This morning, the WSJ reported that — based on their analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University:
In the 24 hours ending at 8 p.m. Eastern time Thursday, 4,591 people have died from Covid-19,
The prior record was 2,569 on Wednesday.
Worldometer – my primary source for C-19 fatality numbers – reported 2,179 Daily New Deaths.
So, based on 2 credible sources, C-19 deaths yesterday either increased by 2,022 (to 4.591) … or, they decreased by 390 (to 2,179).
That difference between estimates certainly falls into the category of “statistically significant” … especially hours after a government plan is announced to re-open the country for commerce.
I have greater confidence in Worldometer’s data analysis, so I’m going with their 2,179 DND number (with more explanation of the black bar to follow later):
My conclusion: Yesterday’s Daily New Deaths declined slightly from the prior day. … but the 3-day moving average is trending up slightly.
But, there’s a looming question:
What the hell is going on?
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First, a confession.
I’ve been wrong on something all along.
In a prior post, I said:
Counting deaths — while a bit macabre — is a more reliable process than counting, say, the number of infected people.
Cutting to the chase, I’ve concluded that the most reliable number being reported is the number of COVID-19 related “Daily New Deaths”.
I certainly didn’t expect that , in mid-stream, the CDC would change the definition of countable deaths.
But, they did and NYC (following the CDC’s guidance) added 3,700 new deaths to their totals — they are an estimate of the accumulated number of “deaths possibly related to Covid-19” that had not been previously reported.”
The implication: new reporting of fatalities is inconsistent with the data from C-19’s inception until April 14.
For a complete discussion, see:
April 14-15 Change in US Data
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In essence, Worldometer analysts decided to book NY’s 3,700 newfound deaths on April 14 and restart their data series. Here’s their daily chart:
Apparently, WSJ analysts booked the 3,700 differently.
On my DND chart (above), I simply backed out the NYC 3,700 (the black bar) to restore visual continuity.
What a mess.
Stay tuned. I’ll be trying to unscramble the rest of the numbers I’d been reporting on the daily update..
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