Our Response to COVID-19: Information
Globally
Good evening,

August 21, 2020 -- This report ends the work week with the new global average of 249,170 new cases per day, confirming the planet has been stuck on a high plateau, uncovering 1 million new cases every four days, with about 6,000 global deaths every day, since July 16, 2020. Any slowdown in one region is countered with a flare in another. India has now been leading the world with new daily cases for the last 16 straight days, adding 1,010,129 new COVID-19 infections and 15,189 new coronavirus related deaths over that period. Korea, once the second highest coronavirus hot spot at the onset of the pandemic, is now ranked 76th. Thanks to an exemplary mobilization of its population and immediate national policy of widely available testing, the country is now starting to see a worrisome flare, its most aggressive since March. 

“In Seoul and some surrounding cities, the government has reimposed second-tier social distancing rules, including restricting large gatherings, banning in-person church meetings while closing nightclubs, karaoke bars, buffets and cyber cafes.” globalnews.ca

In France, globally ranked 19th with 234,400 cases, daily cases are rising again to levels unseen since April. The New York Times just published an analysis worth reading.

  • COVID-19 Global cases: 23,104,095 (+249,170)
  • COVID-19 Global deaths: 802,869 (+5,912)
  • COVID-19 Global death rate: 3.48%
  • COVID-19 Global testing: 406,361,719 confirmed tests (+3,251,504)
  • COVID-19 Global positivity rate: 5.68%
  • COVID-19 Global single-day positivity date: 7.62%

*:incomplete data set
Tip: click on any of the graphs for larger and clearer images and click on READ MORE to view the complete articles.Also, please forgive the occasional typos.
India COVID-19 data

  • Global rank: 3
  • 2,973,368 cases (69,039)
  • 55,928 deaths (+953)
  • 33,467,237 tests (+805,985)
  • Positivity rate: 8.88%
Ethiopia COVID-19 data

  • Global rank: 59
  • 37,665 cases (+1,829) PEAK
  • 637 deaths (+17)
  • 717,128 tests (+23,035)
  • Positivity rate: 5.25%
France COVID-19 data

  • Global rank: 19
  • 234,400 cases (+4,586)
  • 30,503 deaths (+23)
  • tests data not available
  • Positivity rate not available
South Korea COVID-19 data

  • Global rank: 76
  • 16,670 cases (+324)
  • 309 deaths (+2)
  • 1,754,123 tests (+20,040)
  • Positivity rate: 0.96%
Coronavirus updates: World deaths surpass 800K; New York blocks 175-person wedding; pandemic complicates California fire evacuations| usatoday.com
The worldwide number of COVID-19 cases soared past the 23 million mark Saturday while the number of deaths hit 800,566, according to John Hopkins University data.

In South Korea, fears of a new surge prompted the government to again ban large gatherings, close beaches, and shut nightspots and churches.

In the U.S., the number of cases topped 5.6 million and deaths climbed to 175,588.

In California, the ongoing pandemic and social distancing restrictions are, yet again, complicating disaster relief efforts as more than 100,000 Californians flee raging wildfires. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said evacuation centers across the state had protocols in place, such as marked spaces for physical distancing in shelters, indoor tents, temperature checks and individual, instead of communal, meals.

Meanwhile, efforts to reopen schools nationwide are being complicated by a virus data problem... READ MORE
In the US
New IHME forecast projects over 300,000 COVID-19 deaths in United States by Dec. 1 | komonews.com

A new model from a University of Washington research lab is projecting over 300,000 COVID-19 deaths in United States, an increase from its model released two weeks ago.

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) forecasted 309,918 deaths by Dec. 1, but the agency said increasing mask use in the country to 95 percent would save more than 69,000 lives.

The newest model increased its death projection by about 15,000 from the forecast published Aug. 6. The IHME expects the US daily death rate will drop very slowly in September and then rise to nearly 2,000 per day by Dec. 1.

Mask use in the United States has been around 55 percent since late July and about 53 percent in Washington state, according to the IHME's models.

Washington state is projected to have 5,040 COVID-19 deaths by Dec. 1. The state has 1,837 total... READ MORE

  • COVID-19 USA cases: 5,796,727 (+50,455)
  • COVID-19 USA deaths: 179,200 (+1,144)
  • COVID-19 USA death rate: 3.09%
  • COVID-19 USA testing: 74,718,580 individual tests (+850,248)
  • COVID-19 USA positivity rate: 7.76%
  • COVID-19 USA single-day positivity date: 5.93%
US top 5 infected states:

  1. California: 659,803 COVID-19 cases, 11,987 deaths
  2. Texas: 596,391 COVID-19 cases, 11,553 deaths
  3. Florida: 593,286 COVID-19 cases, 10,177 deaths
  4. New York: 459,096 COVID-19 cases, 32,937 deaths
  5. Georgia: 249,630 COVID-19 cases, 4,998 deaths
In California
Amid coronavirus surge in California, hospital workers say they're not protected | nbcnews.com
In late June, Mailinh Nguyen worked two 12-hour shifts as a certified nursing assistant at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital in California's Orange County, looking after the same patient each night. After the second shift, Nguyen said, a supervisor told her that the patient had tested positive for COVID-19.

Nguyen worried that she'd been exposed, because the only personal protective equipment she wore during those shifts was a surgical mask. However, she said, the hospital instructed her to continue working as usual, until she developed symptoms of COVID-19 two days later. Then the hospital placed her in quarantine but told her that she couldn't get tested for the coronavirus at the hospital — she had to go to a community testing site, instead, she said.

"After that, I didn't get paid for over two weeks I was quarantined," said Nguyen, who returned to work after having tested negative.

Workers at Fountain Valley have repeatedly raised alarms in recent weeks about hospital practices they fear leave ... READ MORE
  • COVID-19 California cases: 659,803 (+6,539)
  • COVID-19 California deaths: 11,987 (+166)
  • COVID-19 California death rate: 1.82%
  • COVID-19 California testing: 10,329,372 individual tests (+101,406)
  • COVID-19 California positivity rate: 6.39%
  • COVID-19 California single-day positivity rate: 6.45%
In the Central Valley
The Madera County Department of Public Health COVID-19 Update:

8/21/2020 COVID-19 UPDATE: Reporting 62 new cases bringing the total number of reported cases to 3,339.
Of the 3,339:

  • 752 active case (including 22 Madera County residents hospitalized in Madera County)
  • 2,538 recovered (60 released from isolation)
  • 49 deceased

Today, the local counties together confirmed 926 new infections and 32 new coronavirus deaths (in Kern, Fresno, and Tulare counties).

We are still on the ascent of the spread's epidemiological graph and have yet to flatten our local curve. Our friends and neighbors are needlessly dying, many families are suffering. Science and the courage to follow its logic will solve this pandemic, any other discourse is useless.
COVID-19 in Madera + 6 local counties (+% is the positivity rate)

  • Mariposa: 69 cases, 2 deaths, 4,613 tests, 1.50+%
  • Merced: 7,428 cases (+94), 99 deaths, 38,517 tests, 19.28+%
  • Madera: 3,339 cases (+61), 49 deaths, 35,102 tests, 9.51+%
  • Fresno: 22,535 cases (+368), 226 deaths (21), 180,534 tests, 12.48+%
  • Tulare: 13,117 cases (+95), 210 deaths (+2), est. 93,693 tests, 14.00+%
  • Kings: 5,659 cases (+28), 68 deaths, 33,686 tests, 16.80+%
  • Kern: 27,658 cases (+280), 238 deaths (+9), 159,468 tests, 17.36+%

COVID-19 in the 7 counties together

  • 7 counties cases: 79,805 (+926)
  • 7 counties deaths: 892 (+32)
  • 7 counties death rate: 1.12%
  • 7 Counties tests: 545,468 (est.)
  • 7 Counties positivity rate: 14.63%
The weekly totals of new cases and new deaths in the area have improved from week 22 to this, the twenty third week of the pandemic in the central valley of California. These are encouraging numbers but, when compared to the initial height of community awareness and best mitigation behavior we all practiced from mid-March to the end of May, today's report unequivocally underscores that we must keep observing the simple yet proven habits of physical-distancing, mask-wearing, and frequent hand-washing, that will help drive down new infections and new deaths numbers, to a level low enough so as to give us a chance to reopen our schools for onsite education and thus, reopen our economy. Nothing else will work until we have a working COVID-19 vaccine.
From our hearts to yours,

Fredo and Renee Martin
Workingarts Marketing, inc.
+1-559-662-1119

PS: We welcome comments and questions. If you wish to review previous reports, we now host past issues here.