It’s More Accurate to Report COVID-19 Deaths vs. Recoveries
With the spread of COVID-19 and the resulting deaths from infection, it can seem like there is no good news. Especially when it seems like the number of new cases and deaths outweigh the number of recoveries.
First, it's important we celebrate the recoveries with those who defeat the novel coronavirus. We need to remind ourselves that contracting COVID-19 isn't an immediate death sentence. Children to people over 100 years old have beat this virus.
Second, we need to understand why it seems like there is only news regarding deaths from COVID-19.
Brandon, a reporter for Long Beach Business Journal explained it to us this way:
People who get critically ill are being tested, so if they die, it’s easy to tally. People who are showing symptoms but aren’t bad enough to go to the hospital are being told to stay home and are not being tested. So it’s impossible to even fully know the total number of cases, let alone the number of those who have recovered.
It's, unfortunately, a simple matter of what information we all have access to. Not some grand conspiracy or oversight. If we could greatly expand our testing, the numbers might look a lot differently than they do.
Just keep this in mind; though we all have seen, and get wrapped up in the headline-making numbers, there is still more to the story that doesn't get reported.
The takeaway? Try to relax a little bit. Yes, it is scary. Yes, we should be doing everything we can to protect ourselves. Practice social distancing. Stay home. But keep in mind, there are people beating this every single day.
Even if you don't hear about it.