COVID GOOD NEWS IN ALL THE BAD NEWS

I’d like to take a few minutes to talk to you about something that has had everyone’s attention for the last 8 months. It goes by many names. I’m calling it “fear”, but you have also heard it called The Wuhan, China, Corona or Covid-19 Virus. There has been something about it in the media 24/7--with the focus all on the negative. That’s what they do to grab your attention. And we all listen because we all want to protect ourselves from something bad. And that is actually a good thing. God designed us that way. To stay away from bad things. It’s also why He gave us the 10 Commandments—and Jesus—to also protect us from bad things.

 

Well, I’d like to share some good things I’ve learned--things you may not be hearing--that could help you rest a little easier. My sources are The Center for Disease Control and the LA. Daily News. Some figures are estimated, but they are still very encouraging.

 

Most of us know that just over 220,000 people have died in the US. And that’s sobering. But we were originally told 2.2 to 2.5 million could die. That means we are more than 90% under what was expected! Perspective is also important here. There are about 330M people in the USA. 80 just 06% of us have died of the virus. That’s just 6 people out of 10,000. Or 9,994 out of every 10,000 people are living through it!

 

Still, it hasn’t affected all states equally, so let’s look at California. Just 2.2% have even had a reported case. And only 1.9% of the cases have died. 80 only 4 out of every 10,000 Californians have died from it. Or 99.96% of us have lived. But it doesn’t affect all ages equally. California reports ZERO deaths under age 5. And just 3 if you are between 5 and 17. That’s one out of every 2.2M people that age. It’s 1 out of 40,000 who are 18 to 34; 1 out of 8,900 who are 35—49; and 1 out of 3,000 who are 50-59. If you are 60—64 it’s 1 out of 1,775. And still just 1 out of 1,200 if you are 65-70. And get this, about 99.4% of Californians over 80 are living through this. Hospitalizations are down 65% from the peak in August. And keep this in mind: The Center for Disease Control says 94% of the people dying from CVD-19 already had at least one other very serious health issue. That’s just one of the reasons I emphasize eating well, getting enough sleep, and following Jesus’ commands. You are going to live a lot longer if you do!

 

One last thing. This virus doesn’t affect all age groups the same, and it doesn’t affect all communities the same. Recall that the case-rate for California is 2.2%. It’s about 1.4% for Tujunga. Butjust 1% of La Crescenta—Montrose. And under 1% for La Canada. I don’t have any 411 on North Glendale but I’d guess it’s the same. So, our area is half the state average. Statistically, you would need about 5,000 people in this room to predict even one person is going to die! We have about 50 present—or 1% of that. And when you consider all the other precautions we take—temperatures, masks, distancing, sanitizers, well now you know why I’m not afraid. I feel very safe being here with you, and I hope you do, too!