If you listen to the mainstream media (and I don’t recommend it) it’s safe to say you’re probably not getting a balanced picture of the USA’s coronavirus situation. They go for the headlines, the stuff that looks bad, in the hopes they can pin everything on Trump, or deflect criticism from Cuomo in New York, and generally make people afraid. But there’s a lot of stuff happening that doesn’t make it into the headlines or is ignored. So, I’ve compiled some graphs, charts, etc., that show you what’s been going on lately that might not be getting the attention it deserves. Some of it is good news, some of it is bad, some just puts things into context, but it all matters.
1. Small businesses are still getting crushed
Have you seen your favorite local restaurant or shop go under? The longer we go without reopening, the harder small businesses are finding it to stay open. Even when this is over (assuming it ever is) your favorite places may no longer be in business.
More small businesses are giving up. pic.twitter.com/zcj5klLBOh
— Aaron Ginn (@aginnt) July 25, 2020
2. Testing, testing, testing
The USA is literally crushing it when it comes to testing compared to other countries. Remember when testing was hyped as the most important thing?
Daily COVID-19 tests per thousand people. pic.twitter.com/VVQMJhBBO2
— Matt Margolis 🇺🇸 (@mattmargolis) July 27, 2020
3. Putting COVID-19 cases in perspective
More tests mean more cases. And when you look at the raw numbers, it looks like the United States is experiencing a spike, while other countries are not. But what happens when the data is adjusted to account for the huge increase in U.S. testing?
it appears we must say this yet again:
"discussing case counts in covid without reference to testing levels is tantamount to lying."
it ignores sampling rate. test any given population twice as much as you find twice as many cases.
it does not make disease more prevalent. https://t.co/eXueOIF51S pic.twitter.com/c04bHfPeSB
— el gato malo (@boriquagato) July 26, 2020
4. Stop blaming Florida!
The media wants you to believe that Florida is the new COVID-19 hotspot. Is it really?
Look, I’m no DeSantis fan and I can no longer stand Cuomo, but at some point we need to start being honest. No more victory laps @NYGovCuomo time to admit your colossal failure. pic.twitter.com/b4ERErJHeO
— Pajamas It Is (@HeckofaLiberal) July 26, 2020
5. Consumer confidence takes a hit
Still think the shutdowns were a great idea?
Great job shutdowners. pic.twitter.com/yTdsgaHct8
— Justin Hart (@justin_hart) July 24, 2020
6. Build the wall! Build the wall!
Trump should be citing this one when he makes the case for a border wall.
TX Border vs. Non-Border chart thru 7/26: Several things notable.
1. Border has peaked?! First time I've made this chart where that may be case.
2. Non-border: Deaths slight uptick, but cases solidly past peak.
3. Mexico may have peaked 2 weeks ago – provides greater confidence. pic.twitter.com/8peM7TFSPY— Matt Malkus (@malkusm) July 27, 2020
7. The amazing declining fatality rate in Florida
The fatality rate of COVID-19 is declining in Florida, and probably elsewhere as well because of more effective treatments. This is good news.
The case fatality rate for people in Florida who tested positive in June or early July was MUCH lower than it was in April. The overall death rate has dropped by 75%, over 65 dropped by half, and under 65 dropped by 71%.https://t.co/cvQlkvwPqe
— Jennifer Cabrera (@jhaskinscabrera) July 24, 2020
8. I bet you’ve never seen this before
Fascinating stuff right here.
Someone asked how it would look just doing the 50 states and DC. I ran the numbers with California counting as N. Tropical (under 35 N). @Hold2LLC graphed this. Check out the correlation to the same flu pattern. https://t.co/5wI4LANOmM pic.twitter.com/eYAS5D5Nsf
— Kyle Lamb (@kylamb8) July 25, 2020
9. 1.21 gigawatts!
Great Scott! Let’s keep the schools shut down!
The odds of a kid under the age of 15 dying of #COVID19 are 1 in 1.7 million… but since most kids do NOT suffer from comorbidities those odds move to 1 in 8.5M
Even with the raw odds kids under 15 have a better chance of getting hit by lightning than dying of #COVID19. pic.twitter.com/0AP6F0CLKC
— Justin Hart (@justin_hart) July 26, 2020
10. Sweden got it right
The “experts” told us to shut everything down. Sweden didn’t, and look how they did.
One of the most memorable COVID projections for Sweden
Epidemiologist – 60K fatalities
Actual – 5.6K fatalities pic.twitter.com/2MC0WtUMRP— Aaron Ginn (@aginnt) July 26, 2020
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Matt Margolis is the author of the new book Airborne: How The Liberal Media Weaponized The Coronavirus Against Donald Trump, and the bestselling book The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattMargolis
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