I also spent some time trying to watch the presidential corona virus briefing. But it kept stalling out, so I only heard snippets. Enough to know that the next two weeks will be rough, especially for some hot spots. And that the POTUS is capable of contradicting himself, even about vitally important matters, within the space of a single sentence. And that the U.S. has been accused of diverting shipments of medical supplies.
As I wrote this, I wonder whether a day will come when the world will be in such dire straits that international cooperation in coordinating relief efforts will override the base human impulse for preservation of self and tribe. In other words, what would it take for us to work together as a social animal that is able to put the species and its survival as a whole ahead of individual needs? I wonder what E.O. Wilson has to say about SARS-CoV-2.
As of right now, the Johns Hopkins worldwide numbers are 1.2 million confirmed cases, 64,753 deaths and 246,886 recovered. For California, the numbers are 13,723 confirmed cases and 317 deaths. That figure comes from the efforts of the New York Times to track cases at a state and county-wide level. When you see that fewer than 21 out of 100,000 people in Sonoma County are affected, and .2 out of 100,000 people in Sonoma County have died from this disease, it would be tempting to think of it as "just another flu" about which officials are making a huge fuss. But in New York, the deaths at this point number 22 out of every 100,000 people, and they're having to create more makeshift morgues. That's the way this would go everywhere - or worse - if we weren't sheltering in place.
I'm hoping to avoid any trips to the stores or anywhere, apart from driving S. to work and picking her up, for the next couple of weeks.
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