Vasbyt, mense!
The numbers of confirmed infection and death continues to rise:
Worldwide (Map)
March 4 – 115,175,000 confirmed infections; 2,600,000 deaths
February 4 – 104,367,000 confirmed infections; 2,268,000 deaths
December 31 – 82,656000 confirmed infections; 1,8040100 deaths
US (Map)
March 4 – 28,770,000 confirmed infections; 518,400 deaths
February 4 – 26,555,000 confirmed infections; 450,680 deaths
December 31 – 19,737,200 confirmed infections; 342,260 deaths
SA (Tracker)
March 4 – 1,516,265 confirmed infections; 50,366 deaths
February 4 – 1,463,016 confirmed infections; 45,344 deaths
December 31 – 1,039,165 confirmed infections; 28,035 deaths
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| Graphic: Pieter van der Merwe – Source: Dept of Health |
Tracking Covid-19 vaccinations worldwide
News blues…
A landmark report from the World Obesity Federation prompts calls for governments to urgently tackle obesity, and prioritize overweight people for vaccinations. The report reveals countries with high levels of overweight people, such as the UK and the US, have the highest death rates from Covid-19.World’s highest Covid death rates are in countries with majority-overweight populations.
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Prof Tulio de Oliveira of the KwaZulu-Natal Research Informatics and Sequencing Programme (KRISP) revealed, during a virtual media briefing on the latest scientific results on the Covid-19 variant, that those infected with 501Y.V2 (discovered in December) may have immunity against reinfection. “… One thing that we see from these new results is that the plasma collected from people infected with the variant have good neutralising activity against itself as well as the first wave virus, but actually other variants of concern.
“What it means is that people infected may have immunity against the variant and other lineages but it also means that we know that immunity can decrease over time … in no way are we saying that these people should not vaccinate…”
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Police in China and South Africa have seized thousands of fake doses of Covid-19 jabs, global police organisation Interpol said on Wednesday, warning this represented only the “tip of the iceberg” in vaccine-related crime, AFP reports. The Lyon-based Interpol said 400 vials - equivalent to around 2,400 doses - containing the fake vaccine were found at a warehouse in Germiston outside Johannesburg in South Africa, where officers also recovered fake masks and arrested three Chinese and a Zambian national.
In China, police successfully identified a network selling counterfeit Covid-19 vaccines in an investigation supported by Interpol which has 194 member countries, it said.
They raided the manufacturing premises, resulting in the arrest of some 80 suspects and seized more than 3,000 fake vaccines on the scene.
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Healthy planet, anyone?
Use lockdown to entertain and educate about our amazing planet. A quick browse of what Netflix offers for “your edification and your delight”:- Our Planet
- A Life on Our Planet
- Absurd planet
- Night on Earth Tiny Creatures
- Dancing of the Birds
- Our Planet series (Frozen Worlds, Coastal Seas, High Seas, Jungles, Fresh Water, From Deserts to Grasslands, etc.)
- The Story of Earth and Life
- The Whole History of Earth and Life
- The Earth in 2050
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
The culvert curse cont’d:Yesterday morning I was excited to see a backhoe arrive and the prospect of cleared debris from two culverts. I imagined the culverts magically appearing and one long, happy tributary flowing unimpeded into the Umngeni River.
Alas, not so fast! That dream is dashed.
Behold! The results of March 3, 2021 culvert clearing… (compare to photos through the last 3 years...)
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| House side of stream with water receding due to partially cleared culvert 1 |
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| Environmental damage as byproduct.... |
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| Culvert 1 still 80 percent blocked but at least water can flow through 20 percent now cleared. Culvert 2 (circled in red) should be visible to the right of culvert 1. It has, however, been completely blocked with debris. No one would ever know that debris hides a culvert. Archaeologists in 1000 years MIGHT find it again but it’s lost to your “average” South African! |
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| Backhoe residue. |
I imagine history will repeat and, in 5 more years, more maintenance will be required.
What to say?
This is the result of NO PLAN and an ad hoc just in time response.
NO supervision.
N0 post-work review.
NO consequences for shoddy work.
I’m sorely disappointed - and demoralized.
Moreover, I pay “rates” (“property taxes”) for such slovenly results.
The silver lining?
I’ve been worried for 3 months about when I get my first “rates” bill for my new home. I’ve heard it can “take months” and that, eventually, I’d likely have to approach the over-crowded Municipality (and run the risk of Covid infection). Waiting for the bill, however, could mean months of ever-increasing debt – plus interest and penalties – culminating with a suddenly-due bill of accumulated debt. By the time the bill arrived I’d be over my head in debt.
Moreover, in what form would the rates bill arrive? In the post? But SA post office is moribund if not totally dead. (I've not seen my mother's water bill for 4 months; I pay an amount each month that may, or may not, have a basis in reality. Who knows what the actual debit - or credit - is?)
Seeking my rates bill, I’ve been regularly dropping by my post box in the Body Corporate (“HOA”) office.
Yesterday: No rates bill. Indeed, no post at all.
I’m sorely disappointed - and demoralized.
Moreover, I pay “rates” (“property taxes”) for such slovenly results.
The silver lining?
I’ve been worried for 3 months about when I get my first “rates” bill for my new home. I’ve heard it can “take months” and that, eventually, I’d likely have to approach the over-crowded Municipality (and run the risk of Covid infection). Waiting for the bill, however, could mean months of ever-increasing debt – plus interest and penalties – culminating with a suddenly-due bill of accumulated debt. By the time the bill arrived I’d be over my head in debt.
Moreover, in what form would the rates bill arrive? In the post? But SA post office is moribund if not totally dead. (I've not seen my mother's water bill for 4 months; I pay an amount each month that may, or may not, have a basis in reality. Who knows what the actual debit - or credit - is?)
Seeking my rates bill, I’ve been regularly dropping by my post box in the Body Corporate (“HOA”) office.
Yesterday: No rates bill. Indeed, no post at all.
Then, returned to my mother’s house, I checked my email and – astonishingly - two rates bills resided in my email in-box.
One was for my mother. One was for me: was my rates bill. Some enterprising official had reviewed the transfer documents and found my email address. Then, s/he and actually emailed my rates bill.
I was shocked! Wonderfully, happily, shocked.
What’s even more shocking? How excited I am about getting a bill!
I was shocked! Wonderfully, happily, shocked.
What’s even more shocking? How excited I am about getting a bill!
I'm learning: in South Africa, everyday life is a game of "win some/lose some"....
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Meantime, summer is passing - and I'm tracking the sun’s rising and setting schedule: Feb 26: sunrise 5:47am; sunset 6:33pm.
Feb 27: sunrise 5:48am; sunset 6:32pm.
Feb 28: sunrise 5:49am; sunset 6:31pm.
March 1: data missing due to failed battery on iPhone 6SE. (Curse you, Apple! LOL!) March 2: sunrise 5:50am; sunset 6:29pm.
March 3: sunrise 5:51am; sunset 6:28pm
March 3: sunrise 5:51am; sunset 6:27pm
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