It’s getting harder to find any cause for optimism around the novel coronavirus outbreak. In one of the most frightening warnings yet, the leader of Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel, has predicted that 70 percent of Germans could catch the disease. That’s 58 million people. According to BBC News, Merkel made the prediction at a news conference Wednesday alongside her health minister. She said that, as there is no known cure or vaccine, all her government can do is slow the speed of the outbreak so it doesn’t overwhelm health services. “It's about winning time,” she explained. Similarly, The Daily Beast reported Wednesday that Republican members of the U.S. Congress were told in a private briefing last week that there’s a good chance most people in the country will eventually be exposed to the coronavirus. However, the assessment, which came from a former White House public-health official, didn’t suggest that most people will become infected or ill from the virus.
