Delta moves faster and I think we’re seeing multiple waves, so the pattern is a bit different, but I’m pretty sure we’re seeing the Sturgis effect as part of the explanation.
On the map below, drag the slider where it says “Last 60 days” all the way to the left, which is near the start of the Sturgis rally. You’ll notice that South Dakota has one of the lowest daily case counts in the country. Then start dragging it slowly to the right and watch what happens to South Dakota, but more importantly, to the states around it and even some of their neighbors as you work your way forward through the timeline.
Question: if a COVID patient lives in one state, but dies in a hospital in another state, which state will count as having this death? I was thinking about how Idahoan COVID patients are having to go to Washington and Oregon hospitals because their own hospitals in Idaho are overflowing. If they then die in Seattle or Portland, will it up the count in those states or their own home state?
Death data, once received and processed by National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), are tabulated by the state or jurisdiction in which the death occurred. Death counts are not tabulated by the decedent’s state of residence.
That question is why I prefer the Washington Post map which shows stats at a county level. Lots of states have low numbers at one end and high numbers at the other. The same boundary question exists for states, but the detail is better.
New cases in Hawaii are on a downtrend, and here on the island of Oahu bars and restaurants have just gotten the green light to serve alcohol until midnight instead of having to stop at 10pm like before.
Hawaii is almost to its goal of 70% of the population fully vaccinated with the figure standing at 69.3% as of yesterday. And while 77.5% of the population has received at least one shot, they said on the TV news that we are the first state to reach 90% of the eligible population having one shot.
Huh, this puts Puerto Rico, Massachusetts, and Vermont ahead of Hawaii for % of population with at least one dose. Maybe they have fewer kids, so Hawaii has a higher % of those eligible:
A parent in Wisconsin is suing her son’s school district after they eliminated mask requirements and covid mitigation measures, and the son tested positive.
Good. If they’re afraid of being sued for having mask mandates (and some of them may be), make it clear to them that they can be sued for not having them just as well (and on better grounds) as for having them.