to 100 million deaths, or approximately 30% to 60% of the Byzantine Empire’s population.
Thirdly, there is the plague that partially caused the Bronze Age Collapse. That particular pandemic was spread through war and prisoners being moved around the Levant. I don’t have any numbers for this particular plague, but it must have been quite bad to have partially led to the collapse of Bronze Age empires. So if we’re talking about civilization-destroying plagues, this is the one I would point to.
Other pandemics worth mentioning are the Hong Kong Pandemic, the Hong Kong Flu, the plagues spread by Europeans as they explored the New World, the plagues that spread to Europe from Asia and the Third Plague Pandemic. So if you’re worried about corona, just Google these and it should put things into perspective.
Now, what about corona? What is its fatality rate? I’ve seen several estimates, but ultimately I went with the most accessible data for convenience sake: The death rate for the coronavirus in the Philippines is 1.7% (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_death_rates_by_country) and in other countries, it can’t even go beyond double digits.
Let me repeat that: The death rate for the coronavirus in the Philippines is 1.7%.
As I’ve said earlier, corona is not likely to end civilization./PN
