One of the benefits of actually looking at the data and not relying on the media is that questions start forming when patterns emerge without some of the biases that could be formed due to the bombardment of the sensationalism that can be found in media outlets, no matter their political leaning.
I had been puzzled by why there seemed to be difference case fatality rates in different countries.
Here’s the current data for South Korea. The CFR there is about 0.5%.
Compare that to Iran and Italy, where the CFRs are a little above 3%. The obvious question is “why the difference?”
I had a hunch based on my very early assumptions about mild and asymptomatic disease. That led me to wonder if the differences might have to do with testing. Once I did a media search, I found my answer.
“South Korea has the second-largest national caseload of coronavirus, and has tested far more than most nations. As of Monday, South Korea had tested a total of 105,379 people…Italy has the most cases in Europe with 1,694 as of Monday. Italy has carried out more than 23,300 tests.” Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much data from Iran, but they are preparing to test “tens of thousands.”
I have suspected since early on that the CFR was artificially high. This is some solid evidence that assumption was right. Don’t let the tail wag the dog. This is how information from the media should be used.
Excellent post. You’re right, this is how information should be used.