Wouldn’t it be awesome if we actually had a media we could trust to share the news and facts? Especially during a crisis like the coronavirus? Imagine how much better off the country would be if we had more of this from Brit Hume and less of the constant harping and ridiculous drama that is terrifying millions of Americans from the so-called media.
Thread. https://t.co/dGhxcmnApr
— Brit Hume (@brithume) March 22, 2020
Wait, what? Actual facts from actual experts? Get out of town!
Take a gander.
1/n A note on testing- not all labs are reporting yet (or promptly), but the ones that do, report that 90% of tests (which are usually people exposed or w/ symptoms) are #COVID19 negative. That means even among the highest risk people, most don’t have #coronavirus…
— U.S. Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) March 22, 2020
Most don’t have coronavirus.
But the rest of the media has assured us that the world is ending and that we’re all going to die.
2/n Experts say that also means you can estimate total daily tests run in U.S. by multiplying daily new cases reported by 10 since 10% of tests reported are positive (it is likely all positive tests are being reported, even if all negatives are not)…
— U.S. Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) March 22, 2020
Wait, this isn’t scary.
How can that be?
3/n On Monday ~ 1000 new cases were reported, likely reflecting ~10,000 tests run. Friday over 5000 new cases were reported, reflecting at least 50,000 tests run daily. With the strength of the commercial sector coming online, testing capacity increased 10 fold in 5 days… pic.twitter.com/Ds1E8uHjrK
— U.S. Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) March 22, 2020
Private and public are working together?
SAY IT AIN’T SO.
4/n Another important point is that in South Korea’s initial mass testing surge, reports show they tested 1/200, or ~250,000 people.
Based on current US case totals, experts estimate the US has tested over 250,000 so far. This again shows the strength of our commercial sector
— U.S. Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) March 22, 2020
Strength of our commercial sector.
5/n If the commercial sector can get us from ~50,000 tests/ day to 100,000 – and they can- we have real potential to have tested over a million people (equivalent to 1/200 US adults, which is again comparable to South Korea’s initial testing surge) in 1-2 weeks…
— U.S. Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) March 22, 2020
6/6 Thanks to commercial market, testing is ⬆️ rapidly.
MUST prioritize healthcare workers and those at highest risk, but we are approaching “mass screening” throughput levels for #COVID19 testing. More work to do, but seeing progress.
Please stay at home to #stopthespread
— U.S. Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) March 22, 2020
Reality.
Who’da thunk it?
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