TX tested 330k of which 28k positive. So that's 300k who thought they had it?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

Have noticed this in other stats for other places too - very high rate of negatives. Thought common wisdom was that the people getting tested had symptoms. In fact, haven't many been turned away if they didn't? Unless these stats on #tested include health care workers, public servants, etc who are tested often to insure they are all safe ?

Texas has a population of almost 30 million but has only administered 330,300 coronavirus tests, of which 28,087 have been positive.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

1. Probably 300k high school and college football players

It's an essential activity in Texas.



I hope you're right, that the 300k includes health care workers, law enforcement, etc. Not football players. Maybe in the second wave of testing...

[Stallion]

4. I'm a Big College Football Fan in Texas but I just don't see how they can play in the Fall....

in an average game you are going to have 120-130 players in physical contact with each other for 3 1/2-4 hours--not to mention practice during the week. So unless a antibody vaccine or cure is found I believe the chances of football being played this fall to be EXTREMELY low. Maybe golf, track, baseball-maybe even basketball although I'm skeptical.

[OriginalGeek]

6. might make basketball more interesting (to me lol)

make 'em play with a 6' diameter hula hoop around their waists and anyone that invades a hoop's space get a technical.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

5. Ha. Wonder if we will ever know who got tested? But

I recall similar #s in other states.

And remember, at first, if you had flu symptoms you got the existing "regular" flu test and only advanced to COVID-19 test if you failed the first one.

When you have a conniving liar in charge who wants to minimize infection/death #s and raise test #s hard to believe anything.

[SWBTATTReg]

2. And this is the major problem w/ testing. A lot of people are freaking out, when they have the ...

flu in reality, and don't have the CV. Unfortunately they're flooding the few available testing sites w/ tons of 'negative' test results for the CV.

But, in a way, at least we've caught 1 CV case out of 11 suspected cases of CV, which if we didn't catch these relatively few cases, think of the additional cases of CV that could go on, massively infecting others, and thus leading back to where we were before.

Just another reason why we need nationwide testing, free, immediately to start pinpointing hot spots of CV infections so more specific isolation techniques can be implemented, i.e., instead of shutting down a whole state or city, isolate more specific targets.

In China, they've been yanking the infected out of populations and placing them in 'infection camps', which I don't think will go over too well in the US.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

8. Good points...but unless something has changed, thought you

Were given the normal flu test first. And only COVID-19 test if you failed flu test. Point being who are all these negative people?

[Mariana]

13. Flu season is just about over anyway.

In addition, the social distancing, masks, handwashing, etc. pretty much ended transmission of the flu, which is of course much less contagious than the Coronavirus. But now, we have seasonal allergies going on.

[rocktivity]

3. At this point, we HAVE TO find out who's positive

Last edited Fri May 1, 2020, 11:33 AM - Edit history (1)

and "yank them out of the population" -- as patients, not criminals. Until there's a vaccine, identifying and properly quarantining the infected is the only way to stop the spread -- and if we don't stop the spread, the "herd immunity" of the infected could take over.


rocktivity

[Igel]

7. I've heard the "they're patients, not prisoners," line before. It rankles.

I find it best to say that they're both, otherwise we're using the phrase that the KGB folk used, because that's the usual status of somebody who's quarantined.

The USSR had a long history of using "patient" to mean prisoner--this person is suffering from a mental illness, you can tell because of their wrong politics, and they must be placed in a psychiatric hospital until they are well. (When I hear people discussing conservativism or some other -ism as a mental illness, I just think of their spiritual and intellectual forebears. They're simply unaware of the violation of human and civil rights that they're advocating, adding ignorance to their foolishness.)


You quarantine people that aren't patients, as well. If you came into contact with an infected person and aren't yet in the testing window, you to get locked up.

The way you have to do quarantining to be as effective as possible is to identify those who are possibly infected. They are then under what amounts to forcible detention. They don't go home. They can call to make arrangements, but they don't get to go home to make sure the kids are okay or to pack things. And since they might be infected, might not be, you hold them separate from those known to be infected and from each other.

The Chinese way of doing things was to use clinical diagnosis, including CAT scans, before administering the COVID PCR test. This would exclude the asymptomatic. Of course, the false negative rate would also cut some infected with COVID loose. It made for a very leaky sort of quarantine, which led to a very harsh lock-down and the perpetual fear of contagion from outside as travel from outside needs to be curtailed or harshly controlled and the borders are a risk. The surveillance system that was set up for political infection works really well for SARS-CoV-2 infection detection.

[roamer65]

22. We have to find out who has had it and resolved it.

They can give plasma to help others who need it.

[Igel]

9. COVID symptoms are very often just flu and allergy symptoms.

Even in NYC the negative rate was 60%. Because if you have a fever, a cough, etc., you might have COVID, you might have the flu, you might have non-COVID pneumonia, etc. That's how it goes with non-specific symptoms. A large number of flu tests in any given year also come back negative. (And we can't overlook false negatives, either.)

Yes, a lot of people were turned away who had symptoms. Test shortages do that. The positive rate is as a result necessarily higher than the positive rate for the population as a whole.

That means they missed a lot of infected people--but the serious cases would usually be hospitalized.

Recently, at least around Houston, they've set up drive-through testing where you self-screened and made an appt. Even more recently they removed the self-screening part, so you can be symptom free and get tested.

"So what?" you might ask. That last bit means that the number of tests being given is getting close to exceeding the number of people with symptoms. It's limited by location and transportation and the willingness on the part of the sick to get tested. The number of positives will still be higher the prevalence in the general position because it's still mostly those with symptoms who are getting tested.

Front-line workers, EMTs, police, healthcare workers, also got tested, but that's not going to account for most of the false positives.

[EllieBC]

10. The symptoms overlap with symptoms of the flu.

But we can’t assume it is or is not COVID-19, influenza, or the common cold. You have to test. And you need accurate numbers. You can’t assume and say “zomg 300k have it in TX!!!!”, no you have to test and make sure your numbers are right.

[LisaL]

11. Exactly.

Covid has flu like symptoms, even cold like symptoms.
Heck, there is a wide range of symptoms in people who actually have covid.
Not everybody with covid even gets a fever.

[beachbumbob]

15. Many who have had Covid never knew they were sick.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

12. Same question as above. I know protocol used to be

Test for common flu first.

[beachbumbob]

14. If you been exposed, you best get tested if in vulnerable group.

One reason the numbers are what they are. The other is insuring first responders safety.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

19. Yes...have since figured out the universe of tested..

1) symptomatic who failed regular flu test. 3 times each (needed two negative to be discharged)
2) those known to have been exposed to known infected person
3) health care workers and other essential service workers.
4) WH staff, Moron 1 and 2
5) NBA
6) wealthy VIP


Despite it all, still think the ratio of positives to negatives way out of whack.

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. That's consistent with a small DU poll

in which not a single person said they had had flu this winter, but plenty thought they had had Covid-19 before it was generally known about in the USA. Fewer people said "I'm not sure, because I wasn't tested", and though there wasn't an explicit "I had a cough, but I'm sure it wasn't novel coronavirus" option, the "other" option wasn't popular, and didn't get explanations of "it wasn't Covid-19".

Basically, it's human nature to ascribe any cold to novel coronavirus now, and many people will get tested if they can.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

20. Agree. But I am referring to the ratio of positives to total tested

[muriel_volestrangler]

23. What I'm saying is a lot of people have some similar symptoms, so think they could have it

and get tested on that basis, though they turn out to not to have Covid-19. So you can have lots of negative tests.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

24. Understood 👍. But what I recall is that those people

were first tested for regular flu and only got covid test if they failed. Who knows, maybe this was just an isolated protocol. Maybe they skipped that strategy.

I have got to get over that we will never know the details on what happened. And now that Disphit has stopped national medical briefings and Florida said they were done reporting, we will never know.

[roamer65]

21. I am one of those.

Early January and it was the weirdest bug I’ve ever had.

Really fit the symptoms of CV.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

25. But you weren't tested

[roamer65]

26. Correct.

I want an antibody test so I can find out if I would be a good plasma donor.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

27. Me too. Guess I am mixing topics her, sorry

I agree,. Many more positive than reported. I am only referring to the vast # of negatives reported vs positives.

[Takket]

17. First responders and medical personnel

We’re probably tested regardless of whether they asked for it or not. That’s a lot of people.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

18. And that is of course duly necessary. Just seems a

different category to me, maybe I am wrong - they would all still be members of the community.