Covid-19 case counting is a mess. Usually it's based on "the PCR test" which is actually a group of many different tests (the chains they test on can be differe

Covid-19 case counting is a mess. Usually it's based on "the PCR test" which is actually a group of many different tests (the chains they test on can be different and the number of cycles can be different as well). Cases may go undetected, so testing-after-symptoms is very different than testing-random-population-sample. Sometime cases are filed based on symptoms alone. Hence we know very little about the number of C19 cases. This was also a problem with the flu: they were always estimates. I prefer to look at excess all cause mortality (per 100 inhabitants) or z-index to get a grip on the size/movement of this pandemic. Most developed nations keep track of deaths very well.