Whether it's an aunt or uncle, a colleague or friend, brother, sister or cousin, the line that this is no worse than the flu is irresponsible and dangerous.

The latest to fall into this trap of misinformation is City of Clarence alderman Tony Mulder - a former Tasmania Police Commander who oversaw the state's counter-terrorism efforts, no less.

His offering was even more offensive than the usual line, although it's likely that many of us have heard similar comments in recent weeks.

"Its the flue and only targets the old and infirm. Darwins law of natural selection [sic]," he wrote on Twitter.

Does this really need to be repeated again? There is no vaccine or treatment for COVID-19. Flu has antiviral medication. Coronavirus does not. The ability to defeat it relies solely on the individual's immune system.

And coronavirus is far more capable of overwhelming the immune system than the flu.

Coronavirus is about twice as contagious as the flu, with each infected person going on to infect between two and three more people, compared with just over one other person for the flu.

About 15 per cent of coronavirus cases are serious, and 5 per cent require ventilation - far more than the flu.

It is also about 10 times more deadly than the flu, according to research by infectious disease specialists.

This does not even take into account the unknown effects of retransmission, something that China is now experiencing.

As for Darwinism: do we, as a society, allow the immunocompromised, the elderly and the Aboriginal community to accept this as some sort of fate? Of course not.

Next time someone tries to tell you this is just the flu or that society is overreacting, simply look at the disaster happening in Italy and Spain and ask yourself: would you want your loved ones to face that?