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THE BAD NEWS: Back up to 35K new cases
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Thank you for continuing to post this. Since testing should be increasing, the new case count will likely be increasing, assuming ithe data is correct.

What I’ve started watching in my state is hospitalization and ICU counts. Those should be pretty accurate, and if those are going down, I see it as progress.

JMHO

The updated preliminary overall burden of influenza for the 2017-2018 season was an estimated 45 million influenza illnesses, 20 million influenza-associated medical visits, 800,000 influenza-related hospitalizations, and 61,000 influenza-associated deaths.

Tell me again about the 'Rona?

Sauce: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/2017-2018/archive.htm

StormFlag wrote:
Since testing should be increasing, the new case count will likely be increasing, assuming the data is correct.

What I’ve started watching in my state is hospitalization and ICU counts. Those should be pretty accurate, and if those are going down, I see it as progress.

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I generally agree with both your points; however, I think almost everyone who THINKS they might be sick with COVID-19, and passes initial screening criteria like fever and shortness of breath, is being tested.

Therefore, I don't think increasing the testing will appreciably increase the confirmed cases.

In any event, my main (implicit) assumption is that the trend (direction) is being revealed as long as there are no significant changes in methodology of data collection.

Oddly enough, "Deaths" are more subjective than "Confirmed COVID-19 CASES," as indicated by the "Reclassification" yesterday of thousands of deaths into the COVID category. I suspect flu deaths are equally subjective, as almost everybody who dies of flu has multiple issues.

In the long run, death rate of humans from all causes is 100%.