Volcanic eruption in Iceland – New CDC guidelines for schools – The Capital Hiking Club makes tentative plans – Evening statistics
A long-dormant volcano has erupted about 20 miles away from Reykjavik. No evacuations are anticipated, since the nearest road is at least 1½ miles from the lava flow, but airplane was disrupted for temporarily on account of the ashes limiting visibility. The volcano is on the Reykjanes peninsula, where unusual seismic activity has been detected for the past week. No volcano in this range has erupted for over 800 years and Fagradalsfjall, the mountain in question, has been dormant for 6,000 years. The lava flow is not expected to affect residents (although they have been cautioned not to travel closer to the area for viewing purposes) but in some neighborhoods closest to the eruption homeowners have been urged to close their windows in case fumes waft through.
The CDC has relaxed its guidelines for schools, saying that students may now sit 3 feet apart from one another instead of 6 feet. This recommendation will certainly make matters easier for schools from an administrative point of view. The 6-foot standard used up to now has forced some schools to remove desks, stagger scheduling, and take other steps to keep children away from one another. Many schools had already quietly disregarded the CDC guidelines long before this new standard was announced. The CDC said 6 feet of distance should still be maintained in common areas, such as school lobbies, and when masks can’t be worn, such as when eating. Students are still to be spaced 6 feet apart in events such as chorus practices, assemblies, and school sports , where many are singing, talking, or cheering simultaneously.
In general, restrictions are beginning to lighten and people are looking forward to greater freedom of movement. The Capital Hiking Club board had a meeting today (via Zoom), in which we discussed the possibility of resuming group hikes using its chartered bus. The tentative date for beginning these hikes is August 7th. Probably the number of people allowed on the bus would be well below its full capacity at first. Riders would be required to be vaccinated beforehand and would wear masks during the bus trips. No eating or drinking on the bus would be allowed. As Director of Trails, I will be setting up a schedule of hikes for a three-month period up to November 6th. It is quite possible that the estimate of the date we can resume activity is over-optimistic and that the hikes in any schedule I devise will have to be moved forward for a number of weeks, but at any rate we now have a definite goal to strive for. I will have a fairly free hand, since the club has not done any of its standard hikes for well over a year and there is no danger of repeating recent hikes. The board decided that the hikes in this three-month period should be selected from the easier hikes because many in the group have not had much opportunity to get outside during the pandemic and may be out of condition. In addition, I was asked to use hikes that will not entail a long ride to the trailhead. But these conditions still leave a wide range of hikes to choose from and I should be able to set one up fairly easily.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 122,866,956; # of deaths worldwide: 2,712,449; # of cases U.S.: 30,423,624; # of deaths; U.S.: 553,931.