Crisis Upon Crisis (Pandemic Part VI)

Another two weeks down. Society is slowly opening up, even though the virus is not under control in many places. Some people refuse to wear masks because it infringes on their freedom. They are obviously free to be jerks and threaten the health of others. It's hard to say what the new normal will look like and when it will arrive.

Mon., May 18

• The World Health Organization (WHO) held its annual meeting, with tension between the U.S. and China over vaccine development.
• Gov. Baker released a four-phase plan for reopening the state. Churches allowed to reopen, with outdoor services encouraged.
• Ford, GM, and Chrysler reopened their manufacturing plants.
• Trump says he's taking hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug that has not been proven to treat the virus and can have dangerous side effects.
• Sarah's school announced a 6th grade graduation ceremony in the parking lot on June 10.

Tues., May 19

• A vaccine by Moderna is showing promising early results.
• There were 1.5 million cases and more than 90,000 deaths in the U.S.
• Trump threatened to pull permanent funding for WHO because they're being soft on China.

Wed., May 20

• Sarah recorded scenes for her school musical, which was canceled due to the virus. Her technology teacher is going compile a virtual performance.

• UMass and Smith College furloughed staff, including our neighbor Matt.

Thurs., May 21

• One in four Americans has lost a job and one in two has lost income due to the virus.
• Bigoted incidents against Asian American health-care workers are on the rise.
• A new study from Columbia University found that if social distancing had been in place seven days earlier, the United States could have prevented 36,000 deaths through early May.

Fri., May 22

• The Cummington Fair was canceled for the first time since it started 152 years ago.

Sun., May 24

• There were 1.6 million cases and 97,000 deaths in the U.S.

Mon., May 25

• Large crowds gathered on beaches and in other outdoor areas during the Memorial Day weekend.
• Christian Cooper, a black man, was birdwatching in Central Park and asked a woman, Amy Cooper to leash her dog as required. The woman went nuts and threatened to call the police and tell them a black man was threatening her. He captured the whole thing on video.
• A Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd, a black man suspected of passing a forged $20-bill, by kneeling on his neck so he couldn't breathe.
• Hair salons and dog groomers were allowed to re-open. I made a hair appointment for June 12 but I'm not sure whether I'll follow through due to the risk.

Tues. May 26

• The New York Stock Exchange reopened its trading floor.

Wed., May 27

• The U.S. reached the mark of 100,000 dead from COVID, more than the Korean, Viet Nam, Iraq, and Afghanistan wars combined.

Thurs., May 28

• Abby got groomed professionally for the first time in 16 weeks (her usual is eight weeks). She looks so much better!

• The Boston Marathon, which had been postponed to September, was canceled for first time.

Fri., May 29

• Trump tweeted, "When the looting starts, the shooting starts," then claimed he had no idea of its history in the civil rights movement (used by the mayor of Miami in 1967 to threaten protesters). Twitter put a warning on the tweet, marking it as glorifying violence( first time for a public official). Trump issued an executive order -- which is probably unconstitutional -- targeting social media companies.
• Trump said the U.S. will sever ties -- and funding -- to the WHO, but experts say Congress would have to decide that.
• Don's mom and dad were all set to move from the nursing home to a one-bedroom apartment in assisted living across the street. Pattie had spent weeks cleaning out their old apartment, getting rid of things, and buying beds for the new place. The saleswoman assured everyone that Dell and Gordy had passed the necessary tests. Then, as Pattie was waiting with them on moving day, it all went sideways. The saleswoman called and said there was a problem: Dell's score on the memory test indicated she needed to be in memory care; Gordy wasn't mobile enough to be in assisted living and needed to be in the nursing section. Good grief.

Sat., May 30

• Forty million Americans were unemployed due to the virus.
• Dell's memory was retested, and she can move into the apartment.

Sun., May 31

• Protests over the killing of George Floyd (and the many other black people killed by police over the years) began in Minneapolis on Tuesday night and have spread to major cities across the country. Some are peaceful, but others have degenerated into looting, vandalism, and arson.
• There were 1.7 million cases and 103,000 deaths in the U.S. and 96,301 cases and 6,768 deaths in Massachusetts.
• Gordy has been diagnosed with pneumonia.

And so, things have gone from bad to worse. Not only are we dealing with an uncontrolled pandemic and a broken economy, we're also facing the biggest civil rights crisis since the 60s. I hope this country can survive until we inaugurate a new president in January.