Tuesday, December 1st, 2020
Yesterday I ended up buying two canopy tents, even though we actually need three, but it was already going against my grain to buy any at all. We do have a sun umbrella which maybe we can use to keep the outside table dry. I am however still hoping that with all of the preparation we have undertaken it will simply not rain, which would be the best possible outcome. Who knows, maybe one of my neighbors may yet come forth with an offer to lend us one. I find it hard to believe that not a single one of 300 households should have such a contraption. My sense is more that the silence is an attempt to keep the Hood safe by keeping people from hosting gatherings- party poopers!
I have a great sense of satisfaction having made my way through some 600 slides today. I also now suffer from a powerpoint overdose. Thankfully both a lap lane and Aikido in the park were available as counter measures.
Except for swimming, Aikido in the park and my little socially distanced outside gathering on Saturday, we are winding down all contacts for the next ten days; including shopping. In person shopping, including in supermarkets is considered high risk. Before we leave in ten days, I need to do one grocery shop and one mail spa visit to have the gel removed. My main saving grace I guess is that infections in Maryland, while increasing are super low (less than 1%) in my neck of the woods. Increases are predominantly driven by gatherings in rural areas. Nonetheless, I shall try and identify store hours when few people are around; preferably on Thursday.
There is some awesome news related to treatment of Corona which may be even more effective than a vaccine.
Researchers have developed a new flu drug technology that can be applied to other viral infections, including the novel coronavirus, HIV, and hepatitis. Scientists from Purdue University combined neuraminidase inhibitor zanamivir with dinitrophenyl (DNP) to create a molecule that can target only the virus and the cells it infects, leaving healthy cells unharmed. The researchers found that the drug had a surprisingly potent effect on mice infected with 100 times the lethal dose of a flu virus. Now it needs to be tested on humans to prove efficacy.
Not sure how long that might take, but please let it be fast. There are certainly more than enough infected and severely ill people around, some of whom might well be willing to volunteer.
THere is increasing evidence that Corona arrived in the US sometime in December if not even earlier. Researchers found coronavirus antibodies in 39 samples from California, Oregon, and Washington as early as Dec. 13 to Dec. 16. They also discovered antibodies in 67 samples from Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin in early January — before widespread outbreaks in those states. This makes it even more likely that whatever I had way back in January might well have been COVID; no matter what the antibody test said.
With 167k new infections reported yesterday the USA now surpasses 14 million cases, while worldwide 63.9 million have been reported.