  A number of studies have shown that cumulative mortality followed a Gompertz
curve in the initial Covid pandemic period, March-April 2020. We show that the
Gompertz curve is incompatible with expected initial logistic growth curves as
predicted by traditional Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) models, and
propose a new theory which better explains the nature of the mortality
characteristics based on a global biosphere disturbance. Second, we show that
for the Gompertz curve to emerge, the disturbance has to act on everyone
simultaneously, rejecting the possibility of a disease propagation stage.
Third, we connect logistic growth with Gompertzian growth by augmenting the
logistic growth equation with higher order interaction terms, and show that the
SIR model family is compatible with Gompertzian growth only when all nodes in
the transmission network communicate with infinite speed and interaction.
Crucially, this augmentation must be accompanied by a causality-reversal where
the source of growth is not the pool of infected but the pool of susceptible
people. We thus find a novel bridge between logistic and Gompertzian growth,
separate from the existing Richards model (also called $\theta$-logistic
growth).
