Florida today set a new record for daily COVID-19 infections. It reported 15,300 new cases (the report really is for yesterday, since they seem to report numbers in the morning). Florida’s numbers have been going up sharply over the past two weeks, as the state opened up its businesses after a half-hearted shutdown in spring. The total number of cases is now 269,811; that total is exceeded by only 8 other countries (besides the US). And there is little hope that that rate will slow down anytime soon.
The previous record was 11,661 set by New York state on April 15.
Here are the rest of Florida’s numbers -
Even if the governor revises the number downwards using some crooked scheme, the recent trend is ominous and there is no reason yet why it will stabilize or come down.
Texas is not far behind; its cases have been rising sharply as well, posting has 11,394 cases on July 9. Its total now stands at 259,465.
Most states are performing poorly; alarm signs are flashing red for AZ, FL, LA, SC, TX, GA and AL.
While trump likes to crow about “falling” death rates, death rates are now rising, especially in red states and will continue to rise, since there is a 3-4 week lag between infection detection and deaths. Looks at the second set of graphs below, which shows death rate for AZ, FL, TX, CA and SC combined (CA is also in bad shape after having managed the virus well in April and May).
Add to that the toxic obsession of the trump administration to reopen schools for in-person-only attendance without offering any help or funds, and we have a nightmare scenario looming ahead.
Teachers face a hard choice — between their own health and the well-being of their students. Maybe, schools will not reopen anyways given the rate at which the virus is spreading.
All of this was predicted; scientists and health experts have been howling for weeks now that without proper controls, testing, tracing, mask wearing and social distancing measures, all the sacrifices of the April shutdowns would be wasted. And here we are.
You get the feeling that the republican strategy is to get young folks infected as rapidly as possible and let the population reach “herd immunity”, with a few million casualties as “acceptable” collateral damage. Somehow, that will guarantee them re-election in November?
By now, it should be obvious to all but the core trump supporters that republicans are utterly devoid of competence and they have a sociopathic streak where they will sacrifice millions to line up their own pockets (you might point out that they have been doing this for decades).
This week will be a week to watch as case and death rates rise to uncomfortable levels and hospitals get full. Something’s gotta give. A new wave of shutdowns may be in our future. Will trump supporters finally wear masks?
Any predictions on how things will play out over the next few weeks and months? What will happen to COVID infection and death rates, will shutdowns be brought back, will schools, colleges and workplaces open? What about the economy? What new shenanigans and distractions will trump and Barr foist on us?