A canceled hike – A defector from Trump’s policy towards the virus – Mark Meadows’ attitude of surrender – New restrictions in the U.K., Spain, and Italy – Evening statistics
I was supposed to hike with AD and a few others today, but the hike has been called off. It was raining steadily when I arose this morning and it was supposed to continue to rain all day long. The rain actually tapered off at times, but for the most part it was fairly dreary outside. I was prepared to go through it and I have hiked in bad weather before, but it was a relief, all the same, to hear that everyone else decided to bow out. Hiking in the rain simply isn’t much fun. The last day of the hiking tour along the coast of Pembrokeshire a year ago our group had to go from Newport to St. Dogmael’s in a continual rain, with sharp winds in addition, over the course of 16 miles, and we were all very weary and dispirited by the end. The hike that we had planned to do today – the loop from Elizabeth Furnace along Sherman Gap and Shawl Gap – could have been a hazardous undertaking under the circumstances. The ascent up Sherman Gap in particular is steep and rocky, with numerous streamlets that cross the trail and that overflow very readily. Even had we gone through with our plans to hike today, we certainly would have had to alter our route to something less risky in wet weather.
At least one prominent Trump supporter has become an advocate of wearing face masks, in defiance of his idol. Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, was hospitalized for COVID earlier this month, almost certainly as a result of attending an event at the White House. He is now urging people to wear masks, saying that being without a mask such an event was a “serious failure” for him and that he is “lucky to be alive.” He has not criticized Trump directly, but he has criticized Mike Pence for continuing to campaign after several of the latter’s senior staff (including Mark Short, Pence’s chief of staff) tested positive for the virus.
Trump’s policy of ignoring the virus has worked against his own interests. It is a statistical certainty that some of the members of Trump’s and Pence’s inmost circles currently affected by the virus will either die of it or be so severely ill as to be incapacitated for months. Yet Donald Trump’s White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has now stated openly said that the coronavirus can’t be contained, ignoring the fact that many other countries have made at least an attempt to contain it and have a much lower casualty rate as a result.
The U.K. now has restrictions all across the country. The default level is the so-called Tier 1: no social gatherings indoors with more than six people, any consumption of food in restaurants and bars occurs only by customers who are seated, bars close between 10:00 PM and 5:00 AM, wedding ceremonies are limited to 15 attendees total, and funerals to 30 attendees. For Tier 2 (which extends to parts of London and several areas in the Home Counties), the restrictions are greater: no indoor social gatherings at all and no indoor sports or indoor gym exercise except among groups of immediate relatives. For Tier 3 (much of Yorkshire and Lancashire), bars and pubs must operate as restaurants only and alcohol consumption can take place only at meals. Travel in and out of such areas is strongly discouraged. One friend of mine, who lives in Shropshire, was vacationing in Wales when the restrictions were announced; whereupon he hastened to return home, not wishing to take the chance of his area being upgraded to a travel-restricted area and thereby leaving him stranded.
Spain has declared a state of emergency and has imposed a daily curfew lasting from 11:00 PM to 6:00 AM. Italy has also imposed new restrictions: Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte ordered that gyms, swimming pools, theaters and cinemas shut down as of tomorrow and not re-open until Nov. 24th. Both nations were among the hardest hit by the first wave of the pandemic, but for a while it seemed that the amount of contagion had fallen under control. But new infections have recently been increasing at an alarming rate, and once again its death tolls have been soaring.
The rise of cases in the U.S. over the past several tests has already been recorded, although there is one re-assuring note: the percentage of tests that yield positive results has gone down. The average rate is now a little over 6%, a substantial reduction over the 22% rate that was prevalent during the month of April.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 43,319,804; # of deaths worldwide: 1,158,770; # of cases U.S.: 8,888,328; # of deaths U.S.: 230,507. For once, a daily death toll of less than 500, the first time in many days.