Our Response to COVID-19: Information
Globally
August 31, 2020

Good evening,

Yesterday, India set a global record of single-day new cases reported in any country since the beginning of the pandemic, with 79,457 confirmed infections in a 24-hour period. Today’s numbers in the large Asian country were almost 11,000 lower than yesterday’s but, as you can see in the global curves graph below, India’s trajectory is staggering in its intensity and relentlessness. To give you a sense of the aggressive nature of the Indian spread, the US, mired on an epidemiological plateau still situated far above last spring’s initial onslaught of infections, had 46,000 less cases than were reported in India on Sunday. Even as the spread appears to be slowing down in the US, other geographies are exploding with confirmed infections, keeping the world stuck on the path of a million new confirmed COVID-19 cases every four days.

  • COVID-19 Global cases: 25,626,317 (+244,460)
  • COVID-19 Global deaths: 854,506 (+4,018)
  • COVID-19 Global death rate: 3.33%
  • COVID-19 Global testing: 442,755,426 confirmed tests (+3,647,062)
  • COVID-19 Global positivity rate: 5.79%
  • COVID-19 Global single-day positivity rate: 6.54%

*: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.
In the US
Large trials for the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine begin in the U.S. | nbcnews.com

Phase 3 clinical trials for the much-anticipated Oxford COVID-19 vaccine are set to begin in the United States Tuesday, with participants in Madison, Wisconsin rolling up their sleeves for the injection.

The University of Wisconsin is one of dozens of test sites in the U.S. for the vaccine candidate, made by AstraZeneca in partnership with the U.K.'s University of Oxford. Tuesday's trial will mark the start of the third phase 3 trial in the U.S. for a COVID-19 vaccine, following Moderna and Pfizer.

The beginning of the trial comes as President Donald Trump is exerting pressure to fast-track research on a vaccine, alluding to some sort of approval before the election in early November.

But Dr. William Hartman, an assistant professor of anesthesiology at UW Health and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, doesn't expect preliminary data until at least Thanksgiving.

"Our obligation is to make sure that in the end, we have a safe and effective vaccine,"said Hartman, who is the principal investigator for the UW trial.


COVID-19 in the USA

  • Cases: 6,096,159 (+49,525)
  • Deaths: 185,901 (+1,105)
  • Death rate: 3.05%
  • Testing: 80,295,752 individual tests (+823,296)
  • Positivity rate: 7.59%
  • Single-day positivity date: 6.02%
US top 5 infected states:

  1. California: 712,154 COVID-19 cases, 13,019 deaths
  2. Texas: 642,582 COVID-19 cases, 12,899 deaths
  3. Florida: 623,471 COVID-19 cases, 11,189 deaths
  4. New York: 466,118 COVID-19 cases, 33,030 deaths
  5. Georgia: 270,471 COVID-19 cases, 5,632 deaths
In California
California’s deadliest month of the COVID-19 pandemic is August | latimes.com
August was the deadliest month of the COVID-19 pandemic in California, even as the state makes steady progress in reducing infections, hospitalizations and deaths, data show.

This month, California has reported 3,707 deaths connected to COVID-19, an 18% increase over July, a Los Angeles Times analysis found.

The news comes as California tops 700,000 coronavirus cases, the most in the United States. Adjusted for population, the Golden State’s case count is dwarfed by 20 other states, including southern hot spots such as Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi, according to federal data.

Data released by California officials and analyzed by The Times show that infection and hospitalization rates have fallen steadily for more than a month. The average number of daily deaths has begun to fall, too, and — if the pattern holds — should continue to decline, officials say.

Hospitalizations peaked in late July, when the state reported 7,170 patients being treated for COVID-19. In August, hospitalizations have dropped steadily, hitting 3,940 this week — the fewest since mid-June, and a change of 22% from two weeks ago.

The seven-day average of daily deaths in California is at its lowest point this month, a Times analysis found. The state is reporting an average of 112 deaths per day, a 14% decline from last week and a decrease from 133 daily deaths at the start of August.
  • COVID-19 California cases: 712,154 (+6,288)
  • COVID-19 California deaths: 13,019 (+81)
  • COVID-19 California death rate: 1.83%
  • COVID-19 California testing: 11,373,395 individual tests (+141,566)
  • COVID-19 California positivity rate: 6.36%
  • COVID-19 California single-day positivity rate: 4.44%
In the Central Valley
The Madera County Department of Public Health COVID-19 Update:

8/31/2020 COVID-19 UPDATE: Reporting 109 new cases between 8/28–8/30 bringing the total number of reported cases to 3,783.
  • 8/28 - 50
  • 8/29 - 27
  • 8/30 - 32
Of the 3,783:
  • 533 active cases (including 22 Madera County residents hospitalized in Madera County)
  • 3,196 recovered (202 released from isolation) 
  • 54 deceased

Today, the seven local counties together confirmed 956 new infections and 2 new coronavirus deaths (in Merced). 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 inadequate.
COVID-19 in Madera + 6 local counties (+% is the positivity rate)

  • Mariposa: 73 cases, 2 deaths, 4,901 tests, 1.49+%
  • Merced: 8,032 cases (+142), 117 deaths (+2), 43,629 tests, 1841+%
  • Madera: 3,783 cases (+32), 54 deaths, 38,797 tests, 9.75+%
  • Fresno: 24,963 cases (351), 263 deaths, 195,974 tests, 12.74+%
  • Tulare: 14,079 cases (+195), 232 deaths, est. 105,857 tests, 13.50+%
  • Kings: 6,284 cases (+142), 72 deaths, 34,493 tests, 18.22+%
  • Kern: 29,234 cases (+94), 286 deaths, 169,717 tests, 17.28+%

COVID-19 in the 7 counties together

  • 7 counties cases: 86,538 (+956)
  • 7 counties deaths: 1,026 (+2)
  • 7 counties death rate: 1.19%
  • 7 Counties tests: 593,368 (est.)
  • 7 Counties positivity rate: 14.58%
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 safe and effective 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.