by Luis Miguel, The New American:

All eyes have been on Italy while the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, as the European country has been among the world’s hardest hit, but a study finds that more than 99 percent of Italians who died as a result of the illness had some type of pre-existing medical condition.

Deaths from the virus in Italy rose to over 2,500, with a 150-percent increase in the past week. Seeking to gain greater insight into why the nation’s death rate (about eight percent of those infected) is higher than other countries,’ health authorities looked at the records of 18 percent of Italy’s coronavirus fatalities.

Per the study compiled by the Rome-based institute, only three victims of those examined, or 0.8 percent of the total, had no previous pathology. Nearly 50 percent had at least three prior illnesses, and roughly a fourth had either one of two pre-existing conditions.

High blood pressure characterized 75 percent of the victims, 35 percent had diabetes, and a third suffered from heart disease.

Further, the study showed that COVID-19 disproportionately affects the elderly. The average age of the deceased in Italy is 79.5. As of March 17, only 17 of those who have died have been under age 50. All Italian victims under age 40 have been persons with serious existing medical conditions.

One factor overlooked in the study, but one that may be spurring the high rate of elderly deaths, is the Italian healthcare system’s enforcement of triage measures that prioritize the care of the young.

“If someone between 80 and 95 has serious breathing difficulties, you probably don’t proceed,” admitted an anesthetist at a hospital in Bergamo.

In other words, hospitals are de-prioritizing treatment of the elderly even though it is the elderly who are most at risk of dying from the virus.

One could argue that triage of this nature would make sense if the pandemic were one in which all age groups are equally at risk, i.e., if young and old were dying en masse, then preserving a society’s future would necessitate taking care of the young.

But when the average young person infected with the virus would recover after experiencing fever and flu-like symptoms for a week while the average senior citizen is at risk of death, should not such a triage be reconsidered?

Like much of the dilemma surrounding COVID-19, public overreaction is creating problems that authorities then point to as evidence that the virus is a serious matter that must be addressed with even more heavy-handed government intervention.

Because states and localities are forcing businesses to close their operations, citizens are losing money, the stock market is cratering, and economic forecasts are dire. As a result, the Trump administration is working together with Congress to roll out a stimulus package of unprecedented size.

The $1 trillion package will involve sending a check to most households and major cash infusions into several industries. President Trump has also paused evictions and foreclosures.

Many are calling for a nationwide shutdown. Bill Gates has recommended a shutdown that would last six to 10 weeks.

“China is seeing very few cases now because their testing and ‘shut down’ was very effective. If a country does a good job with testing and ‘shut down’ then within 6-10 weeks they should see very few cases and be able to open back up,” the billionaire said.

“The testing in the US is not organized yet,” Gates added. “In the next few weeks, I hope the Government fixes this by having a website you can go to to find out about home testing and kiosks. Things are a bit confused on this right now. In Seattle the U of W is providing thousands of tests per day but no one is connected to a national tracking system.”

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