September 10, 2020 - Truth and Transparency
Truth and Transparency
September 10, 2020
After 4 consecutive days of sub-1,000 case counts, the string was broken today, as Alabama recorded 1,148 cases (incl. 461 probables) to go along with 6,878 new tests. The daily average for cases over the last 7 days is now 897 (up from 883 yesterday) and the daily average for tests over the same period is 5,450 (up from 4,621 yesterday) .
This increase in tests has caused our 7-day positivity rate to decline to 15.79% (including probables). By way of comparison, 19 states plus the District of Columbia have a positivity rate under 5% while 38 states have a positivity rate under 10%. Only both Dakotas have rates that exceed Alabama’s.
There were also 16 more Alabama deaths recorded today. Worldwide, the average number of deaths from COVID-19 is 116.9 per 100K population. In the United States, that number is 591. And, in Alabama, it is 469. I thought of this crucial statistic last night when I heard it reported that the President chose to “downplay” the deadly nature of this virus in order to avoid “panic”. It seems that people who live in countries where they were told the truth did not “panic”; instead, they responded by taking appropriate precautions. As a result, far fewer of them died.
Truth and transparency are essential weapons in the fight against a pandemic. Take testing, for instance. In a recent article published in The Atlantic, it was pointed out that the CDC once maintained that every person who is exposed to the coronavirus should be tested for it. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/09/how-many-people-america-testing-coronavirus/616249/?s=03. Shortly after the President’s famous speech urging “his people” to “slow down the testing, please”, the CDC changed its official guidance to recommend against testing asymptomatic people, the very people who spread the virus the most. The United States now reports 30-40% fewer daily tests than it did in late July, while Alabama tests fewer than half the number it did in July. Although the number of confirmed cases has also declined, the infection rate has been fairly flat, so no one really knows if community spread is being contained.
Six months after the arrival of this virus, we should have learned that responsible human behavior, which is vital, can only be expected if the truth is made known to the American public. Sadly, what’s past may be prologue when it comes to testing. Here are the totals:
8/28 - 1,162
8/29 - 1,704
8/30 - 1,346
8/31 - 823
9/1 - 1,558
9/2 - 623
9/3 - 1,046
9/4 - 1,108
9/5 - 1,410
9/6 - 511
9/7 - 659
9/8 - 633
9/9 - 811
9/10 - 1,148
Jefferson led with 145 cases, followed by Tuscaloosa with 80 cases.