Parsing Out Dystopia: Passing 40,000 Dead
It took us only three more days for another 10,000 Americans to die from COVID-19. As I mentioned in the last post, Trump has proclaimed we passed the peak of new cases. But, as you can see in the Johns Hopkins graph below, the numbers have gone up not down for the past five days. We are not yet back to the peak of 9 or 10 days ago, but it is irresponsible to inform the American public that we've seen the worst in terms of new cases when that is not factually proven.
As I have mentioned, we might see a steady rise in the number of new infections in the short term as ignorant people freely stop social distancing, go to beaches, protest at their state capitols against the lockdown, and plan activities around such calendar days as Easter. This past Easter could likely bring more death to America. If so, we will see it in the next ten days or so.
Trump should never be allowed to recover from (or respin himself out of) his disgraceful lack of leadership. First, downplaying the virus, then proclaiming we should reopen the economy by Easter, and then proclaiming the peak has passed. With the exception of the last contention, he has been wrong on all counts. We will know in the next few days whether we have actually passed the peak in new cases. Wait for confirmation by the numbers, not for what you hope will happen. The virus doesn't care about you and your hopes.
Keep in mind that, to some extent, the number of new cases is bound to elevate simply because we are doing a much better job of testing right now. But health experts point out that we are nowhere near testing enough to reopen our society. We need to get to a point where we can proactively test asymptomatic people so we can finally attain a clear understanding of how big this monster is. As of today we have no idea, we are flying blind.
Another thought occurs to me. Where was the CIA during the Wuhan outbreak? Why were we not receiving the intelligence we needed to properly assess the potential threat?
Apparently, America was getting the intelligence it needed (see here and here) but Trump, always a foe of the intelligence community, did not listen. Trump ignored the initial reports. Foreign Affairs calls this "the worst intelligence failure in U.S. history." According to the article: "...the Trump administration forced a catastrophic strategic surprise onto the American people. But unlike past strategic surprises—Pearl Harbor, the Iranian revolution of 1979, or especially 9/11—the current one was brought about by unprecedented indifference, even willful negligence."
This cannot be overstated enough. Trump chose not to prepare this country for what it is now experiencing. Dereliction of duty. End of story. Well, except many more Americans are going to suffer and die. Will we be at 50,000 in the next few days? Will our inability to discipline ourselves with social distancing lead to a new surge in COVID-19 cases?
A total of 20,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 in the past seven days. I wonder, when was the last time this many Americans died in a week from a single source? It did not happen at any point in any of America's many wars. I'm guessing you have to go all the way back to the Spanish Flu, where 28% of the US population contracted it and between 500,000 and 850,000 died in total.
The current death rate in the US stands at a staggering 5.35%. Hopefully, that number will not hold steady. One out of every 20 Americans infected has died. The global death rate is now at 6.9%. These are the highest percentages I've seen so far.
I want to stress this once again. The only way to not get this virus is to isolate yourself. Bill Gates argued just a few days ago that we needed a national lockdown. We still don't have it. On the contrary, Trump is encouraging people to protest social distancing. That is a recipe for further disaster.
As I have mentioned, we might see a steady rise in the number of new infections in the short term as ignorant people freely stop social distancing, go to beaches, protest at their state capitols against the lockdown, and plan activities around such calendar days as Easter. This past Easter could likely bring more death to America. If so, we will see it in the next ten days or so.
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| April 19. |
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| You can clearly see that the number of new confirmed cases in the US has risen steadily in the past five days. This is not a good sign if we have, as Trump proclaimed, "passed the peak." |
Keep in mind that, to some extent, the number of new cases is bound to elevate simply because we are doing a much better job of testing right now. But health experts point out that we are nowhere near testing enough to reopen our society. We need to get to a point where we can proactively test asymptomatic people so we can finally attain a clear understanding of how big this monster is. As of today we have no idea, we are flying blind.
Another thought occurs to me. Where was the CIA during the Wuhan outbreak? Why were we not receiving the intelligence we needed to properly assess the potential threat?
Apparently, America was getting the intelligence it needed (see here and here) but Trump, always a foe of the intelligence community, did not listen. Trump ignored the initial reports. Foreign Affairs calls this "the worst intelligence failure in U.S. history." According to the article: "...the Trump administration forced a catastrophic strategic surprise onto the American people. But unlike past strategic surprises—Pearl Harbor, the Iranian revolution of 1979, or especially 9/11—the current one was brought about by unprecedented indifference, even willful negligence."
This cannot be overstated enough. Trump chose not to prepare this country for what it is now experiencing. Dereliction of duty. End of story. Well, except many more Americans are going to suffer and die. Will we be at 50,000 in the next few days? Will our inability to discipline ourselves with social distancing lead to a new surge in COVID-19 cases?
A total of 20,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 in the past seven days. I wonder, when was the last time this many Americans died in a week from a single source? It did not happen at any point in any of America's many wars. I'm guessing you have to go all the way back to the Spanish Flu, where 28% of the US population contracted it and between 500,000 and 850,000 died in total.
The current death rate in the US stands at a staggering 5.35%. Hopefully, that number will not hold steady. One out of every 20 Americans infected has died. The global death rate is now at 6.9%. These are the highest percentages I've seen so far.
I want to stress this once again. The only way to not get this virus is to isolate yourself. Bill Gates argued just a few days ago that we needed a national lockdown. We still don't have it. On the contrary, Trump is encouraging people to protest social distancing. That is a recipe for further disaster.
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