NOTES, 11 AUGUST 2020
Greetings to you, blog reader, on this Tuesday, the 11th day of August 2020, in the midst of the worst health crisis in a century. Here's a wish that you and yours are safe and secure.
It is time to look at the course of the pandemic in the last week, August 4 to August 11. As usual, we are relying on the data from Worldometers.
Reported cases in the world have passed 20m, 20,281,691 to be exact this morning. This is an increase of 1,806,501, or 10%. In the week, 41,570 people in the world died of COVID-19, a 6% rise. The total of the dead in the world now stands at 739,785.
The United States continues to be the epicenter of the world in the pandemic with by far the most cases and deaths. This has been true for the past five months. The U.S. is now reporting 5,251,997 cases, an increase of 389,484, or 8%. In the past week, 7,233 Americans died of the plague, or 5% rise, for a total now of 166,201 dead since the start. At this rate, the U.S. will reach 200,000 dead within the next thirty days.
South Carolina continues to be a "hot spot" of the pandemic, with numbers higher than the national figures. The reported cases in SC in the last week jumped 8,209, to a total of 101,159. This was a 9% increase. Worse was the rise in the number of deaths, 256 in the week, a rise of 14%. The total number of reported deaths in SC is now 2,049.
Alabama is trending in an even worse direction. In the last week, it reported 10,359 new cases, an increase of 11%. AL now lists 103,020, more than SC. Deaths rose by 10%, as 164 added to the total of 1,797. It is clear than in both SC and AL, COVID-19 is spreading at will.
If there is a glimmer of hope, it is in the numbers for Charleston County. The figure of reported new cases here was 656. This was a 6% increase, for a total of 12,353. The rate of increase is on a downward trajectory in Charleston Co.
It is clear from the statistics, from whatever source one uses, that the COVID-19 pandemic is running rampant in America, particularly in the southern tier. There is no national plan or policy to combat the disease. Infections are spreading exponentially. Deaths are increasing all along. There is no end in sight. This will continue until a vaccine appears and that will not be for several months at the very least. In all probability, the worst of this plague is yet to come, in the fall and winter.
All of this is hard to take. It is very hard. People are falling sick and dying all around us. Our health care institutions are groaning under the burden. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs with little to no hope of finding new ones. Thousands of businesses have closed. Food banks are running out of food. Our national leadership either cannot or will not lead the nation through this nightmare. The president is incompetent. So, times are bad. Let us not fool ourselves to think otherwise.
As a student of history, I can assure you people in the past endured hard times too and survived. It was not very long ago that our nation faced a terrible trial in the Great Depression and the Second World War. That period makes what we have now now look like small potatoes. Yet, Americans survived, and I would argue arose magnificently to prevail over the challenges of the day. They proved their mettle. After it was over, America was a much greater place than before.
So, do not despair. We will get through this long, dark night and we will do it together. And, always remember we are here for a reason, for the living of this hour, as hard as it may be. Peace.
