Riled up!

It ain't getting better yet. 

Worldwide (map of global cases ):
August 20 – 22,425,000 confirmed infections; 788,000 deaths
August 13 – 20,621,000 confirmed infections; 749,400 deaths
August 6 – 18,753,000 confirmed infections; 706,800 deaths
United States (map of infections and rates) :
August 20 - 5,530,000 confirmed infections; 173,177 deaths
August 13 - 5,198,000 confirmed infections; 166,050 deaths
August 6 – 4,824,000 confirmed infections; 158,250 deaths
South Africa (Covid Information Portal) :
August 20 – 596,060 confirmed infections 12,423 deaths
August 13 – 569,000 confirmed infections 11,010 deaths
August 6 – 529,900 confirmed infections; 9,298 deaths

Big question: Is anyone safe from Covid-19?

To answer this, we need to look at how our immune system eliminates the virus. In itself, that reveals a hugely important positive concept: unlike some viruses that turn us into lifelong carriers (remember herpes, or HIV?), we can actually eliminate this coronavirus. For most of us it takes about two weeks. You have heard that immunology is complicated; here’s what we know so far.
Our bodies contain different types of defences, some evolved for speed, others for accuracy. Speedy defences deployed minutes after infection are part of the body’s innate immune system, and are powerful enough to control many pathogens. In researching Covid-19, scientists worried that if these were sufficient to control coronavirus, we would risk having no protection from reinfection. This is because rapid defences do not refine themselves to be more potent after the first infection, and they would be expected to mobilise in the same way when we become exposed to the same virus after recovery, suffering the same symptoms in the process. (Read the full article: “Is anyone safe…”} 

News blues…

Decades living in California and frequently puzzled by Americans’ lack of expressed anger about, say, unaffordable health care, increasingly subpar education of children and youth, laissez faire attitudes to inequitable housing, income, taxes, racial inequality, an over-reliance on military might instead of heart-felt diplomacy, and increasing numbers of homeless and vulnerable people.
If the system isn’t yet broken, it’s close to breaking point.
Then, along comes a polarizing figure like The Donald, intellectually ill-equipped to function in his role as president, and psychologically ill-equipped to squeeze out positive feelings for other humans, never mind feel anything as sophisticated as compassion.
Suddenly, far more than usual Americans are rearing up and intimating, “hell no, we’re not gonna take it anymore!”
Following the goings-on from 14,000-plus miles away, I’m enjoying the spectacle of Americans trumping Trump.
Ironic that, with notoriously low voter turnout, Americans would get riled up about Trump imperiling mail-in voting.

In the age of email, texting, Goole, Facebook, Twitter, Tik Tok...
Who’d a thunk?

Trump’s poking the post office is not the only thing bugging Americans. Disputes about wearing/ not wearing masks, social distancing or not, staying home or going to the beach, pale in comparison to plain old embarrassment.

Nearly 7 in 10 Americans say the US response to the coronavirus outbreak makes them feel embarrassed, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS, as 62% of the public says President Donald Trump could be doing more to fight the outbreak.
The new poll  finds disapproval of Trump's handling of the outbreak at a new high, 58%, as the share who say the worst of the pandemic is yet to come has risen to 55% after dropping through the spring. And as the virus has spread from the nation's cities throughout its countryside, the number who know someone who's been diagnosed with the virus has jumped dramatically to 67%, up from 40% in early June.
And Americans are angry. About 8 in 10 say they are at least somewhat angry about the way things are going in the country today, including an astonishing 51% who say they are very angry.

***

The Lincoln Project: America  (0:55 mins)
Hasta La Vista:
English version  (1:17 mins)
Spanish version  (1:25 mins)
Care  (0.56 mins)
Meidas Touch: Trump’s Course: Driving Us in the Wrong Direction (0.25 mins)

***

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Tuesday night, temperatures dropped below zero and thick ice remained in the watering can at 10am. After opening the cold-frame, I noticed a pole bean seedling and a couple of zucchini seedlings looked … parched. Took a moment to understand they’d likely been damaged by low temperatures. Perhaps a cold draft flowed into the cold-frame?
The good news is that spring is on the way! Temperatures will still fluctuate, but sunrise and sunset times indicate spring is on the way:
Aug 6 : sunrise: 6:37am; sunset: 5:29 pm
Aug 20 : sunrise: 6:24am; sunset: 5:37 pm

*** 

The US Embassy in Pretoria published a long list of upcoming repatriation flights. As of 21 August, and almost every day after that through August and into September, KLM, Turkish, Emirates, Ethiopia, and Qatar airlines will ferry Americans back to America. Interested? Contact Johannesburgacsmessage@state.gov or book tickets directly with airlines, as follows:

• Ethiopian Airlines: SouthAfricaSalesTeam@ethiopianairlines.com
• Lufthansa: Jnbmarketing@dlh.de
• Emirates: Emirates Johannesburg office, eksa@emirates.com and completing a required booking form
• Turkish Airlines: cptmarketing@thy.com
• KLM by contacting:
    o Website: You can book your ticket through KLM’s website www.klm.co.za by searching for a one-way trip and specific date. The calendar view will not display them. Please book only for the flights on these dates.
    o Call centre: KLM sales and Service Centre can be contacted to book a flight, via phone: +27 (0)10 205 0100 or +27(0)10 205 0101, daily between 09:00 –16:00. Payment can only be made with credit card. If you have an existing booking with Air France or KLM you can use it to (partially) pay for this flight.
    o Additional Information: During the booking process a link will be given to fill in a web form. You need to fill in the form for each passenger in your reservation. It is mandatory to fill in this web form. In case you missed the link in your booking process, you can find it here: https://www.klm.com/travel/za_en/customer_support/repatriation_flights.htm.
• Air France: the same KLM information above.
• Qatar Airways: for reservations visit www.qatarairways.com/WeWillGetYouHome and use promo code PR_CR981 or call +27 11 267 7700.

I will remain here for the foreseeable future. Lots to do: move my elderly mother and one large dog to move into a local care center, other dogs to rehome, domestic workers to “retrench,” and a large house to spruce up for sale.
The sooner I get started, the sooner I can high-tail it back to houseboat-living….