We are approaching the middle of June. The COVID-19 cases in the upcoming week or two should reflect the impact of the protests. Part of me fear that we'd discover a rapid rise in number of confirmed cases. Then again, we may not due to the rate of testing. Taking a look at the Utah state website, we haven't even tested 10% of the population yet.
Of course, you don't need the entire population to come up with statistics. Often, statistics raise questions. I'm not even talking about the likely scenario where healthcare facilities shoehorn data. Why would they do that, you might ask? Could be anything from receiving federal/state funding to pushing an agenda.
Remember the old meme from Futurama:
It would be silly to make things up out of thin air. But, it's not difficult to say "well, it's true from a certain point of view". You've already heard about fudging statistics to increase the number of coronavirus deaths.
Even looking at the demographics breakdown, there are so many questions. When we look at the numbers, we should ask ourselves: what is the story there? At least, that's what I try to extrapolate.
Hispanics/Latino
How are they almost 40% of the incidence in the state while having a low hospitalization rate? Super powers? Better genetics? No insurance? Or is it because many of them fall under the illegal category? It could be as simple as Hispanics actually go and get tested.
Regardless, they are the most hard hit group in the entire state.
Blacks
Similar situation like the Hispanics, though there aren't that many of them in the state. The scale of it is also only about half of the above group. Does that mean African Americans are doing better than Hispanics?
Asians
Asians seem to be the go-to "outliers" to disregard in social justice or any other rhetoric. Why do they have a much lower incidence rate compared to other minorities? Is it because they are all richer than persons of colors and live in white neighborhoods? Those are rhetorical questions, by the way.
Given my personal experience, I've seen more Asians wear face masks in public. People value health over inconveniences. I guess it's a cultural thing.
Natives/Pacific Islanders
They have a much higher hospitalization rate compared to other groups. So, insurance may not be a factor after all? It reminds me of the smallpox blankets from the colonial era.
How about we scrap the entire chart because when I add up the demographic breakdown, they come up to be 102%? Or, do we tell ourselves it's some rounding error? When we look at the figures like that, how do we put "other races" and "unknown" into context?
I've written it before and I'll do it again. Good policies require good data. That's why we have a task force with experts on the panel to advise lawmakers.
This is the current incidence curve. We shall see where we are in the next week or so.