The local university has added a mask mandate for fall, well, until September 6 at which point it may stay or go. Masks must be worn at all times (except for eating or drinking) inside any building except dormitories by all people, vaccinated or not. Those people who are not yet vaccinated must wear masks even outdoors. The psychologist in me loves that in everything I've read about this the university never calls the unvaccinated unvaccinated. They are always "people who have yet to be vaccinated." I don't know if this is to make them feel less stigmatized, less set apart in a negative way?
Protests seem the in thing this weekend. Protests in Italy are against new measures requiring proof of coronavirus status to attend indoor events and for teachers. Some protestors in Milan wore Star of David badges that bore the words "not vaccinated." Thousands in Poland are protesting covid restrictions on unvaccinated people. Some carried "Enough of coronapsychosis" signs. Protestors in Paris shouted, "Macron we don't want your pass." As of Monday, people will need a health pass to eat in a restaurant or drink in a cafe indoors or on a terrace. Passes will also be required for intercity transportation. Finally, there was a protest in Bangkok against the perceived failure of the government to handle outbreaks. The only protests I can recall here in the US were several mask burnings quite a while back. I certainly don't recall hundreds or thousands of people filling a public space or marching through the streets protesting some aspect of the coronavirus situation. That's likely a good thing; I would think the crowds could easily become superspreaders.
Speaking of superspreaders, the Sturgis motorcycle rally started yesterday. They expect somewhere between 500,000 and 700,000 people to attend. Last year, hundreds of cases were linked to the rally. It's not clear what might happen this year. Much of the rally will be held outdoors, and for the first time, attendees can take alcohol outside bars. Vaccines should reduce the risk of serious illness. Despite its relatively low vaccination rate, South Dakota currently has the fewest new cases per capita. No screening process is in place, but Johnson & Johnson vaccines are offered, though they would not take effect until the rally was over. Also available will be coronavirus tests, free masks, and hand sanitizer stations.
California and Hawaii are putting pressure on workers in public and health sectors to get vaccinated. California is getting rid of the option of substituting regular testing for vaccination. California's public health officer says cases and hospitalizations are way up and unvaccinated health care workers contributed to that. The governor of Hawaii says that vaccinations or frequent testing of state employees is needed to prevent strain on the health care system. There is resistance in health care including nursing homes with some facilities saying that a vaccine mandate will cost them staff in a field that already has high turnover.
Florida now has more hospitalizations, including for pediatric patients, than any other state. A new state rule means that parents who feel school requirements amount to harassment can request private school vouchers. The governor notes, "We can either have a free society, or we can have a biomedical security state. And I can tell you: Florida, we're a free state. People are going to be free to choose to make their own decisions."
Only 27 percent of residents over the age of 12 are fully vaccinated in Lassen, California. A man whose wife got vaccinated early on did not get vaccinated until Delta arose. "I just waited until I wasn't afraid," he said. He says that friends have told him, "You drank the Kool-Aid." A vaccinated woman doesn't want to lose friends and says, "I wear my mask and hope for the best." Being an introvert with many acquaintances and few friends is something of a survival strategy, I guess; if my any of my friends have yet to be vaccinated, I'm not worried about losing them.
At dinner with close vaccinated friends last night, one commented on the fact that I still so carefully limit my activities and interactions. They made it sound like something noteworthy. It doesn't seem that way to me. I do worry at times about Son #1 and The Professor having to do so many things I don't want to. There was an article in today's Guardian with the headline "I want this pandemic to end--yet I secretly pine for another lockdown." I can't say that I'd like for the pandemic to continue indefinitely, but I can't say that staying away from many different things and people has really been that difficult. I wonder if I should be concerned about that.
1 comment:
I didn't like being in crowds anyway so for me not much has changed. I've been to the cinema, eaten out, my craft clubs are running. I can do all the things I want to do, at the moment I don't want to fly anywhere or do anything that I can't walk out of.
The countries that are protesting had months being confined to their homes, not through choice. There have been night time curfews, legal restrictions on how far you can be from your home, how many people you can meet. It wasn't the same as a stay at home advisory. They have been through all that for so long, thought they are through the other side of it and then find that, again, the state is limiting what they can do.
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