–2013.76 → The largest drop in points ever for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, recorded on March 9, 2020, as fears rose over the spread of the coronavirus. The second biggest drop (1,465 points) came two days later. All told, six of the 10 biggest point declines for the Dow have occurred in the past three weeks, spurred by concerns about a possible pandemic.
90% → The highest mortality rates of recorded epidemics—certain outbreaks of Ebola have been this deadly, as well as untreated HIV/AIDS.
$570 billion → Estimated worldwide annual cost of a moderately severe to severe pandemic
36 → The number of hours it takes for a disease to spread from a remote village to major cities on every continent
219% → Increase in medical mask sales in the U.S. in mid-February, compared to the same time last year. In response, the U.S. Surgeon General tweeted, “Seriously people—STOP BUYING MASKS!”
3,711 → The number of people quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship after a case of the novel coronavirus was detected onboard. Of these, 705 have since contracted the disease.
2 → The number of infectious diseases that have been eradicated: smallpox and rinderpest
430 B.C. → The earliest recorded pandemic. An outbreak—likely typhoid fever—started near Ethiopia and spread through Libya, Egypt and Greece, killing up to a third of the population of Athens and contributing to their losing the Peloponnesian War.
Coronavirus Epidemics
MERS since 2012 27 countries 2,494 cases and 858 deaths Mortality Rate 35%
SARS since 2002 29 countries and regions 8,096 cases and 774 deaths Mortality Rate 9.6%
COVID-19 (12/31/2019–3/11/2020) 114 countries and territories Over 124,000 cases and over 4500 deaths Mortality Rate 3.4%
Major Pandemics
SOURCES: Standard & Poors, WHO, Medscape, National Bureau of Economic Research, Nielson.com, Twitter, CDC, Japan Times, UN.org, History.com, ScientificAmerican.com, Historytoday.com, Johns Hopkins CSSE, UNAIDS
