Barnaby Joyce Says Snakes Are More Of A Threat Than Coronavirus
There are about 3000 snake bites in Australia each year, with an annual average of two deaths, giving you a mortality rate of less than 0.1 per cent.
Barnaby Joyce seems to have taken a leaf out of Bob “crocodile” Katter’s book, saying people need “a reality check” because coronavirus poses less of a threat than snake bites.
On Sunrise this morning the former deputy Prime Minister also made fun of people who were panic buying toiler paper (ok, on this he’s got a point).
“Look, it’s tragic, we’ve had over 3,000 deaths globally, but you’d need about 30 to 40 times that number to equate to the deaths from snake bites,” he said. “People aren’t going down to the shops, running the place out of shotgun shells, compression bandages, anti-venom. People are still walking through the long grass.”
To be fair, Barnyard has good reason to be quite fearful of snakes – the trouser snake has got him into a fair bit of trouble #COVIDー19 #auspol
— Interested Bystander (@IntBystand) March 9, 2020
Has he spoken to Katter about the killer crocodiles?
— Emily Mayo (@iamemilymayo) March 9, 2020
Firstly, another reality check for you (and for Barnaby) — roughly two people each year in Australia die from snakebites.
Our abundance of anti-venom means they’ve got a mortality rate here of around 0.03 percent, whereas coronavirus is estimated to have a mortality rate of around 3.4 percent and still has no vaccine.
Globally the WHO say around 81,000 to 138,000 people die each year because of snake bites, mostly in poor rural communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Crucially, those people aren’t really in a position to be stockpiling shotgun shells or anti-venom.
Yes, that global figure is tragically higher than it should be, but it’s a figure that isn’t going to increase because someone on your bus didn’t wash their hands.
There are about 3000 snake bites in Australia each year, with an annual average of two deaths, giving you a mortality rate of less than 0.1 per cent. WHO estimates Coronavirus mortality rate at more than 3%. https://t.co/qLz4fH58So
— Paul Syvret (@PSyvret) March 9, 2020
He should see the figures for the Black Death vs Spiders…
— Bradley (@BradSabbath) March 9, 2020
Secondly, please don’t take this as a sign to start hoarding shotgun shells. Not only is killing or harming snakes illegal, but the majority of snake bites in Australia actually happen when people are trying to pick up or kill snakes.
In case you were wondering, Barnaby has also figured out what all those people who bought a six month supply of toilet paper are going with it.
“All the toilet paper going, what are they doing? I’ve worked out they’re going to wet themselves, wrap it around them, walk down Martin Place,” he said. “Then they won’t catch anything because no one will go near them because they look like they belong in a psych ward.”
Glad we straightened that one out.