As the Christmas season is among us, so is coronavirus continuing to plague us all. I guess it is the “Grinch” for the season, refusing to see it is not welcomed here.
However, as the cases are increasing, I believe the numbers are getting jumbled with the influx of new cases. With the numbers increasing, I suspect it’s only creating a greater sense of fear to the general public.
A mess-up with the health department on Wednesday proves my point in a way. When the numbers were first released Wednesday morning, they reported 3,658 new cases. Within a few minutes, a notice was issued saying there was a problem with the data and later Wednesday afternoon a new set of numbers of new cases was released. The new set was a reduction of more than 900 cases from the original report. At a press briefing that afternoon, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, state health officer, said the mix-up had something to do with the automation and cross-checking of birthdays.
The release of numbers on Tuesday this week also supports my argument. It was announced on Tuesday that there were a total of 56 deaths, yet the deaths were broken down to say 42 of the deaths were from between Nov. 24 and Dec. 7 and 14 deaths were from Nov. 8 through Dec. 2. Who is to say someone, who unfortunately succumbed to the virus on Dec. 1, did not get counted twice as that person who fell into both categories. Confused? Yes, me, too.
Some employers, in an abundance of caution, want employees who tested positive for the illness to be retested before coming back to work. I have mixed feelings about this. I totally understand and agree that safety is first for the employee, co-workers and people they connect with throughout the day. I have also heard that the virus, while it’s no longer contagious, can stay in your system for at least an additional 90 days. So even after during the required 14-day quarantine and having no symptoms, one can still receive a positive test result. If that is the case and the person tests positive more than once because it is still showing up, how many cases is that considered? If a person has been tested four times for the same sickness is it reported four new cases when it is only actually one? That has happened at the health department in Columbia where a patient, though no longer having symptoms, had to deal with repeated positive tests for weeks after the virus happened.
Timing is also a big issue. With so many new cases springing up, the laboratories are being inundated with tests and what was supposed to be anywhere from 48 hours to five days for the molecular test (the one everyone says feels like they are digging for brains), results are now taking more than a week leaving a patient to wonder if it’s “no news is good news.” Most individuals cannot afford to sit around at home for weeks while waiting for test results. Going back to the issue of the daily count, if it is taking more than a week for results to come back, the numbers will not be correct anyway because the positive results listed in the next set of numbers released will be included on the day the test was taken.
In the end, we know the virus is here. It can be scary and it has been deadly. I do not want to take away from the severity of the situation, but for 10 months people have been informed over and over again on what precautions to take, mask-up, wash your hands, social distancing, stay home if sick, etc. We know this and while not everyone may be adhering to it, it is because they made the choice, it’s not a lack of knowledge.
I kept up the numbers on the white board in my office for four months before I finally stopped. At this point I think releasing the numbers now, especially seeing the inaccuracies, is no longer an effective tool in fighting this virus. Those numbers won’t keep us healthy, but maybe common sense will.
Besides, we need to worry less about numbers and more about the people. People are more important than numbers.
Susan Amundson is managing editor
of The Columbian-Progress. She
may be reached at (601) 736-2611 or
samundson@columbianprogress.com.
