21 Mar 2020: Europe
is the current epicentre with Italy reporting 793 new
fatalities, its biggest daily increase, bringing the total number of
deaths to 4,825 amid 53,578 cases. Spain is the second
worst-hit country in Europe with more than 21,000 infections and at least 1,000
deaths. The EU has taken the unprecedented step to suspend rules on
public deficits giving countries free rein to inject spending into the
economy as needed. Meanwhile, the first two fatalities have been reported in
Singapore.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
tracks pandemic stats around the world.
Good news: 95% of cases are mild and
more than 95,000 people globally have recovered. Bad news: 315,000+ total cases have been reported
with approximately 205,000 cases currently active. Tragically, 13,595 people have died.
https://www.coronainusa.com/
maintains a searchable database which drills down to specific counties and
includes a US hot zone map. According to this source, the nearest confirmed
case is more than 10 miles away from my home.
To help flatten the curve, several states have issued orders to close businesses and
for residents to stay at home. People can still go outside, buy groceries and
visit their doctor though.
USA Today is rated Left-Center Biased based on editorial
positions that slightly favor the left and factually high due to proper
sourcing. https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/usa-today-2/
Some parks and beaches are now closed to the public, disrupting potential travel plans indefinitely.
Politico is rated Least Biased based on balanced coverage of
news stories and High for factual reporting due to proper sourcing and a clean
fact check record. https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/politico/
Saturday
was a beautiful spring day. Greg mowed the lawn and set up our hammock. I
pulled a few weeds and thought about prepping the garden but am still low
energy so didn’t accomplish much.
Still waiting for Austin's test results, 5 days and counting.
Several
email and phone conversations were had with family and friends today. Most people we know are practicing social
distancing but in varying degrees. Folks living in more rural states and counties
where few or no cases have been reported are living life almost normally,
still going to work and taking their young children to daycare.
When the first cases were confirmed in Forsyth county last week, that’s when the pandemic
became real to me. Before then I hadn’t considered drastic lifestyle changes.
Actually, self-quarantine has not been a huge adjustment for me as a retiree. Most days are happily spent reading, writing, watching tv, walking the dog, and napping. I’ve only gone out to get groceries and drop off supplies to Austin. As the weather gets nicer and I get over this pesky cold, looking forward to gardening again soon.
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