Testing is usually done in those with symptoms consistent with COVID-19. As testing has become more available, known contacts may also be tested. Still, the WA percentage numbers have remained stable or declined.
Here in CA, it is very hard to get testing even on symptomatic outpatients - basketball players excluded.
I don’t know that this means the prevalence is lower than feared but it does suggest the vast majority of individuals with respiratory symptoms have something else (such as influenza, etc)
I find this interesting given the current climate which at times seems to be bordering on hysteria.
The situation in CA. has become hysterical, I am sorry but to have the ENTIRE state shut down with 900 Cases in a population of 40 million this is destroying people’s livelihoods and their financial stability this country has gone past the point of insanity!!! I don’t see this economy recovering I see businesses closing FOREVER this is just horrible!!!
“I find this interesting given the current climate which at times seems to be bordering on hysteria.”
I don’t think it is “bordering” - it has already become hysteria. People have taken total leave of their senses. Like your governor. What kind of a nut is he? He thinks 25.5 million Californians are going to get Covid-19? He is almost as nutty as our governor! I will be tracking Grusom’s prediction and tweeting it to him so he can see how much of a nut he really is.
Our local conservative talk-show hosts on KVI have been horrible. I got so mad at what they saying yesterday that I called into the 6-9am show. What he said was that Covid-19 is 10x as lethal as the flu. There is absolutely no way to know that - no matter how many times Dr. Fauci states it. Whether one agrees with Ron Paul or not, he was correct when he said there was no scientific basis to declare that. Why? Because all known cases have to be resolved (recovered or fatal) before the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) can be calculated. And no one knows how many adults actually get the flu, because it is not a reported infection for adults. That is why the CDC only estimates (22,000 - 55,000) deaths for this year. The host also said the difference between Covid-19 and the flu is that there is a vaccine for the flu. All well and good, but even the flu vaccine is only about 50% effective.
Anyway - hysteria will rule the day until it is shown that this coronavirus is seasonal. At least four of the seven known coronaviruses fall into the category. We’ll see.
Ok - I’m done... :)