Riding the Corona Coaster (Pandemic Part IX)

Remember "flattening the curve"? Many states were successful at doing that, but now cases are on the rise again. And, still, Trump and many Republican governors refuse to promote, let alone model, mask-wearing.

Sun., Jul. 12

• Daily new cases nationally was 66,000, another record.
• Florida broke the national record for most new cases in a day by a state: 15,299.

Mon., Jul. 13

• Los Angeles  and San Diego schools will be all online in the fall.

Tues., Jul. 14

• Trump reversed his decision on international college students (issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on July 6, saying if a college went online-only, ICE would rescind international students' visas).
• Canada extended the national border closure to August 21.
• The Administration had states report hospitalizations to Health and Human Services instead of the Centers for Disease Control.

Wed., Jul., 15

• CDC recommended all Americans wear masks (finally!).
• 67,000 new cases,  another daily record; 137,000 dead
• The Rodriguezes canceled their planned visit to the cabin in August. Although, everyone was disappointed, it was the right thing to do. Cases are rising in Wisconsin, and states between here and there are putting travel restrictions in place. They're going to vacation in northern Wisconsin instead.
• Rose Parade 2021 was canceled.

Thurs., Jul. 16

• Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp sued Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms for requiring masks.

Fri., Jul. 17

• Russia was caught hacking vaccine trials.
• There were 75,000 new cases in U.S., another daily record. 
• CDC said it won't release school reopening guidelines until early Aug.
• The Massachusetts unemployment rate rose to 17.4%, worst in the country. The state opened more slowly than other states and has one of lowest transmission rates.

Mon., Jul. 20

• Over the weekend, 18 states set records for average weekly infections.
• There've been 137,000 deaths, and 3.8 million cases in the U.S.

Tues. Jul. 21

• Trump held a coronavirus task force briefing for the first time in two months. Said things will probably get worse before they get better He advocated for wearing masks and called it patriotic. 
• There were more than 1,000 deaths in one day in the country, the highest since June 2.
• The CDC said the actual number of cases could be 10 times the reported number.

Thurs., Jul 23

• Baseball held opening day of a shortened season without fans in the stands: the Washington Nationals v. the New York Yankees. Dr. Anthony Fauci threw out first pitch, not well, unfortunately.
• U.S. hit four million cases; the number doubled in six weeks; and there were one million in the last two weeks.
• Trump canceled the Republican national convention in Jacksonville, Florida.

Fri., Jul. 24

• Massachusetts required visitors from, and residents returning from, states outside the Northeast to fill out a medical form and quarantine for 14 days.
• Vermont Gov. Phil Scott issued a mask mandate, effective Aug. 1.
• The federal moratorium on evictions during COVID expired.

Sat., Jul. 25

• Sarah's birthday: Zoom call and outdoor party with Julia, Ruby, and Lucia.
• Florida, Texas, and California are hotspots; Dr. Debra Birx, member of the Coronavirus Task Force, said we basically have three New York Cities (referring to how bad the virus hit that metropolis).

Sun., Jul. 26

• We celebrated Mom's and Sarah's birthday's in Goshen with George and Chelsey, with cupcakes at end of house.
• New York City had its fewest hospitalizations since March.

Mon., Jul. 27

• Moderna's COVID vaccine entered the final phase of testing.
• Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and teachers' unions agreed to start school up to 10 days late (by Sept. 16)  to give teachers time to prepare.

Tues., Jul. 28

• Sarah's middle school had a Zoom meeting for parents to present three options for reopening, as required by the state: full in person, hybrid, and full remote learning.
• The Miami Marlins baseball team had a COVID outbreak, possibly from a night out on the town in Atlanta.
• I had my teeth cleaned for the first time in nine months -- I can't remember the last time it was that long. It felt pretty safe, except for when the hygienist leaned in to put the x-ray sensors in my mouth and was wearing only her mask. Otherwise, she wore a mask and a shield.

Wed., Jul. 29

• Deaths hit 150,000.
• The U.S. economy shrank 33% during the second quarter of this year, the largest drop ever.

Thurs., Jul. 30

• School committees in our district held a joint Zoom meeting to discuss plans for this year. The meeting was "Zoom bombed," my first experience. After about 20 minutes of chaos, they regained control. The middle school/high school committee scheduled another meeting for Tues. to make a decision on what mode school will start with in September.
• There is now one COVID death per minute in the U.S.
• Herman Cain, pizza magnate and one-time Presidential candidate, died of COVID. He attended Trump's rally in Tulsa and didn't wear a mask.

Fri., Jul., 31

• Extra unemployment benefits ($600/week) expired without Congress doing anything to replace them.

We're coming up on five months of life upended by COVID-19. And we thought three weeks was long when we were first told to stay at home... The virus is surging, or resurging, in many parts of the country. The Northeast still has a pretty good handle on it, but there are signs of slippage. We could be headed in the wrong direction again.

The start of school is on everyone's minds, and no one knows what to do. There is no right answer. I feel bad for the teachers and administrators, and especially for the community members who volunteer their time on school committees. The decision has fallen to them, and it's so much more than they signed up for. They can't win.

I think the best option is the hybrid model, where half the students attend school Mon. and Tues., all students learn remotely on Wed., and the other half go to school Thurs. and Fri. When not at school, students do remote-learning, so they have a full week of classes. This seems to cut the chances of in-person transmission while still offering some in-person instruction and socializing. Unsurprisingly, Don wants full in-person classes.

And into August we go!