On the Ridge to River Trail – Vaccination in Maryland and Virginia – Facemasks in Texas – Evening statistics
I met with AD and RH again today, along with three other hikers. We started at the Cold Spring battlefield, taking the Ridge to River Trail to the junction with the Appalachian Trail. On the AT we first did a there-and-back south to the Crescent Rock overlook and another one north to the sign designating the beginning of the “Roller Coaster”: a 13.5-mile segment of the AT with many tightly-packed ascents and descents. The Ridge to River Trail is about four miles each way and our two round trips on the AT added about 3 miles more, with a total of about 1900 feet of elevation gain. The view from Crescent Rock looks down into the Shenandoah Valley, with a mixture of woods and cultivated fields. Signal Knob, the outpost where the Confederate army conveyed information via semaphores to outposts further north, can be seen in the distance, at the end of the ridge in the background. I have been on this part of the AT many times in the past, but I had never seen (or heard of, for that matter) either the Cold Spring battlefield or the Ridge to River Trail before. We had a splendid day, somewhat warmer even than yesterday, but feeling less so on account of a steady breeze throughout most of the hike. The wind accelerated later in the afternoon; during the drive back home one gust was strong enough to cause my car to swerve briefly.
We conversed on several matters, especially during lunch and back at the cars when we ate snacks together: the criteria used for determining security classifications of government data, the effect of obesity among our population upon national health, the tendency of physicians to be over-eager in prescribing novel medications and the meekness of patients in swallowing them (my companions even expressed a little surprise when I told them that my first response, whenever I am advised to take any medication, is: “What are the potential side effects?”), and, above all, the rollout of the vaccines. Maryland is currently in Phase 1C, which extends to adults age 65-74 and essential workers in lab services, agriculture, manufacturing, and the postal service. Phase 2 will vaccinate people with underlying conditions who are aged 16-64, but the general populace will not be serviced until Phase 3 begins. The phase definitions in Virginia are slightly different, but the essential situation is similar: Virginians under the age of 65 and with no particular health issues must wait an indefinite period before they will be able to register for the vaccination. However, Dr. Danny Avula, the coordinator of Virginia’s COVID-19 vaccine program, recently announced that the state will have no difficulty in meeting Biden’s call to make the vaccine available to people in all categories by May 1st. For both Maryland and Virginia, nearly 22% of the state population has received their first dose and well over 11% are fully vaccinated.
Governor Abbott’s decision to end the mandate to wear face masks in Texas is already leading to confusion. Although the mandate is lifted for the state, businesses still have the right to enforce their own facemask requirement on their property, and many have elected to keep such a requirement in place. On Thursday Terry Lynn Wright entered a Bank of America in Galveston without a mask and refused to don one when requested by the bank management. She was then asked to leave the building and refused this request as well. The bank then called in the police – the first time that police have been called to intervene since the statewide mandate was lifted. Ms. Wright, offended by this affront to her pride, proceeded to make a public display of herself that a better pride would have been ashamed to own. The policeman told her to wear the mask in compliance with the rules of the bank management or to leave the building. When she refused to do either, the officer took out handcuffs, at which point she pulled away and began to walk toward the door. The officer stopped her and forced her to the ground. While being handcuffed, she complained that her foot was injured. She was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital and then discharged, and was promptly arrested for criminal trespassing and resisting arrest. Wright is certainly not unique in this queer type of stupidity with regard to facemasks, examples of which have been cited in several earlier journal entries; but Abbott’s decision to lift the mandate simply encourages this type of irresponsible behavior. Such an episode will not be unique; it is the first in what will surely be a long series of similar incidents.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 120,401,660; # of deaths worldwide: 2,664,662; # of cases U.S.: 30,081,296; # of deaths; U.S.: 547,220.