Catching up

Day 783 – Friday, May 6, 2022 - Catching up

Worldwide (Map) 
May 6, 2022 - 516,292,775 confirmed infections; 6,248,083 deaths
May 6, 2021 – 154,775,000 confirmed infections; 3,237,590 deaths
May 7, 2020 - 3,755,379 confirmed infections:; 263,831 deaths

US (Map) 
May 6, 2022 - 81,711,380 confirmed infections; 997,025 deaths
May 6, 2021 - 32,557,300 confirmed infections; 579,300 deaths
May 7, 2020 - 1,228,603 confirmed infections; 73,000 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
May 6, 2022 - 3,818,125 confirmed infections; 100,475 deaths
- May 6, 2021 – 1,588,225 confirmed infections; 54,560 deaths
May 7, 2020 - 7,808 confirmed infections; 153 deaths

Post from 7 May 2020: This is not my beautiful life 
Post from May 2021: Choices 

News blues

For the first time – at least for now - the US is not highest on the list of Covid infections and deaths. According to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center , US numbers, at least this week, fall behind those of Germany, South Korea, France, and Italy.
This as the World Health Organization (WHO) released its estimate of global mortality from the Covid-19 pandemic: 14.9 million deaths, from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021.

That tally is the number of “excess deaths” compared to a baseline of expected deaths in a world without Covid-19 [and] includes not just the people who died from the virus, but also those who passed away in the ensuing chaos as hospitals filled up and workplaces shut down.
It’s a stunning snapshot of the sweeping devastation the Covid-19 pandemic unleashed around the world, showing that the virus wreaked havoc far beyond the infections it caused. The WHO attributed about 5.4 million deaths to the virus itself.
The burden of these deaths was not spread equally. India suffered the highest toll from the pandemic with nearly 4.7 million fatalities, about 10 times the country’s official estimates. India’s per capita excess fatality rate average for 2020-2021 — 171 per 100,000 per year — was roughly in the middle of the pack among countries. The highest per capita rate was in Peru at 437 per 100,000 per year. The US meanwhile saw 820,000 official deaths from Covid-19 by the end of 2021, but the WHO estimated an additional 110,000 fatalities over this time frame, with a per capita rate of 140 per 100,000 per year.

Read more >> 

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Nevertheless… the omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1 is poised to be the next dominant strain in the U.S. Mutations appear to have helped it replicate better and resist prior immunity.

After a weeks-long plateau, coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are once again rising in the U.S. as a new, highly transmissible omicron subvariant rapidly makes its way toward becoming the next dominant virus strain.
The current seven-day rolling average of cases is back to where it was in February, with an average of 64,000 cases tallied Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s roughly three times what it was toward the end of March.
The seven-day average for hospitalizations is also up by 20%, with the CDC reporting an average of 2,215 admissions over the last seven days ― up from the prior week’s average of 1,845.
Deaths from COVID-19 have stayed near record lows.

Read more >> 

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On war…

Ukraine – photo essay >> 

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The Lincoln Project:

JD (1:00 mins)
JD Mandell  (2:00 mins)
Last week in the Republican Party - May 2, 2022 (2:15 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

What’s a nurdle, you ask…

A nurdle is a bead of pure plastic. It is the basic building block of almost all plastic products, like some sort of synthetic ore; their creators call them “pre-production plastic pellets” or “resins.” Every year, trillions of nurdles are produced from natural gas or oil, shipped to factories around the world, and then melted and poured into molds that churn out water bottles and sewage pipes and steering wheels and the millions of other plastic products we use every day. You are almost certainly reading this story on a device that is part nurdle.
…
An estimated 200,000 metric tons of nurdles make their way into oceans annually. The beads are extremely light, around 20 milligrams each. That means, under current conditions, approximately 10 trillion nurdles are projected to infiltrate marine ecosystems around the world each year.
Hundreds of fish species — including some eaten by humans — and at least 80 kinds of seabirds eat plastics. Researchers are concerned that animals that eat nurdles risk blocking their digestive tracts and starving to death. Just as concerning is what happens to the beads in the long term: Like most plastics, they do not biodegrade, but they do deteriorate over time, forming the second-largest source of ocean microplastics after tire dust. (A nurdle, being less than 5 millimeters around, is a microplastic from the moment of its creation, something also known as a primary microplastic.)

Read more >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Back in California. Back to easy wi fi... unproblematic showering... electricity ... yet, after working hard to comply with advice from various website – print out and sign assorted Covid-related forms for entry into the US, I was astounded to not be asked to produced a single one: no more Covid paperwork required.
Americans, it appears, are so over Covid.
Masks schmarks… Wear one or not. No longer required on planes and in airports … some people wear ‘em, some people do not, personal decision time.
Passing through US Customs was the easiest I remember: zipideedoodah and I was back. Picked up my bag from baggage claim, hopped onto BART and 45 minutes later, hopped into my vehicle and was driven home.
What a long, long journey, from SA to CA. Watched Kenneth Branagh’s movie, Belfast and Robin Wright’s Land aboard the plane, enjoyed and recommend both.
Life is… fast paced….
Time to catch my breath.

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Chilly and overcast in the SF Bay Area…
Sunrise: 6:06am
Sunset: 8:04pm

 
Chilly and darker sooner in 

KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 6:31am
Sunset: 5:20pm