China, ever scrupulous with its Covid data, has corrected the record. We thought there were nine fatalities yesterday in a nation of 1.4 billion people facing an unprecedented wave of infections. Turns out there were seven.
Covid-2019
Covid-2019
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
China has reported Covid fatalities for the last two days -- making only four days out of the last 450 when then have reported any at all. It's only 19 deaths, and almost surely an under-count. Makes us wonder to what extent the reported 32,715 new cases today are an under-count too.
Covid-2019
Tuesday, April 19, 2022
America's long national nightmare is over. The federal mask mandate is gone -- not because the government removed it, but because a court invalidated it as unlawful (because the CDC had never demonstrated that it was following the science).
Covid-2019
Monday, April 18, 2022
It's Monday! Another day in which China reports no Covid fatalities whatsoever, despite record daily new cases. If harsh lockdowns don’t prevent spreading infections, how do they prevent deaths?
Covid-2019
Sunday, April 17, 2022
People are not all the same as each other. Each is unique in an infinite number of dimensions. But to the staff of the Washington Post, this is the same as saying that the effects of the pandemic on each of us are a matter of class-distinctions and systemic inequality. We don't recommend it, but it's in "Recommended Reading."
Covid-2019
Saturday, April 16, 2022
Tiny S. Korea is second in the world league-table for new daily cases, yet it downgraded Covid as a threat and is removing restrictions. Meanwhile, giant China is fifth, and is doing the opposite. The severity of the attack-rate of Covid in China can be seen clearly on page 5: it's something the world hasn't seen anywhere for two years. Late to the game, what will China's fear and pride permit it to do to keep its economy open?
Covid-2019
Friday, April 15, 2022
In "Recommended Reading," a brilliant commentary from our old friend Reuven Brenner: "Inflation and the Fog of War." Like us, he compares the Covid crisis to wartime, and elucidates the extreme difficulties of measuring price changes and consumption patterns in such eras (which means that the Fed is flying blind).
Covid-2019
Thursday, April 14, 2022
The CDC will extend mask mandates for travel for another 15 days. At this point, they're just trying to manage a dignified retreat from failed policies. But this is bad advertising -- who doesn't remember when they promised us "15 days to flatten the curve"?
Covid-2019
Wednesday, April 13, 2022
As it must to all men, death has come to Gilbert Gottfried. Rest his soul.
Covid-2019
Tuesday, April 12, 2022
In "Recommended Reading," now you're really scaring us: "With COVID mission over, Pentagon plans for next pandemic." Does that mean they planned the last one?