9. What is the probability that this will be contained and eradicated or will it be endemic in the human population?
If it is like SARS it will not be endemic. It most likely will be a hit and run just like SARS. People talk about mutation but what we found with SARS was that there was no mutation and we have been tracking MERS and we have not seen any severe mutation. This is unlike the common coronavirus which when they replicate they dont have a spell check so they mutate. So if this virus follows the same path as SARS or MERS it wont mutate. This will not be endemic. I think it will burn itself out in about 6 months.
10. Does mortality rate typically increase over time? That was apparently the case with SARS.
With SARS we didnt know how long the virus was alive for. So with SARS in the later stages people were not dying of SARS but of the complications of SARS which is why the mortality rate increased. But now people are much more aware of the dangers of over immunosuppression. So the death rate shouldnt be more severe.
In Hubei, the milder cases are not making it to the hospital. Because they are so overwhelmed that milder cases are being sent away. So thats why its important not to look at the mortality rate in Wuhan but to look at the mortality rate in Shanghai or Shenzhen or outside of Wuhan. Its very important to dissect it out.
No crazy conspiracies. Just probable under-reporting in Wuhan/Hubei due to logistics and the increased load of cases causing a higher mortality rate than elsewhere.