What is the difference between an uptick and a surge?

The term “up tick” comes from the stock market, and describes a price movement that is merely higher than the last previous different price. In the 1900’s a stock could increase by an eighth of a dollar, that would be an uptick. So it is a de minimus change.

A surge implies and wide spread sudden increase.

The infection rate is definitely surging.

Thanks @zenvelo , I think so as well.

An uptick is a slight increase where a surge is a large increase. Don’t know what’s happening in Canada; but in my neck of the woods, we’re having a surge but some just don’t want to admit to it!!! It seems our governor is choosing to IGNORE everything until it finally goes away. The governor of SC is admitting to a surge but says he won’t close down businesses & it’s up to the citizens to take care of themselves by wearing masks & practicing social distancing. Yet he won’t make it a law that masks must be worn. I’m still in the phase where I assume that everyone with whom I come in contact has the virus, so I wear my mask & stand 6 feet behind the person in front of me & I remind the person behind me when they are getting too close. I have a potty mouth & I’ve learned some new curse words during all this!!!

Uptick I think of as numbers rising, and we need to keep an eye on it. Outbreak is bigger. Epidemic is even bigger. Epidemic is when it is spreading outside of localized areas. The CDC probably has thresholds for these things. For flu data the CDC has a weekly map and uses terms like sporadic, localized activity, widespread, for each state. There are more terms, but I don’t remember them all. I don’t know if they are using the same map for COVID.

@JLeslie An epidemic is an outbreak co an illness confined to an area. We are in a pandemic meaning an epidemic that does not have boundaries.

Super true @zenvelo And it has touched every corner of the globe, countries that locked down fast and got right with it with testing and contact tracing are doing the best so far, but round two is coming and I think the nightmare is just beginning.

I know we are in a pandemic, but numbers will go up and down in each country. Last I looked Taiwan, China, South Korea had fairly low caseload. Caseload will vary state to state also.

I think most notably COVID19 will become endemic in the US. At least for some years.

Uptick-hoping for and/or imagining the best case
Surge-hoping for and/or imagining the worst case

Without a doubt, with a few exceptions, the general Fluther attitude would embrace surge

Never mind the fluther attitude. The “uptick” predictions came in March when the death toll in the states was at 30,000. It was then predicted that things would peak in May with deaths at 45–60,000 and an uptick with the end of lockdown in June. The toll now stands at 130,000.So are the additional 70,000 deaths an uptick or a surge? The way things are going, today’s 70,000 surge will be regarded in our future as an uptick when compared to what’s coming.

Some will argue the additional 70,000 is “holding steady” and able to handle the patient load.

So now June18th what we have seen in he us in the last few days up tick, or surge?

Orange County Florida just put in a face mask order starting this Saturday. Parts of Florida are reacting to the uptick/surge in cases. I’ll call it an uptick if we can bring it back down. Let’s see what happens.

SQUEEKY2 The regrettable necessity to underestimate this disease is going to cost us tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths. The optimistic uptick guess as the plan for the future is a colossal failure in leadership, plain and simple. But then again, we get the leaders we deserve. The vaccine will be here eventually. Meanwhile, I’ll sit here and watch the procession of maskless sheep prodded toward sacrifice to the dubious rescue of the economy and the mystical hope of the fool’s re-election. The initial panic of the sheep stampeding to swamp the toilet paper aisles has now subsided to the routine conditioning of the flock. Why worry about anything too small to shoot? It’s zombies and undocumented kids that keep me up nights.