The Mystery of Declining COVID-19 Mortality

by Brian T. Lynch, MSW

I want to point out a public health mystery regarding the COVID-19 virus that we can no longer ignore. The mortality rate seems to have dramatically declined from the initial wave in the Northeastern states back in March. Infections are resulting in fewer deaths in the second wave that has hit the Southern and Western states. What natural phenomenon can so profoundly alter the mortality rates so quickly?

Take a look at the two graphs of daily cases and daily COVID-19 deaths below. If the mortality rate remained the same, the basic shape of these two graphs should be nearly identical.

Instead, the early peak of new cases in the Northeast is much lower than the current second wave in the South and West, yet the peak in COVID deaths during the first wave is much bigger than in the current, much large wave of new cases. Has the virus mutated? Have medical interventions improved that dramatically? Or have reporting methodology changed the data collection to such a degree?

The two bar graphs above are the daily numbers of new cases on the left and daily deaths on the right over seven months. The blue and brown lines represent the 7-day moving average. Look at the differences in the peak averages of new cases and deaths between the April wave and the July/Aug wave we just experienced. When you calculate the differences, it turns out that the peak number of deaths in the initial wave back in April was 2 times higher than in the second wave in July/August even though the peak number of cases in the second wave was 2 times higher than in the initial wave. In other words, the second wave had twice the number of infections and half the number of deaths.

If this steep decline in the mortality rate of the virus is from mutations or improved treatments, rather than reporting issues unique to the United States, than similar declines in mortality over time should be evident around the world as well. This is something we should know, so here is the question:

QUESTION: Among the nations that have experienced a similarly higher second wave of COVID-19 cases as we have, does the United States stand alone in having a dramatic decline in mortality during the second wave of infections?

To answer this question, I looked for a sample of countries that had similar patterns of COVID-19 infection rates over time. Several countries had, or are having, a higher second wave of COVID-19 cases, including France, Japan and Sweden. The global pattern of the pandemic in general shows a similar pattern.

Next, I looked at the 7-day daily average of new cases and deaths for each of these countries and identified the highest daily average of new cases, and of deaths, for each wave peak in each country. I did the same for the global totals. I then calculated how much higher the peak number of average daily new cases was in the second wave versus the first wave. Likewise, I calculated how much higher the peak number of average daily deaths was in the first wave was than in the second wave of new cases. The results are summarized in the table below.

REDUCTIONS  IN MORTALITY BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND WAVES OF CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAKS
Places w/Two Peaks	Daily New Case 7-Day Avg.	Daily Deaths 7-Day Avg.
	2nd Peak vs. 1st Peak	1st Peak vs. 2nd Peak
World	3.3 Times Higher	1.2 Times Higher
France	1.5 Times Higher	48.8 Times Higher
Japan	2.5 Times Higher	1.6 Times Higher
Sweden	1.7 Times Higher	4.0 Times Higher
U.S.A.	2.1 Times Higher	2.1 Times Higher

ANSWER: It seems clear that the lower mortality rate during a second higher wave of new cases over a period of time is a global phenomenon and not just something happening within the United States. While changes in how cases are reported may be a factor, it is unlikely that such changes are of primary significance. It also means that research is needed to understand why higher infection rates in a second wave of the pandemic produce lower mortality rates. The answer cannot be that the first wave simply killed off those with underlying conditions leaving healthier people to face the second wave. The second wave in the United States is primarily impacting an essentially different population with health characteristics identical to those people in the first wave. Clearly, the scientific community should focus some attention on this issue.

Below are the data graphs for average daily new cases and average daily deaths for the world, France, Japan, Sweden, and the United States. Note that in France, their second wave of COVID-19 infections has not yet produced a rise in the number of deaths despite the fact that there should be some evidence of this by now. And in Sweden, the death rate is on a long, slow decline, so I picked a data one month after the peak of new infections for the comparative calculation. 

New COVID-19 Spikes Not Due To a Surge in Testing

by Brian T. Lynch, MSW

The media says COVID-19 testing rates are much higher than they were initially, and that this fact might help explain some of the increase in diagnosed cases. Out President says we should SLOW TESTING DOWN because we are finding new cases. He says this trying to imply to his base that testing causes cases when, of course, more cases make him look bad. Scientists have been saying for some time that by this point we should have between 5 and 10 million tests per day to safely open.

In other words, everyone should be tested monthly or every two weeks for the virus. Our 7-day average of daily COVID-19 tests as of June 27th is 541,283 tests. And if you look at the bar chart and trend line below, THERE IS NO SURGE!

What we see from the data is the gradual rise in testing numbers over time. If there was a surge at any time, it happened back in mid-May and then it faded away. So any talk about how the increased test is responsible for the current surge in confirmed infections is just not accurate. 

 

Data source: Worldometer.info. The graph is by Brian T. Lynch. It was last updated on July 6, 2020.

And our testing numbers are not good when compared with other countries. We are 26th in the world for tests per million. We are orders of magnitude away from that goal, and our situation compared to the rest of the world is obvious. The graphic below shows how we are doing compared with the EU. The biggest problem we have is politicizing of wearing surgical masks in public.

And here below is the seven-day moving average of daily testing numbers beginning on May 2, 2020.

Staying Safe as We Open Up in this 2020 Pandemic

by Brian T. Lynch, MSW

As we flood back out into the world after Memorial Day of 2020 to remember our fallen soldiers, let’s remember the fallen in this viral war we are fighting today. If you plan to head out to the beaches, locker rooms, barbeques, churches, or synagogues, first remember to honor the lessons taught to us by 100,000 Americans who have already died. They are telling us that we cannot wash away this modern plague. We can not pray it away or wish it away. Until we control the virus through testing, isolating, and contact tracing, or through vaccinations, we are on our own. We must protect ourselves and everyone around us from the air we all breathe.

First, we need to understand that a virus is not a bacteria. Bacteria are small cellular critters that live on surfaces and feed off of the residues of film and grime that cover every surface. Bacteria are alive in most meanings of that word, and if you pick up enough of them on your hands, and touch your eyes, nose, or mouth, you can infect yourself with them.

Viruses like COVID-19 are 100 times smaller. They are mere strands of genetic material with no living activity when not in contact with host cells. They flit about in the air for a time, some of them floating around in moisture droplets released into the air that soon falls to the ground. Other virus strands end up in much smaller aerosol particles that stay suspended in the air for hours until they are sucked into your body when you take in a breath (think MASKS). If you touch a surface recently sprinkled with moisture droplets containing the virus, and then touch your eyes, nose, or mouth without first washing or sanitizing your hands, you may also infect yourself. This is a less common way to catch the virus because these viruses don't stay intact long when the moisture dries up.

When COVID-19 viruses get sucked into your lungs from the air, they land on the surface of your lung cells (or other cells). They trick the cell walls into letting them come inside. This is when they become active. They take control of the cell and force the cells into replicating them wildly until the cell ruptures, releasing an army of clones into the surrounding tissue. Some of these clones attach to surrounding cells and slip inside to begin replicating again. Others are caught up in the air currents and get rushed outside the body in a breath, or a cough, or a sneeze (think MASKS).

The amount of virus in the air (called virus load) depends on several factors, including how sick a person is who is breathing out the virus, how close to a sick person's breath-cloud you are (think SOCIAL DISTANCING), the volume of air per person in a given enclosed space, the air exchange rate in a building or enclosure and the length of time that a sick person is breathing virus into the air in a room, for example (think MASKS).

The manner of a sick person's breath matters also. A cough releases a lot more virus than a breath and a sneeze releases a huge amount of airborne virus that travels at up to 200 miles per hour across a room (think MASKS). But as we learned the hard way, even one pre-symptom person singing in a choir can release copious amounts of virus in the air and infect nearly everyone else at a rehearsal.

Finally, our exposure to COVID-19 virus in the air is dependent on two factors, the virus load in the air we are breathing (again, think MASKS) and the length of time that we are breathing contaminated air. It's a little like radiation exposure in this sense. No amount of exposure is entirely safe, but the amount of radiation and the length of time we are exposed increases our odds of getting sick.

So, as you venture out in the coming days, don’t poke your nose into anyone’s breath-cloud. Keep your social distance. Wear a mask when you are in close contact with others. Always wear a mask in stores, gyms, churches, homes, or any other enclosure where you are not alone, and wash your hands. You don’t need a mask in the open air when nobody is near you, but keep it handy. Your life could depend on it.

THE DAILY PANDEMIC DIARY - MAY thru JULY 2020 - A GLOBAL COMPARISON

by Brian T. Lynch, MSW
April 30, 2020 12:18 pm

[Scroll down to the bottom each day for daily updates.]

NOTICE: Starting August 1st, a new blog page will begin each new month and the daily tables will appear at the top of the page for the reader's convenience. Here is the hyperlink to the new, Daily Pandemic Diary for August. 

Much of the national and local coverage of this coronavirus outbreak in the United States fails to set the proper global context as to how we are doing at handling it relative to every other country on earth. This lack of perspective gives us a false sense of success at how well we are doing in reducing new infections and COVID-19 deaths. This false sense of being over the hump fuels the polarized political debates that further divide us on every issue. We should be united behind the science of infection controls during a global pandemic rather than driving wedges into the public debate to support or defend our political instincts. The virus certainly doesn't play politics, and neither should we.

So, for a better perspective on how the United States is doing in our efforts to control this epidemic against the backdrop of the rest of the world, here are a few observation based on the number of new infections and deaths from yesterday, April 29th, which is day 48 since the coronavirus national emergency was declared on March 13th:

1. The United States had nearly as many new cases of COVID-19 yesterday than the next seven countries combined. The USA has 35% of the world's new cases but only 4.2% of the global population. 

2. The united states had more COVID-19 deaths yesterday than the next six countries combined. We had 36% of all COVID-19 deaths in the world in the prior 24 hour period.

These comparisons clearly show that COVID-19 infection rates and deaths make the United States a huge outlier in the world.  We are not doing nearly as well as most other countries. And keep in mind that every nation still only has social distancing as the primary means to control the spread of infections. Testing, isolation, and contact tracing are part of the mix, but keeping infected people away from healthy people is all we've got at this point until we have a vaccine or effective treatments available. We are all in the same boat. 

These data, by the way, are continuously updated from the Worldometer.info website, a non-government, non-affiliated international effort to provide global statistics in an easy to access formate. 

So, the question has been asked, why are we doing so poorly compared with other countries? 

The answer is clear and inconvenient for many Americans. We have a lack of political leadership from the top. 

The wealthiest, most inventive, and industrious country in the history of the planet should, by now, have the capacity of testing 10 million citizens per day for the virus. Millions of people who are now unemployed should be hired, by now, to conduct testing, contract tracing, and welfare checks the millions who test positive for the disease and placed under quarantined. We should have in place a national stay at home order the same as every other country. We should have exceptions for stay at home order for essential workers, but we should have massive testing and mandatory guidelines, with aggressive enforcement, for those workers. We should not only have all the PPE we need by now, but we should also be exporting vast quantities of PPE to other nations that don't have our manufacturing capacity. 

This is a picture of the nation we should be, the great country we once were. Nations of the world should be looking to us for guidance and help. Instead, we are inching our way back towards another round of disaster and death. 


All raw data comes from WorldoMeter.info  ______________________________________________________________________

MAY 1, 2020 - Day 49 of the US Coronavirus National Emergency

The USA's new infections are up and the death total is down today. Total COVID-19 tests are at 6,416,393 total tests or 19,311 per million population. We are ranked 44th in the number of tests/million. 

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MAY 2, 2020 - Day 50 of the US Coronavirus National Emergency

The USA's new infections are up to 36,007 new cases. That over 5,000 more cases in a day, more new cases than the next 9 countries combined. The death total (a lagging indicator) is down to 1,798 today. The total COVID-19 tests are at 6,600,878 total tests or 20,241 per million population. We are still ranked 43rd worldwide in the number of tests/million.

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MAY 3, 2020 - Day 51 of the US Coronavirus National Emergency

The USA's new infections are down from yesterday to 29,744 new cases in a day, more new cases than the next 6 countries combined. The death total (a lagging indicator) is also down from yesterday to 1,691 today. The total COVID-19 tests administered yesterday were 328,511 for a cumulative total of 6,931,132 total tests or 20,940 per million population. We are still ranked 42nd worldwide in the number of tests/million.

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MAY 4, 2020 - Day 52 of the US Coronavirus National Emergency

The USA's new infections are down 2 days in a row from to 27,348 new cases, more new cases than the next 5 countries combined. The death total is also down from the past 2 days to 1,154 today. The total COVID-19 tests administered yesterday were 265,608 for a cumulative total of7,196,740 total tests or 21,742 per million population. We are ranked 41st worldwide in the number of tests/million.

When I started tracking how well we are doing fighting the virus compared to other countries a few days back I made the error of not looking back on the data far enough to see the existing pattern. I will correct that here with two bar charts. The first shows the shape of the curve for new cases of COVID-19 in the US and the second shows the death rates over time. Both reveal the spikes and dips in numbers as outbreaks flair and social distancing takes its effect on transmission rates. The overall message is one of encouragement as COVID-19 deaths are trending down and to a lesser extent, so are infection rates. The cautionary message is that some of the flair-up have spiked to record levels of transmission and death. This suggests that we should maintain our social distancing behaviors while being more proactively to take steps to prevent COVID-19 hotspots from flaring up in places where hotspots are likely to occur.

                                      
And because this is a global comparison, here is a side by side comparison of the graphs supplied by Worldometer on global and US deaths.  While the global graph is weekly and the US graph is daily, the overall time period is similar, so the graphs were sized alike to try and get a fair comparison of the shape of the curves, and they appear to be similar in slop.

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MAY 5, 2020 - Day 53 of the US Coronavirus National Emergency

The USA's new infections are down 3 days in a row to 24,713 new cases, nearly as many new cases as the next 4 countries combined. The death total rose, however, from 1,154 to 1,324. The total COVID-19 tests administered yesterday were 265,691, up just 83 additional tests from yesterday, for a cumulative total of 7,462,431 total tests or 22,545 per million population. We are ranked 41st worldwide in the number of tests/million.

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MAY 6, 2020 - Day 54 of the US Coronavirus National Emergency

The USA's new infections are up slightly to 24,798 new cases, nearly as many new cases as the next 5 countries combined. The death total rose again from 1,324 new deaths to 2,350 in the last 24 hour period. The total COVID-19 tests administered yesterday were 265,507, down 184 fewer tests from yesterday, for a cumulative total of 7,727,938 total tests or 23,347 per million population. We are ranked 41st worldwide in the number of tests/million.

To give us some perspective on how the United States is doing in comparison to other countries that have had a massive COVID-19 outbreak like us, Here are side by side comparisons of the daily number of new deaths and new infection rates for Spain, Italy, and the United States. You can clearly see that the United States is still struggling while the other two countries are clearly getting the virus under control. 

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MAY 7 2020 - Day 55 of the US Coronavirus National Emergency

The USA's new infections are up slightly to 25,459 new cases, nearly as many new cases as the next 2 countries combined, largely because Brazil and Russia are having major outbreaks relative to the rest of the world.  The UK appears to be spiking up on new cases as well. The US death total rose again from 2,350 new deaths to 2,528 the last 24 hour period. The total COVID-19 tests administered yesterday were up over 20k more than the prior period for a cumulative total of 8,005,432 total tests or 24,185 per million population. We are ranked 40th worldwide in the number of tests/million.

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MAY 8, 2020 - Day 56 of the US Coronavirus National Emergency

The USA's new infections are up again today to 29,531 new cases, nearly as many new cases as the next 4 countries combined. The US death total fell slightly to 2,129 new deaths during the last 24 hour period, but that is still higher than the next 8 high death nations combined. The total COVID-19 tests administered yesterday were 292,130, which is 14,636 more tests than the prior period.  The cumulative test total is 8,297,562, or 25,068 per million population. We are ranked 40th worldwide in the number of tests/million. 

[NOTE on TESTING: If the USA increased the number of COVID-19 tests given by 20,000 tests every day, we will achieve the minimum testing capacity of one-million tests per day by mid-June, some 38 days from now. The increase in daily tests since keeping this blog has achieved 20,000 new tests just one day so far, on May 7th.]

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MAY 9, 2020 - Day 57 of the US Coronavirus National Emergency

The USA's new infections are down slightly today to 29,162 new cases, nearly as many new cases as the next 4 countries combined. The US death total fell a lot to 1687 new deaths during the last 24 hour period, higher than the next 3 high death nations combined. The total number of COVID-19 tests administered yesterday was 590,768 which is up a whopping 298,638 more tests than the prior period.  The cumulative test total is 8,636,435, or 26,029 per million population. We remain ranked 40th worldwide in the number of tests/million. 

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MAY 10, 2020 - Day 58 of the US Coronavirus National Emergency

New US infections are down to 25,524 new cases, nearly as many new cases as the next 3 countries combined. The US death total fell again to 1,422 new deaths during the last 24 hour period, higher than the next 5 high death nations combined. The total number of COVID-19 tests administered yesterday was 281,828.  The cumulative test total is 8,918,263 or 26,943 per million population. We remain ranked 40th worldwide in the number of tests/million. 

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MAY 11, 2020 - Day 59 of the US Coronavirus National Emergency

New US infections are down to 20,329 new cases, nearly as many new cases as the next 2 countries combined. The US death total fell again to 750 new deaths during the last 24 hour period, higher than the next 2 high death nations combined. The total number of COVID-19 tests administered yesterday was 526,262, a big jump.  The cumulative test total is 9,444,525 or 28,533 per million population. We are ranked 39th worldwide in the number of tests/million. 

If only one test was given per person so far (which isn't the case) that would mean 2.86% of the US population would have been tested at this point. 

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MAY 12, 2020 - Day 60 of the US Coronavirus National Emergency

New US infections are down to 18,196 new cases, nearly as many new cases as the next 2 countries combined. The US death total rose to 1,008 new deaths during the last 24 hour period, higher than the next 3 high death nations combined. The total number of COVID-19 tests administered yesterday was 175,330.  The cumulative test total is 9,619,855 or 29,063 per million population. We are ranked 39th worldwide in the number of tests/million. 

If only one test was given per person so far (which isn't the case) that would mean 2.93% of the US population would have been tested as of day 60 of this national health emergency.

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MAY 13, 2020 - Day 61 of the US Coronavirus National Emergency

Great News!  US infections are down to 9,192 new cases marking the first time in weeks that the United States doesn't have the greatest number of new cases in the world. The US death total also dropped to 760 new deaths during the last 24 hour period, slightly higher than the total in the United Kingdom. The total number of COVID-19 tests administered yesterday was 103,388.  The cumulative test total is 9,723,243 or 29,375 per million population. We are ranked 41st worldwide in the number of tests/million. 

If only one test was given per person so far (which isn't the case) that would mean 2.96% of the US population would have been tested as of day 61 of this national health emergency.

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MAY 14, 2020 - Day 62 of the US Coronavirus National Emergency

New US infections rose sharply to 21,712 new cases, as many new cases as the next 2 countries combined. The US death total also rose nearly 1,000 more deaths to 1,172 new deaths during the last 24 hour period, as many deaths as the next 3 countries combined. The total number of COVID-19 tests administered yesterday was 546,753.  The cumulative test total is 10,269,996 or 31,021 per million population. We are ranked 38th worldwide in the number of tests/million. 

If only one test was given per person so far (which isn't the case) that would mean 3.1% of the US population would have been tested as of day 62 of this national health emergency.

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MAY 15, 2020 - Day 63 of the US Coronavirus National Emergency

New US infections rose again to 27,246 new cases, nearly as many new cases as the next 3 countries combined. The US death total also rose to 1,715 new deaths during the last 24 hour period, as many deaths as the next 3 countries combined. The total number of COVID-19 tests administered yesterday was 368,897.  The cumulative test total is 10,638,893 or 32,166 per million population. We are ranked 38th worldwide in the number of tests/million. 

[NOTE: Percent of Population figures are changed as a more accurate US population total of 330,750,000 will be used instead of 328,200,000]

If only one test was given per person so far (which isn't the case) that would mean 3.2% of the US population would have been tested as of day 63 of this national health emergency.

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MAY 16, 2020 - Day 64 of the US Coronavirus National Emergency

The number of new US infections is 26,692 new cases, nearly as many new cases as the next 2 countries combined. The new US deaths numbered 1,595 during the last 24 hours, as many deaths as the next 3 countries combined. The total number of COVID-19 tests administered yesterday was 452,007.  The cumulative test total is 11,090,900 or 33,532 per million. We are ranked 38th worldwide in the number of tests/million. 

If only one test was given per person so far (which isn't the case) that would mean 3.4% of the US population would have been tested as of day 64 of this national health emergency.

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MAY 17, 2020 - Day 65 of the US Coronavirus National Emergency

The number of new US infections is 23,488 new cases, nearly as many new cases as the next 2 countries combined. The new US deaths numbered 1,218 during the last 24 hours, as many deaths as the next 2 countries combined. The total number of COVID-19 tests administered yesterday was 858,725.  The cumulative test total is 11,949,625 or 36,127 per million. We are ranked 39th worldwide in the number of tests/million.  

NOTE: So far this month we are averaging about 375,000 COVID-19 tests per day. For an effective strategy of testing/isolating/contract tracing, we need a minimum of 2 million tests per day and an optimal number of 10 million tests per day.


If only one test was given per person so far (which isn't the case) that would mean 3.6% of the US population would have been tested as of day 65 of this national health emergency.

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MAY 18, 2020 - Day 66of the US Coronavirus National Emergency

The number of new US infections is down to 19,891 new cases yesterday (Sunday), still as many new cases as the next 2 countries combined. The new US deaths numbered 865 during the last 24 hours, as many deaths as the next 2 countries combined. The total number of COVID-19 tests administered yesterday can't be determined because the total number of tests reported for the past 24 hour period is lower than for the prior 24 hour period.  The cumulative test total reported today is 11,875,580 (vs. 11,949,625  reported yesterday). or 35,903 per million (vs. 36,127 per million reported yesterday). We are ranked 39th in the number of tests/million out of 212 countries and territories worldwide. 

If only one test was given per person so far (which isn't the case) that would mean 3.6% of the US population would have been tested as of day 66 of this national health emergency.

US National Health Emergency

MAY 20, 2020 - Day 68 

4.4%  .............. The U.S. percentage of the global population

20%   .............. The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 cases

28.8%  ............ The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 deaths

20,289  ............ New U.S. cases in the past 24 hour period.
1,552.   ............  New U.S. deaths in the past 24 hours.
384,947 ........... The average number of COVID-19 tests given in the past 48 hours
12,625,473 ...... Total U.S. COVID-19 tests give to date
38,229  ............. Number of COVID-19 tests given per one-million population
3.8% ................ Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
38th  ................. Rank among 212 countries for tests given per one-million population

Comments: The Brazil outbreak is catching up to us with 16,517. The number of deaths in Brazil and the UK, the next two countries with the highest number of deaths in the past 24 hours, is slightly more than the total U.S. deaths for that period. The number of tests given is the average over 48 hours because I did not report the numbers for yesterday and so lost that data. (NOTE: This will be the new reporting formate from here on. Easier to read, easier to prepare.)

All raw data comes from WorldoMeter.info 

US National Health Emergency

MAY 21, 2020 - Day 69 

4.4%  .............. The U.S. percentage of the global population

20%   .............. The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 cases

28.8%  ............ The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 deaths

22,140  ............ New U.S. cases in the past 24 hour period.
1,403   ............  New U.S. deaths in the past 24 hours.
1,492,397......... The average number of COVID-19 tests given in the past 24 hours
14,117,870 ...... Total U.S. COVID-19 tests give to date
42,680  ............ Number of COVID-19 tests given per one-million population
4.3%................ Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
34th  ............... Rank among 212 countries for tests given per one-million population


Comments: New U.S. cases are up again slightly while deaths declined slightly. Real progress is being made on testing if the huge jump in numbers of tests given in the past 24 hour period is sustained and not just a correction to the data. Brazil is likely to overtake the U.S. soon at the global leader in new cases as the infection rate slips further out of control. The US remains the nation with the highest death rate beating out the next two nations combined.

US National Health Emergency

MAY 22, 2020 - Day 70 

4.4%  .............. The U.S. percentage of the global population

31.2% ..............The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 cases

28.8%  ............ The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 deaths

28,175  ............ New U.S. cases in the past 24 hour period.
1,418   ............  New U.S. deaths in the past 24 hours.
406,820............ The (2 day) average number of COVID-19 tests given in the past 48 hours
13,439,114 ...... Total U.S. COVID-19 tests give to date
40,627  ............ Number of COVID-19 tests given per one-million population
4.1%................ Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
38th  ............... Rank among 212 countries for tests given per one-million population


Comments: First, note that yesterday's record jump in the number of COVID-19 tests was not apparently accurate and the totals today are lower than yesterday. As a result, I am reporting the number of tests given as a two-day average. Also, note that both the number of cases and the number of deaths are rising. Meanwhile, Brazil is working hard to overtake our out-of-control epidemic numbers. That jump in how the US ranks in tests given per one-million fell back to 38th as a result of the testing correction that was made.

US National Health Emergency

MAY 23, 2020 - Day 71 

4.4%  .............. The U.S. percentage of the global population

31.0% ..............The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 cases

29.2%  ............ The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 deaths

24,197  ............ New U.S. cases in the past 24 hour period.
1,293   ............  New U.S. deaths in the past 24 hours.
470,791............ The number of COVID-19 tests given in the past 24 hours
13,909,950 ...... Total U.S. COVID-19 tests give to date
42,050  ............ Number of COVID-19 tests given per one-million population
4.2%................ Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
38th  ............... Rank among 212 countries for tests given per one-million population


Comments: Only nominal changes in the numbers today for the U.S. Things in Brazil continue to deteriorate but the U.S. is still a world leader in new cases and new deaths. Still, the number of COVID-19 tests needed to effectively detect, isolate, and contact trace is well below what would be needed.

US National Health Emergency

MAY 24, 2020 - Day 72

 4.4%  ............. The U.S. percentage of the global population

29.0% ..............The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 cases

28.7%  ............ The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 deaths [corrected]

21,929  ............ New U.S. cases in the past 24 hour period.
1,036   ............  New U.S. deaths in the past 24 hours.
448,019............ The number of COVID-19 tests given in the past 24 hours
14,357,969 ...... Total U.S. COVID-19 tests give to date
43,040  ............ Number of COVID-19 tests given per one-million population
4.3%................ Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
35th  ............... Rank among 212 countries for tests given per one-million population


Comments: There are nominal declines in the reported numbers (holiday weekend effect, perhaps), yet relative to other nations, where the pandemic numbers are growing, the U.S. is starting to look better in contrast. We are still the global center of both new cases and new deaths. Brazil may surpass us soon.

US National Health Emergency

MAY 25, 2020 - Day 73

 4.4%  ............. The U.S. percentage of the global population

29.0% ..............The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 cases

28.6%  ............ The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 deaths [correction)

19,608  ............ New U.S. cases in the past 24 hour period.
612  ................  New U.S. deaths in the past 24 hours.
139,787............ The number of COVID-19 tests given in the past 24 hours
14,749,756 ...... Total U.S. COVID-19 tests give to date
44,587 ............ Number of COVID-19 tests given per one-million population
4.5%................ Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
36th  ............... Rank among 212 countries for tests given per one-million population


Comments: Brazil has overtaken the U.S.A. in the number of new tests, but we still have the most new cases over the past 24 hours. Other changes are nominal.

US National Health Emergency

MAY 26, 2020 - Day 74

 4.4%  ............. The U.S. percentage of the global population

30.3% ..............The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 cases

28.6%  ............ The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 deaths

19,790  ............ New U.S. cases in the past 24 hour period.
505  ................  New U.S. deaths in the past 24 hours.
437,882 ........... The number of COVID-19 tests given in the past 24 hours
15,187,647 ...... Total U.S. COVID-19 tests give to date
45,910 ............ Number of COVID-19 tests given per one-million population
4.6%................ Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
35th  ............... Rank among 212 countries for tests given per one-million population


Comments: The U.S.A. still leads the world in the number of new COVID-19 cases by is second, behind Brazil in the number of new deaths. Relative to the rest of the world, the percentage of total COVID-19 cases remains very high compared to our population and it appears to be rising as a percentage. There is no significant increase over time in testing and to date less than 5% of our people have received a COVID-19 test.

US National Health Emergency

MAY 27, 2020 - Day 75

 4.4%  ............. The U.S. percentage of the global population

30.4% ..............The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 cases

28.5%  ............ The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 deaths

19,049 ............ New U.S. cases in the past 24 hour period.
774 ................  New U.S. deaths in the past 24 hours.
344,512 .......... The number of COVID-19 tests given in the past 24 hours
15,532,159...... Total U.S. COVID-19 tests give to date
46,951 ............ Number of COVID-19 tests given per one-million population
4.7%................ Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
35th  ............... Rank among 212 countries for tests given per one-million people


Comments:  Seventy-five days into this National Health Emergency and on average a COVID-19 death happens every 58 seconds. Testing, which is key to controlling the virus, is abysmally low. Yesterday the Trump administration released its plan for testing and contact tracing which is to leave that up to the states (to fund and compete for test kits). The USA ranks 35 out of 212 countries on the number of tests per million people with less than 5% of our population having been tested at all.

US National Health Emergency

MAY 28, 2020 - Day 76

 4.4%  ............. The U.S. percentage of the global population

30.2% ..............The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 cases

28.6%  ............ The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 deaths

20,546 ............ New U.S. cases in the past 24 hour period.
1,535 .............  New U.S. deaths in the past 24 hours.
343,314 .......... The number of COVID-19 tests given in the past 24 hours
15,875,473...... Total U.S. COVID-19 tests give to date
47,988 ............ Number of COVID-19 tests given per one-million population
5.3%................ Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
35th  ............... Rank among 212 countries for tests given per one-million people


Comments: Today is the first day that the US was not #1 in the world for new COVID-19 cases. While our new case numbers increased from yesterday, Brazil took over the #1 spot. We did lead Brazil in the number of new COVID-19 related death with a jump from 774 yesterday to 1,535 over the past 24 hour period.

US National Health Emergency

MAY 29, 2020 - Day 77

Missed recording today's data.

US National Health Emergency

MAY 30, 2020 - Day 78

4.4%  ............. The U.S. percentage of the global population

29.8% ..............The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 cases

28.5%  ............ The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 deaths

25,069 ............ New U.S. cases in the past 24 hour period.
1,180 .............  New U.S. deaths in the past 24 hours.
467,658 ........... The Avg. daily number of COVID-19 tests given in the past 48 hours
16,810,778...... Total U.S. COVID-19 tests give to date
50,814 ............ Number of COVID-19 tests given per one-million population
5.1%................ Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
34th  ............... Rank among 212 countries for tests given per one-million people

Comments: We have had 47,727 new COVID-19 cases in the past two days. The USA remains number one in new deaths. Tasting capacity does not seem to be rising much.

US National Health Emergency

MAY 31, 2020 - Day 79

4.4%  ............. The U.S. percentage of the global population

29.5% ..............The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 cases

28.5%  ............ The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 deaths

23,290 ............ New U.S. cases in the past 24 hour period.
1,015 .............  New U.S. deaths in the past 24 hours.
460,063 ........... The daily number of COVID-19 tests given in the past 24 hours
17,270,841...... Total U.S. COVID-19 tests give to date
52,203 ............ Number of COVID-19 tests given per one-million population
5.2%................ Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
34th  ............... Rank among 212 countries for tests given per one-million people

Comments: Brazil again takes the top spot for new cases while the USA retains the top spot for the number of new deaths. Testing is down slightly. Other changes are nominal. We are 4.4% of the world's population but still have nearly 30% of the world's COVID-19 cases (and deaths).  Also, to put to rest any more talk about this virus being just another flu, COVID-19 may be a blood vessel disease, which explains many of the infection’s bizarre symptoms.
https://elemental.medium.com/coronavirus-may-be-a-blood-vessel-disease-which-explains-everything-2c4032481ab

US National Health Emergency

June 1, 2020 - Day 80

Missed Data

US National Health Emergency

June 2, 2020 - Day 81

4.4%  ............. The U.S. percentage of the global population

29.2% ..............The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 cases

28.3%  ............ The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 deaths

21,135  ............ New U.S. cases in the past 24 hour period.
730     .............  New U.S. deaths in the past 24 hours.
439600 ........... The avg. number of COVID-19 tests given in the past 48 hours
18,159,053 ..... Total U.S. COVID-19 tests give to date
54,859  ............ Number of COVID-19 tests given per one-million population
5.5%................ Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
35th  ............... Rank among 212 countries for tests given per one-million people

Comments:  (Data not saved from June 1st) The USA is back to being first in the highest number of new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours period and second in deaths from the virus. There is still no progress in scaling up testing rates. They remain insufficient for the purpose of testing/isolating/contact tracing strategies.

----------------

US National Health Emergency

June 3, 2020 - Day 82

4.4%  .............. The U.S. percentage of the global population

29.2% ..............The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 cases

28.3%  ............ The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 deaths

21,852  ............ New U.S. cases in the past 24 hour period.
1,134   ............  New U.S. deaths in the past 24 hours.
453,123 ........... The avg. number of COVID-19 tests given in the past 48 hours
18,603,174  ..... Total U.S. COVID-19 tests give to date
56,228  ............ Number of COVID-19 tests given per one-million population
5.6%................ Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
35th  ............... Rank among 212 countries for tests given per one-million people

Comments:  Brazil, for the first time, is #1 in both new COVID-19 cases and deaths in the past 24 hour period. Still, the USA has almost as many total COVID-19 cases as the next 7 highest countries combined (Brazil, Russia, Spain, UK, Italy, India, Germany). We are still ranked 35th in the world for the number of tests administered per million population and 94.9% of all US citizens have yet to be tested.

US National Health Emergency

June 4, 2020 - Day 83

No data collected today

US National Health Emergency

June 5, 2020 - Day 84

4.4%  .............. The U.S. percentage of the global population

28.8% ..............The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 cases

28.1%  ............ The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 deaths

21,882  ............ New U.S. cases in the past 24 hour period.
1,232   ............  New U.S. deaths in the past 24 hours.
482,448 ........... The avg. number of COVID-19 tests given in the past 48 hours
19,568,069  ..... Total U.S. COVID-19 tests give to date
59,142  ............ Number of COVID-19 tests given per one-million population
5.9%................ Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
33rd  ............... Rank among 212 countries for tests given per one-million people

Comments:  Brazil leads the world in the highest number of new cases and most new COVID-19 deaths. The USA is second in the highest number of new cases and third, behind Mexico, in the highest number of deaths in the past 24 hour period.

US National Health Emergency

June 6, 2020 - Day 85

4.4%  .............. The U.S. percentage of the global population

28.7% ..............The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 cases

28.0%  ............ The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 deaths

25,393  ............ New U.S. cases in the past 24 hour period.
975    ..............  New U.S. deaths in the past 24 hours.
699,266 ........... The number of COVID-19 tests given in the past 24 hours
20,267,335  ..... Total U.S. COVID-19 tests give to date
61,255  ............ Number of COVID-19 tests given per one-million population
6.1%................ Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
31st  ............... Rank among 212 countries for tests given per one-million people

Comments:  The USA ranks 2nd in the world for the number of new COVID-19 infections and new deaths. New infection numbers are climbing up slowly every day in June so far. We still have had more COVID-19 cases than Brazil, Russia, Spain, UK, India and Italy combined. The 45% jump in the number of COVID-19 tests in the past 24 hours is probably due to a correction. If it isn't, this would signal progress in scaling up testing. Our rank among nations in testing capacity per million is slowly climbing up, and today we hit the 6% mark number of tests per population. This means more than 94% of all US residents have yet to be tested.

US National Health Emergency

June 7, 2020 - Day 86

4.4%  .............. The U.S. percentage of the global population

28.5% ..............The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 cases

17.7% .............. The U.S. Percentage of global NEW COVID-19 Cases (new category)

27.9%  ............ The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 deaths

16.6% .............. The U.S. Percentage of global NEW COVID-19 deaths (new category)

22,863  ............ New U.S. cases in the past 24 hour period.
910    ..............  New U.S. deaths in the past 24 hours.
551,093 ........... The number of COVID-19 tests given in the past 24 hours
20,818,428  ..... Total U.S. COVID-19 tests give to date *
62,919  ............ Number of COVID-19 tests given per one-million population
6.6%................ Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
30th  ............... Rank among 212 countries for tests given per one-million people

Comments: The USA remains number two in the world for new infections and deaths over the past 24 hour period. The testing numbers are up by about 100,000 tests for the past two days and our rank among nations in tests per million has been improving. I've added a new category to help identify where the USA stands relative to the rest of the world. These categories are the USA percentage of the new infections and COVID-19 related death globally in the past 24 hour period. Ideally, with just 4.4% of the global population, we should hope to be at 4.4% of both new infections and deaths per day. The 17.7% and 16.6% figures on these measures clearly show that we are still a global hotspot in this pandemic.
* Correction made 6/8/2020

US National Health Emergency

June 8, 2020 - Day 87

4.4%  .............. The U.S. percentage of the global population

28.3% ..............The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 cases

16.7% .............. The U.S. Percentage of global NEW COVID-19 Cases (new category)

27.8%  ............ The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 deaths

11.0% .............. The U.S. Percentage of global NEW COVID-19 deaths (new category)

18,905  ............ New U.S. cases in the past 24 hour period.
373    ..............  New U.S. deaths in the past 24 hours.
473,249........... The number of COVID-19 tests given in the past 24 hours
21.291,677  ..... Total U.S. COVID-19 tests give to date
64,394 ............ Number of COVID-19 tests given per one-million population
6.4%................ Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
30th  ............... Rank among 212 countries for tests given per one-million people

Comments: The USA appears to be first again in New COVID-19 death, but the numbers posted today reflect Sunday's totals which may not be accurate. Look for the Monday totals tomorrow to contain a correction.

US National Health Emergency

June 9, 2020 - Day 88

4.4%  .............. The U.S. percentage of the global population

28.2% ..............The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 cases

17.7% .............. The U.S. Percentage of global NEW COVID-19 Cases (new category)

27.7%  ............ The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 deaths

18.6% .............. The U.S. Percentage of global NEW COVID-19 deaths (new category)

19,044  ............ New U.S. cases in the past 24 hour period.
586    ..............  New U.S. deaths in the past 24 hours.
433,387........... The number of COVID-19 tests given in the past 24 hours
21,725,064  ..... Total U.S. COVID-19 tests give to date
65,657  ............ Number of COVID-19 tests given per one-million population
6.4%................ Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
30th  ............... Rank among 212 countries for tests given per one-million people

Comments: Day 88 of the National Healthcare Emergency and the number of keys on a piano. A research study was reported yesterday which estimated the collective impact of lockdown and other preventative measures worldwide. It was estimated that humanity's collective, coordinated global efforts have saved half a billion lives. The author called it the greatest human achievement in saving lives in the history of the world. Congratulations everyone!

US National Health Emergency

June 10, 2020 - Day 89

4.4%  .............. The U.S. percentage of the global population

27.9% ..............The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 cases

15.7% .............. The U.S. Percentage of global NEW COVID-19 Cases (new category)

27.6%  ............ The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 deaths

23.1% .............. The U.S. Percentage of global NEW COVID-19 deaths (new category)

19,056  ............ New U.S. cases in the past 24 hour period.
1,093 ..............  New U.S. deaths in the past 24 hours.
414.614........... The number of COVID-19 tests given in the past 24 hours
22,140,676  ..... Total U.S. COVID-19 tests give to date
66,912 ............ Number of COVID-19 tests given per one-million population
6.7%................ Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
30th  ............... Rank among 212 countries for tests given per one-million people

Comments: There was a near doubling of COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hour period over the day before. It remains to see if this is in part a correction. In the first 10 days of June, the USA is averaging just over 20,000 new infections per day. This compares with the daily average of infections last month of over 23,000 new infections per day. Brazil jumped back to first place on COVID-19 infections and deaths while India replaced Russia for third place.

US National Health Emergency

June 11, 2020 - Day 90

4.4%  .............. The U.S. percentage of the global population

27.7% ..............The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 cases

15.3% .............. The U.S. Percentage of global NEW COVID-19 Cases (new category)

27.5%  ............ The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 deaths

19.0% .............. The U.S. Percentage of global NEW COVID-19 deaths (new category)

20.852  ............ New U.S. cases in the past 24 hour period.
982    ..............  New U.S. deaths in the past 24 hours.
485,082........... The number of COVID-19 tests given in the past 24 hours
22,625,758  ..... Total U.S. COVID-19 tests give to date
68,377 ............ Number of COVID-19 tests given per one-million population
6.8%................ Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
30th  ............... Rank among 212 countries for tests given per one-million people

Comments: Day 90 of the declared USA health emergency and our state and federal governments interventions to curb the pandemic are improving slowly against the backdrop of global effort to contain the virus, but still woefully inadequate compared to most other nations. With less than 5% of the global population, our daily new infections and deaths are still three to four times what they should be. Despite talk of increased testing by the States, we remain 30th out of 212 countries in the number of COVID-19 tests given per million people. Fewer than 6.8% of our citizens have been tested for the virus. In the last 10 days of May, 21,000 Americans were getting infected every day on average. That number decreased in the first 10 days of June, but only by a thousand human beings per day on average. In this time period states have been opening wide the economy despite record-high numbers of people getting infected and being hospitalized in many states. There are reports that the Trump administration is no longer focused on the pandemic. We can only hope that isn't true.

US National Health Emergency

June 12, 2020 - Day 91

4.4%  .............. The U.S. percentage of the global population

27.6% ..............The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 cases

16.9% .............. The U.S. Percentage of global NEW COVID-19 Cases (new category)

27.4%  ............ The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 deaths

18.3% .............. The U.S. Percentage of global NEW COVID-19 deaths (new category)

23,300  ............ New U.S. cases in the past 24 hour period.
904    ..............  New U.S. deaths in the past 24 hours.
447,712........... The number of COVID-19 tests given in the past 24 hours
23,073,470 ..... Total U.S. COVID-19 tests give to date
69,729 ............ Number of COVID-19 tests given per one-million population
7.0%................ Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
30th  ............... Rank among 212 countries for tests given per one-million people

Comments: The USA still has the most cases, the most deaths, and was the second hottest hotspot in the world in the past 24 hours. Our seven-day average of new cases is 21,339 per day vs. 21,920 per day in the prior seven-day period. This is virtually static despite a modest increase in tests given (500,638/day avg. vs 442,7245/day avg.). The increased testing isn't enough to improve our rank among other nations. We are still 30th in the world. We remain overall the top hotspot for COVID-19 in the world with less than 7% of our people being tested for the virus.

US National Health Emergency

June 13, 2020 - Day 92

4.4%  .............. Our share of the global population

27.4% ..............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

19.2% ............. Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

27.3%  ............ Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

17.2% ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

27,221  ........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
791    .............. New deaths in the past 24 hours.
718,721........... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
23,792,191 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
71,900 ............ COVID-19 tests per one-million population
7.2% .............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
29th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: The U.S. new infection rate makes us dead last in the world again. We are still the hottest global hotspot and infections are trending up. New infection jumped almost 4,000 cases in one day. There was a big jump in the number of tests administered yesterday but it may be a correction. We still lag other countries in testing.

US National Health Emergency

June 14, 2020 - Day 93

4.4%  .............. Our share of the global population

27.3% ..............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

19.0% ............. Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

27.2%  ............ Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

16.6% ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

25,302  ........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
702    .............. New deaths in the past 24 hours.
499,980........... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
24,292,171 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
73,410 ............ COVID-19 tests per one-million population
7.3% .............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
29th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: The U.S.A. still leads the world in the number of new cases. With less than 5% of the world's 7.8 billion people, the US has 19% of all the new COVID-19 infections. Our testing rates remain to low for an aggressive prevention strategy.

US National Health Emergency

June 15, 2020 - Day 94

4.4%  .............. Our share of the global population

27.1% ..............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

16.2% ............. Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

27.1%  ............ Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

10.1% ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

20,004  ........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
331    .............. New deaths in the past 24 hours.
502,446........... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
24,794,617 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
74,927 ............ COVID-19 tests per one-million population
7.5% .............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
28th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: COVID-19 cases worldwide continue to climb at a slightly faster rate than in the USA at this time (see chart below). So, while we are still first among nations in the highest number of cases per day, our share of the global total is declining by about 1/10 of a percent per day. Our new cases and death as a percentage of the global population are still very disproportional. We are still the hottest hotspot.

A word about the numbers, if I may. Some say they are exaggerated. In fact, they are significantly under-counted. We know this because of the mortality rates. In countries where everyone has been tested, the mortality rate is just over 1% while in the USA it appears to be 5.5%. The higher rate is because we can more accurate count who died from the virus than who has been infected (especially so when so many have mild or no symptoms). Worldometer.info (from where my raw data comes) analyzed this issue. Their best scientific estimate is that there are 10 times more COVID-19 cases and twice as many deaths than officially reported. That would mean there have been 20 million people infected in the US and 236 thousand deaths.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-death-rate/

US National Health Emergency

June 16, 2020 - Day 95

4.4%  .............. Our share of the global population

26.9% ..............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

16.6% ............. Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

27.0%  ............ Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

12.4% ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

20,722 ........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
425    .............. New deaths in the past 24 hours.
464,390........... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
25,259,007 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
76,329 ............ COVID-19 tests per one-million population
7.6% .............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
28th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: Brazil had more new cases than in the USA yesterday. The number of COVID-19 tests given was down from the day before. The seven day average for tests is 505,000 per day. How much testing is needed for a national strategy of prevention to work? Estimates vary widely. Midway between the extremes is this: "Harvard University’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics suggests 2 million tests per day to start [in May], then ramping up to at least 5 million tests per day by early June to get the full workforce back in action — with that growing to as many as 20 million tests per day." Using this measure, the United States is 10 times below where we should be by now.
https://www.factcheck.org/2020/05/how-many-covid-19-tests-are-needed-to-reopen/

US National Health Emergency

June 17, 2020 - Day 96

4.4%  .............. Our share of the global population

26.8% ..............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

17.9% ............. Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

26.8%  ............ Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

12.9% ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

25,450 ........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
849    .............. New deaths in the past 24 hours.
407,361  ......... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
25,729,368 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
77,749 ............ COVID-19 tests per one-million population
7.8% .............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
28th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments:  New COVID-19 cases in the U.S. jumped almost 5,000 from yesterday due to big increases in Texas, California, Florida, and Arizona. Those four states accounted for 51% of the new infections in the country. If Texas were a country, it would rank the 7th between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia for new cases in the past 24 hours. Texas ranks 42nd out of 50 in the most test given per million. Meanwhile, all our testing numbers are in a slump.

US National Health Emergency

June 18, 2020 - Day 97

4.4%  .............. Our share of the global population

26.6% ..............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

18.4% ............. Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

26.6%  ............ Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

15.4% ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

26,071 ........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
809    .............. New deaths in the past 24 hours.
514,443  ......... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
26,243,811 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
79,302 ............ COVID-19 tests per one-million population
7.9% .............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
28th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: Brazil is still rising in new COVID-19 cases, and so is the U.S.  A second screenshot of the top ten states' "New Cases" is added to show from where most new infections are happening. These ten states comprise two-thirds (64%) of the new cases in the prior 24 hour period.

US National Health Emergency

June 19, 2020 - Day 98

4.4%  .............. Our share of the global population

26.4% ..............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

19.9% ............. Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

26.5%  ............ Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

14.6% ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

27,924 ............ New cases in the past 24 hour period.
747    .............. New deaths in the past 24 hours.
497,368  ......... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
26,723,179 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
80,750............ COVID-19 tests per one-million population
8.1% .............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
27th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: U.S.A. infection rates are rising and we have the highest number of new cases in the world, but the world is slowly catching up. The testing numbers are low, but relative to the rest of the world we have gone from 28th in tests per million to 27th. Over a third (36%) of new infections came from California, Texas, and Florida.

US National Health Emergency

June 20, 2020 - Day 99

4.4%  .............. Our share of the global population

26.3% ..............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

18.5% ............. Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

26.3%  ............ Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

14.2% ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

33,539............ New cases in the past 24 hour period.
719    .............. New deaths in the past 24 hours.
614,206  ......... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
27,377,385 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
82,604 ........... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
8.3% .............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
26th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: The 99 the day of our National Health Emergency and the 7th highest number of new daily cases was recorded in the last 24 hour period (33,539 new infections). This on a day when Brazil was hammered with over 55,000 new cases and the head of the WHO warning that the virus is on the rise around the world.

US National Health Emergency

June 21, 2020 - Day 100

4.4%  .............. Our share of the global population

26.2% ..............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

21.3% ............. Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

26.2%  ............ Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

12.9% ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

33,388 ............ New cases in the past 24 hour period.
573    .............. New deaths in the past 24 hours.
598,478  ......... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
27,975,863 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
84,532 ........... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
8.5% .............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
26th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: 100 days into our national health emergency and the USA is still the top hotspot with over 21% of all new infections in the world in the prior 24 hour period.

US National Health Emergency

June 22, 2020 - Day 101

4.4%  .............. Our share of the global population

26.1% ..............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

20.0% ............. Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

26.1%  ............ Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

8.0% ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

26,079 ............ New cases in the past 24 hour period.
267    .............. New deaths in the past 24 hours.
516,127  ......... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
28,491,990 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
86,090 ........... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
8.6% .............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
26th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: Fully 20% of all new COVID-19 cases in the world in the past 24 hour period came from the United States. We are 101 days into the crisis and less than 10% of the population here has been tested.

US National Health Emergency

June 23, 2020 - Day 102

4.4%  ............... Our share of the global population

26.0% ...............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

22.6% ...............Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

25.9% .............. Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

9.4%. ................Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

31,496 ............ New cases in the past 24 hour period.
373    .............. New deaths in the past 24 hours.
516,127  ......... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
29,013,182 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
87,664 ........... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
8.8% .............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
26th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: Again, we have the greatest number of new infections of any country in the world. Seven states are no recording over a thousand new cases per day. Two-hundred-ten countries in the world had fewer new cases than these seven states in total.

US National Health Emergency

June 24, 2020 - Day 103

4.4%  ............... Our share of the global population

25.9% ...............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

22.1% ...............Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

25.8% .............. Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

15.8%. ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

36,0115 ............ New cases in the past 24 hour period.
863    .............. New deaths in the past 24 hours.
539,506  ......... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
29,552,690 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
89,292 ........... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
8.9% .............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
26th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments:  If our new infection were proportional to the global infection rates we should have about 5,500 new cases, or less if everyone would wear a mask. Instead, we had 36,015 new infections. That is second behind Brazil, a country run by a dictator who is not interested in coordinating any prevention actions at all. At least governors in some states are trying to keep us safe. People diagnosed with COVID-19 yesterday were likely exposed four or five days ago. Those for whom the infection will be fatal will show up in as new deaths in ten to fourteen days.




US National Health Emergency

June 25, 2020 - Day 104

4.4%  ............... Our share of the global population

25.9% ...............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

22.3% ...............Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

25.7% .............. Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

15.9%. ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

38,386............ New cases in the past 24 hour period.
808    .............. New deaths in the past 24 hours.
507,174  ......... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
30,059,864 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
90,823 ........... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
9.1% .............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
26th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: None

US National Health Emergency

June 26, 2020 - Day 105

Data not collected.

US National Health Emergency

June 27, 2020 - Day 106

4.4%  ............... Our share of the global population

25.8% ...............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

24.4% ...............Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

25.7% .............. Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

13.6%. ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

47,341............ New cases in the past 24 hour period.
863    .............. New deaths in the past 24 hours.
646,318  ......... AVG. COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 48 hours
31,352,500 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
94,726 ........... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
9.5% .............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
26th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments:








US National Health Emergency

June 28, 2020 - Day 107

4.4%  ............... Our share of the global population

25.9% ...............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

22.1% ...............Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

25.8% .............. Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

15.8%. ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

43,581........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
512   .............. New deaths in the past 24 hours.
645,524  ......... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
31,998,024 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
96,675 ........... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
9.7% .............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
26th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: I haven't published in a few days in part because the mainstream media has rightly focused on the terrible job the US is doing relative to the rest of the world. They are beginning to focus on testing as well, as they should. We are seeing the beginning of a re-surge in infections. If only everyone would wear a mask and social distance in public until we have immunity via a vaccine.


TOTAL TESTS  TEST/MIL.     US POPULATION


US National Health Emergency

June 29, 2020 - Day 108

4.4%  ............... Our share of the global population

25.8% ...............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

24.8% ...............Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

25.5% .............. Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

8.3%. ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

40,540........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
285   .............. New deaths in the past 24 hours.
645,524  ......... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
32,592,368 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
98,469 ........... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
9.8% .............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
26th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: The USA is still number one in the number of new cases reported worldwide. The number of new deaths per day continues to decline. This is curious. If you divide the total number of COVID-19 cases in the USA by the number of deaths, the mortality rate is 4.9%. If you do the same for the entire world, the mortality rate is also 4.9%, but for most of the past two months the reported number of deaths/day in the USA was much higher than reported now. Deaths due to COVID-19 is a trailing indicator, but the low number of deaths currently being reported seems to be disproportional. Has the mortality rate declined in the US? Are the numbers not being accurately reported, or will all this average out over time?

US National Health Emergency

June 30, 2020 - Day 109

4.4%  ............... Our share of the global population

25.8% ...............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

27.8% ...............Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

25.5% .............. Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

25.4%. ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

44,734  ........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
346   ............... New deaths in the past 24 hours.
645,524  ......... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
33,189,513 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
100,274 .......... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
10.0%............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
26th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: The USA had more than a quarter of all new COVID-19 cases in the world yesterday. We just broke the 10% mark in total COVID-19 tests performed relative to our population. Of course far less than 10% of us have been tested because many people are being tested weekly because of their jobs. The goal is to have everyone tested at least once a month to keep the infections in check. we are orders of magnitude away from that goal. And there is no new testing surge as has been mistakenly reported. Based on the daily testing numbers reported here from data obtained via Worldometer.info, the bar graph below shows the USA testing trend slowly scaling up over time.

US National Health Emergency

July 1, 2020 - Day 109

4.4%  ............... Our share of the global population

25.8% ...............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

26.4% ...............Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

25.4% .............. Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

15.1%. ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

46,042  ........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
764   ............... New deaths in the past 24 hours.
1,008,514 ....... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
34,198,027 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
103,317 .......... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
10.3%............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
27th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: Our ranking in tests per million dropped from 26th in the world to 27th despite a record number of tests administered in one day yesterday. The USA has a quarter of all new cases in the world. Texas and California each have nearly 8,000 new cases in one day. Texas' total number of cases will overtake New Jersey for 3rd place on Friday with Florida taking 4th place by early next week. For a sense of scale, if Texas and California were countries, they would rank 3rd and 4th among nations for the greatest number of new cases in the prior 24 hour period.

US National Health Emergency

July 2, 2020 - Day 110

4.4%  ............... Our share of the global population

25.7% ...............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

25.9% ...............Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

25.2% .............. Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

13.9%. ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

51,097  ........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
676   ............... New deaths in the past 24 hours.
657,615   ....... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
34,855,642 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
105,302 .......... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
10.8%............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
27th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: One-hundred-ten days into the crisis and we are first in the number of new cases worldwide, smashing through our prior record with over 51 thousand new infections. This caps seven straight days of daily infection numbers higher than at any other time since the pandemic began in the US. And still, there is no surge in testing insight.

Total tests, total per million, and population

US National Health Emergency

July 3, 2020 - Day 111

4.4%  ............... Our share of the global population

25.9% ...............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

27.4% ...............Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

25.1% .............. Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

13.3%. ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

57,236  ........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
687   ............... New deaths in the past 24 hours.
682,481   ....... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
35,538,123 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
107,362 .......... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
10.7%............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
27th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: Day 111 of the crisis and another record number of infections in the U.S., over 57,000 of us. For the first time in many weeks, our global share of total COVID-19 cases has gone up as well. And FLORIDA! It had over 10,000 cases alone. It's been reported that most of the recent infections are among younger people. Over 20% of Florida's residents are over 65 years old. If this transmission rate is allowed to spreads to their elderly population the hospitalizations and death toll will be epically bad.

US National Health Emergency

July 4, 2020 - Day 112

4.4%  ............... Our share of the global population

25.8% ...............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

26.3% ...............Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

25.0% .............. Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

11.9%. ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

54,904  ........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
616   ............... New deaths in the past 24 hours.
759,072   ....... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
36,297,195 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
109,653 .......... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
11.9%............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
26th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: There are now 12 states with over a thousand new cases per day as our summer surge continues to spread. Looking around the globe, our mishandling of the pandemic is very similar to the way it has been mishandled in Uzbekistan than to the way Germany has gotten it under control (see graphs below). This great nation has been reduced to the dysfunctional level of a third world country.

US National Health Emergency

July 5, 2020 - Day 113

4.4%  ............... Our share of the global population

25.8% ...............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

23.8% ...............Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

24.8% .............. Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

  5.7%. ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

45,182  ........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
254   ............... New deaths in the past 24 hours.
656,468   ....... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
36,953,633 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
109,653 .......... COVID-19 tests per one-million population

11.2%............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
26th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: COVID-19 fatality rates continue to decline steadily, and seemingly out of proportion to the increase in new cases. Globally, the rate of deaths to the number of cases is 4.7%. In all of Europe over the past two days, the number of daily deaths to new cases is 3.5%, while in the U.S. it is .009%. Because the number of deaths is a trailing indicator, and because we are entering a surge of new cases daily, I compared the daily deaths over the past 10 days with the daily new cases over the corresponding numbers from 14 days prior. That yielded a fatality rate of 1.8%, still far lower than expected. Has the virus mutated here to be less deadly? Are seniors staying better protected while younger adults and getting all the new infections? Have we perfected treatments here to a much greater extent than exists elsewhere, or are states tightening the criteria for reporting a COVID-19 diagnosed death? (Hello CDC! Are you listening?)

US National Health Emergency

July 6, 2020 - Day 114

4.4%  ............... Our share of the global population

25.8% ...............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

25.3% ...............Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

24.7% .............. Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

  7.0%. ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

44,530  ........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
251   ............... New deaths in the past 24 hours.
647,151   ....... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
37,600,814 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
113,588 .......... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
11.4%............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
26th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: The U.S. still has more new cases than any other country. Over 25% of the world's total and daily new cases count. Yet our share of COVID-19 deaths continues to decline, a good thing if it is accurate. There remains a gradual increase in the 7-day average number of Covid-19 tests (see updated graph below).

US National Health Emergency

July 7, 2020 - Day 115

4.4%  ............... Our share of the global population

25.9% ...............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

29.5% ...............Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

24.6% .............. Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

10.4%. ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

50,586  ........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
378   ............... New deaths in the past 24 hours.
616,826   ....... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
37,600,814 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
115,449 .......... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
11.5%............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
25th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: USA #1 in new cases, more than Brazil and India combined. We are the global hotspot for COVID-19 and a health threat to other countries. We are 25th globally in the number of tests given per million and the media reported yesterday that there are long lines for testing with hundreds of people turned away every day because testing centers don't have enough test kits. Testing capacity is rising much too slowly to keep up with infection rates.





US National Health Emergency

July 8, 2020 - Day 116

4.4%  ............... Our share of the global population

25.9% ...............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

26.6% ...............Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

24.5% .............. Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

18.0%. ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

55,442  ........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
993   ............... New deaths in the past 24 hours.
538,591 ......... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours [corrected]
38,801,591 .... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
117,211 .......... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
11.7%............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
25th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: The USA is still recording the most new cases in the world, and the number of deaths yesterday rose sharply. Arizona had a really bad day, apparently. It posted 117 deaths up from one death the day before. In a tweet from a mother of an ER doctor in Tucson came word that there were 300 deaths at the hospital in which he works. That total is not fully represented here because of the cutoff time for 24 hour reporting periods.)

US National Health Emergency

July 9, 2020 - Day 117

4.4%  ............... Our share of the global population

26.0% ...............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

29.0% ...............Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

24.5% .............. Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

16.1%. ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

61,848  ........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
890   ............... New deaths in the past 24 hours.
677,846  ......... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
39,479,437 .... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
119,257 .......... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
11.9%............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
25th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: We are 117 days into our National Health Crisis and have a record-high peak for new cases again today. Texas and Florida are the big losers with about 10,000 new cases each. Death totals declined slightly, prompting a look-back at Arizona where 300 deaths were mentioned in an unverified tweet (see above). AZ posted 117 deaths yesterday and just 36 today. [?]

US National Health Emergency

July 10, 2020 - Day 118

4.4%  ............... Our share of the global population

26.0% ...............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

27.4% ...............Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

24.4% .............. Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

17.7%. ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

61,067  ........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
960   ............... New deaths in the past 24 hours.
686,700  ......... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
40,611,137 .... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
121,314 .......... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
12.1%............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
25th  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments:  The USA had the highest number of new infections in the world yesterday, over 61,000 cases, or 27% of the global total. Our share of daily deaths continues downward from 28.8% of the global total on May 20th to 25.2% on July 2nd and 24.4% today. At the same time, our global share of COVID cases is rising in the world from 20% on May 20th, to 25.7% on July 2nd, to 26% today. (see bar graphs below)

Testing rates are creeping upward too slowly.  If every test ever given here was given to only one person per test, just 12% of us would have been tested so far. By now most of us should be getting our third COVID-19 test. That is how far behind we are in our testing program.





US National Health Emergency

July 11, 2020 - Day 119

4.4%  ............... Our share of the global population

26.1% ...............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

30.3% ...............Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

24.3% .............. Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

17.7%. ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

71,787  ........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
849   ............... New deaths in the past 24 hours.
399,076  ......... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
40,611,137 .... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
123,877 .......... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
12.4%............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
23rd  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments:  New infections in the US jumped up over 10,000 cases in a day. Florida's record peak of 11,433 new cases almost reached New York's all-time high of 11,661 back on April 14th. The US now has over 30% of the global total of new infections.

Yet the US share of global deaths continues to fall. When New York hit its peak of new cases in April it also hit its peak of daily deaths, 1,025 on April 17th. To date, Florida's peak is 119 deaths in a day.

The number of daily COVID-19 tests given yesterday was the lowest it has been since May 20th. Despite this, the US rank on tests per million rose to 23rd among nations. Day 119 of this National Health Emergency and there is still no national leadership.

US National Health Emergency

July 12, 2020 - Day 120

4.4%  ............... Our share of the global population

26.1% ...............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

28.7% ...............Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

24.3% .............. Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

14.7%. ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

61,719  ........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
732   ............... New deaths in the past 24 hours.
1,159,199 ....... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
41,770,336 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
126,171 .......... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
12.6%............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
23rd  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: What is there to say? Four months into our US National Health Emergency and we still have the highest number of daily new infections while are testing per million lags behind the rate of 22 other countries. So, wear a mask, keep your social distances, wash your hands, rinse and repeat... until we all get this right.

US National Health Emergency

July 13, 2020 - Day 121

4.4%  ............... Our share of the global population

26.1% ...............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

28.7% ...............Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

24.3% .............. Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

14.7%. ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

58,349 ........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
380   ............... New deaths in the past 24 hours.
699,271 ......... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
42,469,607 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
128,281 .......... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
12.8%............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
23rd  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: FLORIDA! OMG! You erased New York's daily new cases per day record. And TEXAS! Eighty dead in a single day? Where is our NATIONAL STRATEGY???

US National Health Emergency

July 14, 2020 - Day 122

4.4%  ............... Our share of the global population

26.3% ...............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

33.4% ...............Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

24.0% .............. Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

12.5%. ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

65,488 ........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
465   ............... New deaths in the past 24 hours.
783,226 ......... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
43,252,833 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
130,654 .......... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
13.1%............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person)
23rd  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: With over 65 thousand new cases, we are the biggest of the top COVID-19 hotspots on Earth with more new infections than the other three countries combined. The last time we stood out so badly was: "MAY 16, 2020 - Day 64" The difference is over 38 thousand more new cases now than then. At the same time, our share of daily deaths continues to shrink relative to the rest of the world. Here is what the percentages look like on "MAY 20, 2020 - Day 68" 

20%   .............. The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 cases

28.8%  ............ The U.S. percentage of global COVID-19 deaths

US National Health Emergency

July 15, 2020 - Day 123

4.4%  ............... Our share of the global population

26.4% ...............Our share of the global total of COVID-19 cases

30.1% ...............Our share of NEW COVID-19 Cases in the world (24hr)

24.0% .............. Our share of global COVID-19 deaths

17.3%. ..............Our Percentage of NEW COVID-19 deaths in the world (24hr)

65,595 ........... New cases in the past 24 hour period.
935   ............... New deaths in the past 24 hours.
778,044 ......... COVID-19 tests conducted in the past 24 hours
43,252,833 ..... Total COVID-19 conducted to date
132,993 .......... COVID-19 tests per one-million population
13.2%............. Percentage of US population tested (if only one test/person) [corrected]
23rd  ............... OUR RANK among nations for tests per one-million people

Comments: Are COVID-19 death rates declining in the US? Time will tell. Records of deaths are very accurate while causes of death are subject to interpretation, errors, lack of diagnostic tests in the case of COVID-19, etc. Interpretations of COVID related deaths can also be skewed by political pressures if applied.

Between March and May, a public health study estimated that there were 28% more deaths from all causes than expected. Since this novel coronavirus is a new cause of death, the greater than expected deaths are attributed to it, and COVID-19 related deaths were significantly undercounted. Since May the number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 has declined until recently due to a major surge in new infections.

On July 20, 2020, the Trump Administration sent a letter out to all public health data reporting sources that all COVID-19 data must be submitted directly to the Federal Coronavirus Task Force to centralized redistribution to the CDC and other federal agencies.

US National Health Emergency

July 16, 2020 - Day 124

UNITED STATES SHARE OF THE GLOBAL TOTALS

4.4%  ............... POPULATION

26.4% ...............TOTAL COVID-19 CASES

23.9% .............. TOTAL COVID-19 DEATHS

30.6% ...............NEW COVID-19 CASES   (24hr)

17.4%. ..............NEW COVID-19 DEATHS (24hr)

71,750 ............ NEW INFECTIONS (24 hr.)
1,001 .............. NEW DEATHS (24 r.)
815,289 .......... COVID-19  TESTS GIVEN (24 hr.) [corrected]
44,846.166  ..... TOTAL COVID-19 TESTS GIVEN [corrected]
135,453.......... TESTS PER MILLION POPULATION
13.5%............. TOTAL TESTS / US POPULATION
23rd  .............. GLOBAL RANK IN TESTS PER MILLION

Comments: Day 124 - The second highest number of new infections in a 24 hour period. An expansion of the surge in cases to 19 states now with over a thousand new cases per day, and a federal plan of continual interference with scientifically proven recommendations to bring the pandemic under control in the U.S. from the Trump Administration.  (See the map below for a visual comparison of the US vs. Canada and Mexico).

Sidebar: Why is President Trump opposed to vote-by-mail on one hand and opposed to efforts to bring the infection under control on the other?  (Is there a plan to disrupt the November elections?)

US National Health Emergency

July 17, 2020 - Day 125

UNITED STATES SHARE OF THE GLOBAL TOTALS

4.4%  ............... POPULATION

26.5% ...............TOTAL COVID-19 CASES

23.8% .............. TOTAL COVID-19 DEATHS

29.5% ...............NEW COVID-19 CASES   (24hr)

16.8%. ..............NEW COVID-19 DEATHS (24hr)

73,388 ............ NEW INFECTIONS (24 hr.)
 963  ............... NEW DEATHS (24 r.)
850,863 .......... COVID-19  TESTS GIVEN (24 hr.)
45,697,029  ..... TOTAL COVID-19 TESTS GIVEN [corrected]
135,453.......... TESTS PER MILLION POPULATION
13.8%............. TOTAL TESTS / US POPULATION
23rd  .............. GLOBAL RANK IN TESTS PER MILLION

Comments: The USA is still the leading global hotspot. India, with a billion more people, has 38 thousand fewer daily infections. Florida recorded its second-highest total of new infections in one day. Yet, amid the rising wave of new infections, new concerns are being raised by scientists as to how data collection is now being handled.

"Since April, epidemiologists from Stanford University and several University of California campuses have sought detailed COVID-19 case and contact-tracing data from state and county health authorities for research... But the agencies have refused requests filed from April through late June, The American Association for the Advancement of Science has learned

Epidemiologists, in California and across the country learned from news reports that the data they need is being sent by states to a federal contractor, Palantir Technologies. This same company recently drew criticism for its data work supporting Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportations. “For a data platform dubbed HHS Protect, Palantir is aggregating information… on behalf of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services… “HHS also directed hospitals to provide data on COVID-19 cases and patient information to the Palantir system—largely via a second contractor, TeleTracking Technologies—rather than to CDC as they have for decades," according to the AAAS article.

US National Health Emergency

July 18, 2020 - Day 126

UNITED STATES SHARE OF THE GLOBAL TOTALS

4.4%  ............... POPULATION

26.6% ...............TOTAL COVID-19 CASES

23.7% .............. TOTAL COVID-19 DEATHS

31.2% ...............NEW COVID-19 CASES   (24hr)

17.0%. ..............NEW COVID-19 DEATHS (24hr)

74,987 ............ NEW INFECTIONS (24 hr.)
 946  ............... NEW DEATHS (24 r.)
911,678 .......... COVID-19  TESTS GIVEN (24 hr.)
46,608,707  ..... TOTAL COVID-19 TESTS GIVEN. [corrected]
140,773.......... TESTS PER MILLION POPULATION
14.1%............. TOTAL TESTS / US POPULATION
23rd  .............. GLOBAL RANK IN TESTS PER MILLION

Comments: Yesterday was the second day in a row of record-breaking new infections in the U.S. Our global percentage of new infection has been rising for the past 24 days, from 26% on June 23rd to 26% yesterday. At the same time, our global share of COVID-19 deaths has steadily declined for the past 55 days, from 29.2% on May 23rd to 23.7% yesterday. This is a good trend if it is accurate.

U.S. National Health Emergency

Day 127  -  July 19, 2020 

UNITED STATES SHARE OF THE GLOBAL TOTALS

04.4%  ............... U.S. POPULATION

26.6% ...............  TOTAL COVID-19 CASES

23.6% ..............   TOTAL COVID-19 DEATHS 

28.2% ...............  NEW COVID-19 CASES   (24hr)

16.2%. ..............  NEW COVID-19 DEATHS (24hr)

23rd    ..............   GLOBAL RANK IN TESTS PER MILLION

UNITED STATES DAILY PANDEMIC STATISTICS
63,529 ............  NEW INFECTIONS (24 hr.)
 813  ...............  NEW DEATHS (24 r.)
989,520 ..........  COVID-19  TESTS GIVEN (24 hr.)
47,598,277 .....  TOTAL COVID-19 TESTS GIVEN
143,759..........   TESTS PER MILLION POPULATION
14.4%.............  TOTAL TESTS / US POPULATION

COMMENTS

[None]

U.S. National Health Emergency

Day 128  -  July 20, 2020 

UNITED STATES SHARE OF THE GLOBAL TOTALS

04.4%  ............... U.S. POPULATION

26.7% ...............  TOTAL COVID-19 CASES

23.5% ..............   TOTAL COVID-19 DEATHS 

29.7% ...............  NEW COVID-19 CASES   (24hr)

16.2%. ..............  NEW COVID-19 DEATHS (24hr)

23rd    ..............   GLOBAL RANK IN TESTS PER MILLION

UNITED STATES DAILY PANDEMIC STATISTICS
65,279 ............  NEW INFECTIONS (24 hr.)
 412  ...............  NEW DEATHS (24 r.)
743,458 ..........  COVID-19  TESTS GIVEN (24 hr.)
48,341,735 .....  TOTAL COVID-19 TESTS GIVEN
146,002 .........   TESTS PER MILLION POPULATION
14.6%.............  TOTAL TESTS / US POPULATION

COMMENTS: The USA, with 331 million people, had more new infections yesterday than Brazil and India combined, which together have 1.6 billion people. The leadership failure in the United States cannot be overstated. One of the worst lead states right now in Florida.  With 21.4 million people Florida had over 12.4 thousand new infections yesterday, far more than Mexico with 129 million people. Governor Ron DeSantis acknowledges that the CDC recommends Gyms remain closed yet he is opening Florida gyms today to help people "keep in good shape" to fight the virus. He is also doubling the capacity of restaurants and retail outlets today from 25% to 50%. Let's hope our friends in Florida have better sense than to listen to him.

Also, the number of COVID-19 daily deaths was lower than expected yesterday and the U.S. share of deaths globally continues to decline, while the total COVID-19 tests conducted to date aren't enough to cover even 14% of the U.S. population.

U.S. National Health Emergency

Day 129  -  July 21, 2020 

UNITED STATES SHARE OF THE GLOBAL TOTALS

04.4%  ............... U.S. POPULATION

26.7% ...............  TOTAL COVID-19 CASES

23.5% ..............   TOTAL COVID-19 DEATHS 

30.6% ...............  NEW COVID-19 CASES   (24hr)

13.5%. ..............  NEW COVID-19 DEATHS (24hr)

23rd    ..............   GLOBAL RANK IN TESTS PER MILLION

UNITED STATES DAILY PANDEMIC STATISTICS
62,879 ............  NEW INFECTIONS (24 hr.)
 545  ...............  NEW DEATHS (24 r.)
802,172 ..........  COVID-19  TESTS GIVEN (24 hr.)
148,477* .......   TESTS PER MILLION POPULATION
14.8%.............  TOTAL TESTS / US POPULATION

* For context, this number should be over a million by now.

COMMENTS: We still lead the world in new infections. Florida is still the hottest national hotspot. COVID-19 testing is still lagging behind where it should be.

U.S. National Health Emergency

Day 130  -  July 22, 2020 

UNITED STATES SHARE OF THE GLOBAL TOTALS

04.4%  ............... U.S. POPULATION

26.7% ...............  TOTAL COVID-19 CASES

23.4% ..............   TOTAL COVID-19 DEATHS 

28.1% ...............  NEW COVID-19 CASES   (24hr)

19.7%. ..............  NEW COVID-19 DEATHS (24hr)

23rd    ..............   GLOBAL RANK IN TESTS PER MILLION

UNITED STATES DAILY PANDEMIC STATISTICS

67,140 ............  NEW INFECTIONS (24 hr.)
1,119  .............  NEW DEATHS (24 r.)
751,646 ..........  COVID-19  TESTS GIVEN (24 hr.)
150,745* .......   TESTS PER MILLION POPULATION
15.0%.............  TOTAL TESTS / US POPULATION

* For context, this number should be over a million by now.

COMMENTS: Brazil's new infections doubled from the day before yesterday, but the U.S. numbers remain the highest in the world. The U.S. death toll rose to over a thousand yesterday. There are 15 states with more than 1,000 new infections per day with California, Texas, and Florida accounting for 44% of the U.S. total new cases. They each have more than double the number in Arizona which has the fourth-highest number of new infections.

U.S. National Health Emergency

Day 131  -  July 23, 2020 

UNITED STATES SHARE OF THE GLOBAL TOTALS

04.4%  ............... U.S. POPULATION

26.7% ...............  TOTAL COVID-19 CASES

23.2% ..............   TOTAL COVID-19 DEATHS 

25.7% ...............  NEW COVID-19 CASES   (24hr)

16.9%. ..............  NEW COVID-19 DEATHS (24hr)

23rd    ..............   GLOBAL RANK IN TESTS PER MILLION

UNITED STATES DAILY PANDEMIC STATISTICS
71,967 ............  NEW INFECTIONS (24 hr.)
1,205  .............  NEW DEATHS (24 r.)
819,317 ..........  COVID-19  TESTS GIVEN (24 hr.)
153,217* .......   TESTS PER MILLION POPULATION
15.3%.............  TOTAL TESTS / US POPULATION
* For context, this number should be over a million by now.

COMMENTS: The USA had over a quarter of the world's new infections with our 5th highest daily total yesterday. The surge in new cases is broadening with over 16 states now recording more than a thousand new cases per day. California hit its record high of over 12 thousand new cases. And our COVID-19 testing rates are still pathetically inadequate to meet the challenge. The failure of our President to invoke the Defense Production Act to scale up testing is taking a daily toll. The graphic below from the Harvard Global Health Institute from June 29th depicts just how far short we are falling from what is needed to suppress the virus. (Click on it to enlarge the view.)

U.S. National Health Emergency

Day 132  -  July 24, 2020

UNITED STATES SHARE OF THE GLOBAL TOTALS

04.4%  ............... U.S. POPULATION

26.7% ...............  TOTAL COVID-19 CASES

23.2% ..............   TOTAL COVID-19 DEATHS 

25.0% ...............  NEW COVID-19 CASES   (24hr)

18.2%. ..............  NEW COVID-19 DEATHS (24hr)

23rd    ..............   GLOBAL RANK IN TESTS PER MILLION

UNITED STATES DAILY PANDEMIC STATISTICS
69,116 ............  NEW INFECTIONS (24 hr.)
1,150  .............  NEW DEATHS (24 r.)
819,305 ..........  COVID-19  TESTS GIVEN (24 hr.)
155,688* .......   TESTS PER MILLION POPULATION
15.6%.............  TOTAL TESTS / US POPULATION
* For context, this number should be over a million by now.

COMMENTS: We have less than 5% of the world's population but yesterday we had 25% of all new infections in the world and 18.2% of the COVID-19 deaths. We rank 23rd globally in the number of tests given per million population. The total number of COVID-19 tests given to date in the U.S. is just 15.6% of the U.S. population. We are 132 days into our National Health Emergency. Today would be a good day for President Trump to invoked the Defense Procurement Act to scale up our COVID-19 testing capabilities.

 

U.S. National Health Emergency

Day 133  -  July 25, 2020 

UNITED STATES SHARE OF THE GLOBAL TOTALS

04.4%  ............... U.S. POPULATION

26.7% ...............  TOTAL COVID-19 CASES

23.1% ..............   TOTAL COVID-19 DEATHS 

27.0% ...............  NEW COVID-19 CASES   (24hr)

18.4%. ..............  NEW COVID-19 DEATHS (24hr)

23rd    ..............   GLOBAL RANK IN TESTS PER MILLION

UNITED STATES DAILY PANDEMIC STATISTICS
78,009      ............  NEW INFECTIONS (24 hr.)
1,141       .............  NEW DEATHS (24 r.)
968,251   .............. COVID-19  TESTS GIVEN (24 hr.) [corrected]
158,610* .......   TESTS PER MILLION POPULATION
15.9%.............  TOTAL TESTS / US POPULATION
* For context, this number should be over one-million.

COMMENTS: We have a new record high number of new infections from yesterday while our global total of COVID-19 deaths continues its decline, from 27.7% on April 30th to 23.1% today.  Of note is the continued broadening of the new infections across more states. Seventeen states now have over a thousand new infections with another nine states with over 900 new cases. Florida, California, and Texas account for 40% of the new cases. The pie chart (right) shows the global distribution of cases.

U.S. National Health Emergency

Day 134  -  July 26, 2020 

UNITED STATES SHARE OF THE GLOBAL TOTALS

04.4%  ............... U.S. POPULATION

26.7% ...............  TOTAL COVID-19 CASES

23.1% ..............   TOTAL COVID-19 DEATHS 

26.2% ...............  NEW COVID-19 CASES   (24hr)

16.0%. ..............  NEW COVID-19 DEATHS (24hr)

23rd    ..............   GLOBAL RANK IN TESTS PER MILLION

UNITED STATES DAILY PANDEMIC STATISTICS
67,413      ............  NEW INFECTIONS (24 hr.)
    908       ............. NEW DEATHS (24 r.)
831,824     ............ COVID-19  TESTS GIVEN (24 hr.)
161,120 * ............. TESTS PER MILLION POPULATION
16.1%      ............. TOTAL TESTS / US POPULATION
* For context, this number should be over one-million.

COMMENTS: [no comments today]

U.S. National Health Emergency

Day 135  -  July 27, 2020 

UNITED STATES SHARE OF THE GLOBAL TOTALS

04.4%  ............... U.S. POPULATION

26.6% ...............  TOTAL COVID-19 CASES

23.0% ..............   TOTAL COVID-19 DEATHS 

25.3% ...............  NEW COVID-19 CASES   (24hr)

10.5%. ..............  NEW COVID-19 DEATHS (24hr)

21st    ..............   GLOBAL RANK IN TESTS PER MILLION

UNITED STATES DAILY PANDEMIC STATISTICS
56,130      ............  NEW INFECTIONS (24 hr.)
    451       ............. NEW DEATHS (24 r.)
867,267     ............ COVID-19  TESTS GIVEN (24 hr.)
163,736 * ............. TESTS PER MILLION POPULATION
16.4%      ............. TOTAL TESTS / US POPULATION
* For context, this number should be over one-million.

COMMENTS: Our new cases and new deaths are down from yesterday, but we still have the most new infections in the world. India, with over a billion more people than us, seems to be catching up to us.

Our number of COVID-19 deaths continue to decline relative to the rest of the world despite our high infection rates. Comparing states by the numbers of cases and COVID death per million should be a fair way to get a sense of how states are doing, especially when the spikes in new cases roughly coincide in both states. From this perspective, Louisiana has more cases per million than New York, but half the number of deaths. New York peaked sooner, so that may explain it. The same goes for Arizona which has more cases per million than New Jersey but a third of the deaths. But then you have Florida whose current peak started in mid-June with two-thousand more cases per million than Mississippi, whose peak started in late-June, but nearly half the number of deaths per million. For states that had their peak cases in April, the mortality ratio per million population was 6.3 percent. For states that peaked in May, it was 3.58 percent and for those states experiencing a peak in July, it is currently 2.01% mortality ratio. It still seems that mortality rates vary widely from state to state and over time more than might be expected. We shall see.

U.S. National Health Emergency

     Day 136  -  July 28, 2020 
 UNITED STATES SHARE OF THE GLOBAL TOTALS

04.4%  ............... U.S. POPULATION

26.7% ...............  TOTAL COVID-19 CASES

22.9% ..............   TOTAL COVID-19 DEATHS 

28.3% ...............  NEW COVID-19 CASES   (24hr)

14.2%. ..............  NEW COVID-19 DEATHS (24hr)

21st    ..............   GLOBAL RANK IN TESTS PER MILLION

UNITED STATES DAILY PANDEMIC STATISTICS
61,574      ............  NEW INFECTIONS (24 hr.)
    596       ............. NEW DEATHS (24 r.)
798,661     ............ COVID-19  TESTS GIVEN (24 hr.)
166,145 * ............. TESTS PER MILLION POPULATION
16.7%      ............. TOTAL TESTS / US POPULATION
* For context, this number should be over one-million.

COMMENTS: Today is the 33rd straight day that we have had more new daily infections than any other country on earth. Our global share of new infections is trending up while our global share of COVID deaths continues to trend down. Testing per million is trending up for the U.S. as we are now ranked 21st in the world.

Here is a tidbit on masks in case anyone tries to tell you N-95 masks aren't effective with COVID-19: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/06/11/fact-check-n-95-filters-not-too-large-stop-covid-19-particles/5343537002/

U.S. National Health Emergency

     Day 137  -  July 29, 2020 
 UNITED STATES SHARE OF THE GLOBAL TOTALS

04.3%  ............... U.S. POPULATION

26.6% ...............  TOTAL COVID-19 CASES

23.0% ..............   TOTAL COVID-19 DEATHS 

26.1% ...............  NEW COVID-19 CASES   (24hr)

22.4%. ..............  NEW COVID-19 DEATHS (24hr)

21st    ..............   GLOBAL RANK IN TESTS PER MILLION

UNITED STATES DAILY PANDEMIC STATISTICS
64,729      ............  NEW INFECTIONS (24 hr.)
  1,245      ............. NEW DEATHS (24 r.)
787,180     ............ COVID-19  TESTS GIVEN (24 hr.)
168,520 * ............. TESTS PER MILLION POPULATION
16.9%      ............. TOTAL TESTS / US POPULATION
* For context, this number should be over one-million.

COMMENTS: There are 205 countries that have fewer cases per million population than the United States. Only 9 countries have faired worse, such as Qatar, French Guiana, and Chile. So, it is not surprising that 204 countries have fewer deaths per million as well.

By any standard, the United States stands out as a singular failure in controlling this virus. The failure of leadership is so blatant that it is time to consider that it might be part of a larger plan to disrupt the coming election and upend our democracy.

Consider these points:
1. The widespread infection rates across the states will cause people to consider vote-by-mail options at a time when a newly appointed head of the US Postal Service is actively degrading delivery service.
2. President Trump and his administration are warning that vote-by-mail is not safe and will create a mess, despite the successful use of mail-in voting by a number of states over the years. Such pronouncements in the past have been a prelude to actions that follow.
3. Recent news revelations have surfaced that three Engish-language websites responsible for spreading disinformation about the Coronavirus are operated by the Russian based GRU, a Russian Intelligence agency. Some of those Russian base sites are also publishing articles denigrating Joe Biden suggesting that the Russian aim is to once again assist Donald Trump. 
4. At yesterday's Congressional hearing, Attorney General Barr refused to say that the DOJ would not get involved in disputed election results. Instead, he repeated his mantra, "I will follow the law."

None of this is definitive of any conclusions, but it does suggest that darker ulterior motives should be considered.

U.S. National Health Emergency

     Day 138  -  July 30, 2020 
 UNITED STATES SHARE OF THE GLOBAL TOTALS

04.3%  ............... U.S. POPULATION

26.6% ...............  TOTAL COVID-19 CASES

23.0% ..............   TOTAL COVID-19 DEATHS 

31.9% ...............  NEW COVID-19 CASES   (24hr)

21.1%. ..............  NEW COVID-19 DEATHS (24hr)

21st    ..............   GLOBAL RANK IN TESTS PER MILLION

UNITED STATES DAILY PANDEMIC STATISTICS
66,921      ............  NEW INFECTIONS (24 hr.)
  1,554      ............. NEW DEATHS (24 r.)
879,963     ............ COVID-19  TESTS GIVEN (24 hr.)
171,171 * ............. TESTS PER MILLION POPULATION
17.1%      ............. TOTAL TESTS / US POPULATION
* For context, this number should be over one-million.

COMMENTS: For the first time in 57 days another country, Brazil, has recorded the highest number of new COVID-19 cases in a day. Brazil's President, Jair Bolsonaro, has a lot in common with President Trump including not wearing a mask even after he was ordered to do so by the Brazilian courts. He contradicts his own health experts. He says the virus is just a little flu-like and encourages Brazilians to go back to their normal activity. Predictably, the health outcomes there mirror our own. Attached is a recent news clip. So, if you want an example of how President Trump's approach to the pandemic works out in another country, Brazil is that example.

U.S. National Health Emergency

     Day 139  -  July 31, 2020 
 UNITED STATES SHARE OF THE GLOBAL TOTALS

04.3%  ............... U.S. POPULATION

26.5% ...............  TOTAL COVID-19 CASES

23.0% ..............   TOTAL COVID-19 DEATHS 

23.9% ...............  NEW COVID-19 CASES   (24hr)

22.8%. ..............  NEW COVID-19 DEATHS (24hr)

20th    ..............   GLOBAL RANK IN TESTS PER MILLION

UNITED STATES DAILY PANDEMIC STATISTICS
68,569      ............  NEW INFECTIONS (24 hr.)
  1,465      ............. NEW DEATHS (24 r.)
836,755    ............ COVID-19  TESTS GIVEN (24 hr.)
173,695 * ............. TESTS PER MILLION POPULATION
17.4%      ............. TOTAL TESTS / US POPULATION
* For context, this number should be over one-million.

COMMENTS: The U.S. has the highest number of new infections and COVID deaths in the world in the past 24 hours. We crept up in our rank of COVID-19 tests per million in the world. There are 17 states that have over 1,000 newly diagnosed infections per day. Testing rates overall continue to rise slowly. Testing is still insufficiently available to everyone.

U.S. National Health Emergency

     Day 140  -  August 1, 2020 
 UNITED STATES SHARE OF THE GLOBAL TOTALS

04.3%  ............... U.S. POPULATION

26.6% ...............  TOTAL COVID-19 CASES

23.0% ..............   TOTAL COVID-19 DEATHS 

24.5% ...............  NEW COVID-19 CASES   (24hr)

22.7%. ..............  NEW COVID-19 DEATHS (24hr)

19th    ..............   GLOBAL RANK IN TESTS PER MILLION

UNITED STATES DAILY PANDEMIC STATISTICS
70,904      ............  NEW INFECTIONS (24 hr.)
  1,462      ............. NEW DEATHS (24 r.)
1,069,908    ............ COVID-19  TESTS GIVEN (24 hr.)
176,923 * ............. TESTS PER MILLION POPULATION
17.7%      ............. TOTAL TESTS / US POPULATION
* For context, this number should be over one-million.

COMMENTS: It's 140 days since Donald Trump declared a National Health Emergency. We have less than 5% of the world's population and yesterday we had nearly 25% of all new infections in the world. We are among the 10 worst countries in terms of both COVID cases and deaths since the pandemic began. We are 19th in tests given per million despite our need for testing being more critical than in most other countries right now. Despite this, testing isn't "ramping up" but barely crawling scaling up at all. I updated the seven-day average of daily testing in the U.S. (below) and added a graphic from a NY Times article today debunking the President's claim that our high case numbers are due to our high testing numbers. This isn't true. And testing doesn't "cause" infections!







U.S. National Health Emergency

     Day 141  -  August 2, 2020 
 UNITED STATES SHARE OF THE GLOBAL TOTALS

04.3%  ............... U.S. POPULATION

26.5% ...............  TOTAL COVID-19 CASES

22.9% ..............   TOTAL COVID-19 DEATHS 

25.9% ...............  NEW COVID-19 CASES   (24hr)

20.0%. ..............  NEW COVID-19 DEATHS (24hr)

18th    ..............   GLOBAL RANK IN TESTS PER MILLION

UNITED STATES DAILY PANDEMIC STATISTICS
58,429      ............  NEW INFECTIONS (24 hr.)
  1,123      ............. NEW DEATHS (24 r.)
635,857    ............ COVID-19  TESTS GIVEN (24 hr.)
178,841* ............. TESTS PER MILLION POPULATION
17.9%      ............. TOTAL TESTS / US POPULATION
* For context, this number should be over one-million.

COMMENTS: [no comments]

U.S. National Health Emergency

     Day 142  -  August 3, 2020 
 UNITED STATES SHARE OF THE GLOBAL TOTALS

04.3%  ............... U.S. POPULATION

26.4% ...............  TOTAL COVID-19 CASES

22.9% ..............   TOTAL COVID-19 DEATHS 

22.2% ...............  NEW COVID-19 CASES   (24hr)

10.5%. ..............  NEW COVID-19 DEATHS (24hr)

18th    ..............   GLOBAL RANK IN TESTS PER MILLION

UNITED STATES DAILY PANDEMIC STATISTICS
52,783      ............  NEW INFECTIONS (24 hr.)
  467         ............. NEW DEATHS (24 r.)
708,599    ............ COVID-19  TESTS GIVEN (24 hr.)
178,841* ............. TESTS PER MILLION POPULATION
18.1%      ............. TOTAL TESTS / US POPULATION
* For context, this number should be over one-million.

COMMENTS: The U.S. had the second largest number of new infections yesterday, thanks to rising numbers in India (which has a billion more people). COVID-19 deaths recorded yesterday was 2 times less than the past 4-day average. I suspect we will see a correction, yesterday being a Sunday.




U.S. National Health Emergency

     Day 143  -  August 4, 2020 
 UNITED STATES SHARE OF THE GLOBAL TOTALS

04.3%  ............... U.S. POPULATION

26.4% ...............  TOTAL COVID-19 CASES

22.8% ..............   TOTAL COVID-19 DEATHS 

24.3% ...............  NEW COVID-19 CASES   (24hr)

13.0%. ..............  NEW COVID-19 DEATHS (24hr)

18th    ..............   GLOBAL RANK IN TESTS PER MILLION

UNITED STATES DAILY PANDEMIC STATISTICS
48,646      ............  NEW INFECTIONS (24 hr.)
  567         ............. NEW DEATHS (24 r.)
1,002,033  ........... COVID-19  TESTS GIVEN (24 hr.)
184,000* ............. TESTS PER MILLION POPULATION
18.4%      ............. TOTAL TESTS / US POPULATION
* For context, this number should be over one-million.

COMMENTS: It looks like we have turned a corner. Both new cases and new COVID-19 deaths are down... but wait? Aren't COVID deaths a trailing indicator? Doesn't it take 10 to 20 days for the number dying of COVID-19 to become reflected? Yesterday the death toll was 2 times less than the day before, now today it is only slightly over yesterday's number. What happened 10 to 20 days ago? Was there a drop in cases?

No! In fact, the average number of new infections in that 10 day period was at an all-time peak. The 10 day average during the peek was 63,451 new cases per day, while the average number of deaths in the past two days is 517 per day. That means a very low mortality ratio of 0.8%. It was about 2% on the prior days. Either we have achieved a remarkable drop in mortality rates or the numbers are off and we should see a correction over the next few days.

PS: Our global percentage of COVID-19 deaths continues to decline, also, despite our global rise in new cases relative to the world.

U.S. National Health Emergency

     Day 144  -  August 5, 2020 
 UNITED STATES SHARE OF THE GLOBAL TOTALS

04.3%  ............... U.S. POPULATION

26.3% ...............  TOTAL COVID-19 CASES

22.8% ..............   TOTAL COVID-19 DEATHS 

21.3% ...............  NEW COVID-19 CASES   (24hr)

13.0%. ..............  NEW COVID-19 DEATHS (24hr)

18th    ..............   GLOBAL RANK IN TESTS PER MILLION

UNITED STATES DAILY PANDEMIC STATISTICS
54,540      ............  NEW INFECTIONS (24 hr.)
1,362        ............. NEW DEATHS (24 r.)
681,496  ........... COVID-19  TESTS GIVEN (24 hr.)
186,055* ............. TESTS PER MILLION POPULATION
18.6%      ............. TOTAL TESTS / US POPULATION
* For context, this number should be over one-million.

COMMENTS: We are 144 days into our national health emergency and still have over 20% of the world's new cases despite being only 4.3% of the global population. Over 1,300 people died of the disease yesterday (R.I.P), a number that is within statistical expectations given the peak number of new cases it reflects. (It is not a statistical correction). Texas, Florida, and California still have the largest outbreaks.

U.S. National Health Emergency

     Day 145  -  August 6, 2020 
 UNITED STATES SHARE OF THE GLOBAL TOTALS

04.3%  ............... U.S. POPULATION

26.2% ...............  TOTAL COVID-19 CASES

22.8% ..............   TOTAL COVID-19 DEATHS 

20.3% ...............  NEW COVID-19 CASES   (24hr)

19.2%. ..............  NEW COVID-19 DEATHS (24hr)

18th    ..............   GLOBAL RANK IN TESTS PER MILLION

UNITED STATES DAILY PANDEMIC STATISTICS
56,148      ............  NEW INFECTIONS (24 hr.)
1,311        ............. NEW DEATHS (24 r.)
762,258  ........... COVID-19  TESTS GIVEN (24 hr.)
188,353* ............. TESTS PER MILLION POPULATION
18.8%      ............. TOTAL TESTS / US POPULATION
* For context, this number should be over one-million.

COMMENTS: The U.S. had the second most new cases yesterday. A word about childhood transmission of the virus, following this comment yesterday from our President:

"... children are almost — and I would almost say definitely — but almost immune from this disease."

It has long been observed that children are less likely to show symptoms of COVID-19, but it has never been suggested that this means they are immune. Children have been getting sick and dying from the virus all along.  A recent study shows that children who do have symptoms are just as likely as adults to spread it to others: 

6/30/2020 - Researchers have discovered that children younger than 5 years with mild to moderate COVID-19 have much higher levels of genetic material for the virus in the nose compared to older children and adults. The findings point to the possibility that the youngest children transmit the virus as much as other age groups.

A scientific study to learn about the incidents of COVID-19 infection rates in children was launched in May.

"A study to help determine the rate of novel coronavirus infection in children and their family members in the United States has begun enrolling participants. The study, called Human Epidemiology and Response to SARS-CoV-2 (HEROS), also will help determine what percentage of children infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, develop symptoms of the disease."

The study has yet to be completed, so a definitive answer as to the incident rate of the virus in children isn't known yet, but it certainly isn't zero, as the President is claiming.

U.S. National Health Emergency

     Day 146  -  August 7, 2020 
 UNITED STATES SHARE OF THE GLOBAL TOTALS

04.3%  ............... U.S. POPULATION

26.2% ...............  TOTAL COVID-19 CASES

22.7% ..............   TOTAL COVID-19 DEATHS 

20.9% ...............  NEW COVID-19 CASES   (24hr)

18.6%. ..............  NEW COVID-19 DEATHS (24hr)

18th    ..............   GLOBAL RANK IN TESTS PER MILLION

UNITED STATES DAILY PANDEMIC STATISTICS
58,611     ............  NEW INFECTIONS (24 hr.)
1,203        ............. NEW DEATHS (24 r.)
758,346  ........... COVID-19  TESTS GIVEN (24 hr.)
190,640* ............. TESTS PER MILLION POPULATION
19.1%      ............. TOTAL TESTS / US POPULATION
* For context, this number should be over one-million.

COMMENTS: [No Comments]