Morning statistics – Status of local stores – Plotting out a hike in Shenandoah National Park – Warming weather – Rioting in Minneapolis – Evening statistics – Ominous prognostics for Latin America
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 AM — # of cases worldwide: 5,934,437; # of deaths worldwide: 362,713; # of cases U.S.: 1,768,608; # of deaths U.S.: 103,344.
I went out today on what might be called a reconnaissance mission. I visited the certain shopping malls about two miles away to see what stores would be open for me to patronize in the near future. The answer, it appears is – not very much. Even though department stores are permitted to open, none of the ones I saw were (although I did see employees inside the stores – perhaps they are preparing for opening within the next few days?). None of the restaurants had any indoor dining, although I did see a few people eating out of doors at tables. The shoe stores are still closed. Several buildings are listed as being available for rent; evidently a number of businesses have not been able to survive the long hiatus.
Afterwards I went to verify the location of various wineberry and blackberry bushes, which should start bearing fruit within the next couple of weeks. The mulberries have already ripened but these are not worth gathering, being insipid to the point of tastelessness.
Afterwards I plotted out the hike that I am to lead for the Vigorous Hikers this coming Tuesday. It had to be modified from the route that we usually do. At this point, although Shenandoah National Park is open, all hikes must begin and end at Skyline Drive. Under ordinary circumstances we generally use trailheads outside of the park and enter across the park boundary, but currently we still do not have this option. It is rather regrettable, since most hikes from Skyline Drive begin by going downward and end by returning upward, which is opposite from the order one would wish for a hike. This hike in particular will end with going up the Little Devils Stairs Trail, which is one of the more arduous ascents in the park. I will be scouting the hike tomorrow just to ensure that the trails on our route are all open and that there are no unpleasant surprises awaiting us.
It was very warm today, not unpleasantly so; but we are coming to the beginning of the more torrid time of the year. July and August are the most difficult times of the year to hike in this area; even in the highest and shadiest elevations one has to be on the lookout to avoid dehydration. Eventually we will be reaching the point when we can relax in various swimming holes along some of the wider streams. They may be the only places where swimming is available, at any rate for the near future; the public pools will not be opening for some time to come.
More news from Minneapolis. The policeman who killed George Floyd has been identified. His name is Derek Chauvin, and he has been placed under arrest. It is relatively rare for officers to be held accountable for deaths that occur during arrests; but in this case the evidence is unequivocal. Rioting has been searing the city for three days, prompting its mayor to impose a curfew from 8:00 PM onwards through the night under 6:00 AM the following morning. As might be expected, Trump’s idea is to stoke the fire rather than contain it; he has tweeted that the rioters should be shot. Both the mayor of the city and the state governor are understandably exasperated by the actions of a president that, instead of helping them out, make matters worse.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 6,026,107; # of deaths worldwide: 366,415; # of cases U.S.: 1,793,263; # of deaths U.S.: 104,539. It has taken a mere 11 days for the case count to increase by one million. As the virus expands through Latin America, we are beginning to see how vulnerable Third World nations are to crises such as these. In Europe, Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and some of the wealthier Asian countries such as Taiwan, it is feasible to recommend keeping shopping trips down to a minimum. But how is it possible to ask a family to shop no more than once every 5-7 days if they have no means of refrigeration? The hospital systems in countries such as Spain were overwhelmed. But Spain is relatively wealthy compared with many Latin American and South American nations. And the conditions of poverty are aggravated by the number of people who have been forced to stop working as the virus continues. Moreover, the winter season is approaching in South America. The virus tends to be more active in cooler temperatures. Already Brazil’s case count and death toll have been steadily increasing relative to North American and European countries, while Peru and Chile are now respectively eleventh and thirteenth on the list of countries with the highest case counts.