HOUSEKEEPING: Dropped Sweden from my list, as their Covid 19 reporting became too haphazard. Not that they’re doing as badly as they had been before going into a semi-lockdown in mid-June, but apparently they had a shake-up at the Ministry for Health and Social Affairs, resulting in contradictory numbers being reported from different offices. On the other hand, also dropped Spain – which has been doing catastrophically – whose numbers are also too weird and infrequently reported to be at all reliable.
Anyway, the world remains pretty much in the crapper; although most of Western Europe seems to have turned the corner. A million dead by Xmas seems likely, and 350,000 dead in America by New Years is also in the cards. Also, mark India and Brazil as places you can do without visiting.
Looking back, over the months and the Covid 19 numbers, what’s too obvious to avoid is that “economic reopening” – however well or badly it was done – absolutely began the summer surge in cases and deaths in the U.S. Indeed, it’s happening everywhere in the world, and, sadly it seems, the only way to halt the spread is to once again lock it all down, and suffer the crushing economic morbidity that comes with such a lockdown. Only a genuine cure or vaccine will solve the dilemma the world faces.
In the South – where these 16 states account for 44.4% of all Covid 19 infections in the U.S. – the virus summer-surge has peaked, thanks to a small retraction of June’s “reopenings”; also, the number of dying has also dropped a bit thanks mostly to Remdesivir, which is not quite a cure, but mitigates both the duration and symptoms of the disease. The South, nevertheless, still suffers – as does the Mid-West and West. However, and although still plagued by the plague, New York and New Jersey, once constituting the Covid 19 epicenter of the U.S. have now pretty much controlled the spread. Newsome in California is said to be using the NY “reopening” model, but given the huge infection numbers they’re still hitting, it’s probably too early to do so. Texas is also still floundering badly. Florida may now probably be in the best shape to copy the NY model, though DeSantis would be loath to admit it, and given his shoot-from-the-hip attitude toward the disease, I don’t see Florida bringing down its infection and death numbers to current NY levels anytime soon.
In my own backyard, Hawaii is in the midst of a Covid 19 shitstorm. We’re all back in lockdown, as our partial June “reopening” has failed - big-time. The 14 day quarantine for tourists remains in place, and I’d currently advise any visitor to get off the plane in a HAZMAT suit.
Anyway, the world remains pretty much in the crapper; although most of Western Europe seems to have turned the corner. A million dead by Xmas seems likely, and 350,000 dead in America by New Years is also in the cards. Also, mark India and Brazil as places you can do without visiting.
Looking back, over the months and the Covid 19 numbers, what’s too obvious to avoid is that “economic reopening” – however well or badly it was done – absolutely began the summer surge in cases and deaths in the U.S. Indeed, it’s happening everywhere in the world, and, sadly it seems, the only way to halt the spread is to once again lock it all down, and suffer the crushing economic morbidity that comes with such a lockdown. Only a genuine cure or vaccine will solve the dilemma the world faces.
In the South – where these 16 states account for 44.4% of all Covid 19 infections in the U.S. – the virus summer-surge has peaked, thanks to a small retraction of June’s “reopenings”; also, the number of dying has also dropped a bit thanks mostly to Remdesivir, which is not quite a cure, but mitigates both the duration and symptoms of the disease. The South, nevertheless, still suffers – as does the Mid-West and West. However, and although still plagued by the plague, New York and New Jersey, once constituting the Covid 19 epicenter of the U.S. have now pretty much controlled the spread. Newsome in California is said to be using the NY “reopening” model, but given the huge infection numbers they’re still hitting, it’s probably too early to do so. Texas is also still floundering badly. Florida may now probably be in the best shape to copy the NY model, though DeSantis would be loath to admit it, and given his shoot-from-the-hip attitude toward the disease, I don’t see Florida bringing down its infection and death numbers to current NY levels anytime soon.
In my own backyard, Hawaii is in the midst of a Covid 19 shitstorm. We’re all back in lockdown, as our partial June “reopening” has failed - big-time. The 14 day quarantine for tourists remains in place, and I’d currently advise any visitor to get off the plane in a HAZMAT suit.
