COVID-19 is close to losing its epidemic status in the U.S., according to the CDC
Just the News, Jul 4, 2020

Coronavirus deaths in the country have nearly reached a level where the virus will cease to qualify as an epidemic under Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rules, the federal agency reported on Friday.

The CDC qualifies a disease outbreak as an "epidemic" if the number of deaths attributable to the disease exceeds a certain percentage of total deaths per week. That threshold for pneumonia, influenza and COVID-19 fluctuates slightly depending on the time of year, ranging from around 7% at the height of flu season to around 5% during less virulent months.

CDC data indicate that deaths from those ailments began skyrocketing in the country around the second week of March, hitting a peak around early May and then plummeting quickly after that.

The latest data show that the percentage of deaths in the country attributable to those factors had as of the last week in June reached its lowest point since the end of last year, becoming "equal to the [current] epidemic threshold of 5.9%," the CDC said.

The agency notes that the official tally of deaths "will likely change as more death certificates are processed, particularly for recent weeks." Yet the number of deaths attributable to COVID-19, pneumonia and influenza have been declining for 10 straight weeks, the agency said on its website, suggesting COVID-19 may cease to qualify as an epidemic in the next few weeks.


More: https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/...s-according-cdc

Treat COVID As The Local Crisis It Is
Townhall, Jul 6, 2020, Lawrence Meyers

If there was ever an argument against one-size-fits-all government policy, it’s the COVID crisis.

I’m going to inundate readers with data, but stick with me because the data is what tells us that there is no reason to keep the country shut down.

Dying from COVID-19 is highly dependent on where one lives, and co-morbidity factors such as advanced age, poor respiratory health, and obesity. There are 2.78 million cases, or about 0.9 percent of the country’s entire population.

The CDC reports 112,226 deaths from COVID-19 (4 percent mortality), of which 80 percent were age 65 or older. That translates to a 0.8 percent mortality rate for everyone else.

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If government actually wants to be useful, it should identify the highest risk pools of people. Encourage low-risk pools to offer help. Run errands. Assist with deliveries. Help out! Americans have proven time and again that, in times of natural disasters, we step up for each other.

For the nervous Nellies who don’t have underlying conditions, screaming about how we’re all going to die if we don’t keep everything shut down, you can all stay home. You are staying home anyway. Stop trying to punish the rest of us who aren’t afraid.

Meanwhile, they should at least admit that “Stay Home Save Lives” will result in countless people who will suffer from alcoholism, drug addiction, spousal and child abuse, suicide and aggravated medical conditions from being unable to see a doctor.


More: https://townhall.com/columnists/lawrence...-it-is-n2571911

FTA

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Meanwhile, the death rate among all age populations has declined dramatically, even as the media and politicians continue to frighten everyone by saying the aggregate number of cases is increasing. A chart listing the odds of a person dying from various causes of death shows that a person is far more likely to die from things like falls and chronic lower respiratory disease than COVID-19.

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Chart: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gP-01IP...iUgYGMptaY/view