Almost 16,000 new cases around the world in 1/2 hour!

[Maraya1969]

I am mesmerized by the World Meter site for the Coronavirus. Every time you go in it gives you a new number compared to the last time you were there.

It seems like the numbers were getting higher faster so I jotted down the number from 1Pm


March 20 - 1pm - 259,176

Then I refreshed at 1:33 - 275,125

The number of cases went up by 15,949 in 30 minutes.

I guess there are variables as to how these are reported etc but damn!

It is also very interesting to compare cases by blocks of a million people. Iceland has the highest at 1,199 while the US has only 50. Of course that will change a lot if the US ever starts testing people like they should be.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

[unblock]

1. Those numbers aren't updated in real time

Mostly likely some country's daily update just happened to hit during the 30 minutes you were looking at it.

The growth rate is still alarming, but I wouldn't read much into the 30 minute time frame.

[matt819]

2. I'm with you on the mesmerization issue

Another observation.

On the JHU site, worldwide mortality rate at the moment - number dead per number of confirmed cases - stands at 4%. US mortality rate is 1.4%. Not a doctor or epidemiologist or statistician. But that's a big difference.

As for the "just the flu" morons - a mortality rate of 1.4% is 14 times greater than the mortality rate for the seasonal flu.

And a mortality rate of 4% is 40 times the mortality rate for the seasonal flu.

That's one heck of a flu, Donnie. Did you skip class on arithmetic day?

[Lulu KC]

3. I just read an article about Iceland

They are doing testing in an especially thorough way. I can't find it now, but when I googled Iceland and covid-19 there are lots of interesting stories. (Including one about how three cases were traced back to Denver. Oy.)