Happy Earth Day! If you can't plant a tree, at least say hello to one and thank it for its role in keeping us all oxygenated. Try to avoid single-use plastic anything; those recycling triangles don't mean that an item will definitely get recycled even if it's placed in a recycle bin.
It's been a hard morning on the news-finding front, quite possibly the hardest I've yet encountered. If you think it might be because the pandemic is weakening, you might want to think again. Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 have been discovered in South Africa, and they appear to be just as transmissible as other varaints on their Omicron family tree. As proof that an Omicron variant has the potential to evade immunity from a natural infection, a fully vaccinated, 31-year-old healthcare worker in Spain tested positive for covid twice within a three-week period. She tested positive right before Christmas 2021 and again in January 2022. It was not the case that she was just testing positive for much longer than most people do; whole genome sequencing showed that she had been infected by two different variants. In December, she was infected with Delta; in January, Omicron.
One problem with the airplane mask mandate was that it was being haphazardly enforced. Masks came off for meals and/or drinks and often did not make it back on when the eating or drinking was done. Or the mask made it up far enough to cover the mouth while the nose was free-range. A University of Minnesota epidemiologist said that a mask mandate with as many exceptions as the airline one is like a submarine closing three of its five doors.
In terms of mask mandates and other public health measures, the following quote jumped out at me: "A central lesson of public health is that people have a limited capacity to change their routine." It's probably human nature, in the if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it vein. If something suddenly does not work, it could be a one-off event. I didn't get the usual kibble after pressing the bar this time, but if I press the bar again ... and again ...
And in China, Shanghai says that it will ease controls on truck drivers. Locking down drivers has hurt delivery of food supplies in particular and trade in general. Hong Kong is ending a two-year ban on non-residents flying in. They must be vaccinated and test negative first. The relaxed measures begin on May 1. They have not said "no" to zero-covid, though, so things could get even more interesting.
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