Stupid question alert

[Mooey89]

When SARS/Swine flu kicked off, I don’t remember it being like this, don’t remember any countries in lockdown/panic buying/isolation etc on the scale we are in now.
It may be just that I was younger and so oblivious but I don’t think so!
Is it that it’s spreading quicker? More deadly?

Swine flu turned out to be a minor non-event. Covid-19 is a SARs virus

covid-19 is a SARs virus

Covid and Sars are both coronaviruses. So is the common cold. Sars was much deadlier but much less contagious than covid.

Nope the official name of the virus is severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
(SARS-CoV-2). The name of the disease is Covid-19 / Coronavirus disease. The reason why WHO don’t use it is to avoid panic in Asia as it was hit hardest by the last SARs outbreak.

It’s like HIV / AIDS.

www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/naming-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it