It’s a bright sunshiny Thursday morning. Happy birthday to both Freebie and the Bean.
Three more Boston Police officers have tested positive, bringing the total to four. Ayanna Pressley and Seth Moulton are showing symptoms. James Taylor, who is “inspired by the courage and sacrifice of the health care heroes in the trenches” is donating a million bucks to Mass General. Good for him.
Studies show that the virus can live for a time on surfaces, including cardboard, and people are worried about the packages delivered to their homes. Experts are divided about the real risk although they say that if you’re careful it shouldn’t be a problem. But if you’re an Amazon Prime member, you may want to avoid overnight delivery.
The economy and much of our way of life has been shut down for about a week now and some folks are thinking that’s enough, that we’re over the hump. But here’s a reality check from Dr. Fauci, as of yesterday.
We are in the escalating phase of a very serious pandemic. That is a fact. We have got to realize that and to prepare and respond. It is not, as it were, under control. Because it’s still going up. Are we trying to control it? Yes. Are we having an impact? We are doing some rather dramatic things. California shutting down. New York doing the same thing. And for the country in general, the physical separation. So even though the infection is going up, there’s no doubt that what we are doing is having an impact.
That being said, there does need to be a plan to restart the economy and get things back to ‘normal’. But it won’t be simple and it won’t be soon, definitely not by Easter. And we have to consider the potential of a resurgence of infections in the fall.
Local media around the country are covering the coronavirus crisis under stress, both from the virus itself and from the impact of budget cuts. But it’s the “story of a lifetime” and outlets are going above and beyond in their efforts. Harvey Leonard is still forecasting the weather but these days it’s from his living room.
And in an alternate universe somewhere, we listened to Bill Gates back in 2015 and none of this ever happened.