Possibility of attending live performances again – Hantavirus cases – The People’s Convoy in Washington – Signs of Russia’s flailing – Putin and judo – The death toll, reported and actual – COVID on a local level – Evening statistics
Yesterday was an anniversary of sorts. On March 6, 2020, I went with RK to a performance of the King’s Singers, the first performance I attended after the pandemic began and the last one I attended for many months afterwards – not until December 12th of this year, in fact, do I go to one and even that was on a reduced scale, taking place in a local church rather than in a concert hall. Presumably going to concerts and theater performances is feasible now, but it takes a while to get into the mindset of being willing to venture into crowds of people indoors again.
Yesterday we received a reminder that there are other diseases besides COVID. Rat infestation has caused the first hantavirus outbreak in Washington, DC. A report was recently issued about two people contracted the virus, experiencing severe hemorrhagic and respiratory problems. One of these occurred in May, 2018 and the second occurred in November, 2018. This episode is not the first instance of the hantavirus in the country; since 1993, over 800 cases have been reported in various areas of the country. As the figures indicate, it is not very widespread but it is severe; the mortality rate is about 35%.
The so-called People’s Convoy has arrived at Washington. As protests go, it is a bit understated. Possibly the participants feel somewhat at a loss protesting mandates that no longer exist while everyone’s attention is currently fixed on an international war crisis across the Atlantic. At all events, the truckers convened Saturday at the Hagerstown Speedway, a racetrack in Maryland about 80 miles northwest of the city, and both yesterday and today they drove slow laps around the Beltway. Most residents would agree that driving around the Beltway is not a particularly pleasurable activity. I am reminded of the remark of Bertie Wooster when he found his valet Jeeves having tea with a depressed-looking colleague alongside the spoiled brat whom the latter was obliged to chaperon (Wodehouse, incidentally, is particularly good with his spoiled brat characters): “If that’s your idea of a large afternoon, go ahead.”
The People’s Convoy, by the way, does not seem to be very familiar with the patterns of traffic in the DC Metro area. In clogging up the Beltway, they have succeeded in preventing drivers from reaching many of the suburban streets that ordinarily are very cluttered during certain hours of the day, but which have been blissfully traffic-free as a result of their maneuvers. For this reason, many of us locals are regarding them with a sort of amused indulgence that one usually bestows upon little children.
Russia has told Ukraine it is ready to halt military operations if Kyiv meets a list of conditions: cease military action, change its constitution to enshrine neutrality, acknowledge Crimea as Russian territory, and recognize the separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent states. Outrageous as these demands are, they are in a sense encouraging, being an indication that Putin is getting dispirited by the fierce resistance that the Ukrainians have been displaying, as well as the economic hardships as a result of various sanctions and the numerous protests among the Russians themselves. One must not exaggerate the number of those involved in such protests. For the most part Putin has been popular among his fellow-countrymen. Throughout their history the Russians have invariably shown a fondness for the boot that stamps upon their faces, and they appear to have no doubt than other nations, once they submit to such dominance, will feel a reciprocal enjoyment.
Putin certainly has invested a great deal in this invasion, far too much to make it likely that he will retreat. Senior Defense Department officials said last Thursday that Russia had moved roughly 90% of its pre-staged combat power across the border into Ukraine. Officials increased that estimate to roughly 92% last Friday and to roughly 95% yesterday.
No doubt Putin was particularly hard-hit by the announcement from the International Judo Foundation that he and Arkady Rotenberg (the co-founder of SMP Bank and co-owner of SGM, which is the largest gas pipeline construction company in Russia) were stripped of their honorary titles and removed from all positions held in the organization. Putin likes to promote an image of extreme manliness and takes great pride in his black belt status, even to the point of having co-authored a book on the sport.
The death toll from the pandemic is now over 6 million worldwide. At least, that is the number of reported deaths. But if various nations’ excess mortality rates are examined, the actual number may range between 14 million and 23.5 million. India, for instance, has recorded more than 500,000 deaths. But experts believe its true toll is in the millions, primarily from the delta variant.
I had a conversation with one of my neighbors today that showed how the pandemic has been affecting people on an individual level. He, his wife, and his children all came down with the virus in the autumn of 2020. The cases were mild but, even so, the time they spent while struggling against the virus was “a rough two weeks,” in his words, and his wife in particular was greatly affected, although she eventually recovered. They took to home-schooling their children as the pandemic continued and the schools stopped holding classes in-person. Their children simply did not adjust very well to receiving instruction via Internet, whereas they have been making great strides as a result of getting lessons at their home. Even now, when restrictions have been lifted and children are returning to classrooms, they have elected to continue home-schooling. It seems probable that the pandemic has encouraged this trend and that home-schooling will remain more prevalent even after the virus recedes completely.
Yesterday’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 446,611,495; # of deaths worldwide: 6,019,434; # of cases U.S.: 80,917,522; # of deaths; U.S.: 984,020. Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 447,684,355; # of deaths worldwide: 6,015,048; # of cases U.S.: 6,026,362; # of deaths; U.S.: 985,556.