Happy Friday the 13th! Boy, things can change fast, can’t they? Just three days ago, I was tut-tutting about the unfortunate situation in Italy. As of today, I don’t think the Italians have turned the corner on their coronavirus crisis, but they certainly have been bumped from the front page here in the United States. For weeks, since the word “coronavirus” began popping up almost daily, I scrolled through the popular media online trying to find out exactly what this disease is and why many in the loop seem so concerned. Much of the coverage has been, to put it nicely, shallow. Nevertheless, I have since managed to learn two things that made an impression on me and helped me understand what this is all about. 1) This is a new disease for us. There are hundreds of coronaviruses that can infect birds and mammals, but only seven are known to infect humans, including this new one. It is true a coronavirus causes the common cold and types of flu, but COVID-19, the name given the disease caused by the “novel coronavirus,” is neither. No one has any immunity to this new strain of the virus. We already know some brush it off, but others do die. The ultimate threat really is not known. 2) Health officials are recommending dispersal of people as much as possible to slow the spread of the infection, which practically is impossible to prevent altogether. By slowing the infection, medical facilities will not be overwhelmed, and hopefully the crisis can be better managed. Put another way, they deliberately are extending the initial wave of infections, so the optimum treatment will be there for those who will need it. I may have completely misinterpreted what I think I have learned, but these two points helped me understand why this is a big deal, and up until very recently I did wonder. Will it work, all the cancelling of concerts and political rallies and sporting events? I don’t know, but at least I do know their reasoning. I’m glad I’m a cartoonist who works at home, who doesn’t have to make those decisions. Keep calm and carry on.
Fever Spring
By Jimmy Johnson
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64 responses to “Fever Spring”
Chesapeake ospreys are back.
https://explore.org/livecams/birds/osprey-cam-chesapeake-conservancy
Peace,
If this Flu is like the 18/20 Flu it will take about 2 years to run its course.
.
We cannot have 2 years of supplies on hand – though 3 months (6 months better) is doable and should be the norm.
Then there would not be panic buying every time there is an incident. That way people could weather disaster be it
loss of income, weather, pandemic or anything else that interrupts the supply chain. Rotate stock – first in first out –
It does not have to be all at once – an extra can or box when stuff is on sale.
.
I think people that live where it takes 2-3 hours to get to the store are just shaking their head.
People are ignoring the differences in the countries where this coronavirus has been found. In Wuhan China, 11 million people live in a relatively small area. Wiki says the population density is 3,200/sq mile. Even in Utah’s most densely populated area we have just 1,722 per sq mile. We Utahns don’t have immense apartment buildings. We don’t ride cheek-by-jowl on trains and buses. And so the latest data for COVID-19 cases in Utah is just 20 confirmed and 0 fatalities.
With the steps we’re taking to contain COVID-19 I don’t expect to see anything like the H1N1 virus of 2009 in which 60 million Americans got the disease, over 265,000 were hospitalized, and at least 12,000 died.
Interesting to read others’ thoughts on the current situation. I live in a relatively rural area, but that doesn’t mean that we do not have contact with urban areas. I am hoping – praying – that all the doomsayers are not right. But… am taking sensible precautions, and have faith that the effects will be minimal. But also thinking – and caring – about those who live in areas where folk are dealing with the illness and all the ramifications.
Stay strong!
I’ve been laid off. No change in pay, but Sanford Health Bemidji is asking volunteers 75 and older to stay home. How will I know what day of the week it is if I don’t have to be there around 0700 Fridays?
Peace,
On my way home from choir practice (hurrah!) a local station was playing the audio from Face the Nation. they mentioned that a governor back east said that while there had been no deaths in his state that his experts said there could be over a hundred thousand people who had the virus but wouldn’t know it because the symptoms were so mild… So, expanding that to our country as a whole that means millions of us could have it and never know it… so what is the mortality rate if, say 6,300* of us eventually die from it and 60 million of us have had it? A mere 0.0105%!
*At this time only 63 Americans have died, so, I chose that number. The 60 million is the estimated H1N1 virus cases from 2009.
Re 3-15-20 real-time cartoon: Dickens and I are the canine and not-a-cartoon-guy version of today’s comic. Every time I walk into the bedroom when he’s on the bed, he barks excitedly, expressing his desire for me to come to bed with him…even if it’s mid-morning or mid-afternoon. He obviously feels I should maintain the same 4:awake/20:sleep schedule he does. Perhaps he has a point; one of the suggestions I read for helping fight off the novel coronavirus is to get plenty of rest.
Seen on the InterWebNet. It’s not a perfect analogy, but it’s worth considering when thinking of the value of “social distancing”.
“You know how everyone rushed to the stores at the same time and bought everything out at once instead of staggering their visits? Now imagine the same thing in the hospital, but instead of TP it’s ICU beds and ventilators that are out. This is why everything is cancelled.”
Here’s a crowd, but not people. Sandhill Cranes in NE.
https://explore.org/livecams/birds/crane-camera
Peace,
It should be so easy.
https://www.gocomics.com/shoe/2020/03/16
Peace,
COVID-19 seems to be affecting the animal kingdom in unexpected ways…
.
https://www.ksl.com/article/46730391/have-you-seen-this-2-gangs-of-monkeys-clamor-in-thailand-streets
emb
Re: Shoe
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