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In case you’re wondering about the accuracy of the #COVID19 data reports, here’s a little background. (First of many)
I receive information from multiple sources, mostly daily news alerts for terms like “juvenile justice” and “coronavirus and youth.” Stuff like this was part of my job already, though the virus news clips are new.
My colleagues at partner organizations have forwarded news clips I might have missed and alert me to individual cases that haven’t reached the news yet. (“We just heard about a child who was diagnosed in [city] from his lawyer.”) All of these were reported eventually.
Do I think I’m catching everything, no pun intended?
Heck no.
Heck no.
For one, we’re not testing nearly enough Americans to see who has the virus. Given the many, many, many ways that incarcerated children (and adults) are an afterthought in public policy, I’m sure that we’re specifically not testing enough of our incarcerated children.
I know of 53 staff and 39 youth who have tested positive. Though some of these staff are in “non-contact positions” (as one case in Georgia was described), it seems that there should be more infected youth than infected staff. https://www.11alive.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/georgia-coronavirus-updates-real-time-updates-march-25/85-cbdad290-c014-423a-84c2-74511c5deeb4
But I’m not the guy you should quote on THAT question.
Second, there’s no way of knowing which positive tests have reached the news. For a few days, I was misreporting a case out of Washington as a youth when it was apparently staff. It was on this page: https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/coronavirus-covid-19/confirmed-cases) and I don’t believe any website reported on it yet.
A couple locales (literally: two) are doing their reporting quite well. Louisiana, which has done a terrible job containing the virus, is doing a good job reporting its incidence in juvenile facilities. https://ojj.la.gov/ojj-covid-19-information/
Washington, DC, is another. ( #dcstatehoodnow, by the way) https://coronavirus.dc.gov/page/public-safety-agency-covid-19-case-data
And yet, even Louisiana isn’t reporting everything. This article – from Philadelphia! – mentioned a positive test at group home in Baton Rouge. It doesn’t show up in Louisiana’s daily update. https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/coronavirus-juvenile-detention-20200331.html?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar
If you’ve looked at the graphs carefully (e.g., today vs. yesterday) you may wonder how the number increased from, say, 36 to 39 from Monday to Tuesday when there’s only one new diagnosis from Tuesday.
That’s because the graphs show -- as best as reported -- the date of the positive test, not the date I found out about it.
Now, this is all largely more than you need to know. No one’s questioned my numbers yet, but I figure someone will eventually.
Don’t hesitate to email me questions ([email protected]), though please be patient if I don’t answer you right away.
Don’t hesitate to email me questions ([email protected]), though please be patient if I don’t answer you right away.
