To the Editor:
JoyRide shutting down in Wilton is very unfortunate news. I believe the related “business virus” will be as bad as the COVID-19 virus. It will be interesting how the business virus cases get reported by the government and media. Towns provide daily updates summarizing the negative and unfortunate side of the health equation, including Wilton: Cases; Deaths; Fatalities; Hospitalizations.
Further reporting by the State Government is more in-depth–a 9-page pdf from May 1, for example. It lists very granular details: Cases by town; Hospitalization by County; Death by county; Specimen collection dates; Death by date; Death by age; Cases by age and ethnicity; Deaths by Ethnicity.
It will be interesting to see how the business virus and associated deaths get reported. Will we see daily updates to this level of detail about “business virus” cases, such as layoffs by city and furloughs by gender and race? Which businesses are “hospitalized” and in which county due to collapsed revenues or outbreak of receivables rash? What about how many businesses by county and town that are going on the equivalent of a ventilator due to loan defaults, failed take-out service plans, and even suicide prevention watches? Will business deaths by age, town, and for-sure date also be part of the morning coffee break each day?
By my count, there were two private spin gyms in Wilton–JoyRide and Elevation–before the news of JoyRide closing. If Elevation goes out of business, I get the feeling the media report and State stats about the “business virus” would read, “Covid Wipes Out Every Spin Gym In Wilton,” and the spreadsheet accompanying the article would say, “Cases: 2; Deaths: 2; Business Fatalities–Spin Gyms in Wilton: 100%. Think of the message that would send and its impact.
I am not mitigating the health side of the virus story and yet, to that point, see another side to the story. I am just ready for and think more about the positive side of this COVID story. After all, 99.19% of Connecticut’s 3,563,000 people do not have a case of COVID. Viewed in a half-full sort of way, 99.93% of Connecticut residents have not died from COVID. How will the business side of the story look?
Kevin Kane
How do you know how many in CT have actually been infected with CoViD?
No one knows the answer to how many infections there have been because the state has not conducted widespread and random serology testing. But the higher the number of cases, the lower the fatality rate.
Hi John – my numerator was the 28,764 COVID Cases shown on page 1 of the link included. Thanks, Kevin