Morning statistics – The Farmer’s Market – Face masks – The local Post Office – Rainstorm – The rally at Tulsa – Evening statistics
Today’s statistics as of 8:30 AM — # of cases worldwide: 8,794,566; # of deaths worldwide: 463,250; # of cases U.S.: 2,297,642; # of deaths U.S.: 121,414.
To market, to market! To the Farmer’s Market, specifically. It is gratifying to see it active again, after its enforced hiatus in May. Here I can pick up varieties of onion not available in the stores, obtain fresh tomatoes and squash and cherries and peaches (store-bought peaches in particular are almost invariably disappointing). There was one peculiarity, however; outside of myself and one other customer, no one else was wearing a face mask.
In the period following the time when the pandemic is under control, just as influenza is today, commentators may ask with wonder why people were so reluctant under the circumstances to take this elementary precaution. I can offer a few reasons. Conversation becomes more difficult when speaking to one another with a covering over the mouth. No matter how carefully they are designed, the straps of the face masks pinch the ears; mine are always throbbing a little after I return from a walk on the streets. Then, too, upon ascending a hill one tends to breathe more deeply, causing the mask cover on the mouth and nose to expand and contract in an annoying manner. Finally, as the temperatures become warmer, they can absorb perspiration from the cheeks and brow, and become disagreeably sweaty.
But these are trifling inconveniences and I’m prepared to put up with them if it reduces the chance of infection. I don’t want to pass the virus on to anyone and I certainly don’t want to catch it myself. One of the worst aspects of this virus is that one might have it without being aware of it. This statement might seem paradoxical at first: if one has contracted the virus but is not feeling any adverse symptoms and has no cause to be dissatisfied with his state of health, isn’t that a good thing? That is true enough, but it also means that anyone without symptoms is potentially a walking transmitter of the disease and a source of infection just as dangerous as the unfortunate Mary Mallon (“Typhoid Mary”). In my own case I need to be particularly careful on the days that I visit my mother in the assisted-living facility. Elderly people living in such buildings are particularly vulnerable, and several such institutions have been devastated by the introduction of the virus from a carrier who has experienced no symptoms himself.
I went to the Post Office to drop off a few letters. It is odd to see it nearly empty. The Fairfax City Post Office is very efficient and I have never had to wait a long time on line even during the busiest holiday season; but usually there were always at least a few customers in line at any given moment, and particularly so on a Saturday, when it is patronized by many people who work on weekdays.. Today there were only a couple of people waiting in line and voices were strangely muted there, as if at a funeral.
Today is the first day of summer. It rained a great deal this morning, making it impossible to mow the lawn as I had planned. Even after the rain stopped, the grass remained too wet for cutting. I will have to hope for better things later this coming week, assuming that the rain holds off long enough so that the grass can become reasonably dry. There was a fair amount of yard work to do nonetheless: picking up and bagging various small branches that had fallen to the ground and clearing the ditch that runs alongside the edge of the backyard to ensure that water is flowing properly to the drain system.
The rally at Tulsa is ongoing even as this is being written; but what the results will be, outside of sore throats as a result of shouting for hours on end (which is the sort of adulation that Donald Trump prefers for his followers to display), no one can guess. Six staffers of the President who were active in setting up the rally have tested positive for the virus, but we are assured that they are in quarantine and that none of them will be present at the rally itself. Other than that the rally is being conducted as planned, with no face masks required and little attempt at social distancing made. Attendance is said to be somewhat sparser than expected and it is certain that there is at least one notable absentee: G. T. Bynum, the city’s mayor. He has not gone so far as to heed the recommendations of Bruce Dart, Tulsa’s health department director, to have the rally postponed, but his lack of enthusiasm for the entire affair is palpable. The black communities in the city have not organized any significant protests but have – as I think, very wisely – called for people to stay away and, in effect, to draw as little attention to it as possible.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 8,905,939; # of deaths worldwide: 466,250; # of cases U.S.: 2,329,817; # of deaths U.S.: 121,979. The number of new cases worldwide has decreased slightly since the amount reported yesterday but it’s still over 150,000. I must amend one statement from yesterday’s entry: there is one African nation whose case count exceeds 0.1%: South Africa. Restrictions are easing there even as the rate of new cases is steadily growing. At this point the seven countries with the greatest amount of increases over the past two weeks are India, Brazil, South Africa, Iran, Mexico, Russia, and the U.S.