Tuesday, June 30th, 2020
We have now been living with the Virus for 111 days. A funky number, incidentally a prime number divisible only by itself an the number one. A number I like, despite my dislike of odd numbers. EM tries to taunt me with that by setting the volume of the car stereo at “9” or “11” just for me to move it up or down one notch.
Today turned into a far more social day than expected, though I got a late start on the social part. EM left work (her babysitting job) to meet one of her Art Class friends in Kensington, where the two girls hung out on the deck for a few hours together. Since we, ever since she got her license, are now car sharing, she was diligent to be back by 16:30. I grab my swimming gear (goggles, ear plugs, cap and towel) and dropped her at her friends house for a socially distanced birthday party in A’s back garden before heading to the pool. I made it home in time for a quick shower before Aikido Jo practice began.
After miserably failing with the 31 Katas last week S. kindly did basic Jo work for me, which I really appreciated. Sadly, my audio deteriorated so everyone sounded as if they were in a submarine at the bottom of the ocean, but from the little I could make of the ensuing discussion there was a debate about doing life weapon classes in a park somewhere. I tried to volunteer the Westbrook field, but am not sure what the community thought of it. I will need to follow up with an email.
Because of my IT issues I left the beer waza early and headed to Chevy Chase to pick up EM. I was greeted by A’s mum with a Paloma, which was quite delicious. We camped out on the front lawn with another friend of the family after the neighbors came over with Bellini’s to ensure there was enough space between all of us.
D’s neighbors were super nice and interesting people. A defense biologists teaching at George Mason and a doctor. And of course the discussion turned to the Virus, with us comparing notes on our reads about the subject. Turns out one can volunteer for Moderna’s phase 3 trials (vaccine) at GW.
At first I thought I would immediately sign up, but L. cautioned that this may preclude one from receiving other, possibly more effective, vaccines in the future. The general sentiment was that Moderna’s vaccine may not be the best. Given they had none of their phase 1 or 2 trials peer reviewed, one of their executives was called to lead the governments “Speed Warp” initiative to develop a vaccine, left and went back to his Moderna job after a month, than cashed in after the government decided to push this particular vaccine, which given Agent Oranges track record on anything medical (remember Hydrochloroquine as a cure, which then turned out to be deadly at best, or injecting disinfectant combined with UV lights up your you know what?) is a reason not to back this particular horse. Also, the company has never produced a vaccine before ever. So, I will think about volunteering maybe twice.
All in all a very nice evening with great people.
Given we need to arrange our lives around the Virus, each and everyone of us is figuring out which risks to take or not to take. While approaches differ, I come out at taking calculated risks. I will swim. I will engage with a limited number of people socially, unknown ones outside with appropriate distance, in my “pod”.
D and her daughter fit into the latter category and we are planning three days in a rental by the beach for the weekend with a focus on secluded beach walks despite the house being in Rohoboth Beach, which will be busy for the July 4th weekend.
We have decided we can manage to stay away from the crowds and still enjoy some time away. D and A will go tomorrow, and EM and I shall go on Thursday and we will all return Saturday. I think it will be fun, long walks on beaches hard to access is my idea.
Given Memorial Day revelers on beaches are largely to blame for the rampant outbreaks in California, it is all about maintaining distance. Like them, I feel I am done with being cooped up. Unlike them, I have no intention of getting sick and luckily dogs are only allowed in a few State Parks. Hoping it will turn out well.
The Virus continues its world tour, forever spreading. Today 10.4 million diagnosed cases are reported globally. The USA continues to see rapid increases adding another 36K to the global tally and reaching a total of 2.68 million cases. That at least is 8k less than yesterday, however the lower number may well be due to less reporting. I
t is really depressing how badly the pandemic is handled in the US. This administration is just beyond stupid. How can a leader not be concerned about protecting the people? How vain can it get? With a discussion about focusing on economy versus focusing on lives. A shocking 34% say the administration should focus on jobs and the economy. What good will jobs do if you are dead? As a result of recent surges lock downs are coming back. No one has an apptite for them after going through #stayhome for 111 days.
In the meantime scientists continue to study how the virus spreads. They now confirm that few people pass it on, but if they do, they often infect many. One explanation is related to frequency of exposure and interaction, the other to when people tend to be infectious and that seems to only be the case during a reasonably narrow period. It also needs a location such as a poorly ventilated bar, where the virus can linger in the air for a long tperiod of ime and many people are exposed to it. “A lot of transmission seems to happen in a narrow window of time starting a couple days after infection, even before symptoms emerge. If people aren’t around a lot of people during that window, they can’t pass it along.“ the NYT finds today.
These findings are hardly surprising: virus spreads faster in densely populated neighborhoods and hit more low income people harder as they tend to live in less spacious areas. Firstly, there is a correlation between space and income, and secondly, this has applied to every pandemic (black death, small pox, flu,…) which spreads from people to people, so obviously spreads are to be found where the people are.
Maybe it is time to change all bulbs in my home to UV lights. Glad I love playing lizard in the sun.
The ugly face of capitalism is when a company profits of a pandemic and hikes prices just because they can. I so hope it will come back to haunt them, please let China win the race for a viable vaccine
Research into the virus may however lead to other drugs becoming available. This research on what the virus does to human cells is fascinating and provides clues f orscientists which may be exploited in developing treatments, hopefully more effective and cheaper than Remesdivir!