COVID-19 Compilation: Part 24 - August 23-29, 2020
On March 14th, I began posting daily updates to my facebook page, regarding the status of the COVID-19 pandemic. I have used data from worldometer as a primary source for daily and cumulative data, with frequent supplementation from various national and local sites.
This blog post compiles the period of August 23rd through August 29th.see https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ for more.
AUGUST 23:
There were 206,509 new cases worldwide today, including 32,718 in the USA. There were 4,235 deaths worldwide today, including 430 in the USA.
Cumulatively, there have now been 23.58 million cases and 812,181 deaths worldwide. In the USA, there have been 5.87 million cases and 180,604 deaths.
Standard disclaimers apply to USA numbers; however, today marked the fewest new cases in the USA since June 22nd.
For the week of August 15-21, there were 1.73 new cases worldwide, down 6.1% week over week from the prior week's record high. There were 39,499 COVID-19 deaths worldwide according to worldometer, down 2.9% week over week.
In the USA, there were 306,929 new COVID-19 cases, down 18.2% week over week. That is the largest single week percentage drop in new cases since the start of the pandemic, and the lowest overall case count since the week ending June 27th. Testing was also significantly down in the USA last week. The positivity rate dropped from about 7% nationwide to about 6%.
There were 7017 COVID-19 deaths in the USA last week, a drop of 7.3% week over week. The death count was the lowest so far in August.
AUGUST 24:
There were 213,722 new cases worldwide today, including 41,484 in the USA. There were 4,356 deaths worldwide today, including 510 in the USA.
Cumulatively, there have now been 23.80 million cases and 816,672 deaths worldwide. In the USA, there have been 5.92 million cases and 181,114 deaths.
In today's college news:
There were 6,062 deaths worldwide today, including 1,290 in the USA.
Cumulatively, there have now been 24.05 million cases and 822,568 deaths worldwide. In the USA, there have been 5.96 million cases and 182,364 deaths.
Mississippi had a new record for deaths today. Per news reports, the 7 day positivity rate in Mississippi is 33.2% -- nearly 10 points higher than any other state.
In today's college news:
On Monday of this week, FDA commissioner Steven Hahn, while standing next to the President of the United States, made an incredible -- and false -- claim that convalescent plasma reduced COVID-19 mortality rates by 35%, saying, among other things, "a 35% improvement in survival is a pretty substantial clinical benefit.” Typical responses were along the lines of: "Do you honestly expect anyone to think the FDA is credible after this?"
Today it was revealed that a sudden change in federal guidelines was pushed down, politically, upon the CDC; the guidelines now say: "If you have been in close contact (within 6 feet) of a person with a COVID-19 infection for at least 15 minutes but do not have symptoms, you do not necessarily need a test unless you are a vulnerable individual or your health care provider or State or local public health officials recommend you take one." The guidelines also state: "If you have [mild] symptoms of COVID-19...your health care provider (physician, nurse practitioner, pharmacist, etc.) may advise a COVID-19 test."
According to Dr. Anthony Fauci on CNN: "I was under general anesthesia in the operating room and was not part of any discussion or deliberation regarding the new testing recommendations... "I am concerned about the interpretation of these recommendations and worried it will give people the incorrect assumption that asymptomatic spread is not of great concern. In fact it is."
Cases in the USA have been going down for a while now. That is true, statistically.
But testing is also down.
The CDC is putting out advice that is questionable at best, and the FDA is engaged in official magical thinking.
The attached chart shows the testing rates and positive results for Florida for the past several weeks, from Florida's official dashboard. According to the dashboard, testing and cases have both fallen in Florida for the past 5 weeks: cases by 65% and testing by 27% (the graph appears to have an incorrect header; the line for "Negative" in the header is for all tests, both negative and positive). Those are statistics. Truth is more elusive.
- Auburn University reported 207 new positive cases.
- The Ohio State University has issued 228 "interim suspensions" to students for violating COVID-19 safety guidelines.
- And, on the first day of virtual classes in many locations, both for colleges and secondary schools, zoom crashed.
AUGUST 25:
There were 248,246 new cases worldwide today, including 40.098 in the USA.There were 6,062 deaths worldwide today, including 1,290 in the USA.
Cumulatively, there have now been 24.05 million cases and 822,568 deaths worldwide. In the USA, there have been 5.96 million cases and 182,364 deaths.
Mississippi had a new record for deaths today. Per news reports, the 7 day positivity rate in Mississippi is 33.2% -- nearly 10 points higher than any other state.
In today's college news:
- The University of Alabama reported 531 new positive cases at its main campus.
- The University of Missouri announced 159 cases on its first day of classes.
- And, the University of North Carolina announced 505 positive test results, for a positivity rate of 32.2%, over the period of August 17th through 23rd. Occupancy on the UNC main campus has dropped from 60% to 15% during the past week.
AUGUST 26:
Lies, Damned Lies, and StatisticsOn Monday of this week, FDA commissioner Steven Hahn, while standing next to the President of the United States, made an incredible -- and false -- claim that convalescent plasma reduced COVID-19 mortality rates by 35%, saying, among other things, "a 35% improvement in survival is a pretty substantial clinical benefit.” Typical responses were along the lines of: "Do you honestly expect anyone to think the FDA is credible after this?"
Today it was revealed that a sudden change in federal guidelines was pushed down, politically, upon the CDC; the guidelines now say: "If you have been in close contact (within 6 feet) of a person with a COVID-19 infection for at least 15 minutes but do not have symptoms, you do not necessarily need a test unless you are a vulnerable individual or your health care provider or State or local public health officials recommend you take one." The guidelines also state: "If you have [mild] symptoms of COVID-19...your health care provider (physician, nurse practitioner, pharmacist, etc.) may advise a COVID-19 test."
According to Dr. Anthony Fauci on CNN: "I was under general anesthesia in the operating room and was not part of any discussion or deliberation regarding the new testing recommendations... "I am concerned about the interpretation of these recommendations and worried it will give people the incorrect assumption that asymptomatic spread is not of great concern. In fact it is."
Cases in the USA have been going down for a while now. That is true, statistically.
But testing is also down.
The CDC is putting out advice that is questionable at best, and the FDA is engaged in official magical thinking.
The attached chart shows the testing rates and positive results for Florida for the past several weeks, from Florida's official dashboard. According to the dashboard, testing and cases have both fallen in Florida for the past 5 weeks: cases by 65% and testing by 27% (the graph appears to have an incorrect header; the line for "Negative" in the header is for all tests, both negative and positive). Those are statistics. Truth is more elusive.
 |
| Florida positive and total tests, by week |
There were 272,489 new cases worldwide today, including 44,637 in the USA.
There were 6,338 deaths worldwide today, including 1,289 in the USA.
Cumulatively, there have now been 24.32 million cases and 828,906 deaths worldwide. In the USA, there have been 6.00 million cases and 183,653 deaths.
Multiple significant sites have started up to track what's going on at USA schools and college, now that those are resuming. One of those sites has been led by Rebekah Jones, the "insubordinate scientist" from Florida. More on that, tomorrow.
There were 6,032 deaths worldwide today, including 1,143 in the USA.
Cumulatively, there have now been 24.61 million cases and 834,944 deaths worldwide. In the USA, there have been 6.05 million cases and 184,796 deaths.
India reported 76,826 new cases today, and 75,995 yesterday. The two day total of 152,821 cases is a new record for any country.
In the USA, Iowa (1,566) and Minnesota (1,154) both had record case counts today. It was the first day of more than 1,000 new cases for either state.
Minnesota becomes the latest state to blame higher case counts on a testing results backlog. The Minnesota Department of Health said, "These higher counts are partially due to a backlog of data belatedly reported by a Minnesota provider and lab, Valley Medical."
In Iowa, the Governor announced that all bars, taverns, breweries, distilleries, wineries, distilleries and nightclubs must close in the six counties with the biggest recent outbreaks, through September 20.
In a statement, the Governor said: "When you look at the last two weeks, 23% of all new positive cases statewide were among young adults ages 19-24. And that number is dramatically higher in several counties among the 19-24-year-olds over the last 14 days."
The hardest hit counties prominently include both Iowa and Iowa State Universities.
Multiple significant sites have started up to track what's going on at USA schools and college, now that those are resuming.
One of those sites, https://www.thecovidmonitor.com/ has involved Rebekah Jones, the "insubordinate scientist" from Florida. Its dashboard aims to show comprehensive reporting of case reports at all levels of schools across the United States. Although it's still ramping up, the dashboard already covers 1,714 reports and thousands of cases.
Another site https://www.insidehighered.com/, covers news reports from USA colleges. In today's updates, Georgia College reported 447 cases, and Arizona State reported 161 cases.
If you're living in Iowa, you're there!
Yesterday, I noted that Iowa had surpassed 1,000 cases in a single day for the first time.
This evening's headline in The Gazette of Cedar Rapids, tells today's story: "Iowa sees record 2,579 cases and 79% coronavirus positivity rate."
A key passage in the article: "It’s the first time the state has had more positive tests than negative tests. Overall, the state had 2,579 new cases out of 3,247 total tests. Another 11 people died, pushing the death toll to 1,091 Iowans."
Iowa, like many states, has been testing fewer people recently. Today's total of 3,247 tests was about 45% less than the total from 3 Friday's ago. Iowa's per capita case rate today was 816 per million. For the past week, it's 2,332 per million. To put that in perspective: Since the beginning of the pandemic, the case rate of Australia is 1,000 per million, and the case rate of Japan is 519 per million, despite recent spikes in both countries. Iowa's total per capita case count is now 19,770 per million; 13 US states are higher.
There were 284,384 new cases worldwide today, including 49,601 in the USA.
There were 5,695 deaths worldwide today, including 1,105 in the USA.
Cumulatively, there have now been 24.90 million cases and 840,661 deaths worldwide. In the USA, there have been 6.10 million cases and 185,901 deaths.
There were 5,288 deaths worldwide today, including 954 in the USA.
Today's new cases pushed the world total above 25 million, per worldometer. Cumulatively, there have now been 25.16 million cases and 845,965 deaths worldwide. In the USA, there have been 6.14 million cases and 186,855 deaths.
The following table summarizes world and USA cases and deaths for the week concluding August 29:
The following chart shows the positivity rates in all of the US states over the past week, per worldometer data.
The 17 states with the highest positivity rates all voted Republican in the 2016 presidential election.
The 8 states with the lowest positivity rates all voted Democratic in the 2016 presidential election.
Overall, the positivity rate for last week was 7.9% in states that voted Republican in the 2016 presidential election, as compared to 3.0% for states that voted Democratic in 2016.
AUGUST 27:
There were 271,952 new cases worldwide today, including 46,286 in the USA.There were 6,032 deaths worldwide today, including 1,143 in the USA.
Cumulatively, there have now been 24.61 million cases and 834,944 deaths worldwide. In the USA, there have been 6.05 million cases and 184,796 deaths.
India reported 76,826 new cases today, and 75,995 yesterday. The two day total of 152,821 cases is a new record for any country.
In the USA, Iowa (1,566) and Minnesota (1,154) both had record case counts today. It was the first day of more than 1,000 new cases for either state.
Minnesota becomes the latest state to blame higher case counts on a testing results backlog. The Minnesota Department of Health said, "These higher counts are partially due to a backlog of data belatedly reported by a Minnesota provider and lab, Valley Medical."
In Iowa, the Governor announced that all bars, taverns, breweries, distilleries, wineries, distilleries and nightclubs must close in the six counties with the biggest recent outbreaks, through September 20.
In a statement, the Governor said: "When you look at the last two weeks, 23% of all new positive cases statewide were among young adults ages 19-24. And that number is dramatically higher in several counties among the 19-24-year-olds over the last 14 days."
The hardest hit counties prominently include both Iowa and Iowa State Universities.
Multiple significant sites have started up to track what's going on at USA schools and college, now that those are resuming.
One of those sites, https://www.thecovidmonitor.com/ has involved Rebekah Jones, the "insubordinate scientist" from Florida. Its dashboard aims to show comprehensive reporting of case reports at all levels of schools across the United States. Although it's still ramping up, the dashboard already covers 1,714 reports and thousands of cases.
Another site https://www.insidehighered.com/, covers news reports from USA colleges. In today's updates, Georgia College reported 447 cases, and Arizona State reported 161 cases.
AUGUST 28:
How would you like to live in the place with a 79% positivity rate?If you're living in Iowa, you're there!
Yesterday, I noted that Iowa had surpassed 1,000 cases in a single day for the first time.
This evening's headline in The Gazette of Cedar Rapids, tells today's story: "Iowa sees record 2,579 cases and 79% coronavirus positivity rate."
A key passage in the article: "It’s the first time the state has had more positive tests than negative tests. Overall, the state had 2,579 new cases out of 3,247 total tests. Another 11 people died, pushing the death toll to 1,091 Iowans."
Iowa, like many states, has been testing fewer people recently. Today's total of 3,247 tests was about 45% less than the total from 3 Friday's ago. Iowa's per capita case rate today was 816 per million. For the past week, it's 2,332 per million. To put that in perspective: Since the beginning of the pandemic, the case rate of Australia is 1,000 per million, and the case rate of Japan is 519 per million, despite recent spikes in both countries. Iowa's total per capita case count is now 19,770 per million; 13 US states are higher.
There were 284,384 new cases worldwide today, including 49,601 in the USA.
There were 5,695 deaths worldwide today, including 1,105 in the USA.
Cumulatively, there have now been 24.90 million cases and 840,661 deaths worldwide. In the USA, there have been 6.10 million cases and 185,901 deaths.
AUGUST 29:
There were 257,254 new cases worldwide today, including 42,843 in the USA.There were 5,288 deaths worldwide today, including 954 in the USA.
Today's new cases pushed the world total above 25 million, per worldometer. Cumulatively, there have now been 25.16 million cases and 845,965 deaths worldwide. In the USA, there have been 6.14 million cases and 186,855 deaths.
The following table summarizes world and USA cases and deaths for the week concluding August 29:
| Location | Cases | Change | Deaths | Change |
| World | 1,761,118 | +0.4% | 38,090 | -3.8% |
| USA | 297,650 | -3.0% | 6,721 | -4.2% |
The following chart shows the positivity rates in all of the US states over the past week, per worldometer data.
The 17 states with the highest positivity rates all voted Republican in the 2016 presidential election.
The 8 states with the lowest positivity rates all voted Democratic in the 2016 presidential election.
Overall, the positivity rate for last week was 7.9% in states that voted Republican in the 2016 presidential election, as compared to 3.0% for states that voted Democratic in 2016.
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| US Positivity Rate by State, week ending August 29, 2020 |
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