Thursday, May 21st, 2020
Just another regular day in quarantine. On the upside it was mostly sunny today so all the windows in my study open enjoying the mild spring weather with numerous calls taking up most of the day. Tomorrow will be a day devoted to thinking as I have finally received revision on the handbook I have been working on back. Very much looking forward to that. It is nice when things get finalized; makes for a sense of achievement more tangible then participating in meetings no matter how good they are.
I do take time out early in the afternoon, by which point in my day I have sat with my paltop for five hours, not just for our daily walk, but also to cook. Food being one of the few joyous distractions left. Given the general lack of exercise I am always on the look out for new creative carb free recipes. Last night, before binge-watching “The Crown” I marinated chicken thighs in soya sauce and garlic for a stir fry with peanut sauce. The latter I had made when doing Malaysian Satay’s a while back, when I learned how much sauce one can make out of a pound of peanuts (a lot!), so I need to see if I can find a recipe for Gado Gado. I shall check with my Indonesian friends.
The nice weather made our Hood walk so much more enjoyable; though I am done with jeans and sweaters. Definitely time for summer to come in full force so I can switch to dresses. The downside will of course be that I will want to go to the pool even more; fantasizing about the Bethesda Pool miraculously opening up for lap swimmers. Hell, I would even pre-book a slot, even if just for thirty minutes. So far, the county has not given up completely. They are very good with keeping residents informed, sending out daily emails.
Today’s email on this note was encouraging. It shows that most stats (new infections, death, hospitalizations) have been declining on a three-day rolling average over the past 14 days and there is even talk of "actively considering lifting some restrictions". Which of course leads straight to the Corona news.
Globally reported cases have broken the 5 million mark and are up by 100k from yesterday, so a steady rise. The absolute increase in the US has decreased from 2% to 1.8% just 19k cases more today than yesterday – if the official reports can be believed. Certainly, numbers on testing are highly doubtful as a number of states are reporting antibody tests and viral tests in the same metrics. This does raise questions on the actual testing capacity in place.
I read an article today linking the protests against lock down in the US to people of color. It appears protests started in earnest once demographics of the dead became known. Dead are predominantly people of color. Protestors predominant white males.... Noteworthy in the article was: “Americans don’t have much of a vocabulary for collective action and sacrifice” this very much along the lines of my observations, which I have shared in earlier posts and which have continued to flabbergast me.
There were also a couple of reads on the good news front, mainly relating to vaccines research. While no vaccine is yet proven to be effective at least manufacturing capacity is build up to enable quick production and scientists all over the world are working at record speed. And not only logistics for manufacturing at scale are beginning to be put in place, but also disstribution capacities and procurement of auxillary materials such as syringes and bandaids (though I can do without one). This is something the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had invested money in two months ago.
While the vaccine work is truly encouraging I agree whole heartedly with any vaccine needing to be a public good in the sense that it should be available to all nations no matter if poor or rich. If the virus stays in some parts of the world it will continue to be a threat for the entire population. If the Western world is not up for it we will probably see China stepping in to help poorer countries, which is likely to come with strings attached, so not necessarily desirable in the global balance of power.
At the same time there are discussions related to preparedness for another potential spike in the USA. Given the national stockpile is depleted it seems to make sense for it to be replenished now that there is some breathing room. I am not sure one should rely on Federal competency though. The governors might be well advised to heed this advice and build up their own stockpiles and resources.
As the world thinks about returning to somewhat open societies not only airlines, hotels and restaurants are contemplating how to win patrons back. Airbnb has now put new cleaning certification in place. I guess I will need to get certified by Airbnb if ever I hope to have a booking again. Here is a glimpse of the brave new world of hotel accommodation. Personally, I feel hotel rooms should have hardwood or bamboo flooring rather than carpets, which I have always considered gross at best.
Given there is a lot of misinformation on the virus and a many conspiracy theories are being peddled I am glad to see FB taking action. Now maybe the same on political misinformation?
Best though are reports that lock downs have led to a decrease in emissions causing global warming to the tune of 17%, this is presumably offset by logging in the Amazon forest having increased by 170%. This I find very sad, but my spirits were uplifted reading that wild life is teeming in locked national parks.
And so passes another day.