The saga of obtaining possession of the car left behind in Maine – The virus’s effects on American driving habits – The COVID virus increasing with renewed vigor, both here and abroad – Evening statistics
I’ve recovered the car at last! It was something of an adventure, because I had to go to Maine to retrieve it. Whenever there are many links in a chain of events, there are plenty of opportunities for things to go wrong, and in this case the links were numerous: taking the Metro to Reagan National Airport, taking the plane from the airport to Bangor, walking from the airport to the bus terminal, taking the bus from Bangor to Medway, and walking from the bus stop in Medway to the hotel where I was staying for the night. The bus terminal itself was closed, but I was able to pursue the necessary ticket in Medway. My opinion of the inefficiency of Down-easters generally was intensified by this process; the two cashiers at the Medway stop (which is a gas station) seemed utterly confounded by the process of issuing tickets to the passengers. To be sure, they were both new at the job, but they had still been there for a couple of weeks at least, and the bus stops there every day; they had adequate time to get used to the procedure by now.
The walk from the bus stop to the hotel was only about 1/3 mile long, but it is difficult to feel confident walking in the dark to a destination you’ve never seen before. But all went well. I reached the hotel without any mishap and it turned out to be plain but comfortable. I had expected something much worse, because when I made the reservation over the phone, the clerk I spoke with seemed not merely pleased to book a room for me, but incredulous as well. The hotel is not much used by visitors interested in visiting Baxter State Park, the main attraction of the region, because it is several miles further away from the main park entrance than Millonocket, and most tourists accordingly stay there instead. But the hotel in Medway was not at all deficient, though certainly not luxurious: the room was spacious, the bed was comfortable, and both the room and the lobby were very clean.
Then in the morning I left the hotel after sampling what the managers called a “continental” breakfast (merely toast and coffee, but enough to start the day with) to walk four miles to the auto repair shop, where I picked up the car and drove back home – which is easier said than done, because the distance is about 750 miles and I did not arrive at my house until after 8:00 PM.
A study has shown what anyone who has driven an automobile over the past few months has already known: namely, that driving habits have altered as a result of the lowered amount of traffic, and not for the better. The percentage of confirmed collisions occurring at speeds greater than 70 mph increased by 50%, speeding on both side streets and highways has also increased (including driving over 100 mph on highways), and as of June the rate of deaths per 100 million miles driven jumped by 34.4% compared to the previous year. Not surprisingly, 26% of drivers surveyed reported they would not return to their previous commuting routine once normal activities resumed in their region.
There was plenty of news to listen to on the radio during the drive, and the main news is that the virus is expanding rapidly in North America, Europe, and Asia now that the warm weather is over in the Northern Hemisphere, especially as so many nations have abandoned their lockdown strategies. There are new centers of a high concentration of virus infections in the Midwest, and in Wisconsin in particular; the massive motorcycle rally in Sturgis two months ago may have played a role in this. It seems likely that Thanksgiving celebrations in general will be discouraged by officials in various states, because of the risk associated with large gatherings of people. But the U.S., although it still is in the lead as far as the case count and the death toll are concerned, is far from unique. The COVID virus is re-asserting itself globally, as a glance at three countries in particular will demonstrate.
The virus has been breaking out with renewed force all over Europe, but the Czech Republic especially has been overwhelmed. It now has more new COVID cases than any other major country, totaling to nearly 15,000 in the past 24 hours. In the first 17 days of October, more people have died of the virus than during the previous eight months of the epidemic combined. Of course, it is not the only afflicted European nation; Belgium has issued a warning about expectations of a “tsunami” of new infections and Ireland has just imposed a new lockdown that is supposed to last six weeks.
Most of the countries in South America, of course, have long been faring badly, chiefly on account of the sub-par medical systems and the irresponsible attitudes of their leaders – Brazil in particular. Argentina, however, pursued a rigorous lockdown policy and appeared for several months to have the virus under control. But in the past week or so the rate of virus infections has spiraled, causing its case count to surpass the 1,000,000 mark (the country with the smallest population to do so). In the past 24 hours, there have been nearly 13,000 new infections. Its death toll at present is proportionately just under that of the U. S. For that matter, of the countries whose death toll in proportion to its population exceeds that of the U.S., no less than five of them – Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, and Ecuador – are South American, which is saying a great deal for a region with only 13 countries in all. And the government of Argentina is, understandably, reluctant to impose another lockdown; its economy has suffered greatly as a result and many of its citizens have become impoverished on account of the shrinkage in labor.
The Mideast is another heavily affected region, of which Iran appears to have taken the lead. It now has well over 500,000 cases and over 30,000 deaths. These are the official figures; the actual numbers may be considerably higher. Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirch recently said Iran’s true death toll was probably twice the official count. Hospitals in Iran are nearly at full capacity and will have greatly difficulties in absorbing any significant new influx of patients. Its economy, like Argentina’s has suffered greatly as a result of the virus, and their difficulties have been compounded by the sanctions imposed upon it by the U.S.
It was very strange to listen to reports of so much distress in various regions of our own country and of many others abroad while driving along highways that for the most part were bordered by woodlands displaying their full autumnal splendor. The contrast between what I heard on the news and what I saw on the road could hardly be more striking. Much of the drive went through areas that are all but uninhabited, going through miles of forest uncluttered by urban sprawl, and the scene that unfolded before my eyes for the greater portion of the day appeared quiet, peaceful, and serene.
Yesterday’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 40,019,315 of deaths worldwide: 1,128,809; # of cases U.S.: 8,516,744; # of deaths U.S.: 226,052.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 41,459,816; # of deaths worldwide: 1,135,657; # of cases U.S.: 8,582,588; # of deaths U.S.: 227,369.