Day 37

Worldwide, the coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 3,100,000 people, killing at least 225,300 people in 177 countries,

In the United States, more than one million people have been infected and at least 60,400 have died, more than in all the years of the Vietnam War.

Here in Georgia, the virus was infected 24,000 people, roughly 2.3 people for every 1,000, and killed 1,079 people, roughly 1 of  every 23 people infected.  Despite these grim statistics, restaurants, bowling alleys, tattoo parlors, and spas are open again for business.

Atlanta's Fulton County has suffered 114 deaths from the virus, with 0.27% of the population infected.  The number of new cases is doubling every 26 days.  

Here in this pile of bricks on a hill that I call home, no one has been infected yet.  One human and two felines have so far successfully managed to shelter in place and social distance their way to safety.  So far.

I walk two miles a day around the park across from my home, a quarter-mile loop.  Two laps, four times a day.  I cross to the opposite side of the street if I so much as see another person approaching. In between my laps, I pass the time indoors reading, listening to music, playing video games, and bingeing on Netflix.  And blogging.

I got up early one morning and braved the supermarket while they were stocking the shelves, and have the whole toilet paper and paper towels problem taken care of, at least for now.

Even under the best of circumstances, a vaccine for the virus is still at least a year away, probably more.  But today it was announced that treatment with an experimental antiviral drug, remdesivir, may speed recovery in victims of the virus. The FDA is likely to issue an emergency approval for remdesivir, and eventually the drug could be the first approved treatment for covid-19.

Hope.