# Coronavirus COVID-19 (2019-nCoV) Thread - 2020 Breaking News **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [February 11, 2020, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758 "2020-02-11T01:16:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 194
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2020, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3875 "2020-07-20T23:18:50Z")
“Teletracking”, the system which took over HHS hospital utilization reporting from the CDC safety reports, is a private company. [Beckers Health ID](https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/10-things-to-know-about-palantir-and-teletracking-which-power-the-hhs-covid-19-data-system.html) > 1. In April, TeleTracking received a $10.2 million non-competitive contract from HHS to power the agency’s COVID-19 data tracking system, HHS Protect Britains NHS (or part of it, or an associated body), is also using TeleTracking for COVID-19 data, from about the same time. As is common for this kind of private health database, researchers and administrators can “access” the data. That is, access is controlled and permitted by contracts. Interesting note: Oracle “donated” it’s COVID-19 online platform to the HHS. Dunno if teletracking runs on Oracle, or if Oracle just missed out on a big customer. There are some obvious arguments for reforming the hospital utilization reporting system, which appears to have been piggy-backing on a safety reporting system, but it’s the nature of big IT projects, and big Health projects, and big Database projects, that they are broken on implementation, and sometimes never work at all. I wouldn’t personally recommend a shift like this in the middle of an epidemic (and, in case I was too even handed above to make it clear, I hate third-party private health databases anyway). But some software projects actually are well managed and effective, and it’s too early to say how this will affect the American health system after the teething problems are worked out. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2020, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3876 "2020-07-20T23:36:10Z")
Coronavirus relief programs continue to roll out: > **[Country Time helping the 'littlest entrepreneurs' with bailout money for...](https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/20/us/country-time-lemonade-bailout-trnd/index.html)** > > The program is offering $100 to kids whose lemonade stands have been affected by the coronavirus. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3877 "2020-07-21T06:16:08Z")
14,858,918 total cases 613,352 dead 8,911,311 recovered In the US: 3,961,429 total cases 143,834 dead 1,849,989 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 14,644,360 total cases > 608,911 dead > 8,735,298 recovered > > In the US: > > 3,898,550 total cases > 143,289 dead > 1,802,338 recovered ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3878 "2020-07-21T11:37:32Z")
Last estimate from the CDC, based on serology studies, was ten times higher. When evaluated. T-cell studies demonstrating past infections with negative serology suggest the number could be twice again. But based on small numbers studied. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3879 "2020-07-21T12:26:25Z")
[Nine month old dies of COVID](https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2020/07/20/coronavirus-in-minnesota-more-than-900-new-covid-19-cases-reported-9-month-old-listed-among-4-fatalities/) (Warning: Autoplay) Plus we have [this](https://www.fox9.com/news/brooklyn-center-woman-dies-after-giving-birth-on-ventilator-battling-covid-19) terribly sad story. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3880 "2020-07-21T13:10:30Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Seriously, I think it was just a random piece of paper - he didn’t even make much of a pretence of reading it before vaguely waving it around with a “yeah, it says we’re the best”. He certainly wasn’t going to let anyone else have it to see It was a chart from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control showing mortality rates. It showed a subset of countries - most countries with low mortality rates weren’t included. And even among the ones that were, some had better rates than the U.S. despite what Trump pretended it showed. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3881 "2020-07-21T13:19:56Z")
Meanwhile in Florida: > **[Florida's largest teachers union sues state over reopening schools](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-s-largest-teachers-union-files-suit-against-state-over-n1234382)** > > The state is grappling with a significant surge in coronavirus cases, reporting more than 10,000 new cases Monday alone. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3882 "2020-07-21T19:53:57Z")
U.S. cases just reached 4 million by [worldometers numbers](https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/). It’s only a bit over six weeks since we passed 2 million. The total world count will get to 15 million in the next half hour or so. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3883 "2020-07-21T21:06:19Z")
> **[US charges Chinese Covid-19 research 'cyber-spies'](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53493028)** > > The justice department charges two men targeting companies researching coronavirus treatments. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3884 "2020-07-21T22:24:12Z")
Thanks Troutman. I’ll keep trying to pretend to be surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3885 "2020-07-21T22:42:04Z")
10x the verified positives is inline with other studies I’ve seen from around the world. Does this imply the US has had ~40,000,000 infections? At what point does the linear relationship no longer hold? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3886 "2020-07-21T23:59:32Z")
Well it isn’t certain it applies _now_. But yes that is what it implies. It is based on using antibody positivity as a proxy for infection based on comparable rates many weeks back. It is now clear that some significant number have had infections without having antibody positivity, at least by the point of being tested, such that serology based estimations could dramatically underestimate the number that have been infected, maybe by half. And there is the question of whether the ratio stays constant as testing has increased. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3887 "2020-07-22T02:07:22Z")
I don’t get it. Why spy on that particular issue? I thought the whole planet was involved in finding a cure for COVID-19. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3888 "2020-07-22T04:11:27Z")
15,096,315 total cases 619,520 dead 9,113,043 recovered In the US: 4,028,569 total cases 144,953 dead 1,886,583 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 14,858,918 total cases > 613,352 dead > 8,911,311 recovered > > In the US: > > 3,961,429 total cases > 143,834 dead > 1,849,989 recovered ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3889 "2020-07-22T05:20:55Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Except: there’s [actual research](https://www.nber.org/papers/w27494.pdf) on this, and it doesn’t support what Fauci thinks. While both younger and older people are aware that the risk of dying or being hospitalized with Covid-19 increases with age, young people tend to _overestimate_ the risks (both for everyone, and for them personally), while old people tend to underestimate them. Specifically, young people tend to think that “people like them” have roughly a 2% risk of dying if they contract the disease (in reality it is much lower), while the 70-and-older age cohort think “people like them” have a 1% risk (in reality it is much higher). Young people also think they have a much higher chance of contracting the disease in the first place, and of being hospitalized if they do. Which doesn’t actually contradict what Fauci says. Young people may believe themselves at a higher than actual risk, and still judge that risk to be low—after all, younger people tend to be less risk averse. So a young person might well think, well, 2% risk of death if I get infected, that’s good enough, and take their chances, while an older person might be sufficiently deterred by the perceived 1% risk to alter their behavior. * * * In other news, according to the [worldometers](https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/) site, US deaths exceeded 1,000 for the first time since June 9th yesterday. However, looking at the daily case numbers, there’s been a significant flattening since July 17th, so it seems like shifting authority for data collection away from the CDC to the White House is successful in stemming the tide of new cases, so that’s some good news right there! 🙃 ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3890 "2020-07-22T07:22:07Z")
Today in Austria: - Following a three-digit rise in coronavirus cases, the government has reinstituted the rules on wearing face coverings in public. As of Friday, it will once again be mandatory to wear masks (or similar gear) in all supermarkets, shops, banks, post offices, medical facilities, government offices, etc. Fines for noncompliance range from €50 to €3600. Public opinion polls from earlier this month already showed majority support for the reintroduction of face covering rules. - The government is also introducing new restrictions on travellers entering Austria from high-risk areas, including the USA and the western Balkans. As of Friday, such travellers will not be allowed to enter the country without a negative coronavirus test from a certified laboratory. - The EU has agreed on a €1.8 trillion coronavirus aid deal, of which Austria will receive €3.7 billion. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3891 "2020-07-22T15:54:02Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > It is based on using antibody positivity as a proxy for infection based on comparable rates many weeks back. It is now clear that some significant number have had infections without having antibody positivity, at least by the point of being tested, such that serology based estimations could dramatically underestimate the number that have been infected, maybe by half. And there is the question of whether the ratio stays constant as testing has increased. Very interesting. 80,000,000 already infected would be ~27% of the US population. In the context of [this article](https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/07/herd-immunity-coronavirus/614035/) that would seem to be encouraging news. However, as you said, the question of how reasonable it is to assume 10x-20x real infections as confirmed cases increases isn’t settled. ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3892 "2020-07-22T16:54:34Z")
So does anyone know where the numbers are coming from that are posted on Worldometer and COVID Act Now and other sites with regard to the US? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3893 "2020-07-22T17:21:56Z")
[Worldometer COVID-19 Data](https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/about/) [Changes in United States Data following the new CDC guidelines on “Case” and “Death” definition](https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/us-data/) ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/3894 "2020-07-22T17:42:12Z")
Thanks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=193) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758.md?page=195)