Uncharted territory

Internet access was down all day. The reason? Who knows? Something to do with Telkom, South Africa’s state-owned telephone company. I’ve had other not-so-confident-inspiring run ins with Telkom, so don’t get me started….

News blues…

South Africa is 5th on the list of countries hit with highest rates of Covid-19 infections.
In terms of numbers of people per 100,000 infected, South Africa is 3rd ,with 661/100,000.
US tops the list with 1,881 people/100,000
2nd is Brazil with 1,011/100,000
4th is India with 85/100,000
5th is Russia with 541/100,000
It’s bad out there.
We’re in uncharted territory: a novel (never encountered) coronavirus, mind-bogglingly bad – verging on criminal – leadership, foundering health services, failing economies, and increasing suffering among humans.
But as the old adage states, "the show must go on."

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New rules around quarantine and self-isolation in South Africa
South African’s health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has revised the recommended isolation and quarantine period for South Africans who have tested positive for Covid-19.

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US’s director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said New York has set an example for the rest of the country of how to successfully bring down cases of coronavirus.

[The US has] a problem. We need to admit it and own it. But we have got to do the things that are very clear that we need to do to turn this around, remembering we can do it… We know that, when [done] properly, you bring down those cases….We have done it in New York. New York got hit worse than any place in the world. And they did it correctly…."
As cases in other parts of the country continue to surge and hit new record highs, Fauci believes that the key to containing the virus is to get the tests in the right place at the right time…. [and] “in the right manner… get them to the right people who can do the proper identification, isolation and contact tracing, and even go beyond that - to be able to test more widely in a more surveillance way, so you can get a feel for the extent and the penetrance of this community spread."
Fauci said all he can do is plead with people to be consistent and take the advice of health professionals.

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In a breakthrough that could help experts better treat COVID-19 patients, a group of scientists have realised the existence of six distinct types of coronavirus, all with their own symptoms.
A new study done by researchers from King’s College London, collated via a COVID Symptom Study app has revealed that different forms of the virus are directly affecting the severity of symptoms among patients.
These findings have huge implications for the management and treatment of COVID-19, as it could help doctors predict who is most at risk and likely to need professional care.…
The team managed to break the six forms down as follows:
1. (‘flu-like’ with no fever): Headache, loss of smell, muscle pains, cough, sore throat, chest pain, no fever.
2. (‘flu-like’ with fever): Headache, loss of smell, cough, sore throat, hoarseness, fever, loss of appetite.
3. (gastrointestinal): Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, diarrhea, sore throat, chest pain, no cough.
4. (severe level one, fatigue): Headache, loss of smell, cough, fever, hoarseness, chest pain, fatigue.
5. (severe level two, confusion): Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, cough, fever, hoarseness, sore throat, chest pain, fatigue, confusion, muscle pain.
6. (severe level three, abdominal and respiratory): Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, cough, fever, hoarseness, sore throat, chest pain, fatigue, confusion, muscle pain, shortness of breath, diarrhea, abdominal pain.
… The pre-print, non-peer reviewed paper is available online: Carole H Sudre et al. Symptom clusters in Covid19: A potential clinical prediction tool from the COVID Symptom study app (2020)

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Talking about shows going on….

• MAR-A-LAGO-VILLE | The Freedom Toast with Parody Project (4:30 mins) 
• DUMB DOWN | The Freedom Toast with Parody Project (2:54 mins) 
• Did you ever imagine the President could act like this? (:53 mins)

The Lincoln Project:

• Trumpfeld  (1:25 mins)
• This is how it starts (1:24 mins) 
• Trump can’t quit us (0:26 mins)
• Wake up  (1:29 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Early this morning, 2:45am SA time, a friend from California called to report an uncontained fire across the road from the marina where I dock my houseboat.
Evacuations from the marina had been ordered.
He emailed me a link to view live news coverage and, with 14,000 miles between us, we watched and commented on the action from the point-of-view of a news helicopter.

Good news for liveaboards and firefighters? Abundant water, courtesy of the San Joaquin River.
Fire consumed more than 75 acres of summer-dry vegetation and trees before it was contained. True, that’s relatively minor in terms of California wild fires and, even from a distance, I could see the marina was out of direct danger.
Nevertheless, small fires can devastate lives and livelihood as easily as conflagrations.

During California’s fire season last year, I and fellow liveaboards received a fire evacuation order issued after midnight via cell phone. Five of us congregated on the pier to discuss the pros and cons of evacuation. We agreed that, since the only road in the area routed through the fire zone, staying aboard was the right option.
An hour later, the evacuation order was lifted.

As California moves into late summer fire season and firefighting crews are on high alert, South Africa’s winter fire season is in full swing, too.
Over the last several days, a white smokey hazy accompanied by the aroma of burning grass and brush has enveloped this area.

The differences in attitude about fire between California and South Africa?
Some say that winter burning is traditional, that burning dry brush lowers the danger of extreme fire hazard – as occur in California – that it stimulates plant growth, and that life cycles of African indigenous plants require a fire phase.
To burn or not to burn? 

Some ecologists …maintain that burning is critical in herbivore management and is necessary for the ecological well-being of grassland and savannah ecosystems. [Others] counter this approach saying that burning is a key contributor to the decline and desertification of grasslands… that while fire can play a useful role in land management, it should be cautiously used with an understanding of soil and plant life … [and that] fire is used excessively by too many farmers; an approach that contributes to soil erosion.

South Africa's Air Quality Act of 2004, for the prevention of pollution and for national norms and standards for the regulation of air quality, appears to refer mainly to emissions from the country’s energy intensive economy and coal-intensive energy system. While South Africa’s emissions profile is high and differs substantially from that of other developing countries at a similar stage of development (as measured by the Human Development Index) air pollution from grass fires is, apparently, acceptable.