September 21, 2020 - Warren Buffett on Reputational Risk
Warren Buffett on Reputational Risk
September 21, 2020
The case and test data today are practically carbon copies of yesterday’s data - 818 cases (incl. 64 probables), an increase of 20 cases, and 5,500 tests, a decrease of 95 tests. That leaves our 7-day average positivity rate at 13.62%, compared to 13.75% yesterday. Bear in mind that case/test results reported by ADPH are derived from lab reports received over the prior 24 hours and Sundays are typically low tide for lab reporting.
Hospitalizations, which have been on a continuous slide since mid-August, have trended upward the last three days - 802 confirmed patients statewide in 102 reporting hospitals, compared to 780 patients in 96 hospitals yesterday and 741 in 95 hospitals the day before. The uptick is cause for concern but not a reason to panic. It’s important to remember that hospitalizations hit a peak of 1,600 on August 6, and we are a long way from that number.
The CDC lost more luster in the scientific community this morning when it removed from its website certain guidance it placed there just two days ago - i.e. language acknowledging that the coronavirus is transmitted mainly through the air in aerosols. The CDC explained that this language had been posted prematurely and is still being revised. This reversal comes on the heels of a chaotic week of contradictory communications among the White House, H.H.S and the CDC regarding testing, vaccine development and more. One of the greatest tragedies in the pantheon of tragedies surrounding this pandemic is the damage that has been inflicted on the reputation of our health agencies. As Warren Buffett once said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and just five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.” The totals:
9/8 - 633
9/9 - 811
9/10 - 1,148
9/11 - 1,138
9/12 - 943
9/13 - 1,109
9/14 - 704
9/15 - 701
9/16 - 927
9/17 - 670
9/18 - 1,106
9/18 - 1,301
9/19 - 798
9/20 - 818
Jefferson County had 108 cases followed by Tuscaloosa County with 86. Clay County’s 14-day positivity rate is a shockingly high 33.55%.