Plans Change

 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.

    We realized that stopping in rest areas to use the facilities was a  big chance for exposure. Dan had read that entering an elevator after someone in there with Covid had sneezed could expose you.  What would that mean for toilet stalls?  Reports of staff shortage because of infected employees would mean restaurant carryouts (we weren't going to even chance eating inside a restaurant) would be short staffed or staffed with sick folks.  Then as we traveled and got exposed we would be bringing the virus to family members, one of whom is in her 90s.

It was a hard decision but the right one!