Unreleased White House report shows coronavirus rates spiking in heartland communities

[RandySF]

Coronavirus infection rates are spiking to new highs in several metropolitan areas and smaller communities across the country, according to undisclosed data the White House's pandemic task force is using to track rates of infection, which was obtained by NBC News.

The data in a May 7 coronavirus task force report are at odds with President Donald Trump's declaration Monday that "all throughout the country, the numbers are coming down rapidly."

Data in a May 7 coronavirus task force report (seen here) are at odds with President Donald Trump's declaration that "all throughout the country, the numbers are coming down rapidly."
The 10 top areas recorded surges of 72.4 percent or greater over a seven-day period compared to the previous week, according to a set of tables produced for the task force by its data and analytics unit. They include Nashville, Tennessee; Des Moines, Iowa; Amarillo, Texas; and — atop the list, with a 650 percent increase — Central City, Kentucky.

On a separate list of "locations to watch," which didn't meet the precise criteria for the first set: Charlotte, North Carolina; Kansas City, Missouri; Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska; Minneapolis; Montgomery, Alabama; Columbus, Ohio; and Phoenix. The rates of new cases in Charlotte and Kansas City represented increases of more than 200 percent over the previous week, and other tables included in the data show clusters in neighboring counties that don't form geographic areas on their own, such as Wisconsin's Kenosha and Racine counties, which neighbor each other between Chicago and Milwaukee.



https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/unreleased-white-house-report-shows-coronavirus-rates-spiking-heartland-communities-n1204751

[gratuitous]

1. Ya think they'll start to notice anyway?

Even if Trump tells them not to believe that funeral happened? I know the capacity for self-delusion is strong in his supporters, but when people they know start getting really sick and some of them die, they might just start wondering.

[PJMcK]

3. Really?!

After all of Trump's malfeasance (I'm being polite), if his supporters are still behind him, they will never leave him. They will die for him.

When I see his ~40% of support start to diminish, I'll believe that there may be a sea-change in TrumpWorld.

[ecstatic]

2. The media has painted a picture of coronavirus

being something that only blue state/ city folks have to worry about. Honestly, I'm OK with that portrayal because it has made my family and friends way more cautious.

I've been checking out the CDC's Vital Statistic numbers and it provides a lot more perspective on what's going on in the United States. I think many people are feeling a false sense of security based on what the media has focused on.

Check out: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm
Provisional Deaths by Demographic and Geographic Characteristics
Table 2A

Another area on the site shows Excess Death Data: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/excess_deaths.htm
It's a little tricky, but just scroll past the legalese and select Dashboard options. It appears that COVID-19 deaths may be undercounted by around 32k (if I'm interpreting the info correctly).