Texas COVID-19 Numbers Hit Record High as Reopening Continues

Texas was one of the first states to start reopening since the COVID-19 pandemic first hit. Please notice I didn't say "since the COVID-19 pandemic". That could imply that this is over and we don't have anything else to worry about.

Well, we do still have to worry about it and the numbers continue to show that. Some of the numbers need to be taken with a grain of salt because we are testing more people now. The more tests we have and use, the more positives we're going to get.

Here are some numbers that are being used a bit erroneously. They aren't always being mentioned with the caveat that about the more tests being administered.

• Texas reported its highest one day total of new cases on Wednesday with 2,504.
• A month after reopening, Florida reported its highest 7 day total of cases with 8,553.
• Arizona and North Carolina have also seen record highs in its number of new coronavirus cases.

Are you seeing a pattern with those 3 'facts'? It's all about new cases. And those are the numbers that you can't completely trust. You can't completely ignore them either. What number should we be looking at as a better indication of where we are in the COVID-19 pandemic? Hospitalizations is a good one. 

Texas Medical Center in Houston warned last week that the “upswing in the current COVID-19 caseload growth trajectory suggests base ICU [intensive care unit] capacity could be exceeded in 2 weeks.”

It is very difficult to tell what is going to happen with COVID-19 though, which makes this even scarier. California imposed a state-at-home order in March. San Francisco has seen three straight days with zero new cases this week. However, on the flip side, Los Angeles County saw over half the states new case's.

The big thing to remember is we still aren't done with COVID-19. We are still very much in the thick of it and need to treat it as such. Also, if you think you have all the answers, stop kidding yourself. You're only proving to be an example of the Dunning-Kruger Effect.