Heavy heart

Worldwide (Map) 
July 15, 2021 – 1,888,565,400 confirmed infections; 4,061,275 deaths
Vaccinations delivered: one dose 934,242,100; fully 3,520,990,000
April 15, 2021 – 138,278,420 confirmed infections; 2,973,058 deaths

US (Map) 
July 15, 2021 – 33,952,000 confirmed infections; 608,120 deaths
Vaccinations delivered: one dose 184,132,770; fully 158,955,000
April 15, 2021 – 31,421,361 confirmed infections; 564,402 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
July 15, 2021 – 2,236,800 confirmed infections; 65,595 deaths
Vaccinations delivered: one dose 3,756,300; fully 1,344,700
April 15, 2021 – 1,560.000 confirmed infections; 53,500 deaths

Tracking coronavirus vaccinations around the world >> 

News blues

Jacob Zuma supporters and hangers-on have burned much of commercial KZN to the ground, and done a credible job of the same in Gauteng province.
Ignored for days by US press – busy with “the big lie” - South Africa suffered an insurrection attempt this week in two provinces, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. As food and fuel supply chains were disrupted and disabled, and, naturally, malls and liquor stores plundered, twelve masterminds planned and executed insurrection on social media, then lost control after looting spree.

Ever resilient, South Africans rally.

The past week not only revealed to us the vulgarity and the violence of a disastrous scheme to destabilise the country, but also the capacity for solidarity and community in the face of a total collapse of law and order.
In the startling spool of images and footage to emerge from convulsions of violence and looting that have taken place in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, which spread after the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma, many have stood out.
Read “Picking ourselves up” >> 

And, naturally,

• “Looting and unrest suspend Gauteng’s vaccine roll-out programme” 
• WHO Warns South Africa to Brace For Covid-19 Surge After Riots 

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Global Coronavirus Cases And Deaths Rise, Dampening Hopes For A Return To Normal. COVID-19 deaths climbed last week after nine weeks of decline. Cases rose 10%, with the highest numbers recorded in Brazil, India and Indonesia. 

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In the US, nearly all COVID deaths are now among the unvaccinated 

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The Lincoln Project: Which side  (1:20 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Amid the looting and the riots, and the rise in Covid infections across the country, my mother passed away, gently, in her bed. Two days before her 88th birthday.
Dealing emotionally with her death is one thing. Dealing logistically with her death, from 14,000 miles away, during riots is entirely another thing. Thank goodness I had the good sense while I was there to organize all the necessary details if she died while I was gone. She did. And the logistic kicked in. I’d chosen a funeral service on the basis of reputation. Before Covid lockdown in SA, the owners, visiting many retirement homes, had lightened retirees’ days by bringing in karaoke. They’d set up the mics and encourage singers. Retirees loved it. Based on their compassion, as well as their professionalism, my mother will be well taken care of by this company. It is, nevertheless, a challenge. Just getting her from the Care Center to headquarters in Pietermaritzburg posed a dilemma. The national freeway had been intermittently closed, burned trucks and vehicles cluttered the road, and rioters threatened. Moreover, her remains need to be transported yet another 25 miles to the crematorium. Crematoria in South Africa have a reputation for burning down without assistance from rioters and looters.
Next challenge? Dealing with extended family that seldom works together. I’ve explained that, when I return, we will all work together to plan her memorial that it is, naturally, quirky and requires mixing the ashes of all her dogs (Yes, she’s been collecting them for years) with her ashes then sprinkling them near her old property. Actually, she wanted them sprinkled on her old property. I explained it belongs to someone else now. Undeterred, she wants done what she wants done with her cremains. We’ll see.
It is alarming to talk on the phone with family located right next to a mall that’s being looted as we speak. Family had been advised to pack an emergency bag, ready to flee if the petrol station was set alight.”

Things are bad over there: shops looted and supply chains broken so no food, no petrol, little governmental know-how…. 

But, South Africans are resilient….