Random Access Memories

People forget to check facts. Here are some facts regarding COVID-19 in SPokane.

Fact: People are going to pass around COVID-19 even with distancing and masks. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/06/ny-gov-cuomo-says-its-shocking-most-new-coronavirus-hospitalizations-are-people-staying-home.html

Fact: Spokane County only has 877 confirmed cases, 37 deaths, and 12 hospitalizations of COVID-19 out of a county of half a million people. 350 of those cases and 27 of those deaths occured before Phase 2. https://srhd.org/covid19cases

Fact: The “surge” that people were worried about, and still are worried about, is a spike in hospitalizations, not infections. (Note nobody is talking anymore about a lack of ventilators) The city of Spokane alone has almost 600 staffed hospital beds. https://www.ahd.com/states/hospital_WA.html (Tho this article mentions Sacred Heart saying they have 600 beds themselves https://www.kxly.com/providence-health-not-seeing-surge-in-patients-hospitals-prepared-to-handle-worst-case-scenario/ )

Fact: Hundreds of people have been showing up downtown to protest over the last three weekends. With a majority not wearing masks or social distancing. And we have not seen a massive spike in cases, hospitalizations, or deaths. https://www.krem.com/article/news/local/hundreds-show-up-for-the-third-week-of-spokane-protests/293-16d71999-8035-4756-a64a-e23a8da281a6

Fact: PCR-based testing (Which is what the majority of tests are using) false positives are likely the cause of the people who have tested positive and yet show no symptoms. https://www.npr.org/2020/06/14/876714225/what-mussels-can-teach-us-about-false-positive-covid-19-tests

Look at the numbers and decide for yourself. Are we being reasonable, or are we panicked?