Quote:
Originally Posted by huskerdoc2020
Not at all. It's just because we are testing like crazy.
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I don't think quoting memes / talking points is horribly helpful to help folks understand a complex situation. But folks on both sides (like there should even BE sides for a crisis that effects us all) seem to have dug into simplistic notions of what needs to be done, science, logic and reason be damned.
Yes, more testing is PART of the equation, BUT you also have to take into account things like what percentage of the population are we testing compared to other countries and more importantly - what percentage of those tested are coming up positive.
And it's a mixed bag. In NY, they went from testing 20,000 a day in April with up to a 50% positivity rate to nowadays doing upward of 50,000 tests per day and positivity is less than 2 percent. Case numbers in New York have fallen considerably since April — from a peak of more than 10,000 cases per day to around 600 to 700 per day.
However, more than 20 states — most of them in the South and Midwest — still have positivity rates higher than 5 percent. These include Arizona, at 17 percent; Alabama, at 12 percent; Florida, at 10 percent; Texas, at 9 percent; and Georgia, at 8 percent.
These states have also made news for their rising covid-19 case numbers. Arizona had 14,107 cases last week, when it tested 67,235 people — up from 8,802 cases and 56,424 tests in the previous week At a glance, it may look as if Arizona found more cases last week because it tested more people, but the reality is that new cases outpace the spread of testing.
The frustrating thing to me is this "all or nothing" thinking - again from both sides. It seems folks are convinced we either have to completely lock down until there are zero cases and that will protect them from ever getting it - ignoring that the goal was to flatten the curve, not to ensure no one ever ever got it OR they feel like they can just go about regular life with no precautions as if their personal liberty was at stake. Or folks being cautious for a while then going nuts when restrictions are lifted even a little.
What I don't hear a lot of is some common sense approaches. Sure, shelter through the worst of it then start letting people go back to work WITH PRECAUTIONS like everyone wear a damn mask and keep some distance, but hey maybe hold off doing large gathering for a while. If doing stuff like wearing a damn mask can mean we can get to work sooner, I for the life of me don't know why people are turning it into a thing.