Guest post by Larry C. Johnson
While much of the media and a fanatic bunch of pundits are ferverishly trying to fan the flames of Covid panic, the disease does not appear to be cooperating. Worst of all, Donald Trump is not frozen in place lacking any clue about how to confront the pandemic. Nope, he is pushing ahead on a variety of fronts, which includes getting the best treatment available out to the states and streamlining the production of a vaccine. This is driving the Democrats crazy.
So, let’s start small and look at what is happening in my neck of the southern jungle–Sarasota and Manatee counties. The following comes courtesy of my friend and golfing buddy, Joe A. He sat down and put the numbers of Covid cases and deaths into a spreadsheet and divided the data into age groups. The pictures and numbers tell a great story.
Eighty four percent (84%) of the dead are 65 years of age or older. Wow. There is a shocker. Elderly people are more likely to die than younger people. But the real good news is that an overwhelming majority of elderly who contractted Covid in Manatee and Sarasota counties survived. Two thousand six hundred and sixty one fell ill. Thankfully, 2374 grandmas and grandpas 65 years of age and older survived.
The news is even more dramatic among the youth. Only four people 34 years of age or younger have died from the disease. Guess what? Young people also die from regular influenza. That is a tragedy, but it does not stop the life of the nation. The Covid numbers tell a very simple story–this disease, while potentially deadly–especially to the very elderly–is manageable and should not be used as an excuse to shut down America.
Take a look at today’s numbers from Sarasota Memorial Hospital:
Hospital / ICU Capacity
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Total hospital beds: 839
Today’s patient census: 578
Today’s COVID patients total: 48 (same as yesterday)
Total ICU beds: 72 *
Today’s ICU census: 63 (60 yesterday)
COVID patients in ICU today: 16 (17 yesterday)
* SMH increased its ICU capacity from 62 to 72 beds in June and has enough ventilators to create more than 100 ICU beds, if needed, to manage a surge.
COVID-19 Test Results
7-Day SMH positivity rate: 3% (down from 3.6% on Aug. 17)
Patients who have tested positive (excluding repeat positives): 842 **
Patients who have tested negative: 14,821 **
** Reflects patients tested through SMH systems since March 2.
COVID-19 Patient Update ***
Patients hospitalized since outbreak began: 752 (751 yesterday)
Patients successfully treated/discharged: 769 (same as yesterday) {inpatients and patients treated in the ER but not hospitalized}
Patient deaths: 82 (81 yesterday)
*** Reflects cumulative number of patients treated at SMH since outbreak began in March.
For more information, please click here to visit our dedicated COVID-19 webpage.
The number of Covid patients is falling and the local hospitals in my community, which is one of the largest in Florida, are handling the disease.
Amidst this good news there is a disturbing development for those of you carrying a Smart phone. I have an iPhone. Apple has surreptitiously put a tracking device on your phone. Go to Settings. Go to Privacy. Go to Health. And you will see the following:
When enabled, iPhone can exchange random IDs with other devices using Bluetooth. This enables an app to notify you if you may have been exposed to COVID-19. Exposure Logging cannot access any data in, or add any data to, the Health app.
A week ago, if you lived in California, you found a more extensive message planted on your phone, without your permission:
Big brother is alive and well in the corporate person of the Tech industry. The normal way to do this is to create an app and give you the choice of putting it on your phone. This is not normal. This is a violation of your freedom and privacy.
I encourage you not to activate this app. And I encourage you to be of good cheer. We will beat this disease.
