The end Lockdown Week 40 coincides nicely with the end of the year.
More than 82 million people around the world infected with a highly contagious virus is a hellava way to end a year, any year!. Who’da thunk?
Below, our weekly wrap up of Covid-19 stats of the last three months.
May the year 2021 see a diminution of the horror.
Worldwide (Map)
December 31 – 82,656000 confirmed infections; 1,8040100 deaths
November 26 – 60,334,000 confirmed infections; 1,420,500 deaths
October 29 – 44,402,000 confirmed infections; 1,173,270 deaths
Cry, the beloved planet….
Below, our weekly wrap up of Covid-19 stats of the last three months.
May the year 2021 see a diminution of the horror.
Worldwide (Map)
December 31 – 82,656000 confirmed infections; 1,8040100 deaths
November 26 – 60,334,000 confirmed infections; 1,420,500 deaths
October 29 – 44,402,000 confirmed infections; 1,173,270 deaths
Cry, the beloved planet….
US (Map)
December 31 – 19,737,200 confirmed infections; 342,260 deaths
November 26 – 12,771,000 confirmed infections; 262,145 deaths
October 29 – 8,856,000 confirmed infections; 227,675 deaths
One in 1,000 Americans have now died of Covid-19.
1 in 17 Americans have tested positive for Covid-19.
More than 63,000 Americans died of Covid-19 in December.
Cry, the beloved country….
SA (Tracker)
December 31 – 1,039,165 confirmed infections; 28,035 deaths
November 26 – 775,510 confirmed infections; 21,2010 deaths
October 29 – 719,715 confirmed infections; 19,111 deaths
Cry, the (original) beloved country….
News blues…
Then and Now: a photo essay of the year around the world.***
And, 18 actually good things that happened in 2020 Healthy planet, anyone?
Could Covid lockdown have helped save the planet? Slowdown of human activity was too short to reverse years of destruction, but we saw a glimpse of post-fossil fuel worldWhen lockdown began, climate scientists were horrified at the unfolding tragedy, but also intrigued to observe what they called an “inadvertent experiment” on a global scale. To what extent, they asked, would the Earth system respond to the steepest slowdown in human activity since the second world war?Read “Could Covid lockdown have helped save the planet?” >>
Environmental activists put the question more succinctly: how much would it help to save the planet?
Almost one year on from the first reported Covid case, the short answer is: not enough. In fact, experts say the pandemic may have made some environmental problems worse, though there is still a narrow window of opportunity for something good to come from something bad if governments use their economic stimulus packages to promote a green recovery.
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This Year Was A Disaster for The Planet. From record-breaking wildfires to devastating hurricanes, human-driven climate change keeps killing us. ***
Floods, storms and searing heat: 2020 in extreme weather.
While Covid has dominated the news, the world has also felt the effects of human-driven global heating. Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
I end the year with my mother still in hospital due, not to adverse reaction to her recent surgery, but still awaiting results of her Covid test. The Care Center, naturally, requires she’s Covid negative before they can accept her. She was tested on Monday, the same day she was admitted. Today, Thursday, she’s still not received results.One wonder what viruses and infections she may have been exposed to after four days in the Petrie dish of a hospital.
On the other hand, I’d asked the surgeon on Tuesday if he could see his way to keeping her in the hospital one more day. This, I thought, might ensure better post-surgery care – and delay my sharing the news that I brought Jessica back to the house while my mom recovers. The surgeon explained that, under normal conditions, he’d consider keeping her another day, but under Covid conditions, hospital staff are hard pressed and hospital beds at a premium.
Jessica The Dog has had a tough time. A lugubrious creature at the best of times, she’s currently in mourning. She spends her days installed in her ‘special place’ in the garden, a spot that expresses her state of mind. Yesterday, she refused to move from there, even during the afternoon rain shower.
Good news for Jessica? After having to stifle her yen to bark at the Care Center, here she’s free to bark again. And she does. She's especially gleeful at barking at monkeys. I'm gleeful too: the monkeys take heed.
On the other hand, I’d asked the surgeon on Tuesday if he could see his way to keeping her in the hospital one more day. This, I thought, might ensure better post-surgery care – and delay my sharing the news that I brought Jessica back to the house while my mom recovers. The surgeon explained that, under normal conditions, he’d consider keeping her another day, but under Covid conditions, hospital staff are hard pressed and hospital beds at a premium.
Jessica The Dog has had a tough time. A lugubrious creature at the best of times, she’s currently in mourning. She spends her days installed in her ‘special place’ in the garden, a spot that expresses her state of mind. Yesterday, she refused to move from there, even during the afternoon rain shower.
Good news for Jessica? After having to stifle her yen to bark at the Care Center, here she’s free to bark again. And she does. She's especially gleeful at barking at monkeys. I'm gleeful too: the monkeys take heed.
***
My brother and his family – 3 adults – are under quarantine as “secondary contacts” for Covid. The son of a member of the extended family, someone who visits regularly with my sister-in-law, is infected.
Covid is getting closer. The Care Center psychologist also is under quarantine. While my contact with both my brother and the psychologist is confined to texting and/or phone, I feel more hemmed in by encroaching Covid.
Meanwhile, the Care Center has set up video conferencing. This means my brother – my mother’s all time favorite human in the world – can easily contact her to chat. The only drawback? Both my mother and my brother mumble, slur their words, and/or speak at such low volume that a conversation quickly becomes a mumble-athon. At least they can see one another.
My dread my first Zoom conversation with my mother as I will have to explain why Jessica is at the house rather than the Care Center. I doubt my mother will accept the truth: that, for now, her physical health decrees she cannot get up to feed and walk the dog.
Alas, try telling that to an 87 year old who still thinks of herself as a 27 year old.
Meanwhile, the Care Center has set up video conferencing. This means my brother – my mother’s all time favorite human in the world – can easily contact her to chat. The only drawback? Both my mother and my brother mumble, slur their words, and/or speak at such low volume that a conversation quickly becomes a mumble-athon. At least they can see one another.
My dread my first Zoom conversation with my mother as I will have to explain why Jessica is at the house rather than the Care Center. I doubt my mother will accept the truth: that, for now, her physical health decrees she cannot get up to feed and walk the dog.
Alas, try telling that to an 87 year old who still thinks of herself as a 27 year old.
