26 APRIL 2020, NOTES
It is Sunday, April 26, 2020. The pandemic continues. The plague goes on its ever more deadly sweep. Our night of pain turns ever darker as we see more thousands of people fall sick and die all around us.
We have been following the data in Worldometer in two day increments trying to get some sense of a pattern in the pandemic, hoping upon hope that we will see a turning point and a lessening of the plague. I am very sorry to say that this is not in sight today.
As for the last two days, April 24-26, in the world, there were 189,169 new cases reported for a rise of 7%, no change from the previous two day period. 2,934,638 people in the world have fallen ill with COVID-19. As for deaths in the world, 11,892 people died of the disease in the last two days, an increase of 6%, slightly less than the 7% of the earlier two days. Over 200,000 (203,683) people in the world have died in this pandemic.
The United States is by far the hardest hit country in the world with about a third of all the cases in the world and far and away the most deaths. In the past two days, there were 74,187 new cases, a rising rate of 8%, the same rate as the previous two day period. However, the rate of the increase in U.S. deaths is down noticeably. In the past two days, 4,022 Americans died of the disease, an 8% rise, below the 11% of the earlier two-day period. In all, 54,265 Americans have died in this plague.
South Carolina and Alabama continue reporting soaring numbers with no lessening in sight. SC reported 336 new cases in the last two days, a 7% rise, exactly the same rate as the earlier two days. There were 16 more deaths in SC for a total of 166. This was an 11% rise, the same as the earlier two days. Alabama reported 381 new cases, a 7% increase, well below the 19% of the earlier two days. Twelve people died of the plague in the last two days in AL, a rising rate of 6%, well below the 15% rise of the earlier two days. In AL, 213 people have died of COVID-19, all within the past few weeks.
There are news reports about the pandemic reaching a plateau or beginning to slow down. The statistics do not bear out such views. Quite the contrary, the pandemic is spreading daily and killing people at the same rate, some 2,000 a day in the United States. At this rate, we will pass the 60,000 threshold before the end of April. The predictions of 60,000 deaths by the first of August were clearly far off. Even if the curve "flattens" and 2,000 Americans die of the disease every day from now to the first of August, the total deaths would be roughly around 90,000. Now, it may be that the summer will bring a decline in the number of daily deaths, but so far there is no indication that warmer weather has any effect at all on the disease.
VIDEO OF THE DAY. I would say the video of the week is Dr. Birx's reaction as President Trump makes his wildly dangerous comments about light inside the body and injections of disinfectants in the body to fight the coronavirus at his daily show on last Thursday. She carries the pain and dismay of us all on her stricken face. This video is worth a thousand words (rapid blinking of eyes, clinched hands, diverted gaze are all signs of distress). Find it here . May God protect Dr. Birx. Since Dr. Fauci is nowhere to be seen these days, apparently she is the only thing standing between us and insanity.
Finally, remember we are here for the living of this hour, as disconcerting as it may be. Peace.
