Just a month ago, on May 31, Illinois was nearly at the forefront of the group nationwide in the total number of confirmed COVID cases reported by health officials. Illinois had 122,014 as of that date, according to Worldometer, an independent data service that does a good job of keeping track of the numbers and is the source of the data I’m citing. Illinois only followed New York and New Jersey, and was way ahead of much more populated California, Texas, and Florida.
OMG what a difference a month makes.
Illinois added about 22,000 confirmed cases in June, to a new total of 144,238 as of yesterday. But in California, the total nearly doubled, to 230,891. In Florida, it nearly tripled, to 152,434. It increased by roughly the same rank in Texas, to 167,269. And while Arizona’s total is still lower than ours, the Grand Canyon State cases nearly quadrupled, going from 20,123 to 79,215 in just one month.
In other words, California, Florida and Texas now have significantly more cases than we do. His “leadership” is increasing by thousands of additional cases each day. Arizona is fast approaching, as is Georgia.
All of those states reopened earlier and more extensively than Illinois. Some of them never close at all.
Now some people will shrug and say, “Who cares? It’s just one more test that primarily involves young people who are quickly overcoming their cold.” People like our great president, Donald Trump, who keeps suggesting that if we didn’t look at it, we would have no cases to worry about.
Try saying that to people in the emergency room, morgue, and cemeteries.
Illinois still reports more COVID-related deaths than any of the other states I have mentioned. Probably because Illinois is a transportation hub, the disease spread earlier here than in the sunbelt and when doctors were unable to save people.
But guess that? The same Worldometer data indicates that just as those other states have passed through Illinois in confirmed cases, they are now beginning to bridge the death gap, something that likely continues because death is a lagging indicator of the pandemic.
The data: In Illinois, total reported deaths increased from 5,548 to 7,124 in June, an increase of 28.4 percent. But in California, the jump was from 4,287 to 6,081, an increase of 41.8 percent. In Texas, it increased 46.9 percent, with 2,496 deaths as of yesterday. And in Florida, 42.4 percent more, with 3,505 deaths to date.
They are all pikers compared to Arizona. Total pandemic deaths to date soared 78 percent last month, to 1,632 of 917.
Those are deaths, friends. As in the permanent withdrawal of this good land. It doesn’t just snort from the flu.
Those fatality numbers continue to rapidly worsen. Florida reported 49 new deaths today, and Arizona 88. Texas added 59 deaths yesterday.
Illinois reported 21 additional deaths yesterday.
Those are the facts, folks, regardless of the garbage you are reading somewhere on the Internet. Some states are headed in the right direction. Others head towards the cliff. The numbers don’t lie. Keep that in mind when you decide to go out and what precautions to follow, will you?
The total number of confirmed cases and the percentage increase in deaths in Texas as of June 30 have been corrected in this updated story.
