Believe in Facts, not in the Predictions Flared up by the Media
As the coronavirus continued its spread, month of March saw many world-ending predictions. The leaders and rulers made worst scenario predictions to force people inside homes while studies predicted devastating doom based on this and that models and scales. These apocalyptic predictions pressed panic buttons, pushing the people further into depression. And the media, by highlighting all these studies including those from all and sundry, played its usual sensational role in further petrifying the people, left inside the rooms for a glimmer of hope.
Just check some of these predictions and the status now. You will know that the world is not ending and we will survive. Facts can speak better than the alarming predictions.
- American President
Prediction: A report on March 31, 2020 quoted American President Donald Trump warning his people of `painful two weeks.’ The White House projected that the coronavirus pandemic could claim 100,000 to 240,000 lives, even if current social distancing guidelines are maintained.
Fact Check: 52,185 deaths as on April 25
- India and John Hopkins University
The US-based John Hopkins University first made a prediction of 12.5 crore to 24 crore people getting infected. Later, it dissociated with this. The study carrying logos of the US-based research organisation Center For Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP) and Johns Hopkins University said India will have 30-40 crores of infections by July
Fact Check: 24,506 cases
- Other Great Indian Predictions
- IIM Delhi: The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Rohtak predicted that Covid-19 cases will increase exponentially in India to approximately 13,000 cases by 15 April 2020 and to more than 1,50,000 cases by the first week of May 2020.
- Another research, conducted by the COV-IND-19 Study Group has revealed that India may witness nearly 13 lakh cases by mid-May.
- ICMR: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) predicted the case scenario of 2 lakh cases in Delhi alone in the next 600 days. The worst case scenario is 90 lakh.
- IndiaSim, as of March 24, predicted that the total number of people with COVID-19 in India could peak at 1 crore to 2.5 crore between March and August 2020.
Fact Check: 24,506 cases
- UK Predictions
- The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in Seattle predicted 66,000 UK deaths from Covid-19 by August, with a peak of nearly 3,000 a day, based on a steep climb in daily deaths early in the outbreak.
- Professor Neil Ferguson and his team at Imperial College London predicted as many as 500,000 deaths in UK and 2.2 million deaths in United States.
Fact Check: 19506 deaths in UK so far