The 1% (or less) Club Could Use More Members

Environmental & Science Education, STEM, Health, Medicine

Ed Hessler

A headline in the free corona virus series (Washington Post) caught my eye. Lateshia Beachum reports that New York's infection rate has been below one percent for 30 days, "marking a turning point for the state that once was the epicenter of the novel coronavirus." (my emphasis)

You may recall earlier numbers, e.g., "more than 11,500 new cases in a single day in May and more than 1200 deaths in a day in April." The numbers from Sunday, September 6: "720 new infections, four deaths and 410 hospitalizations--another low since mid-March--related to the virus.

A bump on this path is the discovery of cases which appear to be connected to returning college students. It is not clear what this means yet.

The article includes information on Operation Warp Speed--the production of an effective vaccine in record time as well as briefs on recent developments: concern about Labor Day celebrations, supplemental unemployment benefits in California, suspension of West Virginia University students for coronavirus-related violations, India has replaced Brazil as the second hardest hit country (we remain number 1), and concerns about a second wave of infections in Europe.

Let's hope that New York's rate holds and other states will be joining this list.