Returning to bus hikes – Complications of international travel – North Korea – Evening statistics
There were various administrative matters to deal with on the part of both the Capital Hiking and the Wanderbirds Clubs. CHC is losing three Board members, including the President, who is taking a well –deserved rest after serving in the position for years and successfully steering the club through the vagaries of the conditions imposed by the pandemic. CHC resumed bus hikes on April 23rd, but we need to ensure that hike leaders will be recruited for hikes scheduled for the third quarter. Hike leader recruitment has always been an issue with CHC, but the two-year hiatus exacerbates the problem.
Wanderbirds will be resuming bus hikes at the beginning of July, and in this case as well the process of hike leader recruitment must be conducted energetically. Wanderbirds has the advantage of a rather larger number of members who have regularly led hikes in the past and have continued to lead even during the pandemic. But the summer season has traditionally been the most difficult time of the year for finding a sufficient number of hike leaders, both on account of the hot weather and of the fact that many people are traveling during those months. On the other hand, members have long been wishing for the resumption of bus hikes, with the camaraderie that they have fostered and the fact that the use of a bus means that it is not necessary to drive for an hour or more after hiking eight or ten or twelve miles, so there is hope that leaders are willing to be available.
My first international trip since the pandemic began is rapidly approaching, and it is a source of mixed emotions. It will be wonderful to be able to travel abroad again and I am eagerly looking forward to hiking on the Kerry Way, but I am a bit concerned about the return. LM, who managed to get back after testing positive and being quarantined for days in England, said that the experience was “a real pain,” and I see no reason to disbelieve him. Travel industry representatives have been continually requesting the Biden administration to lift the COVID test requirement for returning to the country, but so far the administration has not them any encouragement that this requirement will end. International travel by Americans is at this point 15% lower than it had been at pre-pandemic levels. Many are deterred from fear of undergoing an experience like that of my friends, who after touring the magnificent scenery of the Lake District were forced to sit in a hotel all day long for days on end, making a frustrating termination to what otherwise would have been a thoroughly enjoyable trip.
The administration is not consistent, however, for travelers to this country by way of land ports or ferry terminals, although still required to show evidence of having been vaccinated, are not required to be tested. Similar rules apply to those who cross the land borders between the U.S. and Canada or between the U.S. and Mexico.
The EU, by way of contrast, has dropped all mandates for wearing a mask on an airplane and in airports. Individual airlines may choose to impose mask mandates of their own. It will be interesting to see whether my flight to Ireland, which is a United Airlines flight, will impose such a rule and, if so, whether passengers will comply with it. For my part I will wear the mask continuously through the lift-off and through the landing; I am less worried about the portion of the flight when the plane is well above ground and the air filtration system is running. Even then, however, I probably will keep it on most of the time, except when I am eating or drinking.
Kim Jong Un has criticized various health officials for slow deliveries of medicine and has mobilized the military – presumably to aid with the aforesaid deliveries; but from the way he talks, it sounds like he is directing them to combat the virus as if it were an army that can be opposed with gunfire. The number of people now sickened from the virus is approximately 1.2 million, about 4% of the population. That is merely the official figure. The country lacks test kits and is in no position to detect asymptomatic cases or those with mild symptoms. The death toll, which is officially stated to be 50, is almost certainly higher. “When people die, North Korean authorities will say they’ve died of overwork or from natural deaths, not because of COVID-19,” said Nam Sung-wook, a professor at Korea University in South Korea. It’s too late at this stage to inoculate the North Koreans, although supplies of vaccines might help to reduce the mortality rate in some high-risk segments of the population (elderly, people with pre-existing conditions, etc.). For the most part, North Korea is relying on isolating people with symptoms at shelters. As of yesterday, more than ½ million were in quarantine.
Today’s statistics as of 9:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 522,794,375; # of deaths worldwide: 6,289,611; # of cases U.S.: 84,356,883; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,026,898.