Quiz #63. "Says Steve"
Why is the Coronavirus surging? My own theories after reading way too much in Steve's Stay-at-Home Coronavirus quiz for July 2, 2020.
If there have been stages of grief in this awful time called 2020, I think June would be depression.
Overwhelmed. Hopelessness. Hostility.
Spreading Coronavirus. Systemic racism. Incompetent government.
To me, the end of June has shown that the wishful thinking that the coronavirus (and racism and incompetent government) would just go away has been exposed.
And yet, with the start of a new month, on Thursday morning, July 2nd, the New York Times morning newsletter from David Leonhardt, “The Morning,” was especially hopeful--sort of.
New cases are surging, but deaths are not rising—not yet.
Leonhardt points out that while the numbers of new coronavirus cases in the United States continue to rise--and even explode in the last few weeks--the number of deaths has been going down for more than 2 months. With the death numbers dropping, the death rate relative to reported cases has also continued to go down. Why? Leonhardt argues it’s because of better treatments and people in high risk groups (the over-60 crowd like me) are being more careful.
Still, it’s not all good news. The number of new cases and rate of positive test results show the virus is spreading. Leonhardt considers that there may now be a longer time lag until the death numbers start to climb with newer cases currently being reported at higher rates in younger people.
Even the one piece of positive virus news is looking shaky.
I read a lot about the virus. Too much. I am not an expert, but I read and follow those who are. Leonhardt has put together a great Twitter list of academic experts on the coronavirus. On Twitter, these scientists and medical professionals tend to be a little less wonkish than they might be in their academic and professional writings. I find myself reading their tweets throughout every day.
During the pandemic--and especially when the virus (and everything else) seems out of control--I just can’t sleep late. Although I took a break from daily quiz-writing in June, each morning, I start off reading more and more daily newsletters. I now subscribe to The Atlantic and get their daily newsletter along with “The Morning” from the New York Times.
CNN’s Reliable Sources from Brian Stelter and Oliver Darcy and Byers Market from NBC News and Dylan Byers are must-reads for anyone in the media (and beyond).
Right here on Substack, Heather Cox Richardson’s “Letters from an American” and Bill Murphy Jr.’s “Understandably” help me to make sense of the world. Cox Richardson puts the news of the day in succinct, historical context; Murphy brings me stories of people that help me understand how others think, survive and thrive in this crazy world.
Thanks to my friend Ryan, I also subscribe to a weekly newsletter from Tommy Tomlinson, a wonderful writer, columnist and author of “The Elephant in the Room.” In this week’s Tomlinson newsletter, he offered this advice from Austin Kleon to staying sane as we all try to live with the coronavirus: Stop doomscrolling, a term that Merriam Webster says it’s watching:
Doomscrolling and doomsurfing are new terms referring to the tendency to continue to surf or scroll through bad news, even though that news is saddening, disheartening, or depressing. Many people are finding themselves reading continuously bad news about COVID-19 without the ability to stop or step back.
I know I am a doomscroller. Sorry about that.
I am also sorry if you’ve missed my coronavirus quiz as part of your morning reading regiment this past month. I’m going to try to keep them coming. I still have a lot to say, I’m working at being positive and I like keeping a regular record of the pandemic.
Even on the weekends, I am up between 5:00 and 6:00AM, reading in. Each Saturday after my morning reading, I usually get on a call with my siblings and we talk for more than an hour. I talk about what I’ve read and we have joked that it is a Thode family trait from our parents to take one fact--perhaps misunderstood--and to then run with it.
Sadly, that’s me, the coronavirus and, yes, doomscrolling.
From the Washington Post, I’ve read that the virus has mutated. The first cases in New York were genetically different than those that came from China. The New York cases with a so-called “G” mutation likely came from Eurpope--and the G-mutation actually made it easier for the virus to spread. One scientist, Hyeryun Choe, a virologist says that’s not an accident--the mutation happened as a way for the virus to spread better. (Survival of the fittest. Even at the micro level, evolution is a mother-fucker.)
So, says Steve, maybe the spread now is just the new G-mutation moving South and West.
Maybe there’s been another mutation--and that’s another reason (beyond no masks and open bars) that the virus is spreading so wildly now.
In June, I was worried that protests would spread the virus--even as many protesters said it was worth the risk to get the virus. So far, the experts say that the protests did not lead to a surge. Maybe it was because most protesters wore masks, maybe it was that they were on the move and outside. And yet, there is evidence the virus has spread in restaurants and bars.
So, says Steve, I wonder if it’s the air conditioning. Maybe talking loudly over music. Maybe, says Steve, it’s the bathrooms.
If there is a litmus test for social distancing, I think it’s the bathroom. As noted in Quiz #61. Beyond the Bubble, I visited my daughter Annie in a park in Astoria in late June. Neither of us used a public restroom. I did not drink liquids for 2 hours before I left the house to head to Queens and did not drink anything while we were together. My first stop when I got home was the bathroom--and it was, well, a big relief.
Look closely and you will see Annie drank a Diet Coke during our park visit. There was no drink for me—after a dry morning with 2 quick cups of coffee at 6AM. No public restrooms, no problem.
In mid-June, there were reports the virus might spread with the open flush of public restrooms.
“Turbulence from a toilet bowl”
As a follow-up, the New York Times had an article on safety in public bathrooms from Dr. Jen Gartner, an OB/GYN, because the issue is more complicated for women.
In phone calls with my sisters, Ginny and Sue, the bathroom has been a barometer of social distancing. How safe do you feel in expanding your social circle? Would a backyard visit include using your host’s bathroom? If you go on a trip, would you feel safe using a public restroom? If not, how do you plan ahead? Fast the night before? No liquids after 8PM just as you might when prepping for surgery?
The discussion with my sisters turned to the female pee funnel, a silicone funnel which allows a woman to stand while urinating. Widely used for camping, it’s now an Amazon best-seller.
$13.99. It comes in multiple colors—and yes, it’s “plastic bottle compatible.”
On the one hand, it’s all ridiculous, but, says Steve, it all comes down to this. This virus is here. It spreads in ways we do not understand. And yet, we should never forget that it has already killed nearly 130,000 people in the United States.
Each of us has to make decisions on how to stay safe. In many instances, those decisions are very personal as we try to venture out.
Hold it.
Buy a funnel.
Wear a mask.
What did NOT happen?
A. Sue told me that she talked with her friends about the funnel device. They joked about the directions which advise women to practice with it in the shower;
B. Sue told me her friends now email her with not-at-home bathroom solutions. One’s called the “Bumper Dumper;”
C. I’ve taken the advice from my college friend Brooks and am now drinking bourbon. Maker’s Mark. Not yet neat, but in a whiskey sour, made from fresh lemons and Simple Syrup (sugar water) on weekend nights;
D. One more footnote from the do-it-yourself pedicures that Sara and I used from Best Foot on Memorial Day. I’ve developed an under-the-skin infection in the big toe on my left foot. I had a virtual visit with my doctor, got antibiotics and must now soak my foot 3 times a day because the toe is red and tender;
E. Substack has gotten some good press lately because it’s becoming a popular way for writers to make money from their work. With Substack, you can charge readers a fee to subscribe to any newsletter and I’ve been in touch with a financial consultant at Substack to find out how to make that work for this quiz. You’d pay $5 a month, right?
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Here’s the next quiz in the series: Quiz #64. My Data Does Matter.
Here’s the previous quiz in the series: Quiz #62. Football Fantasy.
Here’s the first quiz in the series: Quiz #1. Stella and Social Distancing, March 13, 2020
Here is an archive of all the quizzes.
The quiz is explained here: Steve’s Stay-at-Home Coronavirus Quiz.
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