The second wave of panic is here
2020-11-25
The second wave has now reached Stockholm. The tube is almost empty, and I am beginning to see masked people everywhere. What is this?
Let us start from the beginning.
Initially there was a clear distinction between the virus and the disease.
“Official names have been announced for the virus responsible for COVID-19 (previously known as “2019 novel coronavirus”) and the disease it causes. The official names are:
Virus – severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 – (SARS-CoV-2)
Disease – coronavirus disease – (COVID-19)”
Soon enough media and politicians started to confuse the virus with the illness. Also, a pet name was coined – The Corona. The Corona is used for either the virus or the illness.
Also scientists are confused. In a recent report (November) the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences describes ”SARS-Cov-2 positive” patients as ”Covid 19-infected”.
After a while, also the CDC starts mixing up virus and illness. They write that COVID-19 spreads when they mean that the virus spreads.
“COVID-19 most commonly spreads during close contact
COVID-19 can sometimes be spread by airborne transmission
COVID-19 spreads less commonly through contact with contaminated surfaces”
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-covid-spreads.html
CDC is the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Finally, the virus SARS CoV-2 is not distinguishable from the illness COVID-19.
The spread of virus
What is called the second wave is that more and more people test positive for the virus SARS CoV-2. In popular terms, to test positive now means that you “have” COVID-19 or The Corona. Or in the terms that the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences uses, that you are “Covid-19 infected”.
However, most people who test positive do not notice much. They just happen to test positive for SARS CoV-2 viruses which are among the trillions of viruses they normally carry in their body. Some people however get infected and some people get ill.
Testing positive, being infected, getting the disease, dying, all these are included in the concept “the second wave”. And any of these are called “cases” of COVID-19 or The Corona.
Is Covid-19 deadly?
Getting infected does not seem that very dangerous. But what if you risk dying?
The reason for the panic is basically that the virus, although mostly quite harmless, can be seen as deadly.
Here is how:
A new form for death certificates was introduced by WHO early in 2020. It was immediately adopted in Sweden by the National Board of Health and Welfare. In the form there are new boxes to tick. One is “the person tested positive for SARS CoV-2” and the other one is “there is a suspected connection with SARS CoV-2”.
In any of these cases the cause of death could be labelled COVID-19. Last year, influenza, even if many patients were afflicted when they died, was not labelled as the primary cause of death. This year COVID-19 seems often to be labelled the primary cause of death. That makes it scary.
There is no clear diagnosis for COVID-19. There are no reliable statistics. But there is a big scare.