Virus Fatality Picture Is Obscured by Ultimate Lagging Indicator (Correct)

The Trump administration has highlighted an apparent disconnect between rising cases and declining mortality as proof the Covid-19 pandemic is under control.

“Fatalities are declining all across the country,” Vice President <-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbHref":"bbg://people/profile/3509248","_id":"00000172-fd9f-d229-a177-fdffbbf90001","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b-d57ba1cc0000"}">Mike Pence said at a coronavirus task-force briefing in Washington on Friday. He called the rise in new cases in people under 35 “very encouraging news,” saying they aren’t as likely to die from Covid-19.

However, the mismatch appears to be more an anomaly caused by quirks in how deaths data is collected and reported, along with a greater number of younger people catching the contagion, than a sign the coronavirus is ...