The COVID-19 death toll in NYC pales in significance compared with previous epidemics there, and that's as bad as it gets in the US this time around, at least so far

Deaths per 1000:

Cholera 1832: 46

Cholera 1834: 36

Cholera 1849: 46

Dysentery/Smallpox 1851: 38

Cholera/Smallpox 1854: 45

Smallpox 1872: 30

Smallpox 1881: 29

Spanish Flu 1918: 17

COVID-19 2020: 2.26 (18,998 confirmed deaths for population of 8.399 million) 

Looting is reparations

"What if, one day, class war and race war joined forces to make an end of the white world?" -- Oswald Spengler, 1934

US COVID deaths hit 170,052 late Sunday evening in the Johns Hopkins data set

COVID-19 Pandemic Deaths Update through 8/15/20

The 7-day growth rate for all COVID-19 deaths in the United States has averaged 0.62% for the ten weeks since June 6 and is flat at 0.65% in the last seven days.

The sum of deaths in the 15 worst states since the beginning of the pandemic has been flat for a month, averaging 779. The low so far was hit on Tuesday, August 11 at 773.  

The sum of deaths in the 10 second tier states since the beginning of the pandemic continues to edge slowly upward. Arizona, Mississippi, and South Carolina were each up one death per day since the beginning of the pandemic in the last week.

Adding the 15 worst to the 10 second tier we've fluctuated between 917 and 899 in the last six weeks since the Fourth of July, averaging 905 in the last five. The sum on 8/15 was 906.

Deaths continue to skew heavily 50 and older in US southern perimeter states. California is representative, where just 30% of the cases since the beginning have been 50 or older but 93% of the deaths. In Texas 35% of the cases and 92% of the deaths have been 50 or older.

Climate Update for KGRR July 2020

Climate Update for KGRR July 2020

Max Temp 94, Mean 94

Min Temp 58, Mean 49 (tied for second highest minimum since 1892 with 2011 and 1921)

Av Temp 75.7, Mean 72.3

Rain 4.75, Mean 3.14

Cooling Degree Days 340, Mean 242

CDD Season to date 565, Mean 426

Back when I was in 'Nam Red Forman humor was funny

Conservative talk radio doesn't get it that Trump is president now

Both Todd Herman filling in for Rush Limbaugh yesterday and Michael Savage on his own show today keep talking about how law and order are going to disappear if Biden is elected and that Trump has to run on that issue.

But Trump IS president, and law and order have already disappeared.

A caller to Rush even pointed this out to Herman, who quickly changed the subject.

You can't run for re-election and win by promising to provide later what you're not providing now.

NOW.

It's the Limbaugh Theorem in action under a Republican president, pretending that the present problems aren't the president's problems.

Recipe for losing.

Losses due to George Floyd riots and looting to cost insurers over $1 billion, more than all the losses from riots and looting since 1965 combined

Walgreens among the first to report its losses from looters as Philly’s business insurance costs jump:

'Insurers have paid an estimated $1 billion in all for “riot” damages in local protests since 1965, according to Property Claims Services, an industry group. Insurers are bracing for new claims across the U.S. that they expect could total at least that much. Still, the group expects “manageable” losses compared to major hurricanes, which have cost tens of billions'.

How many looted cities will it take to re-elect Trump?

Inquiring minds want to know.

The compound daily growth rate for US COVID-19 deaths bottomed on July 4th

Apart from the first week from the first death in the New York Times data at us-covid-tracker.com, Feb 29-Mar 7, the peak rate was achieved on Sat Mar 28 at 30.3%. The compound daily growth rate had dropped to just 3.2% by May 2.

This chart shows rates only after falling below 1% in order to show the current scale and the clear bottoming on Jul 4.

COVID-19 related hospitalization metrics in the four worst US states today are . . . NOT ALARMING

California is in blue in the graphs, Texas is in pink, Florida is in green and Georgia is in brown. Every one, though in the top four for current hospitalizations, has peaked and turned lower. Texas and Florida, the worst states for the outbreak currently, have turned sharply lower.

The sum of deaths from COVID-19 in the worst hit US states since the beginning of the pandemic has hit a new low, the same measurement in the second tier states continues to rise modestly

Johns Hopkins today shows 160k US COVID deaths nine days after hitting 150k

 

At least one American writer, Curtis Yarvin, was aware of Dr. Leung's warnings at the time, and stated what needed to be done even though he realized it wouldn't be

The self-described "foreign service brat" wrote for The American Mind, 2/1/20:

RIP Globalism, Dead of Coronavirus:

"The obvious solution to an emerging pandemic killer cold is cutting off flights to China, then all air travel across the Pacific, then across the Atlantic—depending on the virus’s progress . . ."

Dr. Gabriel Leung of Hong Kong University advocated for limiting mobility because he had worked out by Jan 27 how the coronavirus had already spread in China by rail

He was already warning of a global epidemic on Jan 27.

He was specifically worried on Jan 27 that flights out of China would seed the infection globally.

He was already aware of and demonstrated on Jan 27 how the novel coronavirus had spread in China by rail.

He was already stating there was clear evidence of human to human spread on Jan 27.

He was already advocating for "substantial, draconian measures limiting population mobility" on Jan 27.

He was already advocating for ending mass gatherings, for closing schools, and for requiring work from home arrangements on Jan 27.

And what were we doing?

The US Senate was finally hearing the House's impeachment case after Nancy Pelosi sat on it for weeks.

A country full of fools, run by fools.

The earliest example of someone advocating for a global flight stoppage was Hong Kong University's Dr. Gabriel Leung on Jan 27: "Substantial draconian measures limiting population mobility should be taken immediately"

The sum of average daily new deaths in the worst states appears to have bottomed, but it's still too soon to say for sure

I measure this weekly through Saturdays, and using Saturday 7/25 we did bottom, as the latest chart shows.

However, on Monday 7/26 the sum fell to 778, and 778 was just re-tested on Sunday 8/2.

So . . . we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Clearly though the trend lower has slowed dramatically and is skipping along sideways for a week.

Drudge implies the woman shown is the woman named in the article, but that's not her

The 102 year old woman mentioned in the Drudge headline, story here, turned 102 in January and came down with COVID-19 in May, in the US. She was born in Massachusetts.

The woman pictured above the Drudge headline is 101. Found her. Here's another story about her. She contracted the illness in late March, also in the US. She is Italian. Her mother died giving birth to her on the ship bringing them to the US.  

Another story is here about a yet different woman, 102 years old, who contracted the illness in Italy in early March and survived.

The Drudge headline originally brought to my mind a story from early April, about still one more woman, 103 years old, in Italy who beat the disease, which I have finally located here.

There are many examples giving reason for hope, even for old people.

Real Clear Politics has moved Minnesota into "toss-up" status because of Trafalgar Group poll

The poll has Biden beating Trump by only five points in liberal Minnesota.

"A five-mile stretch of Minneapolis sustain[ing] extraordinary damage" recently, per the New York Times, probably had something to do with it.

It doesn't follow that rigorous measures against coronavirus fail to produce low new daily cases, unless you are an asshat who thinks 10x more cases or 22x more deaths on the way there is preferable

Finland: 7,443 cases; 329 deaths from COVID; 4.4% case fatality rate

Norway: 9,249 cases; 255 deaths from COVID; 2.75% case fatality rate

Sweden: 80,422 cases; 5,743 deaths from COVID; 7.1% case fatality rate