September with a Side of Covid
Ventured out for my first out of town trip since this started. Visited a friend who has been stuck on lock-down in assisted living since maybe February.
What a seriously odd world to emerge into.
Contact absolutely verboten. Masks. 6 foot distancing strictly enforced. Temperature checks. Wipe down of birthday gifts, and bags and cards. 20 minutes by appointment only, and outside.
And silently...despite the inconveniences and frustration...I am grateful.
In a nearby town they have lost dozens of patients to the virus.
Here...they have lost no one.
It speaks volumes for their dedication to health & safety.
The next day I embark on another oddity that I have refrained from/been unable to do since this plague started.
The not-so-simple (these days) act of sitting down to dine inside a restaurant.
When entering there is a huge bottle of hand sanitizer and masks required sign.
Everyone has masks...from the hostess seating you...to the waitresses and bus-boys.
You must wear your mask at all times...ordering...getting up to go to the restroom. Lowering it only when you are eating. Raising it during any interaction with the waitress.
Tables are scattered and no one is near anyone else's tables. There are empty tables in between.
And although it seems surface of the moon odd...there is a strange comfort.
A feeling that this is as safe as they can make it given the circumstances.
The first biker from Sturgis has succumbed to the disease. He was my age. Last count they have 260 cases directly connected to Bike Week. This will surely increase as time advances.
As of today Worldwide there are over 26 million infected.
Over 870,000 dead.
Over 6 million of those infected are here in the US.
With over 190,000 dead.
The past week we have averaged 40,000 newly infected each day...and lost on average 1,000 people per day.
...breathe...
No end in sight.
Maybe a vaccine by next year...no one is sure yet.
My little county now has 438 cases and rising.
Some are people I know.
I am still healthy.
