Fringe benefits of facemasks – Lowered birth rates and life expectancy in the U.S. – The power of Trump out of office – Twitter triumphs again – Potential re-opening of Broadway – Potential re-opening of schools – Evening statistics
There is a side benefit to the mask-wearing that has come into practice as a result of the COVID virus. The masks, after all, are not specifically designed for COVID or for any other single virus specifically; they are effective against air-borne viruses in general, including those that cause influenza. Influenza cases have dropped dramatically this year. Cumulative hospitalization for influenza this season is about 0.8 per 100,000. This rate is about a tenth of the rate reported in the 2011-2012 season, which in itself had a relatively low severity rate.
Face masks have been widely used in East Asia, long before COVID was ever heard of. I have noted in earlier entries how, during my visit to Beijing in 2000, people habitually wore face masks to screen out the particles in the atmosphere as a result of air pollution. In addition, Beijing is subject to wind storms from the Gobi desert and one frequently encounters grains of sand hurtling through the air from the gales. In many East Asian cities people wear masks during the flu season as a matter of course – quite a sensible precaution, in view of the fact that population density of such cities is much higher than, for example, New York or Los Angeles. It is possible that even when the COVID virus is no longer a threat the habit of wearing face masks during the colder months will remain in place for Americans as well, not as a result of any mandate but, as in East Asia, on account of citizens’ preference in such matters.
Birth and fertility rates dropped to record lows in 2020. The number of U.S. births in 2020 fell 4% from 2019, the lowest level since 1979. The figure is double the average annual rate of decline of 2% since 2014 and marks the sixth consecutive year that the number of births has dropped. The fertility rate was below replacement level: i.e., more people died in the U.S. than were born during the past year. Concerns about the pandemic have fueled the trend but the cost of rearing children is also a contributing factor. Life expectancy, similarly, has been affected by the pandemic. From January through June of 2020, the average was 77.8 years for the entire U.S. population, down from 78.8 years in 2019. That is the lowest level since 2006.
Liz Cheney will be facing a vote within the Republican Party to remove her from her position as conference chair. The vote may be held as early as next week. Cheney has been one of the most vocal of Trump’s critics within the party, and she is one of the ten representatives who voted for his second impeachment. The fact that her leadership position is jeopardized on this account – and her accusers make no secret of the matter, not even pretending to find fault with her for any reason – shows plainly the extent to which the Republican Party is still in the thrall of Trump. He has been impeached twice, grotesquely mismanaged the pandemic crisis, botched his bid for re-election, and has overseen an administration continually mired in scandal and chaos since its inception – and it makes no difference. Even on the day that his suspension from Facebook has been extended for at least six months and regardless of the fact that he currently holds no office whatever, he still has the power behind the scenes to issue orders and get them carried out by his lackeys.
But at any rate there is always Twitter to cheer us up. The spinelessness of the Republican Party, happily, is not contagious. Donald Trump attempted to set up a new Twitter account via his staff. The account was called “@DJTDEsk” and its intended purpose was the posting of statements from Trump and broadcasting updates on his new website “From the Desk of Donald Trump.” But the administrators of Twitter saw through this maneuver and took down the new account within 24 hours. I have fantasies of Trump reacting like the Witch in “The Wizard of Oz” after receiving the news: “Oh, what a world, what a world! Who would have thought that a good little social media network could destroy all my beautiful wickedness?”
On a more optimistic note, Broadway is re-opening in September. All shows have been closed since March 2020. It is not clear yet whether the regulations currently in place regarding social distancing will be enforced at performances. It simply is not economically feasible for shows to perform to audiences of 50% capacity; theater is dependent on contributions from patrons even under optimal conditions. Robert Mujica, the New York State budget director, has announced that show openings will occur on a rolling basis and that the state will conduct pilot programs in indoor spaces, during which the capacity will gradually increase.
Similarly, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona announced that he expects all schools to re-open fully in September. About 40% of the nation’s schools are still teaching remotely at this point, while an additional 20% are using hybrid systems, partly online and partly in-person. If this goal proves to be feasible, it is good news indeed; as Cardona himself has remarked, students do not learn as well from online classes, to say nothing of the loss of social conditioning at a critical period in one’s development. My friend RK has on occasion spoken to me about the difficulties that she has encountered from online teaching. If the students’ attention wanders and they decide to concentrate on their cell phones instead of the lessons she is trying to impart, she is powerless to prevent them.
Yesterday’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 155,811,206; # of deaths worldwide: 3,254,809; # of cases U.S.: 33,320,094; # of deaths; U.S.: 593,130.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 156,669,459; # of deaths worldwide: 3,268,945; # of cases U.S.: 33,367,076; # of deaths; U.S.: 593,992.