Not to minimize the earthquake, and with a hurricane expected, the death toll will climb. For purposes of comparison, put it at a thousand lost lives, final count projection. Likely the death toll will be higher.
AP reports, nationwide -
The COVID-19 death toll has started soaring again as the delta variant tears through the nation's unvaccinated population and fills up hospitals with patients, many of whom are younger than during earlier phases of the pandemic.
The U.S. is now averaging about 650 deaths a day, increasing more than 80 percent from two weeks ago and going past the 600 mark on Saturday for the first time in three months.
Data on the the age and demographics of victims during the delta surge is still limited, but hospitals in virus hotspots say they are clearly seeing more admissions and deaths among people under the age of 65.
Two days of Covid-19 U.S. deaths, more than the Haiti quake's possible final toll.
Keep a perspective. Push your local village idiots toward vaccination sites. It is like trying to herd cats, unwilling cats, but the vaccine haters imperil the rest of us, and should stop being the public health menace they are.
UPDATE: The reported death toll from the earthquake has reached over 1400. For the analogy, presume that by the time tropical storm and clearing collapsed buildings are factored in, 2000 Haitian lives may have been lost. In a U.S. Covid-19 week at present-levels of death, the virus deaths might be twice that number. If virus fatality levels drop, it is only a matter of time for our nation's virus death toll to surpass Haiti's quake/storm number. It debunks effort to minimize the virus threat to consider the relative loss of lives. Pandemic has a meaning, one you can take to discuss at one of your friendly vocal neighborhood mask burnings. "Delta Blues" may take on a second meaning. Until another Greek letter's variant shows up as even more virulent and transmissible.