education in community

There are over 5 million COVID cases in the USA today1. The WHO recommends that states do not “re-open” with test positivity rates above 5%; in the USA, 37 states fail that test2. Because we have been responding to outbreaks, our testing has tended to focus on the sickest and most vulnerable, suggesting that we are potentially missing or undercounting a large number of mild cases and/or asymptomatic carriers in the population3,4.

  1. US tops 5 million confirmed virus cases, to Europe’s alarm
    More than four months into a sustained outbreak, the U.S. reached the 5 million mark, according to the running count kept by Johns Hopkins University. Health officials believe the actual number is perhaps 10 times higher, or closer to 50 million, given testing limitations and the fact that as many as 40% of all those who are infected have no symptoms. BACK TO POST ↩︎

  2. The majority of states fail to meet WHO guidelines for reopening.
    State positivity rate histogram The WHO recommends at least 14 days of a test positivity rate below 5% as a minimum threshold for safety, where “safety” means “being able to contain additional outbreaks.” Source. BACK TO POST ↩︎

  3. Arizona’s testing numbers suggest that only the sickest and most likely cases have been tested. While the running, 7-day average is trending downward, a sustained, 14-day level of 5% positivity is the WHO recommendation for “safe” reopening of a city/state/region.
    Arizona test positivity histogram Source. BACK TO POST ↩︎

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