Covid-19: Testing

Last week testing for Covid-19 in our area was expanded to the general public—for free. I made an appointment online, and David followed suit. Today was the day. We drove to Alisal High School in Salinas, where we were met by a masked security guard who ushered us into the newly designated "COVID Building" (i.e., the gym). This is what it looked like:

We checked in with the woman behind the plastic partition, received our paperwork, then moved to the next table, where the technician stuck a cotton swab up our nose (ouch). And that was it! The results will be emailed.

No, we are not sick. However, we want to add to the data—because as everyone knows, without testing there are no cases. (Thanks to comedian Sarah Cooper for making it so clear.)

No, seriously, as Our World in Data puts it, "Without testing there is no data." That interactive site has an ongoing collection of data from around the world (not every country, but many). It's fascinating to peruse.

I recalled a while back seeing that Iceland had tested a significant percentage of its population; I just checked, and as of May 4 that number stood at over 13 percent—and only 10 people have died. As of last Sunday, the U.S.'s testing figure was 2.74 percent—and its death toll is now 89,420. You can see the activity for Iceland (and a few others, including the U.S.) in this chart:

There's tons more information at Our World in Data. It's a wonderful resource. And another one is Worldometer, if you can't get enough of graphs and charts and numbers.

As of yesterday, Monterey County had conducted 5,283 tests—representing 1.2 percent of the county's total population. We are proud to be contributing our two data points as well.

As a final note, I'd like to point to an article in the New Yorker about how Seattle and New York tackled the virus when its presence was first observed. One city’s leaders followed the CDC guidelines to the letter; the other’s did not. One city brought out the scientists to give the daily briefings; the other relied on politicians. The results were markedly different. Today as we drove to Salinas, Bob Garfield of On the Media was talking with the article's author, Charles Duhigg, about what he learned. It was most interesting.

Speaking of the CDC, I want to archive this little convo from FB because . . . it's so telling, of so much—especially the present-day distrust by so many (including our so-called president) of scientific experts, or simply of science . . . which is a big reason this country's response to the virus has been so dismayingly, so dismally, all-over-the-map.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As for Monterey County, total confirmed infections rose by 6 since yesterday, to 328; deaths remain at 8.

Stay healthy. Learn all you can—find reliable sources. Be smart.