Role of Media in Corona Testing
“Don’t forget, we have more cases than anybody in the world. But why? Because we do more testing,” Trump said. “When you test, you have a case. They [the media] don’t want to write that.”
Does anybody in the world support this view? Is it even logical?
Actually Trump is right, he just didn't word it properly.
In countries around the world, we have seen spiking number of new cases on a daily basis. Few people understand that if there are 1000 new cases today, it doesn't mean that 1000 people got infected today! It's just that 1000 new cases were detected today. These people could have been infected earlier and there may still be many who have the infection but haven't been detected. That is what Trump really meant: the more we test, the greater likelihood of more cases.
Of course, this does not mean that we should stop testing just to keep the numbers down. That's only going to bring down the number of known cases, not the actual cases. What we should do is stop sensationalizing the numbers. The media has to do this.
We have seen in the United States and elsewhere that daily announcements of increasing number of cases and periodical announcements of doubling, are creating a huge panic and anxiety amongst the population. Naturally we want everybody to stay safe and take all precautions such as wearing masks in public and frequent hand-washing, but do we want to instill a sense of fear and paranoia?
In my opinion, the media should tone down the daily announcements of new cases. Nobody has watched the stock exchange tickers as closely as they watch corona virus tickers. And to what end? If today's number is below 500, I will go out. This statement has absolutely no basis in science or epidemiology!
Comparing yesterday's numbers to today is meaningless. Maybe yesterday only 10000 people were tested and 400 tested positive and today 40000 have been tested and 800 are positive. The number has gone up from 400 to 800. That absolutely does not mean that the infection is spreading!
- The number of new cases on a daily basis would be of significance only if 100% testing has been done; and that isn't practical.
The most important thing to know is if you, or a member of your household is infected. How many others are, is irrelevant. We are fortunate in UAE to have so many testing facilities at hospitals, drive-throughs and now testing at home by the Avivo Group. I would encourage everyone to get themselves tested if they are in the vulnerable group or have symptoms or suspect that they might have been exposed. And, please, stop checking the corona ticker.