We Live In A Viral World.
There's A Perfect Storm On The Horizon.
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Don’t we all want our YouTube video or Instagram post to go viral? You know, where 24 hours after the post, there are millions of likes and shares and people all over the world are suddenly aware of you and your message? I wonder how many people think about the etymology of ‘going viral’? They are probably more aware today.
I am writing this newsletter on the day the Dow had its largest percentage drop since 2008 and its largest-ever drop in points (closing at 23,851). The data I am using will change. Fast. After-all ‘Data is Energy’.
I have used data from this site - mainly because it is easier to extract the numbers than from the excellent Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by Johns Hopkins CSSE. The numbers are in synch, though Hopkins does seem more up to date. For example, their US ‘case number’ is 607 - on the site I am using 551. But my point is about comparison, not absolute numbers.
The Data
(I chose the 11 most severely affected countries and then looked at percentages). This is where I put the raw data.
My observations;
The USA and France are the only two countries that have a death rate higher than a recovery rate.
The USA has the lowest number of cases per head of population.
I will resist diving into the politics and preparedness of the United States and avoid discussing the administration’s reporting, planning and response. I simply want to ask, if ‘everything is under control’, does that data make sense to you?
The Perfect Storm
Uber has announced that it will offer drivers 14 days sick leave if they fall ill with coronavirus.
This is mind-boggling. Their usual message is that they have no drivers and they have been arguing that case in courts all over the world. Suddenly they feel responsible. That aside, here’s the problem.
By the time you fall ill, you have been likely carrying the disease and infecting others for a while.
In America;
40% of Americans don’t have $400 in the bank for emergency expenses,
27.5% have no healthcare coverage and the remainder with insurance still worry about how much of the cost will actually be covered and paid by insurance.
Under these conditions;
are people going to stay home when they start exhibiting the early symptoms?
will they stop working and self isolate themselves?
If you and your family were as close to financial ruin as I just described, would you?
Just remember this when you;
catch an Uber or Lyft or Ola or even a Taxi,
have your food delivered through Uber Eats, Door Dash or even Dominos,
take receipt of that new gizmo that you ordered from Amazon.
The service people you are paying are primarily ‘gig workers’ and the service costs so little because gig workers are paid so little that they can’t afford to be ill.
Hopefully, I’m wrong, but I have a suspicion that the US numbers are going to get a lot worse, no matter how the government tries to spin the numbers.
‘I don’t need to have the numbers (of confirmed U.S. coronavirus cases) double because of one ship that wasn’t our fault’
I’ll come back and revisit this in a month and see where we are.
This Week’s Eight Pillar Index.
My thanks for your continued support and attention. Please like the post, share through your social channels of choice and forward the email to colleagues, friends and family that want to join us on this journey. I truly appreciate all of your support and all your comments (positive and negative).
