I've been at this blog now for 53 weeks. The pandemic was declared on March 11, 2020; I began this blog on March 16, 2020; and I got my first dose of coronavirus vaccine on March 19, 2021. It's been a hell of a year that seems much like a minute. When I started this pandemic journal, I don't think I really grasped just how long this could go on. When talk of a vaccine arose, I read that the quickest vaccine development and approval had been something like four years; I think that was the mumps vaccine. I never would have thought that one year and one week after the novel coronavirus pandemic was officially declared, I would be getting vaccinated against it. The first people vaccinated got their doses only nine months after the pandemic had been declared.
When I think back on the events of the year, events both public and personal, the time seems to have passed so quickly. The year becomes, if not the minute suggested above, maybe a day. If I hadn't been writing this, I would not have appreciated all the events that the day-long year contained, what happened before some other thing, and what mistakes I made thinking of what would happen when. Adding in some political news has helped put things in in a broader perspective, and there's been lots of political news from which to pick and choose. Some story lines, such as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's meteoric rise and fall, I have deliberately not discussed; others, of course, such as the pre- and post-election event, I could not overlook.
Another happening of about one year ago was a spring break from which some students were told not to return except to pick up essentials such as computers and texts from their dorm rooms. Schools at all levels became online distance learning operations overnight. Some did it better than others, but I can't fault anyone's efforts. What school system would have thought as classes began in August or September that those classes would come to an abrupt halt in March?
Spring break is happening again, and it's not clear any coronavirus lessons have been learned in the past year. Miami Beach, Florida has been packed in large part because Florida has fewer restrictions in place than the other traditional spring break destinations. The local government has tried to put things on hold at least for 72 hours. For those 72 hours, restaurants, bars, and sidewalk cafes must close at 8:00 pm. I don't think that will do anything about the unmasked, not-so-distanced crowds on the beaches, though. Will there be a noticeable effect when all those students return to their respective dorms, apartments, or homes, to roommates their own age, or younger, or elderly? It would not surprise me.
Michigan, where early attempts at mitigation were soundly protested, now has the fourth fastest growing rate of new cases behind New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island. In Michigan, that rate translates into a 92 percent rise in cases in the last two weeks. Michigan also ranks second for the presence of variants, behind only Florida. New York City has recorded its first case of the highly contagious Brazil variant. It is worth noting that the person presenting that case was a 90ish-year-old person with no travel history. In other words, they didn't bring that variant home from Brazil. Besides being highly contagious the Brazil variant has, in some cases, reinfected people who have had and recovered from covid-19. There are 48 other cases of this variant in at least 16 states; Florida has the most, 21. I wonder how many of those spring breakers will take the Brazil variant home as a souvenir.
Other random things include that the organizing committee has confirmed that no international spectators will be allowed at the Tokyo Olympics (July 23 - August 8) nor Paralympics (August 24 - September 5). Closer to home, the Canadian Conservative Party has voted not to recognize the climate crisis as real; the vote was 54 to 46 percent. Eastern Australia is not enjoying but enduring once-in-a-century floods. One year, it's wildfires Down Under; another year, it's flooding. Finally, Tuesday is National Puppy Day. What's not to like about puppies?
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