Total US infections: 11,715,316*
Average last 7 days: 165,029/day (new record high = 1 out of every 2000 Americans infected per day!)
Total US deaths: 252,535
Average last 7 days: 1,335/day
Source: COVID Tracking Project
*confirmed cases only: I suspect the total number is on the order of 17 million, or 5% of the total US population (other estimates are much higher).
Just how ghastly is the situation in the northern Great Plains and Mountain States? So bad that if North Dakota were a country, it would be “leading” the world in infections and new deaths per capita, and rapidly approaching “leading” the world in total deaths per capita.
Here are the “top 10” US States for total confirmed infections (plus New York for comparison purposes):
Almost 9% of the entire population of North Dakota has had a *confirmed* infection. In about another week, that should be over 10% (and probably is already including infections that have not been confirmed).
Further, while New Jersey still has had the most deaths per capita due to the early outbreak, North and South Dakota are rapidly catching up, and likely will be approaching the total numbers of New York and New Jersey within about 2 weeks:
Even worse, here’s what North Dakota’s total confirmed infections per capita look like in comparison with every country in the entire world:
North Dakota “leads” the world.
And here is what North Dakota and New Jersey look like compared with the rest of the world in total deaths per capita:
The only reason North Dakota might not take the “lead” in the world for deaths is that Belgium is having nearly as bad a new out of control outbreak, and will probably get there first.
But in terms of *new* deaths per day over the past week, North Dakota already “leads” the world:
As I remarked to several friends last weekend, never have I seen a society as a whole abjectly fail the “marshmallow test.” All because “libertarianism” in deep red States means doing exactly what I want and can get away with, the effects on everybody else be damned.
“…Just how ghastly is the situation in the northern Great Plains and Mountain States?…”
“…The only reason North Dakota might not take the “lead” in the world for deaths is that Belgium is having nearly as bad a new out of control outbreak, and will probably get there first…”
*
The more rustic red state regions had a certain amount of social distancing indigenous. Probably that induced a false sense of confidence. Belgium is quite the opposite as one of the most densely populous little nations in the western world. So, what do the two have in common? Covid-19 can get passed around in the warmer months with higher level of asymptomatic participation, but the air gets dry earlier in fall away from the coasts and where the air gets colder first. This dry air whether indoors or outdoors strips away the protective mucous lining of the respiratory system exposing it to viral invasion. In this way Covid-19 is just another seasonal virus. Congregating indoors adds to the rapidity of transmission, but low humidity is the common denominator among the fall reprise of rapid infection spread under otherwise very dissimilar social conditions.