Wednesday, January 19, 2022

The Road goes ever on and on ... Day 175 (675)

The government's free test website that went live yesterday, a day early, officially opened today. I imagine that tonight's news will have something about how many tests have been requested. In addition to the tests, the government will be giving away non-surgical N95 masks. There's no ordering masks online; distribution will be handled through community health centers and retail pharmacies. Mask distribution will start next week. 

The CDC put 22 more nations into its "highest-risk" travel category, Level 4. The criterion for inclusion is to have had over 500 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days. The CDC also put 22 more nations into the "high" risk category, Level 3. As of now, there are 101 nations in Level 1, 57 in Level 3, 17 in Level 2 (moderate risk), and 19 in Level 1 (low risk). Forty-two nations fall into the "unknown" category that comes with advice to check into the countries as best one can before actually going there. Cruise ships are considered to be at Level 4.

Enrollments in nursing programs are rising. Enrollment in undergraduate programs was up 5.6 percent this year, while enrollment in master's programs rose 4.1 percent. At the same time, nurses and other health care workers are showing signs of stress similar to those shown by combat veterans. In a survey of over 500 doctors, nurses, and first responders, 15 percent said it was "not at all likely" they would still work in the field in five to 10 years. For nurses alone, the percentage was 20. Seventy-four percent of survey respondents reported suffering symptoms of depression, 37 percent reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, and 15 percent admitted they'd had thoughts of suicide or self-harm. Since February 2020, 30 percent of US health care workers have lost their jobs or quit. The more common reason given was what else, covid. 

Over 1,200 students in Oakland, California signed a petition saying they would stay at home this week unless they get more covid protection including N95 masks, weekly testing, better social distancing, or a shift to virtual learning. Students also protested in New York City, New Jersey, Chicago, and Washington, DC. Virginia's new governor, who made an executive order ending school mask mandates, has said he "would use every resource within the governor's authority to explore what we can do and will do in order to make sure parents' rights are protected." Once again I thank the lucky stars that my kids have outgrown K12 education. 

A couple quotes with which to close: 

"This pandemic is nowhere near over." 
     WHO Director

"In winter it's not at all like in summer."
      French education minister, on Ibiza (see yesterday's post)

1 comment:

Caroline M said...

The village case rate is down to 681/100,000, down from over 2,000 very recently. The rate for the UK is 922 so I don't need to look up which category we'd fall into. It's dark all the time, rains frequently so I'm not sure why anyone would want to visit in January anyway. Personally I wouldn't leave the country at the moment because the travel rules have changed so many times that I'd be worried about getting back.