61. Watching things climb

It’s scary, from here in my safe, quarantine mountain cabin, to watch the numbers of Covid-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths climb. Over 190,00 new cases and 2,000 deaths in the country yesterday, and at noon, PST, today, over 1,300 deaths—and Texas, which had over 200 on its own yesterday, not yet reporting. Texas, where governor and judges pretend to be old Texas Rangers, making their own laws for their own purposes as the people look for safety, not allowing local jurisdictions to set their own masking and distancing standards.

 

But North Dakota and its governor shove Texas-Covid today. A news-clip from Governor Doug Burgum said that “health care workers who test positive for the coronavirus but do not display symptoms could still report to work.” Nurses, worried about disease spread as they work double shifts and begin practicing triage, objected loudly. One told about dying Covid-19 patients who don’t believe they have Covid!

 

Beliefs are beliefs, and I respect them, but when governors’ proclamations and fake facts presented so often the dying lie to themselves, it is time for serious concern. 

 

I can make a good argument that facemasks saved my life. I spent three hours in a small car with my infected grandson (I did not know he was infected; if he was, he was asymptomatic). He did admit that he had been exposed—we facemasked, and drank milkshakes and cokes under our masks, and gulped McDonald’s burgers with the windows open. 

 

He tested positive early the next day, and friends whipped up a quarantine cabin for me at Wallowa Lake within hours. I’ve been here ever since, and Trey, who is as healthy as any young 20-year-old can be, had a couple of days of headaches and loss of taste and smell, but is now fine.

 

I read the news, look at the graphs, and I am afraid that the beliefs of some are now, promulgated often enough by people important enough, impacting the health of the many. I have some fear of coming down from my mountain retreat. 

 

So neighbors, wear a mask for me! And governors—and patients and politicians—listen to your nurses! And GSA, let the Biden Covid team talk with the Trump Covid team. I’ve got three more days of quarantine; it would be good to see medical communication go up and the numbers of patients, hospitalizations, and deaths go down before I get back to town.

 

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