Day 1 - Governor Newsom reinstates the mask mandate for California
Omicron cases are increasing in California…
12/15/21. Wednesday
***In California, Omicron cases have jumped 47% in the past two weeks. Governor Newsom reinstates a statewide indoor mask mandate, effective 12/15/21. Today, Omicron cases account for 3% of all new Covid-19 cases nationwide, with the Delta variant still the vast majority of Covid-19 cases in the country…BUT, how do the scientists know it’s only 3%? Testing is virtually non-existent…we can’t get tests anywhere. For the week ending on 12/4, the Omicron variant was less than 1% of all new cases in the US. This week, it jumped to 3% nationally...it’s a small leap, but a rapid one. By comparison, Delta still allegedly accounts for 97% of cases nationwide as of 12/11/21.
I’m very concerned, i.e., I’m scared…thank God I’m on Winter break right now and not in the classroom. Omicron is allegedly milder, but “it evades vaccines.” The Pfizer vaccine is only 33% effective at preventing infection, although it’s 70% effective at preventing hospitalization. In other words, the vaccines do NOT prevent infection. If you’re vaxed and exposed to someone who has Omicron, you’re going to contract the virus…the good news is you won’t die, IF you’ve had a 2-dose vaccine. How does J&J fare in this scenario? J&J is a 1-dose vaccine…if I contract Omicron, is there a chance I might be hospitalized? Or die? Thank God L. got the 2-dose Pfizer… What kind of protection do I have?
In New York, Covid-19 cases have increased by 58% and hospitalizations by 70%. This is a fast contagion rate! – faster than California - and it’s following the same pattern as the UK, Denmark, and Norway.
Here’s a quote from the WHO director for what it’s worth [if you read this blog you know I hate the WHO]: “Even if Omicron does cause less severe disease, the sheer number of cases could once again overwhelm unprepared health systems…”
In other words, if twice the number of people are infected with Omicron, it doesn’t matter if it’s milder.
6:00 – L. leaves for Otis.
9:00-9:30 – I’m up, but I lie in bed for transition time.
9:45 –10:00- B. texts and says he will stop by with Starbucks in about an hour. I go downstairs to say good morning to the animal, but she’s still asleep on the couch. I sit next to her and rub her tummy until she starts to wake up. When I cue her to go outside, she grabs her toy and we head to the backyard where I stand around, waiting for her to go potty. She does her business and we return inside: coffee for me, cheese for her. I go upstairs.
10:00-11:15 – Shower. Lotion. Covid-19 uniform. Light make-up. I listen to The Daily.
11:15-1:30 – B. arrives and we talk politics. I give B. one of the cupcakes from Casey’s Cupcakes. He leaves.
1:30-2:00 – I scramble an egg, then add some spinach.
2:30-4:30 – I put the exterior Xmas lights up and listen to Citations Needed – “Hallmark Christmas Movies and the Cozy Conservative Nostalgia Machine.”
4:30-5:15 – I take the dog for a walk and eat a trail mix snack pack. I listen to Today Explained.
5:15-6:15 – I make a spinach, garbanzo bean, and tuna fish salad and eat it while listening to The Productive Woman.
6:15-7:00 – I take a short nap. The Walmart benches arrived and were left by the front door. I drag them into the garage and pull them out of the boxes. I can’t assemble them without a wrench-and-socket set.
7:00-8:00 – Blog posts.
8:00-9:00 – L. returns from Otis and we talk about her day, her Final Photography Project, the gifts she received from her Otis friend, M., and her upcoming meeting with her Art Studio boss tomorrow [she’s stressed about the meeting].
9:00-10:45 – L. leaves to meet her work-friend, C., at Solitas.
I work on blog posts.
11:00-11:45 – L. returns and we trim the tree. Then, she goes to bed and I turn off the Xmas lights, take the dog out, and set the alarm.
11:45-2:00 – Blog posts.
2:00-2:30 – I accidentally fall asleep
2:30-4:00 – bullet journal
4:00-4:30 – Kitchen duty.
4:30-5:15 – Nighttime routine. Bed.