“Widespread testing” is a buzzword. Korea and Germany don׳t have testing levels that reached a huge portion of the population. SK was at 250,000 tests mid-March. “Contact tracing” is another buzzword. Enough staff for ICU + gloves-marks are the key variables.
The death rate is relative only to known cases but known cases is a function of testing levels. Oddly, while the death rate is only relative to known cases, policy is set as if there are many more cases than known which if true means the death rates are lower than they appear.
Italy did more tests per million than Germany yet Italy’s death rate and raw death numbers are worse! In both countries, 98%+ is still not tested. Testing so few only shows you more cases and lowers the death rate but does not initslef slow the spread. worldometers.info/coronavirus/
It’s really fascinating how buzzwords and narratives get created and then the masses repeat it like parrots without pulling up a calculator or the readily avail data. See the above few tweets as an example. Top is Italy. Beneath it is Germany.
cc @kbennhold
cc @kbennhold
