Coronavirus update - March 19th
Bottom Line: This daily update is designed to put everything in perspective with straight-forward facts. No hyperbole, no misinformation, no “bad math”. As a reminder, according to the Task Force, those over the age of 60 are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Officials stated that the symptoms are least severe with those who are youngest – with the effects being less severe than the common flu for children. This is different than most viruses which are most dangerous for those oldest and youngest. The task force also indicated the average age of death for someone due to the virus is 80. Here’s where we stand...
Here’s where we now stand in Florida:
- 328 instate cases – 8 deaths
Nationally:
- 9,464 cases – 155 deaths – 108 recovered
Worldwide:
- 219,965 – 8,980 deaths – 85,769 recovered
The United States is now 6th in the world in total cases having passed South Korea and France over the past day in total cases. We’ve had nearly 3,000 new positive cases in the US in the past 24 hours along with 39 additional deaths. The most disconcerting aspect of the virus at this point remains the death/recovery rate based on closed cases. It has remained at 9% for the second consecutive day after reaching a low of 6% two weeks ago. We’ve seen the death rate rise as the reach of the virus grows. The common pattern with the virus spreading is an increase in death rates with vulnerable early on followed by improving rates overtime as people begin to recover. In the early stages of the breakout in the US we’re continuing to see more people die for the virus than fully recover. I’m not at all trying to be an alarmist. Those are just the facts. Hopefully we begin to see progress with the death rate along with end of winter. The traditional flu season generally ends in early April.