President Bolsonaro – Shifts in list of nations with highest case counts – At Cacapon State Park – Troubles of some fellow-hikers – Restrictions on visiting New York – Evening statistics
President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil is always desirous of being the center of public interest, and he has found an infallible way to secure it: today he has tested positive for the virus. Bolsonaro has repeatedly declared that if he were to contract COVID-19 its effects would be similar to that of “a little flu,” so no doubt he welcomes the opportunity to test out this ingenious theory. Brazil at this stage has a case count that is 54% of that of the U.S., and just under half of our death toll; it has thus been steadily gaining on us, despite the recent spikes in our own country.
There have been other adjustments in the relative positions of various countries with respect to the case count of the virus. Italy is no longer among the top ten; both Mexico and Iran have recently surpassed it. In Mexico the mortality rate is almost as high as Italy’s. Chile’s case count is now is excess of Spain’s. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Bangladesh, Colombia, and Argentina are all showing large amounts of new daily cases. South Africa at this point is getting about 10,000 new cases per day.
Hot weather is said to be an inhibiting factor for the virus. I hope that is so, because it certainly is inhibiting a few other things. The Vigorous Hikers today went to Cacapon State Park in West Virginia, completing a loop that involved going to an overlook where one can see mountains in a range that spreads over four states. The hike was 17 miles and 3350 feet of elevation gain; most of the ascent consisted of three long climbs, and I was practically wilting on the last of these, even though it was the least strenuous of the three. I had hoped to take advantage of the swimming area in the park after the hike, but it was very crowded and I did not want to chance it. There were some compensating factors: the lookout at Cacapon Mountain is at the highest point in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, and it is interesting to trace the various peaks in the distance to the states in which they are located (Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia), while both the wineberries and the blueberries were plentiful on the trails. Butterflies flew in great numbers on the plateau at the summit; it is in fact part of a migration route for monarchs.
There was some troubling news concerning a couple of members in the group. BL continues to recover slowly. Originally he was thought to have had the virus; this diagnosis apparently was incorrect and his ailment appears to have been some form of pneumonia – but whatever it is, both his heart and his kidneys have been adversely affected. He will not be able to hike for some time, but he is going to try to join us for lunch during the hike a week from today, during which we plan to have lunch at the Big Meadows Lodge in Shenandoah National Park. (We may be forced to bring our own food – it’s unclear to what extent dining services have resumed there – but we still plan to have our lunch break at that location.) MC tore his meniscus some weeks earlier and was forced to undergo an operation on it today. It typically takes 4-6 weeks to resume strenuous activity, so it will be while before we see him back on the trails.
Visitors to New York from the following states are expected to self-quarantine for 14 days: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah. Virginia is not on this list, so It appears that I can attempt travel to Manhattan later this month, but I will have to wait until I can be reasonably certain that Virginia won’t be added to this list in the near future.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 11,940,198; # of deaths worldwide: 545,600; # of cases U.S.: 3,096,469 # of deaths U.S.: 133,949. Another day with a case count increase of more than 50,000.