I've had a chance to examine my model in light of evidence from South Korea that I collected from the Johns Hopkins CoronaVirus Resource Center (https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html.) South Korea has clearly had one of the best if not the best COVID-19 mitigation strategy that has a centerpiece aggressive testing. Therefore, South Korea's numbers should be the most up to date and accurate.
As of 16 March 2020, South Korea's numbers are:
Johns Hopkins doesn't breakdown the deaths by age group, however, I entered what I believe are realistic numbers into the fields. Here are the results:
Age Ranges, Years | Rate of Death | Reported Deaths | Projected Number of Infected at Present (based on average time of illness until death) | Projected number of who are infected now | Projected number of deaths based on the number currently infected (based on average time of illness until death) |
80 plus | 0.148 | 21 | 142 | 803 | 119 |
70-79 | 0.08 | 17 | 213 | 1202 | 96 |
60-69 | 0.036 | 13 | 361 | 2043 | 74 |
50-59 | 0.013 | 8 | 615 | 3481 | 45 |
40-49 | 0.004 | 7 | 1750 | 9899 | 40 |
30-39 | 0.002 | 4 | 2000 | 11314 | 23 |
20-29 | 0.002 | 4 | 2000 | 11314 | 23 |
10-19 | 0.002 | 1 | 500 | 2828 | 6 |
0-9 | 0.0 | 0 | 948 | 5360 | 0 |
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Infection rate | 2.0 |
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Average time of illness until death (weeks) | 2.5 |
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Total Infected based on current number of deaths | 8528 |
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Total Infected Now | 48244 |
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Total number of deaths | 75 |
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Projected total number of deaths based on the current number of infected individuals | 424 |
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The numbers to focus on are "Total Infected based on current number of deaths" and the "Total number of deaths." I'm assuming that the total number of infected in South Korea is close to being complete. I'm estimating that South Korea has 8528 infected individuals. However, because of the lack of testing in the US, I would estimate that when the US reaches 75 deaths, that in reality there are 48244 infected. And that the US will see 424 deaths within 2.5 weeks.
I noted one flaw in my estimator. Every cell of reported deaths from 80 plus to 10-19 must have a number other than zero to achieve a reasonable number of infected estimate for that age group. I'll see if I can build in correction mechanism that would enable one to enter zero for an age group and still have a reasonable estimate of the number who are infected.
Update: Estimate of the Number of Infected in the US Based on Current Number of Deaths (16 March 2020)
As of today, the number of COVID-19 deaths is 74. Based on that information, here's what I estimate to be the number of infected.
Age Ranges, Years | Rate of Death | Reported Deaths | Projected Number of Infected at Present (based on average time of illness until death) | Projected number of who are infected now | Projected number of deaths based on the number currently infected (based on average time of illness until death) |
80 plus | 0.148 | 21 | 142 | 803 | 119 |
70-79 | 0.08 | 17 | 213 | 1202 | 96 |
60-69 | 0.036 | 13 | 361 | 2043 | 74 |
50-59 | 0.013 | 8 | 615 | 3481 | 45 |
40-49 | 0.004 | 7 | 1750 | 9899 | 40 |
30-39 | 0.002 | 4 | 2000 | 11314 | 23 |
20-29 | 0.002 | 3 | 1500 | 8485 | 17 |
10-19 | 0.002 | 1 | 500 | 2828 | 6 |
0-9 | 0.0 | 0 | 885 | 5007 | 0 |
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Infection rate | 2.0 |
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Average time of illness until death (weeks) | 2.5 |
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Total Infected based on current number of deaths | 7966 |
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Total Infected Now | 45062 |
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Total number of deaths | 74 |
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Projected total number of deaths based on the current number of infected individuals | 419 |
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I decided to use fundamentally the same distribution pattern as I estimated for South Korea. These are the results:
- The estimate for the number infected throughout the US this day is 45,062.
- 7966 people were infected 2.5 weeks ago.
- Approximately 2.5 weeks from today (end of March, first of April) I estimate 419 people will have died from COVID-19. I suspect that's a low estimate. If 17% of those infected require hospitalization at one point or another, I suspect that many will not receive treatment because of lack of resources and personnel. And many more will die due only to the lack of treatment because of the lack of preparation.
A Second Update Regarding the US (16 March 2020)
I just heard that the number of deaths is 80. So based on that new number, these are my estimates:
Age Ranges, Years | Rate of Death | Reported Deaths | Projected Number of Infected at Present (based on average time of illness until death) | Projected number of who are infected now | Projected number of deaths based on the number currently infected (based on average time of illness until death) |
80 plus | 0.148 | 24 | 162 | 917 | 136 |
70-79 | 0.08 | 18 | 225 | 1273 | 102 |
60-69 | 0.036 | 13 | 361 | 2043 | 74 |
50-59 | 0.013 | 10 | 769 | 4351 | 57 |
40-49 | 0.004 | 7 | 1750 | 9899 | 40 |
30-39 | 0.002 | 4 | 2000 | 11314 | 23 |
20-29 | 0.002 | 3 | 1500 | 8485 | 17 |
10-19 | 0.002 | 1 | 500 | 2828 | 6 |
0-9 | 0.0 | 0 | 908 | 5139 | 0 |
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Infection rate | 2.0 |
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Average time of illness until death (weeks) | 2.5 |
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Total Infected based on current number of deaths | 8176 |
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Total Infected Now | 46250 |
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Total number of deaths | 80 |
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Projected total number of deaths based on the current number of infected individuals | 453 |
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- The estimate for the number infected throughout the US this day is 46,250.
- 8176 people were infected 2.5 weeks ago.
- Approximately 2.5 weeks from today (end of March, first of April) I estimate 453 people will have died from COVID-19.