CHART OF THE DAY: Viruses Are Viral

A few pieces of data to highlight:

• The R naught, or transmission rate, of Covid-19 is now above 1 in 46 of 50 States. The positive test rate in the U.S. is also sitting at around 5%, which is roughly a doubling from a month ago
• Globally, positive daily COVID-19 tests are at all-time highs as of yesterday coming in at just under 480,000 cases
• Much of Western Europe, specifically the U.K., Spain, France, Italy and Germany are well above their highs in daily new cases versus the first wave in March - April

Although we have much better treatment, testing and tracing, and vaccine progress for COVID-19, it doesn’t change the fact that viruses are viral. There is a positive to the pandemic, which is that the we are likely to have one of the weakest common (for lack of a better word) flu seasons on record. The Chart of the Day below highlights current flu cases in the Southern Hemisphere so far this year versus prior years.