Morning statistics – Foxes becoming emboldened – Proposed stimulus package – Protestors in Michigan – Catoctin Creek – A false alarm – Driving under easy conditions – The coronavirus is here to stay – Evening statistics
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 AM — # of cases worldwide: 4,363,949; # of deaths worldwide: 293,549; # of cases U.S.: 1,408,745; # of deaths U.S.: 83,449. The U.S. now accounts for nearly half of the active cases worldwide. Our incidence rate is over 0.42%. Brazil’s case count is only 11 less than that of France; it will overtake the latter country by this evening. The gap between Russia’s case count and Spain’s is closing; soon it will be second only to the U.S. in its number of cases. It continues to get over 10,000 new ones every day. Moreover, it has admitted that many deaths in April should have been attributed to COVID-19 that were listed as due to other causes (heart attack, organ failure, and other conditions that are aggravated by the onset of the virus).
Foxes are stealing shoes from local residents. I have already mentioned that the wildlife has been bolder over the past several weeks, and foxes particularly so. Formerly seeing a fox during local walks, and especially seeing one who crossed my path, was the rarest of occurrences. In the past six weeks I have seen no fewer than three of them. I suppose that the lack of traffic on the roads has encouraged them to be more active. The Historic Blenheim area possesses about 12 acres, 4 of them wooded, and the foxes have several holes there concealed by the undergrowth. Many residents in that area have acquired the habit of leaving their shoes outside as a precaution against bringing the virus into their homes, where the foxes find them and drag them to their holes for use as toys for their kits. At least that is the accepted explanation, but one observer has come up with a different theory, which is not without a certain ingenuity: “Foxes steal shoes because most shoe stores and malls discriminate against foxes.”
Another stimulus bill is being proposed. The stimulus would provide funding for state and local governments, hazard pay for essential workers, funding for coronavirus testing, rent and mortgage assistance, an extension of the $600 weekly unemployment expansion, additional funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, additional funding for small businesses, emergency relief for the U.S. Postal Service, and provisions for election safety and facilitating voting by mail. And where is the money to come from? Is the Government simply going to print more and thereby devalue the currency? Or simply sink into more debt? It is true that the economies of other countries have been similarly damaged, so perhaps ours will maintain the same status relative to theirs.
The protestors in Lansing have been transmitting the virus to the rural areas of Michigan, where the majority of them live. Thus they have been industriously at work to defeat their own ends. Governor Whitmore has been asking the administration to discourage the activists, but in vain. She is a Democrat; and for the current administration, party politics is more important than national safety.
Today I hiked with RS through various parts of Loudoun County. We kept at a distance from one another during the hike and we wore face masks. We went along a rather meandering route; indeed, the greater part of it was bushwhacking. We managed to find our way to the bank of Catoctin Creek, which we had glimpsed from above on one of our previous hikes but were unable to discern whether or not any defined trails went along the course of the stream. There was a trail along certain parts; in other areas we had to push our way through the forest and the undergrowth, but it appears that a trail route going alongside the stream can be devised. The stream itself is broad and flows gently, with the potential of providing swimming holes for the summer months. The weather has become favorable at last: warm but not hot, without rain and with little humidity. It will become chilly tonight, but after that we should be seeing weather more typical of the season.
RS had not been well for several days, although he has recovered by now. His symptoms were a temporary attack of conjunctivitis and continual accumulations of sputum. He wondered whether his ailment could have been a form of the virus. I did not think it likely, for he had no fever, no dry cough, and no breathing issues. Nonetheless, he voluntarily placed himself under quarantine for two weeks. One of the effects of the pandemic is that the slightest symptom of illness triggers alarm that under ordinary circumstances one would brush off as being of little account.
Once the restrictions are totally lifted I shall miss the ease of driving on the roads. After the hike was over and I returned, I went by way of Rte. 50, which I ordinarily would not have done because it is clogged with stop lights and generally has a high volume of traffic in the afternoon. I used that route because I wanted to stop at a winery and replenish my supply of wine. It was surprisingly easy. Even though the lights are not especially well-timed, there was little backup at any of the stops. Going along Rte. 50 at that time of day, stopping at the store, and going on Rte. 50 again back to Fairfax would have taken much longer and would have been a significantly more frustrating drive under normal conditions, which makes me less eager for the lifting of the stay-at-home restrictions than one might expect.
Dr. Fauci has said that the virus will never be eradicated. It is too readily transmissible and too widespread. When travel restrictions are allowed to lapse, hundreds of thousands of visitors will be entering the U.S., each one of them a potential carrier. (The same strictures apply, of course, to other countries receiving American visitors.) It will be something we’ll always have with us, like flu or the common cold, and the only way we’ll be able to contain it is to develop an effective vaccine.
California appears to have reached a plateau. There is a continued downward trend in the numbers of new cases and new deaths. Beaches are being re-opened. Visitors can pursue activities such as swimming, jogging, surfing, and walking, but volleyball and other group sports are banned. Visitors must wear masks when they are out of the water. Retail businesses whose employees cannot easily tele-commute are also re-opening.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 4,425,451; # of deaths worldwide: 297,739; # of cases U.S.: 1,430,243; # of deaths U.S.: 85,192. Brazil’s case count is now higher than that of France. Russia’s case count is less than Spain’s but it is rapidly catching up. The figures from the African nations are reassuringly low, at any rate for the present. Some island nations are at this point without any active cases, as well as the following mainland ones: Belize, Suriname, and Western Sahara.