I'm taking Twains advice to not argue with the knob, the dude that has fun on furlough, and the gate agent.

Don't wrestle with a pig. You both get muddy and the pig likes it.

It depends on where you’re at and how populated your county is. Porter County, South Dakota where your neighbor lives 5 miles away is doing pretty good. Totally understandable why they might think this is a hoax and the news is messing with them. At the populated counties, where MOST of the population lives is 20 to 50%+ Covid patients and near capacity for many of the major city hospitals.

To clarify, are you saying 50% of some counties' populations are in the hospital right now due to covid, or are you saying that 50% of the hospitals' patients are covid related?

The answer to that depends on which you find scarier - which answer will most likely make you give up your own common sense and lemming-ify yourself to the whimsical will of the governing elite. That one

You're not much for facts, are you?

"However, the average age of individuals with COVID-19 reported to be hospitalized has hardly budged since the spring despite the age swing. From Oct. 12 to Oct. 25, the average age of a patient hospitalized with the respiratory infection was 67. On May 1, the average age of all COVID hospitalizations then was 69, data shows."

Well the arguments on here have become lame lately anyways! People have gotten the message or stopped posting realizing they’re in the minority with their ideas. It was for real.

Doubt it. There are no specific laws regarding flu (I'm assuming), and there are no public health orders regarding flu quarantine. If you know you have covid, you're probably subject to mandatory quarantine anywhere so violating that could provide the basis for legal jeopardy if someone died.

Also you could probably convince a jury that you didn't know the flu was actually dangerous... that same jury would crucify you for covid. Is what it is.

Became lame lately? They were always lame, now they have become pathetic last gasps and delusions for some.

OK, just so we are clear - not a hoax. Not from South Dakota. (although I thought you said SD was out of control because of the Sturgis rally? Is it all OK now? I don't live there)

COVID-19 exists. is it Ebola? not close. Is it worth shutting down the hospitality, education, transportation, and assorted commercial enterprises in a misguided attempt to "control"? Nope, and not possible anyway. Look at how great all your lockdown darlings are doing. Do I think the news is messing with me? Not intentionally, but you realize news is all about getting ratings, and you get better ratings with hysteria than with everything is fine - so - like others have said, I prefer to look at the raw numbers, not the TODAY show spin/hype "go wash your groceries" reporting.

LIke others have said, hospitals are not designed to have a lot of excess capacity - too inefficient. So am I surprised they are filling up with COVID patients right now during flu season (and incidentally, flu is down? weird). Nope. Am I terrified? Nope. Does it make a good story though, to show the crying nurses every morning on TV? Absolutely.

Also FWIW, it is not the major city hospitals like you suggest that are struggling - again you are way off - the hospitals with the largest percentage of COVID-19 cases among admissions are Pawnee KS, Arenac MI, Tiaoga Pa, Campbell County KY. Feel free to check next time before posting - go down the list - these are not the counties with the "big cites" in them as you suggest. They are the small time areas of the country that are having trouble making hospitals profitable to begin with - https://carlsonschool.umn.edu/mili-m...acking-project

In summary - wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. Try again.