What We Know
Testing and data gathering are both inadequate and inaccurate. To this day, many hospitals groups refuse to provide statistics regarding either patients or employed medical staff who have fallen ill or died — even when testing has slowly become increasingly available. Epidemiologists are dismayed by the inadequacy of reported information that hampers understanding of disease spread, its lethality in different ethnicities, and the deviation Covid-19 has produced in the state’s health statistics. Only after prodding has the DPH begun issuing useful, but still limited, statistical information on rates and per capita coronavirus impact.
How will we be able to respond to future pandemics without guidance from data that provides the information necessary to politicians, public health officers, and all kinds of officials to devise and revise responses that are swifter and more effective in the future? more immediately, how can anyone make decisions on what comes next in the aftermath of the pandemic peak without mathematical and scientific facts to inform them?
Politicians claim to be making life and death decisions about “opening up again” on the basis of science, but “garbage in/garbage out” bears a closer resemblance to the actuality of sources behind announced intentions.
In an average month, according to federal data, 335 Georgians die in accidents, 135 in shootings and 128 in drug overdoses. Already, the coronavirus is outpacing every other cause of death except for heart disease and cancer.
Since the outbreak began, Kemp has repeatedly said that data, science and the advice of health officials drive his decision making, including his delays in imposing statewide social-distancing measures to contain the virus’ spread. He was among the last of the nation’s governors to issue a shelter-at-home order and restrict business activity.
“That data is important to us,” Kemp said. “It’s also concerning, and we continue to work on that. ”In some instances, flawed data has caused a drastic understatement of the virus’ severity.” — www.ajc.com/...
Inadequate testing, faulty reporting, and withholding of statistical data on cases and deaths by medical service businesses, including hospitals and nursing homes have produced the flaws and the understatement.
For example,
. . .a report on long-term care facilities that was riddled with errors and omissions. The report documented outbreaks in 138 facilities, up from 80 last week. But it made no mention of (one specific assisted living facility), even though two-thirds of residents and staff there have tested positive for the virus.
The report said at least 89 residents of long-term care facilities have died of COVID-19. But some of the facilities themselves have recorded significantly more deaths than the report captured.
It’s important to remember that in the absence of testing, no one knows the number of asymptomatic positives among people who unknowingly may be spreading infection.
Georgia only began reporting testing numbers on March 18th, less than a month ago.
Gov. Kemp has issued no executive orders requiring all medical facilities from emergency to rehab facilities to report confirmed and suspected coronavirus incidents. Suspected, cases only get reported if late reporting of positive tests or post-mortem tests reach the Georgia Department of Public Health. As it is all DPH reporting is behind the day’s reality on which it is reported.
In short, NO concerted effort is being made at all to eliminate the “garbage in.” Quite the contrary. The national cue from the White House seems to be “Embrace the garbage, then open your arms to the virus,” as pressure from the White House mounts with each passing day bringing the country closer to a presidential election that looks like the terminus for Donald Trump’s days as The Decider.
Accuracy, authenticity, and veracity are required for any government at any level to take the measure of a pandemic’s impact on a community in terms of lives, services, inventories, and costs to name a few factors that will determine the success or failure of any confrontation between human and novel virus in years to come.
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Coronavirus Deaths by Age Group
The median age of Georgians who have died from the coronavirus is 74.
Number of Deaths by Age Group
Age 0-19: 0 deaths
Age 20-29: 4 deaths
Age 30-39: 12 deaths
Age 40-49: 19 deaths
Age 50-59: 41 deaths
Age 60-69: 122 deaths
Age 70-79: 125 deaths
Age 80-89: 128 deaths
Age 90 and older: 46 deaths
Ages for four of the deceased were not available.
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Georgia Department of Public Health Statistics
Updates Now Issued at Noon and 7:00 PM
3/3/2020 First day of reporting 3 cases, 0 deaths
3/12/2020 First death reported 1 death
4/10/2020 Noon Report 11,483 cases 2,351 hospitalized 416 deaths
Today’s Noon Report
COVID-19 Confirmed Cases: |
No. Cases (%) |
Total |
15,669 (100%)* |
Hospitalized |
3,108 (19.84%)** |
Deaths |
587 (3.75%)*** |
* increase of 4186 cases in one week
** decrease in hospitalizations of 0.63% compared to one week ago
*** increase in deaths of 0.13% over one week ago
Today’s Coronavirus Testing Data
COVID-19 Testing By Lab Type: |
No. Pos. Tests |
Total Tests |
Commercial Lab |
14836 |
63581 |
GPH Lab |
833 |
4358 |
Overall # of tests performed in GA: 67,939 an increase 17,434 tests in one week
Overall percentage positive tests: 23.06%, a decrease of 1.82% in one week
COVID-19 Cases in Georgia by Race and Ethnicity*
Race |
Ethnicity |
Cases |
Deaths |
Black Or African American |
Hispanic/Latino |
120 |
2 |
Black Or African American |
Non-Hispanic/Latino |
3197 |
290 |
Black Or African American |
Unknown |
672 |
14 |
White |
Hispanic/Latino |
234 |
10 |
White |
Non-Hispanic/Latino |
2192 |
203 |
White |
Unknown |
373 |
8 |
American Indian/Native American |
Hispanic/Latino |
0 |
0 |
American Indian/Native American |
Non-Hispanic/Latino |
13 |
1 |
American Indian/Native American |
Unknown |
1 |
0 |
Asian |
Hispanic/Latino |
0 |
0 |
Asian |
Non-Hispanic/Latino |
110 |
8 |
Asian |
Unknown |
27 |
0 |
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander |
Hispanic/Latino |
2 |
0 |
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander |
Non-Hispanic/Latino |
6 |
0 |
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander |
Unknown |
2 |
0 |
Other |
Hispanic/Latino |
89 |
6 |
Other |
Non-Hispanic/Latino |
19 |
1 |
Other |
Unknown |
23 |
0 |
Unknown |
Hispanic/Latino |
165 |
1 |
Unknown |
Non-Hispanic/Latino |
381 |
13 |
Unknown |
Unknown |
8043 |
30 |
* Source of data unknown; assume most from hospital admission forms where indication of race/ethnicity is voluntary.
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Discussion
AGE: Leading infected age group demographic remains 18-59 years-old, which stands unchanged at 61%, ending an upward trend; Younger and older age groups also unchanged.
SEX: Females to Males ratio of 54%/44% remains unchanged for one week, ending an upward trend for females.
GENERAL: Overwhelming preponderance of deaths include patients with underlying conditions, regardless of age. Oldest, female 100 years old, youngest, female 27.
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News You Can Use
For the first time in Georgia, tests will be offered to anyone displaying symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, state officials said Wednesday.
But the state’s public health department has only 5,000 test kits on hand, a tiny fraction of the number that experts say are needed to track and contain the virus.
Agencies (in GA and elsewhere) and health care providers have been forced to go outside normal procurement channels as they compete with one another for supplies and with the federal government, which has used the Defense Production Act to direct private companies to prioritize its orders. As they turn to nontraditional sources, government authorities are falling victim to schemes. . .
COVID-19 claims former federal judge from Cobb CountyMore
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References