Dr Fauci says positive test numbers not good indicator

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Of the scope of CoVid-19 but that total number of hospitalization from Covid-19 are much better indication of spread of virus.

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Right, because the other positive cases which don't require hospitalization don't add to the spread of the disease?

I believe the number of positive cases is a better indication of the spread than just the number of hospitalizations.

I'd like to see the exact quote.

But if he's saying we should focus on the number hospitalized, available beds, ventilators. That makes sense.

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the OPs framing makes it seem as if overall infected isn’t important. It is a part of a larger equation.

But the part that the government is almost worried about is how prepared we are for the potential number of hospitalizations and ICU patients.

.......and, the goal posts moved again.

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I believe the number of positive cases is a better indication of the spread than just the number of hospitalizations.

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I actually think the hospitilization is better indicator. I have a neighbor who we are pretty positive her and her family have it. Can’t smell. Can’t taste. Tested neg for the flu. But they told her they didn’t have enough kits and wouldn’t test them. There’s a lot of cases that aren’t confirmed cases.

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believe the number of positive cases is a better indication of the spread than just the number of hospitalizations.


If we actually tested every single person yes. But the hospitalization rates indicate the severity of the problem.

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Exactly. Positive cases are just a function of testing. And there are vast numbers of positives who are asymptomatic or who have mild symptoms. They are not getting tested. Hospitalizations tells you where you really are.

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I'm no scientist or numbers person but that makes no sense. SO many infected are not in the hospital ... to me the numbers are indeed a good indicator of the spread.

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It makes some sense. The fact is, we can't test everyone for the virus. As a result, there's very likely a lot of positive cases that are unknown. At some point later on, we can try to make estimates of this overall rate, but at this time it's not too likely we could have good estimates. That doesn't help us at this point. But if someone is sick enough to be hospitalized, that's more likely to be known, as opposed to the asymptomatic or mild cases that are unknown. Under reporting of this number is less likely. Thus, there is less uncertainty surrounding the number of hospitalized relative to the number of positive cases. Of course, though, you don't want to get too tied up with a single number, it's best to look at everything.