Infection Rate Dropping, Death Rate Rising
Feb. 3rd, 2022 10:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerThe Covid-19 new case rate has been dropping lately. A look over at The New York Times Coronavirus in the U.S. page shows that in a little over two weeks the daily new-case average has dropped by half.
The news is not all good, though. While a drop by half is great, the current level is still 4.5x what it was in late November when news of the Omicron strain broke.
Total deaths in the US from Covid-19 are just over 893,000 as of yesterday. At current rates they'll pass 900,000 by Monday or Tuesday. And even if the daily death rate subsides back toward 1,000 we'll cross the grim milestone of 1,000,000 dead probably sometime in April.
The news is not all good, though. While a drop by half is great, the current level is still 4.5x what it was in late November when news of the Omicron strain broke.
The Million Death March
Moreover, while the new case rate is dropping, the death rate is still climbing. This is somewhat expected as, in statistical terms, deaths are a trailing indicator of sickness. In real terms, yesterday's Covid-19 death toll was 2,658. This is 2.5x the death rate in late November, before Omicron.Total deaths in the US from Covid-19 are just over 893,000 as of yesterday. At current rates they'll pass 900,000 by Monday or Tuesday. And even if the daily death rate subsides back toward 1,000 we'll cross the grim milestone of 1,000,000 dead probably sometime in April.
