But I keep coming back to a line in Bob Dylan’s famous song. “How many deaths will it take till he knows that too many people have died?”
Last night before I went to bed, 86,676 people had died because of this virus.
Some, like the President, are starting to claim that the number of recorded deaths is overstated. Some, like, you know, scientists, point out that the number is probably undercounted.
I personally know several people who have had symptoms of the coronavirus, but were sent home without having been tested. Abbot Labs has a rapid test that gives results in about 15 minutes. It’s the one the White House uses. It’s one that has a 15-20 percent false negative result.
In fact, Abbot is now telling people that if they get a negative result, they should get rechecked with a more reliable test.
So the President is saying that count of 86,676 is too high. Other, real, experts are saying the number is too low. The President doesn’t want more tests because that will show the number to be more. The experts, that is, the people who tend to know what they’re talking about, want more testing so that we get a more accurate picture of the virus’s spread.
I’ll say it again.
Last night before I went to bed, 86,676 people had died because of this virus.
I get the desire to open up, to get back to work, to go out and have drinks with friends, to visit the beaches and parks, to go see a movie, and damn it, I miss baseball.
But, forgotten and never mentioned by the President, the GOP, or the protesters he and they have encouraged to get things to open up, are the 86,676 people. That number is definitely higher by the time you read this.
It’s not just the elderly dying although they are among the highest totals. 86,676. It’s already higher than that. Whites and minorities. Old and young. Poor and rich. The famous and the unknown.
86,676
And counting.
It's already more.
Maybe some day Dylan's question will get an answer.
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