It's going to be an interesting week or more. A couple nights ago, The Professor complained of a sore throat. I suggested he use one of our home testing kits. The negative result made him think maybe he'd just talked too much; it was, after all, early in the semester and he hadn't done lectures in a while. He came home from work yesterday and mentioned the cold symptoms he was feeling. I handed him another covid test kit. Yep, he got the second line indicating he had covid. It seems that he's been lecturing and talking with students after class without wearing a mask. Really, Prof? Really? I've banished him to the basement where there's a guest bedroom and a full bathroom. His being down there means I can't go work on the quilts in progress, but I'd rather forego that than catch covid. I tested negative last night but will test myself tomorrow. If I'm still negative, I'll test again the next day. I'd like to think I won't get it from him, but I'm realistic enough to know that the odds are against that. Do something every day that scares you? I'd say that these next few days count in that regard.
China is sticking with its zero-covid policy. The city of Chengdu, population 21.1 million, has been locked down. Businesses have closed. One member of each family who has tested negative in the last 24 hours is allowed out each day to buy necessities. People may otherwise only leave their homes for mandatory covid testing or some other "special need."
More evidence has hit the media of the educational setbacks in response to the pandemic. Fourth-grade reading scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress saw their biggest decrease in 30 years. Math scores fell for the first time in history, otherwise known as when the testing started, in the 1970s. These declines were seen in all regions and affected students of most races. Some of the steepest declines were for students of color. Experts say it could take a generation to rebound from the covid declines, and that could easily affect economic output for years. The Professor has commented that the undergraduates he teaches don't seem to be of the same quality as students in earlier years. I pointed out that the students he was teaching had likely done their last year or year-and-a-half virtually, something that likely affected the math foundation needed to master physics.
A couple of number items to close on, one of which is related to the coronavirus. North Carolina has the nation's lowest booster rate. The federal government is recommending that people get the new covid booster by the end of October. Finally, and worryingly, a new Quinnipiac Poll reports that 69 percent of each political party (the two main ones, Democrat and Republican) think that "the nation's democracy is in danger of collapse."
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