Thanksgiving in quiet – The winter surge gains momentum – Evening statistics
It has been a quiet Thanksgiving, the celebratory meal taking place in the middle of the day with DC and JC (and which featured, among other dishes, a salad containing some of the most flavorful tomatoes I’ve ever tasted, which came directly from JC’s garden). It was mild and warm, and we walked a mile or so after the main part of the meal before we continued with the dessert. I was glad to have avoided travel during Thanksgiving week, which is invariably disagreeably hectic, be it by plane, train, or car. At the same time I am anxious to see my New York relatives again, so I will probably be going there the following week.
The situation this year is somewhat different from what it was last year. Various social events that were suspended in 2020 have now been restored: the Macy’s Parade, for example. Yet the pandemic continues to spread, and there is talk of yet another variant emerging from South Africa. At this point the delta variant remains the most prevalent, accounting for more than 99% of the cases currently active.
The pace of the increase has decelerated: the past additional 1 million cases developed over a period of 11 days, whereas during the previous winter peak it took only 4 days for a similar increase. But it is uncertain whether such a trend will last. During the past week there has been an average of a 23% increase of COVID cases in the nations of North and South America. In Europe the situation is worse. The WHO has reported more than 2.4 million new cases in that region as of the week that ended Nov. 21, or approximately 67% of all COVID cases worldwide during that period. Just a few weeks ago experts were talking of the pandemic being reduced to endemic status well before the end of the year, but at this point such a favorable outcome seems very unlikely.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 260,248,187; # of deaths worldwide: 5,198,442; # of cases U.S.: 48,988,273; # of deaths; U.S.: 798,520.