The State Health Department reported 9 new deaths today, though the delay in death certificates does not mean those are all from yesterday. Any one day is not necessarily a major data point from the state level (it clearly is to those knowing someone that died). It is the mass of larger numbers occurring at the end of September and into October that should be of concern because these are increasing as the COVID positivity rates are rising.

We really need to start worrying about the positivity increase and the resulting stress on medical facilities and possible increases in fatalities (see for example the Ward county graph I posted today).

At some level it feels like the long delay in COVID issues impacting health systems is over. The persistent increases in positivity eventually manifested in the deaths and hospitalizations warned about for a long time.