North Korea may be ready to declare victory against the not-so-novel-now coronavirus, if you want to believe the story coming from state media. The report is that 18 percent of the 26 million residents have had covid symptoms, but only 73 have died. News or state propaganda? Take your pick. The country is in a bit of a Catch-22, though. If the government says that covid is over, it will make Kim Jong Un look like a great leader. In saying so, though, the pandemic restrictions that have been adopted and that have given the government even more control over citizens would no longer be needed. North Korea may have accepted vaccines from China, though it apparently ignored offers from South Korea and the US.
Broadway theaters are dropping mask mandates as of July 1. Some patrons do plan to keep wearing them. A theater studies professor and Tony Award voter who attends regularly notes, "It's important when you have people packed that tightly together, to control the flow of airborne germs at a time when we don't know what the long-term effect of covid is going to be." I'd have to agree with that. People are packed pretty tightly together in most theaters. I think I'd still be wearing a mask, too.
A bipartisan panel of health experts has called for an overhaul of the US public health system to greatly expand the role of the federal government and create a "national public health system." They'd like the federal government to have the authority to set minimum health standards and coordinate nearly 3,000 state, local, and tribal agencies. The panel says that this will help stop the "archaic approaches to aggregating data," which they say is one reason so many Americans have died during the pandemic.
A study coming out of China about the low risks of infection with Omicron questions the necessity of the country's zero-covid program. Of the more than 33,000 patients hospitalized after a positive test, only 22 developed serious illness. All of the 22 were over the age of 60 and had underlying medical conditions.
The number of cases in the US is soaring, but death rates are close to pandemic lows. Still, the daily rate of 314 deaths is more than twice the rate for suicide or car crashes. People's immune systems are said to be stronger due to vaccinations or past infections. As might be expected, older people make up a large share of the deaths.
Are we there yet, Mom? No, but we may be getting closer.
1 comment:
Picture me puzzled: "...is more than twice the rate for suicide of car crashes".
Does that mean suicide by way of car crash, or did you mean "suicide OR car crashes"?
I'm still wearing my mask everywhere. When I remember, I'll take it off outside, but I usually just keep it on for the walk from the business to the car.
I noticed in the last flight I took (2 weeks ago) that having the mask-as-an-option makes for a far less contentious experience. Nobody seems to have an agenda any longer. There's more a feeling of "you do you, boo!" Makes for a much more relaxed experience.
Bird 'Pie
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