303,500

Deaths have been getting into numbers that are the equivalent of "major league" size cities in the past week or so. We have passed Orlando, Greensboro, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and today St Louis. Immediately ahead is St.Paul.

One of my oldest and closest friends, 75-years old, tested positive for coronavirus today. She had been feeling achy and fatigued since coming back from a plane trip with her husband. God keep her.

The Sunday-Monday reporting lag held. "Only" 1,523 dead reported out by Johns Hopkins yesterday, Dec. 14; "only" 1,389 on Sunday the 13th.

Cumulative Cases, like my friend's, now stand at 16.71M and are rising about 200,000 per day. 192,805 Monday the 14th, 191,378 Sunday.

The New York Times seven-day Cases average has toggled level-ish in the last four iterations and is at 209,600 for Dec.8-14. Level is a good thing in COVID. The seven-day Deaths line is not toggling, it's doing the stair-master and is climbing at about a 50-degree angle. 2,541 Dec.8-14. 

In the Times 14-day averages, Cases are up 31%, Hospitalizations +18% and Deaths a staggering +65%.