The Road goes ever on and on ... Day 12 (512)

The Closing Ceremonies to the Summer Olympics were yesterday, and the Winter Olympics start in Beijing in but 180 days. If you thought the covid restrictions in Tokyo were tight, the ones planned for Beijing are even tighter. There will essentially be no contact between Chinese people and the people associated with the Olympics. Guards in biohazard suits will patrol to stop people from leaving the Olympic bubble. Interviews will be conducted behind plastic separating walls and using microphones. People associated with the Olympics will wear armpit thermometers that will alert someone should the wearer begin to run a fever. I assume that they will take competition into account because I would think the exertion of, say, cross-country skiing or speed skating might raise someone's body temperature. 

Covid cases here in the US continue to average over 100,000 daily, an average that has doubled from two weeks ago. Deaths are also close to having doubled, at about 516 daily. The Delta variant now accounts for 93 percent of US cases. The US military will mandate vaccines for troops even if the FDA has not given full approval to a vaccine. The Secretary of Defense says that this is one of the few ways left to try to protect troops from the virus. 

The governor of Arkansas had signed a bill banning mask and vaccine mandates. With cases surging, he now says, "It was an error to sign that law. I admit that....facts change, and leaders have to adjust to the new facts and the reality of what you have to deal with." Not all of his fellow governors agree. This, from a statement from the office of the Governor of Texas: "Governor Abbott has been clear that we must rely on personal responsibility, not government mandates. Every Texan has a right to choose for themselves and their children whether they will wear masks, open their businesses, or get vaccinated." The statement went on to urge people to get vaccinated while at the same time noting that the vaccine "will always remain voluntary and never forced in Texas." Cases are increasing exponentially in Austin, Texas; San Antonio and Houston are also experiencing surges. Houston's mayor has defied the governor's ban on mask mandates. Only six ICU beds, 499 hospital beds, and 313 ventilators are available in the Texas trauma service area that serves the 2.4 million people in and around Austin.

Staying in the South, Louisiana how leads the nation in new cases. Friday saw a daily increase of 6,116 cases. There are 2,421 covid sufferers hospitalized, 277 on ventilators. The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival scheduled for October 8-17 in New Orleans has been canceled for the second year in a row. Mississippi health care services are also stretched thin; there are only 42 adult ICU beds available in the entire state. In Alabama, 93 percent of ICU beds are occupied by covid patients. In Georgia, hospitals in Atlanta are nearing capacity.

The Florida governor signed a law that says proof of vaccination cannot be requested in Florida. A US District judge now says that Norwegian Cruise Line can ignore this law and require both passengers and crew to present proof they have been vaccinated. Whether this will really help is open to question after six passengers on a Royal Caribbean cruise tested positive for covid despite having been vaccinated and testing negative right before departure.

So the more things change, the more they somewhat stay the same. I don't think crowd or attendance limits will be put reinstated, though, nor will curfews. Should they be? I'll trust the public health people on that. Right now, I plan on working at a fiber festival the first weekend in October. It will be my first time in a crowd since March, 2020 other than while getting vaccinated. As I did at the vaccination sites, I will be wearing a mask, along with a button noting that I choose to wear a mask even while fully vaccinated. However, should there be a covid outbreak in the area around that time, I may decide it's not worth the risk. Same old same old? Probably. I'm still more than a little afraid.