Next phase

Worldwide (Map) 
August 12, 2021 – 204,965,350 confirmed infections; 4,328,770 deaths
July 15, 2021 – 1,888,565,400 confirmed infections; 4,061,275 deaths

US (Map)
August 12, 2021 – 36,198,200 confirmed infections; 618,520 deaths
July 15, 2021 – 33,952,000 confirmed infections; 608,120 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
August 12, 2021 – 2,554,300 confirmed infections; 75,775 deaths
July 15, 2021 – 2,236,800 confirmed infections; 65,595 deaths

Tracking coronavirus vaccinations around the world >>

News blues

Kids and Covid.

The timing of the latest COVID-19 surge [in the US] isn’t great for children. Millions have already started the school year, the rest will do so in the coming weeks, and COVID-19 vaccines aren’t yet available.
Vaccine availability will not bring this pediatric outbreak to a halt. But it will help curb the spread of the virus for everyone, and give many families a better sense of how to plan for the future. Particularly for the 50 million Americans who haven’t reached their 12th birthday.

Read “Why Is It Taking So Long to Get Vaccines for Kids?” 

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SA administered its nine-millionth Covid-19 vaccination on Wednesday, making a positive milestone in the country's battle to stem the coronavirus.
But while this was an important victory, the number of new Covid-19 related deaths recorded in the past 24 hours — 573, according to the health department and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases — is a reminder that the fight is far from over.

Read more >> 

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The Lincoln Project Back to school  (0:30 mins)
MeidasTouch …Infrastructure…  (1:13 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Pacific north-west prepares for triple-digit temperatures just weeks after heat resulted in hundreds of deaths in region  ... and, in Sicily, the highest recorded temperature, 48.8C /119.8F . 

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Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I reside in two different Bay Area counties, Contra Costa and Alameda. CCC, the county in which my houseboat is moored – and I’ve resided in for the past 2.5 months since returning from South Africa – has, for California, a high rate of Covid infections. This, because residents in certain parts of the county (including many marina residents) indulge the Trumpie mindset and hold confused and confusing ideas about “freedom” (freedom to avoid vaccinations and get Covid but Covid doesn’t really exist anyway, it’s all a Democrat Plan to take away our Freedom, Fauci works for Wuhan labs, Gates implants microchips via vaccines, etc., etc.). In other words, residents of this county hold mixed bags of ideologies, some of which promise to lead to infections. For health – and sanity - I maintain social distance with marina residents, ensure there’s lots of fresh air between us, never enter anyone’s boat, and take basic precautions to avoid infection.
The other county, edging the Bay and directly across from San Francisco, is Covid conscious with far fewer anti-vaxxers.
I’m heading back to that county and, for the next several months, these are my last few days living fulltime on my boat. As of Sunday, I return to the inner bay island city in which I have a condo. This, as I begin another stint of short-term work - after two years out of the workplace. I’ll also be back in cooler weather tempered by fog and bay breezes.
I’ll be back to ye olde 8 to 5 worker-bee slog and a long commute with thousands of other one-per-vehicle commuters – choosing to drive to work instead of my usual option, public transportation. It’s about the math: 1.5 to 1.75 hours getting to work via public transportation – bus, train – as opposed to 40 minutes by personal vehicle.
This will be the first time in years that I elect personal over public transportation – egged on by an additional advantage: not fretting about whether the person sitting next to me on public transportation has been vaccinated or is quietly spreading virulent coronavirus. I’m not overly cautious, but recent news about the efficacy of available vaccines against the Delta variant is worrisome. 
I enjoy life. 

Why risk it?