“Mutant variants”

Worldwide (Map) 
February 4 – 104,367,000 confirmed infections; 2,268,000 deaths
December 31 – 82,656000 confirmed infections; 1,8040100 deaths

US (Map) 
February 4 – 26,555,000 confirmed infections; 450,680 deaths
December 31 – 19,737,200 confirmed infections; 342,260 deaths

SA (Tracker)  
February 4 – 1,463,016 confirmed infections; 45,344 deaths
December 31 – 1,039,165 confirmed infections; 28,035 deaths

News blues…

News from US on Covid variants and hybrids, aka “mutant variants”  – scroll to minute 18:26 – of 37:50 mins. Dr. Celine Gounder says, “this is absolutely not the time to let down your guard. You need to double down on the masking, the social distancing, the sanitizing, the good ventilation, the sticking to your ‘household bubbles’…”
Finally, after a year of Trump and Trumpie nonsense and total lack of a concerted effort to quell the pandemic, it feels like the Biden administration is getting a handle on things. (Remember Trumpisms such as “like a miracle it will disappear”, “hydroxychloroquine is a cure all”, “inject light into the body”, and “swallow disinfectant”?)

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© 2021 Joe Heller - Hellertoon.com 

After 37 years on the road, Greyhound and Citiliner, South Africa, are going out of business, ostensibly because of Covid-19 restrictions:

“Declining passenger numbers and poor regulatory compliance in the bus passenger industry has resulted in both our brands - Greyhound and Citiliner - incurring significant losses for several years,” said Unitrans Passenger in a statement on Wednesday evening.
“The impact of Covid-19 regulations limiting inter-provincial travel and coach occupancy levels, and the closure of the Zimbabwe and Mozambique borders have exacerbated the situation," it added. 

(In the US, Greyhound - some of us call it Groundhog - continues to ply the highways and bi-ways.)

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With the launch of the electronic vaccine data system (EVDS), health minister Zweli Mkhize said on Wednesday his department would do its best to make the vaccines available. 
During a public health webinar chaired by Mkhize on Covid-19 inoculation, he said about 34,000 health-care workers had already registered on the data system for the vaccine.

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The Lincoln Project:
The Squalid  (2:45 mins) In which they introduce the Band of “Shitrumpets”…
Ouch!  (0:30 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

A recent UN-backed report states the vicious circle of cheap but damaging food is biggest destroyer of nature:

The global food system is the biggest driver of destruction of the natural world, and a shift to predominantly plant-based diets is crucial in halting the damage, according to report by the Chatham House.
Agriculture is the main threat to 86% of the 28,000 species known to be at risk of extinction. Without change, the loss of biodiversity will continue to accelerate and threaten the world’s ability to sustain humanity, the report states.
The root cause is a vicious circle of cheap food, where low costs drive bigger demand for food and more waste, with more competition then driving costs even lower through more clearing of natural land and use of polluting fertilisers and pesticides.

Read >> “Plant-based diets crucial to saving global wildlife” 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Big day coming up: today, one set of potential house buyers arrives at 10am, another set at 12 noon, and a third set at 4:30pm. We’ve gone from zero viewers in 3 months under the sole mandate scenario to 3 sets in one day with another 2 sets waiting in the wings.
A bonanza!
I brought in a fresh and more determined realtor, one feeling the financial pinch brought on by Covid.
Let’s pray at least one of these sets makes an offer.

With all this going on, I'm not sure how I’ll fit in a brief visit to my mother today. The Care Center has been liberal with my daily visits – although I’ve stuck to their morning visiting hours and not expected special treatment.
Other good news: the swimming pool opened yesterday. I’ll take advantage ... tomorrow….