Coronavirus update - March 24th
Bottom Line: This daily update is designed to put everything in perspective with straight-forward facts. No hyperbole, no misinformation, no “bad math”. Monday continued to show rapid detection of the virus across the country. A quarter of all cases diagnosed worldwide were within the US yesterday. This may be the result of improved testing, documenting what people already have – not necessarily that the spreading of the virus has worsened (though it’s possible). Monday also brought about seven additional states issuing additional restrictions. One of the bright spots on the horizon is the recent FDA approval of a new test that can produce results in as few as 45 minutes. The new tests are set begin shipping nationwide starting Friday – for full use across the country next week.
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. The task force also indicated the average age of death for someone due to the virus is 80.
Here’s where we now stand in Florida:
- 1,227 instate cases – 17 deaths –2 recovered
Nationally:
- 46,145 cases –582 deaths –295 recovered
Worldwide:
- 341,329 – 16,568 deaths –102,505 recovered
We experienced 41,000+ additional cases worldwide on Monday, with more than 11,000+ new cases in the US. The United States remains 3rd in the world in total cases, only behind China and Italy. The most disconcerting aspect of the virus at this point remains the death/recovery rate based on closed cases. We have nearly double the deaths to recoveries in the US thus far and worldwide the death rate has spiked to 14%. This after having reached a low of 6% just over 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. 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 spring. The traditional flu season generally ends in April.