In a recent opinion piece, John Locke Foundation senior fellow Joe Coletti argues that a lack of both context and transparency from Gov. Ray Cooper's administration is hampering efforts to properly understand the COVID-19 pandemic. | Pixabay
In a recent opinion piece, John Locke Foundation senior fellow Joe Coletti argues that a lack of both context and transparency from Gov. Ray Cooper's administration is hampering efforts to properly understand the COVID-19 pandemic. | Pixabay
A senior fellow at the John Locke Foundation questioned the way numbers are often offered by Gov. Ray Cooper’s administration without context, and taken up by members of the press without question.
The foundation fellow, Joe Coletti, offered his observations in a July 30 op/ed published in the Carolina Journal.
Coletti used as an example May 23, the first day that North Carolina had more than 1,000 positive COVID-19 tests reported in a day. However, he concluded that coupled with the number of test results reported on that day, the percentage of positive results was 4.2%, compared to the 14-day average of 7% That has remained nearly flat since June 6.
Additionally, Coletti stated that the hospitalization rates for the state, when taken within the context of lab-confirmed cases, has been steadily dropping, from 20% in late May to 11% in late June and down to 9.6% in late July.
Finding the truth, he claimed, has only been complicated by issues with transparency that have already spawned lawsuits from news organizations.
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