Thread by @Laurie_Garrett

Since #Trump admin stripped #COVID19 data collection out of @CDCgov & put it in 2 private companies (under no-bid contracts) answering to @HHSGov we have NO RELIABLE DATA.
But @washingtonpost obtained @fema dataset, and it's terrifying.
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washingtonpost.com/health/coronav…

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Last week >450,000 new #COVID19 cases were ID'ed nationwide, with surges in 42 States.
"Numbers of #coronavirus-related hospitalizations in the U.S. went from 36,158 on Jul1 to 52,767 on Jul31. FEMA reports a sharp increase in the number of patients on ventilators."
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"37 states & Puerto Rico will probably see rising daily death tolls during the next 2 weeks compared with the previous two weeks, according to the latest ensemble forecast from the U of Mass at Amherst that combines more than 30 coronavirus models."
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#DeborahBirx “What we are seeing today is different from Mar & Apr. It is extraordinarily widespread. So everybody who lives in a rural area, you are not immune.” cnn.com/2020/08/02/pol…
"Every community is at risk.” - Dr. Beth Cameron
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nytimes.com/2020/08/02/wor…

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33 States have #SARSCoV2 test positivity rates above 5%, the @WHO benchmark for govts deciding whether to reopen their economy. "Above 5 percent, stay closed.
Of states with positivity rates below 5%, nine have seen those rates rise during the last 2 weeks."
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"The U.S. saw >1.9M new infectns in July; 42% of the >4.5M cases reported nationwide since the #pandemic began & > 2X the number documented in any other month."
At the start of July average death toll = 500/day.
Last week, averaged >1,000 daily.
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nytimes.com/2020/08/01/wor…

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#COVID19 numbers are climbing all over the world, but only America has such widespread devastation, from huge cities down to hamlets. America is driving the global catastrophe, which is now 17.9 million cases, 680K deaths, with cases in 188 countries.

coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html