Hacker News Reader

Flu season is accounted for in normal hospital beds and other capacity planning. A sudden huge surge in need for ICU care is not accounted for.

View on HN

But my point is that surely these additional 60,000 people (and probably many more who recovered) must have gone through ICU.

Not necessarily, and maybe they didn't need artificial ventilation which is the big deal here.

Also, flu didn't go away. covid-19 is in addition to the stress to the health system caused by flu (and all other diseases) and in a very short time.

and also, even at the very lowest end, COVID-19's death rate is an order of magnitude more than Flu (0.1% vs 1%)

Reply on news.ycombinator.com