We were going to take a trip south to visit family and friends in VA, MD & PA. Covid and the Omicron variant changed all that.
We were vacillating for a bit and thought we had decided to make the trip but then the news got more depressing:
On Sunday we read this in the New York Times
As 2021 closed out, Omicron drove coronavirus cases to record highs, upended air travel and left staffing holes at hospitals. The highly contagious variant is still racing across the country, and teachers, parents and workplaces are bracing for the impact. Many wonder whether life will ever be normal again. |
The U.S. is averaging more than 386,000 cases a day, likely a vast undercount. Hospitalizations are growing at a much slower rate, but the death rate is falling. Puerto Rico is facing a 4,600-percent increase in cases in recent weeks. |
Scientists say that Omicron may peak in the U.S. in mid-January. New estimates suggest that the country’s cases could peak by Jan. 9 at around 2.5 million cases per week, though that number may go as high as 5.4 million. Still, the enormous numbers of people getting infected could greatly strain hospitals, especially in places with lower vaccination rates. |
There are new restrictions here. Kids going back to school looks as though it may be delated for a few weeks. Sister-in-law has a friend who is quite ill even though triple vaxxed -- but probably not deathly ill, so that is the good part.
ReplyDeleteI live in the West, where there are lot of anti-vaxxers and people who refuse to where masks. Everyone in my family is vaxxed and boosted. Hubby and I wear masks all the time in public. It's the best we can do. We traveled over the holiday and everything went OK. We only had one delayed flight. We masked up and tried to distance which was pretty much impossible in a crowded airport. So far we are all OK, and praying that continues. I go back to school today - teaching in a crowded classroom with most of the students unmasked. Covid is a crazy disease that not enough people take seriously. I think you made the correct decision for sure. Have a good week.
ReplyDelete...ours plan is to stay put!
ReplyDeleteI'm staying put! It's boring but it's safe for me and I don't want to be the cause of illness for others if I happen to catch it. Nothing is worth risking someone's life, mine or anyone else's.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad, and something nobody could have predicted a year ago, when vaccines were just about to be available to those who were high risk and elderly. Now we all are at risk, and all vaccinated (except those crazies who don't even wear masks.) They didn't all catch it and die out as the natural selection of idiots getting sick, like we thought might happen. So we plod along, getting safer masks and finding more to do on our screens! Sorry, I should just speak for myself!
ReplyDeleteWe are all having to make difficult decisions at the moment. Whatever we do has a risk attached. I have my own set of rules to try and keep safe over and above the vaccinations and mask wearing. This virus is not going anywhere soon.
ReplyDeleteYeah, boy--not going anywhere a time soon.
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