The Spread of COVID-19 is Increasing throughout the Southeast

There continues to be a misleading narrative going around that the recent increase in the number of new cases of COVID-19 is just due to the increase in testing. This is provably false. Even accounting for the increase in testing, new cases in both Alabama and Tennessee have increased by more than 40%, as I discussed in my last post (https://christianbsmart.com/the-spread-of-covid-19-is-increasing/).

If that is not enough evidence for you, consider another metric that is independent of testing – the cumulative number of hospitalizations. In nine southeastern states, the median increase in this statistic over the last month (May 21st – June 21st) is 45%. See the table below.

Arkansas has had the biggest increase, but it is rising from a relatively low level and still has fewer hospitalizations than any of the other states on this list. Alabama has the second highest increase at 61%.

The numbers don’t lie – the spread is increasing. The increase in the number of new cases is not just due to testing.