A few weeks back I turned 73 years old, I thought that by now there would be no more surprises, nothing to get the old heart racing. Well I have been wrong before and it appears that I am wrong again, Mother Nature or rather someone who was tinkering with Mother Nature has decided to liven things up for this world we share with her. A few years from now history may tell us what actually happened, was somebody in fact monkeying around in areas they shouldn't have or it will confirm that a microscopic little bug that lived in the blood of animals took a leap to the human population.
Whatever the truth may be, a virus that normally lives in animals is now running amuck on the worlds human population, we have even given it a name - "Corona Virus 19" or "Codiv 19". Like it's predecessors the Black Plague, Spanish Flu, H1N1 and others it has infected more than six million people world wide and almost four hundred thousand have died. This is a new virus and we have no vaccine and no known cure, it has infected people of all ages but is most deadly to older people and anyone with a pre-existing condition such as heart disease, COPD, kidney disease. You could have the virus and not know it, you can pass it along to someone else by sneezing or touching a surface that will sustain it for up to two weeks.
With the travel oriented society of today it didn't take long for this virus to spread. We do know that this virus comes from China's Wuhan district where coincidently there is a lab studying the Corona virus. Because China is a secret society we do not know for sure when it got loose, we are informed the first cases showed up in China in December of 2019 but some say that is a fluid date and those in the know seem to disappear, another quaint trait of China. By February 2nd there were 17389 cases globally ( 24 countries ) and 362 deaths, the US had 11 cases, nine days later there were 42,708 infected people globally with 1017 dead. So far the virus has invaded pretty much every society around the globe, there may be a small Pacific island that has been unaffected but all major countries around the world are struggling with the effects of Corona. As of June 1, 2020 we here in Georgia have just over 47,000 cases and 2053 deaths.
Life as we know it is different now, we have learned new terminology like "shelter in place" and "social distancing". At first we were told to stay away from large groups, do not touch your face, wash your hands often no more hand shaking and stay 6 feet from the nearest person, work from home if possible. All major sporting events have had their season delayed or out right cancelled, conventions were cancelled. There was a mad rush at grocery stores, their shelves were stripped bare, people were hoarding toilet paper, bottled water, bread, hand sanitizer. Cities, towns and even whole states are mandating that people "shelter in place" in other words do not leave home unless it is essentially necessary. All businesses not essential to fighting the virus were closed. Nationally millions of people are out of work, unemployment in the U.S. has exceeded historical levels.
Kay and I have been doing our part, neither of us have had a haircut in four months and because all of our usual activities have been put on hold I decided to grow a beard so I have not shaved in about three months. We have been good as far as staying away from people, I went about a month before I even left the house on my own, we don't dine out anymore mainly because the restaurants our closed, Kay orders our groceries on line and picks them up in the store parking lot. We do still go for our rides but we just ride, we don't stop and get out we just ride. We have hooked up the boat and gone fishing only to find that all of the laid off fishermen had the same idea.
The virus has even effected the political arena, democrats and republicans are at each others throats with each blaming the other for the mess we are in, it is an election year and both sides are taking advantage of the virus to gain votes. Theorist are having a field day with their ideas of how serious the virus really is, some say it was intentionally unleashed on the American public because our economy was the best in our history. Theories about the best way to combat the virus or various cures are endless. One theory questions the real need for a vaccine as some believe certain sectors want to insert micro chips in the vaccines that would track our movements and push us into a new world controlled by a one world government, maybe George Orwell really was trying to tell us something.
People are divided, a part of society says the virus is all a hoax while seniors and people who are most susceptible are running scared. Another new catch phrase is "new normal", many things have changed and may never be the same again. Online sales for everything from groceries to furniture has soared, order your groceries on line they will tell you when the order will be ready for pickup. When you arrive at the store parking lot call and someone will bring your groceries to you and put them in your vehicle. Working from home was encouraged and has gone so well it may be that many companies will continue on a much larger scale.
Wearing of protective mask is advised and in some places required but not everybody wears them. most store employees wear them but it seems that the customers are of mixed opinions - some do, some don't. Most restaurants offer drive thru or curbside pickup only, those few that are starting to reopen require a reservation, you have to wear a mask that you can take off after you have been seated, they will not seat more than six people to a table and only use every other table, oh and they ask that you not dilly dally around - eat and get out so other customers can get in.
Going in to the month of June things appear to be getting better, the number of infected people is declining as are the deaths, we have "flattened out the curve". Some people are ecstatic while others are not ready to concede to the flat curve theory.
Experts, depending on who you believe, say all of the precautions we took were useless, others say we are returning to normal too soon a new outbreak can happen anytime. People are tired of staying in place, tired of having no work, tired of stores that have little to sell or are closed because they are not necessary. They are tired of wearing face mask, tired of living in fear, tired of not knowing who to believe, which way to turn or what the unknown future holds for them.
So where do we go from here, that is a big unknown, I doubt this is the last we will see of this virus, will it come back later this year, will it evolve into something worse ? Only time will answer those questions, only time will put people back to work and take away their fear. Only time holds all the answers.
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Well here I am a little over a year later, as predicted the virus mutated into what is known as the "Delta" virus that is meaner and more deadly than the original. Infection rates have risen to epic proportions, the hospitals are again full to overflowing and the death toll is climbing. The majority of those being infected are younger between 30 to 55 years old and some even younger. Better than 95% of those infected have not been inoculated. There is a sector of society that are opposed to the vaccine and refuse to take it because they feel it is an infringement on their freedom or that the vaccine contains a tracking device that record their movements, they also refuse to wear mask for the same reasons. I am not one of the "never vaxers", I have been taking vaccines for one disease or another since I was a kid, I believe in them besides I don't believe in tempting fate as it has a way of jumping up and biting you on the butt when you least expect it.
Politically the Republicans are blaming the Democrats for the spread of the disease as President Biden opened the southern boarders to tens of thousands of illegal immigrants many of who are sick with the virus. the Democrats on the other hand are blaming the mishandling of the virus on policies initiated by former President Trump. Mask mandates have again gone in to place by many businesses, school boards and whole counties and yet many people are protesting the mandates again because it's an infringement on their freedom of choice. The turmoil over these issues is boundless, the nation is deeply divided.
Many school systems opened up only to close a few days later after students tested positive for the virus. The infection numbers for younger children is climbing even though the vaccine has been approved for kids 5 years old and up.
The hope is that the infection rate will peak in a few more weeks, I fear that if they don't peak the nation will go back into a mandatory shut down again and that would not be good for our struggling economy.
I'm sure I will be back with an update hopefully one that has a more positive outlook.
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