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| © Tom the Dancing Bug Click to enlarge. |
South Africa remains at Lockdown Level 2. My small sampling of local peoples’ infection mitigation efforts: compliance with wearing masks.
America never locked down and Americans show spotty compliance with wearing masks. (No incentives – other than staying alive - and no repercussions for failing to do so.)
Some Americans protect themselves and others by wearing masks, others refuse to wear masks (it “infringes on our freedoms”).
Residents of both countries, however, appear subliminally to agree: “been there, done that.”
Residents of both countries, however, appear subliminally to agree: “been there, done that.”
Widespread perception? The pandemic as almost over.
It is not.
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Compare today’s numbers with those of a month ago: Worldwide (Map)
September 3 – 26,940,000 confirmed infections; 861,870 deaths
August 6 – 18,753,000 confirmed infections; 706,800 deaths
US (Map)
September 3 – 6,114,000 confirmed infections; 185,710 deaths
August 6 – 4,824,000 confirmed infections; 158,250 deaths
SA (Coronavirus portal)
September 3 – 630,596 confirmed infections; 14,390 deaths
August 6 – 529,900 confirmed infections; 9,298 deaths
A new study, “Phylogenetic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 in the Boston area highlights the role of recurrent importation and superspreading events” claims a Biogen conference held in Boston, MA on 26 February 2020
September 3 – 26,940,000 confirmed infections; 861,870 deaths
August 6 – 18,753,000 confirmed infections; 706,800 deaths
US (Map)
September 3 – 6,114,000 confirmed infections; 185,710 deaths
August 6 – 4,824,000 confirmed infections; 158,250 deaths
SA (Coronavirus portal)
September 3 – 630,596 confirmed infections; 14,390 deaths
August 6 – 529,900 confirmed infections; 9,298 deaths
News blues…
While KwaZulu Natal now has the second highest rates of infection in South Africa – 113,237 or 18 percent of all confirmed infections:Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize announced on Monday night that [countrywide] 1,985 new infections had been recorded in the past 24 hours. This is after 2,505 new cases were confirmed on Sunday night and 2,418 on Saturday night.
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Remember all the Trumpie finger-pointing at China (“Chayna”) as the source of America’s Covid-19 problems? Not so. Majority of cases in the US have “viral lineages …in Europe”.A new study, “Phylogenetic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 in the Boston area highlights the role of recurrent importation and superspreading events” claims a Biogen conference held in Boston, MA on 26 February 2020
... turned into a superspreading event, seeding infections that would affect tens of thousands of people across the United States and in countries as far as Singapore and Australia.Read “One Meeting in Boston Seeded Tens of Thousands of Infections, Study Finds.”
The study ... gives an unprecedented look at how far the coronavirus can spread given the right opportunities. …Researchers analyzed the genetic material of the viruses infecting the patients’ cells. …All told, the scientists analyzed the viral genomes of 772 people with Covid-19 between January and May…. Most of the viral lineages in Boston have a genetic fingerprint linking them to earlier cases in Europe. Some travelers brought the virus directly from Europe in February and March, whereas others may have picked up the European lineage elsewhere in the northeastern United States.
Hmmm, maybe it came from … Norway? (lily white, forest raking…).
***
Meanwhile, reports from the White House suggest Trump and aides are resigned to, and okay with, the virus’ inevitable spread. Internal struggles among medical advisers have divided the White House [with] …resistance from the top down. Now, with two months to go until the election, the White House is focused on reopening the economy and mitigating the virus to a limited extent, or just enough to keep hospitals from being completely overwhelmed.
They're doing it with the imprimatur of newcomer adviser Dr. Scott Atlas, a neuroradiologist whose voice within the White House is drowning out task force members the public had come to know and trust. Task force meetings are growing more infrequent, ostensibly because its head, Vice President Mike Pence, is often out of town on campaign trips.
… The internal goal is to keep things just under control until a vaccine comes out, two senior administration officials said. "You can't stop it!" one senior official said of the internal thinking on the virus.
Trump’s Mental Unhealth with Bandy Lee (2:25 mins)
I’m voting for Joe (1:00 mins)
Vote Vets – Losing (1:20 mins)
Really American: In Trump’s America (0:50 mins)
Republican Voters Against Trump (RVAT): Vietnam Vet and Counterterrorism Official Knows Trump is Not Good for the Military or our Country (6:00 mins)
The Daily Show: How Holy Is Donald Trump? (4:44 mins)
Masked weaver birds are in full nest-building mode.
With some decisions made and confirmed – Care Center’s deposit and first month’s rent paid – next big step: euthanizing three old dogs. These dogs are old, obese, and incontinent. They haven’t a hope in hell of being “re-homed.” Moreover, my mother’s plan for her dogs? Rather than rehome them with people she doesn’t know and wouldn’t trust to care “properly” for her dogs, she’ll euthanize, cremate, and save the ashes until she passes. At that point, yours truly is instructed to combine my mom’s and the ashes of dozens of former dogs and transport them to her previous rural home. That the land now belongs to a corporation is a minor issue. I’m instructed to “just dig a hole and slip the bag into the ground.” I balked at euthanizing the two younger, healthy, continent dogs. I’ll seek new homes for them.
I’m voting for Joe (1:00 mins)
Vote Vets – Losing (1:20 mins)
Really American: In Trump’s America (0:50 mins)
Republican Voters Against Trump (RVAT): Vietnam Vet and Counterterrorism Official Knows Trump is Not Good for the Military or our Country (6:00 mins)
The Daily Show: How Holy Is Donald Trump? (4:44 mins)
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
The apricot tree shows signs of spring with a sprinkling of pink blossoms.Masked weaver birds are in full nest-building mode.
With some decisions made and confirmed – Care Center’s deposit and first month’s rent paid – next big step: euthanizing three old dogs. These dogs are old, obese, and incontinent. They haven’t a hope in hell of being “re-homed.” Moreover, my mother’s plan for her dogs? Rather than rehome them with people she doesn’t know and wouldn’t trust to care “properly” for her dogs, she’ll euthanize, cremate, and save the ashes until she passes. At that point, yours truly is instructed to combine my mom’s and the ashes of dozens of former dogs and transport them to her previous rural home. That the land now belongs to a corporation is a minor issue. I’m instructed to “just dig a hole and slip the bag into the ground.” I balked at euthanizing the two younger, healthy, continent dogs. I’ll seek new homes for them.
How hard can it be?
