The Road goes ever on and on ... Day 290 (790)

North Korea confirmed 21 new deaths and 174,440 more people with fever symptoms, bringing the overall totals to 27 deaths and 524,440 cases. State media also said that 243,630 people have already recovered while 280,810 remain in quarantine. The emergency epidemic office has blamed the deaths on "mistakes like overmuch taking of drugs, bereft of scientific medical treatment." Kim Jong Un has declared the outbreak both a "great disaster" and a "huge disruption." He is said to be donating some of his private medicine supplies to help in the fight. He also said they would follow the Chinese model of virus protection. Now, that will be interesting to hear about should they decide we will hear about it. How bad are things really there? A professor in South Korea said that the public acknowledgement of covid meant "the public health situation must be serious."

The prime minister of New Zealand has tested positive and will be spending another week in quarantine. She's been in quarantine for a week already after her partner tested positive a week ago. New cases in South Africa continue to rise, from about 360 per day in early April to about 8,000 per day now. Experts say the counts are likely undercounts. Because the symptoms can be very mild, many people just don't get tested.

England opened vaccinations to children ages five through 11 about six weeks ago. In that time, seven percent of eligible children have been vaccinated. In the first six weeks of vaccine rollout for children between 12 and 15, 24 percent got a first dose. Some parents think that covid poses little risk to younger children. Others worry about the risk of rare side-effects. Many of the parents who did get their children vaccinated cited a fear of long covid as the reason. In other cases, someone in the household was immuno-compromised or otherwise at risk of serious illness. 

 Closer to home, four cadets at the Air Force Academy may not graduate or be commissioned due to their refusal to be vaccinated against covid. They may also have to pay back about $200,000 in tuition and fees. There are two weeks until graduation, so there is still time for that first vaccination. So far, there are no similar incidents at the Army's West Point or the Naval Academy. The Air Force Academy also has two juniors, 1 sophomore, and 6 freshmen who have so far refused to be vaccinated.