Which is good. Despite that, no wards are below the German rollback threshold of 50 new cases per 100,000 per week–which also is the moderate threshold the CDC uses (0.05% in the second column below; n/a is not available):

All wards had large declines in new cases, with the entire city decreasing by 63 percent. Self-reported tests are declining too. While the percent positive rate is still high, so we’re likely missing cases (and Wards 7 and 8 are suspiciously low), it is declining. COVID ICU patients, while still much higher than one would like, also are declining–though we will probably have weeks to go before they return to ‘normal’, which is to say early November. We also have had eighteen deaths this week, and the deaths will keep coming through for weeks as well.

While it’s unclear what the city’s or the country’s long-term strategy is, the good news is that three doses provides pretty good protection against infection and very good protection against hospitalization, so encourage others to get vaccinated. You also can get free, at-home antigen tests at D.C. public libraries, and the online federal site is now up and running. We also need free distribution of good masks, though the federal government will be shipping those at some point.

That said, the failure to plan for contingencies is infurating. It didn’t need to be like this.

Rage is the appropriate emotion.