Ard, no not a case fatality rate. In the US that's ~1.8% using worldometer figures. I'll be honest, because numbers have been changing (and my memory sucks), I don't remember exactly what that 0.05% was calculated from... I think it might have been deaths vs. total US population? Though currently that sits at ~0.17% which seems very far off from the 0.05. I can't imagine that many more people have died since my post on 3/15? I think it more likely that I used incorrect figures for the 0.05%. So, editing that out of the first post. Mea culpa.
I agree with you that it does not make sense for it to be a purposeful act on the part of the CCP. Much more likely an accident by an understaffed, undertrained, and over-worked facility which the CCP then wanted to discredit and cover up because it doesn't look very good. Nevermind pissing off the world community. The question regarding their culpability was more rhetorical, I don't think there is any chance anyone is recovering anything from China willingly. Other options for hurting them financially (tariffs, etc) hurt the citizens of every country participating. Just another tax.
I don't trust what the WHO says at all anymore. Media has to be double and triple checked all the time and has it's own agenda depending on what you're watching. It's no wonder most of the country just picks a political side and always sides with them regardless of job performance/results. The time and effort required is more than most voters are willing to put in.
Hopefully, as time goes by, most of the facts will leak out or be discovered. But with the grip the CCP has on China and the people, I think what actually happened will never be known with 100% certainty. Just one more conspiracy to be debated.
