The resignation of Boris Johnson – The new variant – Facemasks falling into disuse – The upcoming return to bus hikes – Evening statistics
Boris Johnson has resigned. It seems that the most appropriately named Chris Pincher had groped two men at a private club, but that Johnson chose to overlook such peccadilloes when appointing him as both as a junior minister and a deputy party whip. This was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back, apparently; the ensuing uproar was so frenetic that Johnson’s own party has been calling for his resignation.
British politics has recently undergone several scandals of this nature. Last month, Conservatives lost two special parliamentary elections that had been triggered by the resignation of a pair of Tory MPs, one of whom quit after admitting to watching porn in the Commons chambers, while another was convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in 2008. It makes one wonder whether the Tory party, which purports to uphold the fine old British traditions of yesteryear, might consider importing a few foreigners for breeding purposes.
Yet another new variant, BA.5, has emerged and is swiftly accounting for the majority of the newest cases: about 53.6% of new cases nationwide for the weeklong period that ended Saturday. Vaccinations and booster shots remain key factors in keeping hospitalizations relatively modest. The anti-vaxxers are obtaining less credence at this point than formerly. Nearly 77% of all Americans 18 years of age and older are fully vaccinated.
As I noted earlier, people are becoming more and more careless about masking. Face coverings continue to be recommended for public interior settings such as stores, restaurants, theaters, and family entertainment centers, but the mask mandates are largely forgotten. As one epidemiologist friend expressed it, “CDC is a wussy.” A few localities still require face coverings on public transit, but only a few. From my own observation, many personnel in stores have abandoned face coverings, despite coming in contact with several strangers every day, while the majority of passengers on the Metro also n wear masks no longer. And I live in an area that has been one of the less resistant to COVID-related restrictions of the past. In the rural areas of Virginia that I have visited of late, no face coverings are to be seen.
My own level of resistance will be undergoing an interesting test during the next several months. The Capital Hiking Club has resumed bus hikes on a regular basis, and Wanderbirds will begin to do the same as of this coming Sunday. That means that I will be taking long bus trips (they generally run between one and two hours) at least once and perhaps twice every week, in close quarters with several dozen other people. The bus company that provides services to both groups has a policy that all passengers wear facemasks. But this policy is rather loosely enforced, as I found upon leading a hike this past Saturday. The driver wore no mask herself and, although she made several safety announcements before the drive began, did not mention this facemask policy at all. The only course I could take was to don a facemask myself and urge others to do the same, but I was in no position to enforce this policy on my own. We shall see how matters shape up in this respect during the weeks to come.
Today’s statistics as of 9:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 558,432,703; # of deaths worldwide: 6,368,768; # of cases U.S.: 90,064,306; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,045,078. The rates of increase continue to be much lower than previously. But we are still accounting for a disproportionate amount of new cases and of COVID-related deaths. Today, for instance, Americans comprised 11.2% of the new COVID cases and for 20.0% of deaths globally.