[Genuine Realist]

I hope our government will try to determine how those that died earliest may have contacted the disease.   Did they go to China?  Did relatives go to China?   Co-workers?  Or were they more likely victims of community spread, presumably implying others carried the virus to the USA and survived.

In the bigger picture it does show that a few early deaths in any location were apparently easy to categorize in an existing category.  I don't think that implies Santa Clara County was trying to hide deaths, and yet one COULD now claim that the USA, CA or SCC were not open about early deaths and therefore all of those levels of government in the USA should not be trusted.    

I suspect China wanted to hide their total deaths and probable deaths for a number of reasons unique to China's global standing.  Unfortunately for the citizens of the USA, and even the world, those concerns were not fully reflected in the official USA Federal communications early enough.   Sure hope we don't spend the summer of 2020 spending a lot of time on that blame game as the minimizing the potential wave in the winter of 2020/2021 should be the government focus.  

The understanding that there were earlier deaths won't give a lot of comfort to families that have lost loved ones, but maybe it will encourage the Federal government to accelerate antibody testing nationwide.

Nothing would be more encouraging for the USA economy than to determine that a large number of citizens already have antibodies.  It could reveal a much lower fatality rate, and it would also reduce the total fatality projections in models.  The antibody testing could reveal information not yet understood on wall street or main street.  

I am a bit surprised that President Trump's administration has not gone all in on antibody testing ASAP.   Unexpected good news revealed from antibody testing would have a much bigger impact on the economy than those daily press conferences from the White House.

I suspect the logistics of testing are a lot more complex than appears to an outsider.

[Genuine Realist]

I hope our government will try to determine how those that died earliest may have contacted the disease.   Did they go to China?  Did relatives go to China?   Co-workers?  Or were they more likely victims of community spread, presumably implying others carried the virus to the USA and survived.

In the bigger picture it does show that a few early deaths in any location were apparently easy to categorize in an existing category.  I don't think that implies Santa Clara County was trying to hide deaths, and yet one COULD now claim that the USA, CA or SCC were not open about early deaths and therefore all of those levels of government in the USA should not be trusted.    

I suspect China wanted to hide their total deaths and probable deaths for a number of reasons unique to China's global standing.  Unfortunately for the citizens of the USA, and even the world, those concerns were not fully reflected in the official USA Federal communications early enough.   Sure hope we don't spend the summer of 2020 spending a lot of time on that blame game as the minimizing the potential wave in the winter of 2020/2021 should be the government focus.  

The understanding that there were earlier deaths won't give a lot of comfort to families that have lost loved ones, but maybe it will encourage the Federal government to accelerate antibody testing nationwide.

Nothing would be more encouraging for the USA economy than to determine that a large number of citizens already have antibodies.  It could reveal a much lower fatality rate, and it would also reduce the total fatality projections in models.  The antibody testing could reveal information not yet understood on wall street or main street.  

I am a bit surprised that President Trump's administration has not gone all in on antibody testing ASAP.   Unexpected good news revealed from antibody testing would have a much bigger impact on the economy than those daily press conferences from the White House.

I suspect the logistics of testing are a lot more complex than appears to an outsider.