@mypeez : Agreed, I'd like to see a breakdown like that too. I actually do think, in hindsight, that we could have shut down Chicagoland and left downstate open longer than we did, but without testing being in place from the federal govt, we had no way to know that. I also suspect that Chicagoland will level off while it eventually takes off here...but whether that will happen in the next month, or not until December, who knows.Bottom line is we need lots of testing in place, after which we can make more nuanced decisions about how to open things up and shut things down. Without the metrics, you have to assume worst case scenarios to protect people.

IHME update this afternoon nearly doubled the projected deaths.

IHME added social distancing and testing by State over the weekend.covid19.healthdata.o rg/united-states-of- america/illinois

Travelers brought this virus into Chicago from different parts of the world. Not allowing travel was one thing the protected the rest of the state.
Its like the rest of the state feels like their being punished because of this. The crazy part is it hasn't become like N.Y. that's a good thing.

IHME revised upward again to 147,040 thru Aug 4. We're just under 86k as of May 14.

Notice how the IHME is only projecting thru Aug 4. This graph is now making the rounds. Note the timelines of the second & third waves of the 1918 Spanish Flu.

It's almost like a con man business man took over the country and ran it into the ditch. I bet he's wishing he could declare bankruptcy and get out of dodge like he's done his entire career.

Just saw a news article about Abbott Laboratory testing missing many positive Covid situations, by stating they are negative. Not good.

@mypeez : One thing that gives me pause on graphs like this is that the southern hemisphere (with Australia being of most interest, since the other countries probably don't have dependable stats) should be going through their fall season now, which in theory would be when the virus should start ramping up there. We haven't heard about a recent increasing spike in deaths there, though. Similarly, a few months ago when it was still summer there, the death rate was a little higher than expected for summer months. I'm not sure how much the weather is a factor with this virus. Flu viruses and corona (like the cold) viruses are a little different. You can commonly catch colds in the summer, but how often have you caught flu then?

Somewhere during all this I ran across a graph showing how long the virus survives on certain surfaces, and it was broken down by sunshine, temperature and humidity. I'll try to find it again and post it here. I honestly don't recall if it was even from a reputable site.

Sunshine and Summer weather are not the answer to dealing with the virus....I hope for a good treatment until there is a vaccine.

@ClaudeK : During his campaign he did at one point express support of the possibility of allowing the U.S. to default. Renegotiating... is a form of default. He did try to walk this back like he tries to walk everything back.

Suburban school districts are leaning towards continuing e-learning until 2021.

2008 new cases yesterday. Nothing has changed in a month. The % of positives vs. total testing done isn't in a downward trend. According to WHO, that percentage will be consistently below 15% and be trending downward when communities have the virus managed.Don't believe it when the government says we're doing great. He's only trying to make uneducated workers think their lives are less important than the economy. Economies can be rebuilt. Businesses can recover. But once you're dead? Game over. Stay home. Wear a mask. Think for yourself. Don't watch Fox News. Ask your personal Healthcare provider for medical advice not the angry guys with guns. Be safe!

Contact tracing has been a major tool in fighting coronavirus in other countries. We're going to need to do the same. 18,000 workers have already been hired and thousands more are needed. I've already applied through my current gig work employer. A Google search for contact tracing yields more results than I expected. $15-$22 an hour, work from home, make a difference. m.huffpost.com/us/en try/us_5ebd9dc1c5b66 e2790db1035