April 10, 2020

COVID-19 Testing Is Finally Going Well in the US

Compared to other countries, how are we doing with COVID-19 testing? Pretty well:

Up through mid-March our testing rate was terrible, but by early April it had picked up and has been rising steadily ever since. As of today, it’s better than nearly every European country except Italy and Switzerland.

It’s worth noting that testing data is notoriously variable, so this is more a ballpark estimate than a solid report. Also, data is not available for every country. France, for example, has data only through early March, and Germany has no data at all.¹ Still, this chart has some value. We’ll need to up our testing game before we can reopen the economy, but we’re starting from a pretty good baseline.

¹At least, no data that’s reliable enough for the Our World in Data folks to report. Other estimates have put the German testing rate at around 0.6 per thousand, slightly higher than the US number.

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A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With only days left until December 31, we've raised about half of our $400,000 goal—but we need a huge surge in reader support to close the remaining gap. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

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