General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCovid-19 being undercounted: States don't count deaths unless confirmed by a test
Otherwise the deaths are categorized as an influenza-like illness.
Link to tweet
Michigans COVID-19 death toll is undercounted. So some want to test the dead.
greyl
(22,990 posts)Jamastiene
(38,187 posts)have very few. It is a rural area, BUT people are going about business as usual here. The last time I did go out, they were standing around in the grocery store talking about how praying is keeping it away and keeping everyone safe even if it does hit here. They are going to rely on prayer instead of following the guidelines.
Since then, if anything, going by the number of cars I hear going up and down the road, which is MUCH more than usual, and the neighbors I see having large get-togethers, it is not going to be pretty when it does hit here. So, I am afraid your hopes may be dashed. I'm staying home, but I hear cars going up and down the roads more than ever before. On weekends, I hear the loud car stereos going as more cars than usual are going up and down the road. So, basically, people are partying and going about life as usual, only with more spare time to socialize. And socializing, they are.
renate
(13,776 posts)Even their god is taking it seriously, finally. Why, would you guess, arent they?
Jamastiene
(38,187 posts)The majority of the people here are like that. They think they are immune to everything, because they run together and bully everyone else around them. They always have. It is a rural area. The local newspaper reports news about 5 to 6 days after it happens. Whatever in mainstream music that is popular nationwide, doesn't hit here until about 5 to 6 YEARS later. Even then, if it isn't another form of country, metal or gospel, forget it. It won't "take" so to speak. The majority will not like it, if it is not the same as the last thing they heard.
It is a place set in its ways. It is rural and impoverished enough that it is like a small country unto its own, separate from the rest of the country. It's just a weird vibe and weird way how things work here. There are around 200 churches in this county alone. We don't even have a city in this county with above 11k people in it and that is the largest city here. The rest of the towns here are less than 1/2 that amount. Some towns here have less than 200 people.
Stephen King couldn't dream up and describe a place like this or write a story as horrifying as how horrifying the amount of stupidity here truly is. I graduated with people who cannot read. They sit around here and brag on not reading. One will say they haven't read a book since high school. Another will say they haven't read a book since x grade. The "winner" is the one who says they never even learned to read. They pride themselves on that.
lostnfound
(16,190 posts)Jamastiene
(38,187 posts)The rest of the state, outside the bigger cities, is responsible for half the worst Republicans, even now, higher up in the Republican Party and right there with Trump too. Republicans don't run this state because of voters in Raleigh Durham or Chapel Hill. They do because of all of the smaller towns that make up the majority of the population of this state.
pat_k
(9,313 posts)No cases detected doesn't mean there are no cases.
The state doing the best on testing is still pretty dismal (NY at about 175 per 10,000 -- more than 4 times the rate of NC)
Less densely populated areas will not be hit as hard, but without social distancing they will be hit.
Stay safe!
Jamastiene
(38,187 posts)Just the other day, the county next to me to my west got 3 cases and there are two cases in the county to my south as of day before yesterday. So, it's edging closer. I dread it. It will get here later and be a clusterfuck. After everyone else in the world is back to business as usual, this area will be a total clusterfuck. Everything hits here later and no one cares. It is even that way with the weather. Charlotte stations get all upset with tornadoes hitting them and almost all of the smaller towns to the east of them, until it gets to us. They stand with their asses over us on the map and once it hits us, they quit covering it. So, when it does hit my county, no one will care. We are on our own.
pat_k
(9,313 posts)PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,895 posts)deaths over the normal number.
In normal times, about 7500 people die every day in this country. From all of the many possible causes of death. While that's an average number, and sometimes it's more and sometimes it's less, it's a good baseline to work from. It will be a bit tricky, given that right now I'm guessing somewhat fewer people are dying from car accidents, and I have no idea what those numbers normally are. Clearly we're not having mass shootings, although as terrible as they are, they really aren't a significant number overall.
I do recall reading that at some point, some years ago, when there was some kind of strike (doctors? nurses? cleaning staff? Can't recall which employee group it was) at a hospital, deaths went down. Hmmm. Isn't that interesting.
However, back to the Covid 19 deaths. As I said above, the final death toll from the virus will be figured out by looking at the excess deaths above the normal number of deaths.
pat_k
(9,313 posts)After-the-fact analyses will not only reveal a higher death toll; they will demonstrate how early the virus was circulating -- and killing -- undetected because of Trump's decimation of the executive branch and blanket denial and obstruction throughout January and February.
Timeline: What could have been vs. What was.
Hermit-The-Prog
(33,414 posts)DeminPennswoods
(15,290 posts)list the actual cause of death, then also list at the first contributing cause. Jmo, but it's probably hard to pinpoint the exact cause of death (outside of car accident, gun shot, etc.), especially if there are long term known underlying health issues.
Tracyjo
(729 posts)flu deaths were up sixty-some percent this year.
Posted this back on March 30 (emphasis added)
But, even with that issue, reporting of the number of deaths is far closer to reality than the obscenely limited testing to detect cases.
...