MEMPHIS, Tenn. — In tonight’s Ransom Note: we’ve promised since the beginning of COVID-19 that facts not fear would be our priority here. This to give this awful pandemic some meaning and context.
But that requires consistent, reliable information from our public health agencies.
We know this Omicron variant is up to 70 times more contagious than Delta, which is concerning. But we also know this variant appears to be less dangerous.
So, when the health department tells us, as they did last Friday, that new COVID cases in Shelby County spiked to almost 13 hundred, just shy of 300 percent over a three-day period, and that we have to wait four days to get the updated numbers, that’s frustrating.
But here’s where context comes in.
While that spike in new cases may seem scary, doctors are telling us that with Omicron, data on new hospitalizations matters more because we can better gauge how many of the new cases turn severe.
But right now, that data only comes out once a week.
And last Thursday, we learned the number of COVID patients in metro area hospitals shot up more than 50 percent and you bet that’s concerning.
So tonight, ABC24 News is asking these numbers to go back to being released daily, just like they were in the last surge.
It’s up to these officials to help us help you stay informed.
I’d love to hear what you think. Join the conversation by email (rransom@abc24.com), Facebook, or Twitter.