Today’s key story is undercounting coronavirus cases and deaths. Another great piece of New York Times reporting.
It comes back again to the administration’s failure to quickly disseminate a test both accurate and speedy. Banning travel from China, and then Europe, was a classic case of shutting the barn door after the horse is out. The virus was already on the loose, and the travel bans made little difference. What would have was identifying cases, tracing contacts, and resulting targeted quarantining. South Korea did that very effectively. Not America.
The Times report shows that early in the year, many Americans were already infected and dying, but without covid testing, it was under the radar. Some health personnel were noticing aberrational death surges, ascribed to pneumonia. Many victims died at home, or in hospitals unable to correctly diagnose them. Likewise many got sick and recovered without being counted.
One California woman’s husband, 43, returned from a business trip feeling ill. Within days he was so sick she took him to urgent care — in a wheelchair. Her pleas for a covid test were unavailing. Sent home with antibiotics and cough syrup, he was dead in a few more days. Only weeks later, due to her persistence, were his remains tested — positive.
So the numbers reported for coronavirus cases and deaths, horrible as they are, may be just the tip of an iceberg. We’re still not up to speed on testing. Even now, may be underestimating just how contagious this thing is, leading to widespread laxity about precautions. Many “red state” governors refuse to order them. Lack of good data undermines the scientific modeling being deployed to predict and prepare for the disease’s future course. And an ostensible fall in deaths may give a false picture, leading to premature easing of restrictions. Allowing the virus to resurge with a vengeance.
Restrictions should not be lifted until a plan’s in place (like South Korea’s) for widespread testing and contact tracing so potential carriers can be quarantined. We’re nowhere near that capability.
Undercounting the carnage, though, surely suits Trump, who will laud himself for saving millions of lives. A lie eclipsing all his others. But of course the important thing is not death rates but TV ratings for his briefings higher than for “The Bachelor.”
