Hunker Down

@BethanyBellBB tells us, the median age of those dying in Italy of COVID 19 complications is 81 years old.... @hereandnow https://t.co/vbnJgr3Z6n

— tonya (@TonyaMosley) March 9, 2020

She also pointed out the strain that age cohort was placing on hospitals and healthcare in Lombardy, because of the virus (which ain't the flu, btw.  So comparisons to influenza are misplaced and misleading.  Gee, just like this!):

So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 9, 2020

A) once more, with feeling:  22 people are the mothers/fathers/brothers/sisters/grandparents of somebody.  They are not numbers.  B) death toll is not the issue, nor measure of danger.  The number ill is the danger, and the fact so many of them will need hospitalization, especially intensive care, is the danger.  Ask Lombardy, where people are suffering mightily from this fake news.

Dana Bash on CNN just now:

Trump in private doesn’t get it. It’s all about him. In private he’s complaining bitterly about the virus, the economy, why is this happening to me, etc?

— Roger Tansey 🆘 (@rogertansey) March 9, 2020

Pretty freakin' apparent when he was calling the whole thing a "Democrat hoax."

NEW: Because we can’t get a straight answer from the Trump Administration, I have checked with lab companies.

The best estimate is it will be 8 weeks before we have all the nationwide testing we need.

— Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) March 9, 2020

I don't know what to tell ya, other than that fine Texas advice for when it's gonna get worse before it gets better:  Hunker down.