Astonished by councillor’s public statement

I am astonished by the statement from the North Mainland councillor Emma Macdonald stated the virus was “no different from flu.” (Coronavirus hets mention at IJB; SN, 6 March 2020)

WRONG!

COVID-19 is far more virulent than basic flu. In addition, the mortality rate of basic flu is less the 0.5 per cent whilst according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) COVID-19 has a mortality rate of 3.4 per cent which is almost seven times the mortality rate of flu.

She should have checked the World Health Organisation website and the science before she made such an inaccurate public statement.

People of a certain age and those with existing health issues are currently somewhere between very concerned and terrified.

As a public figure she shouldn’t make statements that appear to diminish this virus as being no worse than flu – when in actual fact the complete opposite is true.

Kerrie Meyer
Bigton