COVID-19 Compilation: Part 23 - August 16-22, 2020
On March 14th, I began posting daily updates to my facebook page, regarding the status of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a backbone for this, I have used data from worldometers. I had no particular plan at the time, but as things have evolved I have kept going at one post per day, eventually settling on a more or less standard format and one topic per day.
This blog post compiles the period of August 16th through August 22nd. I have corrected some typos, augmented with links to original sources, and used some basic html to improve formatting; otherwise these are presented as-is from the original posts.see https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ for more.
AUGUST 16:
There were 216,926 new cases worldwide today, including 37,682 in the USA.There were 4,543 deaths worldwide today, including 521 in the USA.
Cumulatively, there have now been 21.85 million cases and 772,779 deaths worldwide. In the USA, there have been 5.57 million cases and 173,127 deaths.
Standard caveats about Sunday numbers in the USA apply; however, today's case count in the USA is the lowest since June 24th.
Florida had 3,779 new cases today, the lowest number there since June 23rd.
Texas had had 2,841 new cases today, the lowest number there since June 15th.
Seven states, including Florida, had positivity rates above 10% today. Seven states did not report new test numbers. And seven states, including New York and Michigan, had positivity rates below 2% today.
AUGUST 17:
There were 198,483 new cases worldwide today, including 40,560 in the USA.There were 4,316 deaths worldwide today, including 589 in the USA.
Cumulatively, there have now been 22.04 million cases and 777,204 deaths worldwide. In the USA, there have been 5.61 million cases and 173,716 deaths.
The worldwide total, though subject to late adjustments, is presently the lowest since July 13th.
In the USA, students are returning to colleges for in-person and online classes. Today, the University of North Carolina pivoted to online only after just one week of classes. The University announced 4 clusters of positive cases, totaling 130 students. Of the 954 students tested last week, 13.6% tested positive. In addition, 177 students are in isolation and 349 are in quarantine.
Yesterday's online editorial headline in the Daily Tar Heel, the University's student newspaper, read simply: "We all saw this coming."
It then went on to the subheadline: "clusterfuck (n) : a complex and utterly disordered and mismanaged situation."
The print edition was even more brutal:
Some highlights:
"University leadership should have expected students, many of whom are now living on their own for the first time, to be reckless. Reports of parties throughout the weekend come as no surprise."
"The administration continues to prove they have no shame, and the bar for basic decency keeps getting lower.
"They chose to ignore the Orange County Health Department, which recommended that the University restrict on-campus housing to at-risk students and implement online-only instruction for the first five weeks of the semester. They chose to ignore the guidance of the CDC, which placed the University’s housing plan in the "highest-risk" category."
The scathing editorial deserves to be read in full. See https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2020/08/covid-clusters-edit-0816
A headline on ESPN summed up the situation: "North Carolina shifts to full-time remote learning after outbreak; football unaffected."
There were 6.303 deaths worldwide today, including 1,358 in the USA.
Cumulatively, there have now been 22.30 million cases and 783,519 deaths worldwide. In the USA, there have been 5.66 million cases and 175,074 deaths.
Yesterday, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) of the NCAA announced a revised 10-game football schedule, to begin the final week of the season. The conference did not ban stadium attendance, but did mandate that masks must be worn as a condition of all guest ingress, egress, and movement throughout the stadium, as well as any time guests are unable to maintain the recommended physical distance from others who are not in their same household."
Today, the University of Alabama, a member school of the SEC, announced that "in compliance with CDC and state public health guidance, seating in Bryant-Denny Stadium for the 2020 Alabama football season will be social-distanced resulting in approximately 20% seating capacity." All tickets and parking passes will be distributed electronically and will be presented for contactless entry by cell phone only; ticketholders will also be required to complete an "Event Passport" in advance of arrival.
20% capacity means more than 20,000 fans in the stadium, in addition to stadium workers.
Alabama has 5 scheduled home games this fall.
There were 6,676 deaths worldwide today, including 1,263 in the USA.
Cumulatively, there have now been 22.57 million cases and 790,195 deaths worldwide. In the USA, there have been 5.70 million cases and 176,337 deaths.
Every month on the 18th, I've taken a quick snapshot of trends in "red states" (states with Republican governors) as compared to "blue states" (states with Democratic governors).
For the first time since the start of the pandemic, the trend has reversed somewhat: New cases were 61% in "red" states yesterday, as compared to 66% on July 18th. And, deaths were 62% in red states yesterday, as compared to 68% a month ago. Overall, the percentage of cases and deaths in "red" states has continued to rise, to 51% and 36%, respectively.
Overall, cases are down sharply from a month ago, but deaths are up.
The attached charts summarize, in brief.
There were 6,183 deaths worldwide today, including 1,090 in the USA.
Cumulatively, there have now been 22.85 million cases and 796,373 deaths worldwide. In the USA, there have been 5.75 million cases and 177,424 deaths.
Over today and the next couple of days, I'll present case and death rates in the world and the USA.
Today's table: The European Union. There have been notable resurgences of cases and deaths in several EU countries, in particular in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania. For the most part, however, cases and deaths in the EU remain low.
Tomorrow, the world's deadliest countries, per the published numbers, over the past 30 days.
There were 6,062 deaths worldwide today, including 1,170 in the USA.
Cumulatively, there have now been 23.10 million cases and 802,600 deaths worldwide. In the USA, there have been 5.80 million cases and 179,200 deaths.
In the USA, Tennessee and Arkansas both set new records for COVID-19 deaths today. Also worldometer switched its Texas reporting to use the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) numbers rather than rely on reports from several counties, due to persisting discrepancies. As a result, the reported death numbers for Texas have increased by 606.
Yesterday, I presented per capita case and death rates over the past 30 days in the European Union.
Today, case and death rates over the same 30 day period (July 21 - August 20) for the countries with the highest per capita death rates. I'm limited to the 90 countries with at least 10 million population, so Oman doesn't make the list this time. The attached table shows the 20 countries with the highest per capita death rates over the 30 day period.
Why not show the countries with the lowest per capita death rates? Well, for one thing, many of them have reported no deaths at all during that time period. And, I don't really trust their reporting -- not that I necessarily trust the higher reporting either.
7 of the 8 South American countries with at least 10,000,000 people are in the list, including the top 3 spots (Colombia, Bolivia and Peru). Mexico is 4th, and Brazil 5th, so one could say that this is now an "American virus."
Tomorrow, a look at the US.
August 16 | August 17 | August 18 | August 19 | August 20 | August 21 | August 22
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| The Daily Tar Heel Editorial, August 17, 2020 |
Some highlights:
"University leadership should have expected students, many of whom are now living on their own for the first time, to be reckless. Reports of parties throughout the weekend come as no surprise."
"The administration continues to prove they have no shame, and the bar for basic decency keeps getting lower.
"They chose to ignore the Orange County Health Department, which recommended that the University restrict on-campus housing to at-risk students and implement online-only instruction for the first five weeks of the semester. They chose to ignore the guidance of the CDC, which placed the University’s housing plan in the "highest-risk" category."
The scathing editorial deserves to be read in full. See https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2020/08/covid-clusters-edit-0816
A headline on ESPN summed up the situation: "North Carolina shifts to full-time remote learning after outbreak; football unaffected."
AUGUST 18:
There were 253,943 new cases worldwide today, including 43,999 in the USA.There were 6.303 deaths worldwide today, including 1,358 in the USA.
Cumulatively, there have now been 22.30 million cases and 783,519 deaths worldwide. In the USA, there have been 5.66 million cases and 175,074 deaths.
Yesterday, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) of the NCAA announced a revised 10-game football schedule, to begin the final week of the season. The conference did not ban stadium attendance, but did mandate that masks must be worn as a condition of all guest ingress, egress, and movement throughout the stadium, as well as any time guests are unable to maintain the recommended physical distance from others who are not in their same household."
Today, the University of Alabama, a member school of the SEC, announced that "in compliance with CDC and state public health guidance, seating in Bryant-Denny Stadium for the 2020 Alabama football season will be social-distanced resulting in approximately 20% seating capacity." All tickets and parking passes will be distributed electronically and will be presented for contactless entry by cell phone only; ticketholders will also be required to complete an "Event Passport" in advance of arrival.
20% capacity means more than 20,000 fans in the stadium, in addition to stadium workers.
Alabama has 5 scheduled home games this fall.
AUGUST 19:
There were 271,795 new cases worldwide today, including 44,957 in the USA.There were 6,676 deaths worldwide today, including 1,263 in the USA.
Cumulatively, there have now been 22.57 million cases and 790,195 deaths worldwide. In the USA, there have been 5.70 million cases and 176,337 deaths.
Every month on the 18th, I've taken a quick snapshot of trends in "red states" (states with Republican governors) as compared to "blue states" (states with Democratic governors).
For the first time since the start of the pandemic, the trend has reversed somewhat: New cases were 61% in "red" states yesterday, as compared to 66% on July 18th. And, deaths were 62% in red states yesterday, as compared to 68% a month ago. Overall, the percentage of cases and deaths in "red" states has continued to rise, to 51% and 36%, respectively.
Overall, cases are down sharply from a month ago, but deaths are up.
The attached charts summarize, in brief.
 |
| US Case and Death Rates over Time, by State by party of Governor |
AUGUST 20:
There were 267,110 new cases worldwide today, including 45,341 in the USA.There were 6,183 deaths worldwide today, including 1,090 in the USA.
Cumulatively, there have now been 22.85 million cases and 796,373 deaths worldwide. In the USA, there have been 5.75 million cases and 177,424 deaths.
Over today and the next couple of days, I'll present case and death rates in the world and the USA.
Today's table: The European Union. There have been notable resurgences of cases and deaths in several EU countries, in particular in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania. For the most part, however, cases and deaths in the EU remain low.
Tomorrow, the world's deadliest countries, per the published numbers, over the past 30 days.
 |
| EU Case and Death Rates, July 21-August 20, 2020 |
AUGUST 21:
There were 258,278 new cases worldwide today, including 50,481 in the USA. This was the first day this week the USA exceeded 50,000 new cases.There were 6,062 deaths worldwide today, including 1,170 in the USA.
Cumulatively, there have now been 23.10 million cases and 802,600 deaths worldwide. In the USA, there have been 5.80 million cases and 179,200 deaths.
In the USA, Tennessee and Arkansas both set new records for COVID-19 deaths today. Also worldometer switched its Texas reporting to use the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) numbers rather than rely on reports from several counties, due to persisting discrepancies. As a result, the reported death numbers for Texas have increased by 606.
Yesterday, I presented per capita case and death rates over the past 30 days in the European Union.
Today, case and death rates over the same 30 day period (July 21 - August 20) for the countries with the highest per capita death rates. I'm limited to the 90 countries with at least 10 million population, so Oman doesn't make the list this time. The attached table shows the 20 countries with the highest per capita death rates over the 30 day period.
Why not show the countries with the lowest per capita death rates? Well, for one thing, many of them have reported no deaths at all during that time period. And, I don't really trust their reporting -- not that I necessarily trust the higher reporting either.
7 of the 8 South American countries with at least 10,000,000 people are in the list, including the top 3 spots (Colombia, Bolivia and Peru). Mexico is 4th, and Brazil 5th, so one could say that this is now an "American virus."
Tomorrow, a look at the US.
 |
| World Case and Death Rates, July 21-August 20, 2020, by highest 20 death rates per capita. |
AUGUST 22:
Aruba.
I haven't previously touched on Aruba, known to Americans mostly as an elite Caribbean resort destination. The Aruba population is just above 100,000.
Aruba had relatively little impact from COVID-19 through the early months of the pandemic. Through the end of April, there were 100 cases. 3 people died in Aruba through May 7th. By May 28th, there were no active cases on the island, and it stayed that way through June 28th.
Things changed for Aruba.
On July 1st Aruba reopened its borders for Canadian and European travelers.
On July 10th Aruba reopened its borders for US travelers.
On August 4th there were 8 cases, the most since March 28th's then-record of 13. On August 5th, there were 39 more cases. Then 92 cases on the 6th, and 133 on the 7th.
Over the past 2 days, I've been presenting case and fatality rates over the 30-day period from July 21st through August 20th, first for the European Union, then for the world (population 10 million and above), and today for the United States.
At a population of 106,831, Aruba is far too small to make the list I published yesterday.
But Aruba had 1,270 cases during those 30 days, for a rate of 11,888 per million population. This puts Aruba, by a wide margin, as the most heavily impacted country in the world during that period, in terms of new cases. There were also 3 deaths in Aruba during the 30 days.
The 2nd highest country in the world, in terms of cases per capita, was Panama, at 6,638 cases per million.
Eleven US states had higher case rates during the 30 days period than Panama.
The country in the world with the highest fatality rate during the 30 days period was Colombia, at 177 deaths per million.
Six US states had more than 200 deaths per million during the same period.
In the European Union, just 5 countries out of the 27 members had more than 1,000 cases per million.
In the United States, all but 4 states -- all in New England -- exceeded 1,000 cases per million.
In the European Union, only Romania (56 deaths per million) and Bulgaria (21 deaths per million) exceeded 14 deaths per million.
In the United States, only Maine (7.4 deaths per million) and Vermont (3.2 deaths per million) were less than 14 deaths per million.
The attached chart shows all 50 states plus the District of Columbia for the 30 day period July 21 through August 20, sorted by death rate per capita. I have also included the political affiliation of the governor as well as the voting results in the 2016 presidential election.
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| Case and Death Rates in the USA by state, July 21-August 20, 2020 |
There were 261,622 new cases worldwide today, including 43,829 in the USA.
There were 5,343 deaths worldwide today, including 974 in the USA.
Cumulatively, there have now been 23.37 million cases and 807,943 deaths worldwide. In the USA, there have been 5.84 million cases and 180,174 deaths.
There were 5,343 deaths worldwide today, including 974 in the USA.
Cumulatively, there have now been 23.37 million cases and 807,943 deaths worldwide. In the USA, there have been 5.84 million cases and 180,174 deaths.
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