Scaredy Cats

President Trump recently “joked” about the best way to reduce the number of new coronavirus cases would be to reduce virus testing. There is no doubt that our testing has expanded almost ten-fold since our last pandemic peak in April. However, the number of new cases are only roughly twice what they were in April. This comparison has a wrinkle ... tests for antibodies done back then ... in two places in California and one in New York State suggested the real (asymptomatic) cases were 10 to even 40 times higher (pick 10) ... which, given our testing capability back then, our April peak could have been, in reality, as much as five times higher (10/2) than our current peak. In other words, our current “Covid spike” is a convenient fiction ... being used for political advantage.

This possible conclusion is borne out by also looking at coronavirus deaths during the same period (see:Washington Post Numbers) which are down to a third of what they were back then. Thus, new deaths are better relative to new case by a factor of 6 (down by 3 x up by 2). Now we have better virus treatments that should account for some of this difference ... but, there seems no doubt that most of the increase in new cases today can be attributed to better and more extensive testing  ... now totaling over 48 million ... the best in the world (other than China’s questionable numbers). And it should thus be the number of new deaths ... not the number of new cases ... that should be the better metric when measuring progress in combating this pandemic.

But why might Trump suggest, even in jest, that testing should be reduced? Because the Democrats and their media pals are focusing on the current fallacious “spike” in new cases to panic states into re-closing their economies and not opening their schools ... both of which would dampen Trump’s re-election chances in November.

Human nature being what it is ... if enough scaredy cats believe that President Trump’s policies are putting them at greater risk, they will be less inclined to keep him in office ... even though he might be doing what is right for our country. What is that old saw? “Perception is reality.”

STAND UP FOR AMERICA!