A big increase in coronavirus infections is here, one that may eclipse the first two waves that struck the country, swamping schools, businesses, governments…all of us.
from JHU, based on Covid tracking project data
In some ways, we are in a far better position to manage this wave than we were back in March.
We know that masks and physical distancing (way better term than “social distancing”, which, frankly, is awful) work.
Medical professionals know a lot more about treating people with COVID. This knowledge was hard-won indeed, the price incalculable at 212,000 dead moms, dads, kids, brothers, sisters, dear friends, grandparents, and colleagues.
We know effective contact tracing and quarantine limit the spread, AND make societal shut-downs unnecessary.
In other ways we are little better off than we were in March. Back then the hot spots were limited to a few metro areas in a handful of states; now the biggest spread is in North and South Dakota, Montana (!), Wisconsin, Idaho and Nebraska, with local hot spots in many other states.
It hasn’t helped that COVID has become politicized and science ignored or denigrated.
We are still woefully lacking in the number of tests administered, how fast results come back, and how accurate tests are.
We’re averaging about a million tests a day, which sounds great, until you realize we need more than 6.5 million tests a day. Worse still, many tests are all but useless as it takes far too long to get results, and there are too many false positives and false negatives.
And the burden isn’t equally shared. We have lost at least 41,583 Black lives to COVID-19 to date. Black people account for 20% of COVID-19 deaths where race is known. (13% of the population) The death rate for minorities – Hispanics and Native Americans in particular – are much higher than it is for Whites.
What does this mean for you?
Wear a mask. Physically distance.
