Yes, its been a rough year.
Yes, we all miss one another.
We hit our first 100,000-case day on October 30;yesterday there were 143,408 newcases.
Were losing over 1,000 people each day to this virus.
Hospitalizations are up too.
So is percent positive, a critical measure of both spread and test availability.
The midwest and northern U.S. are now the places with the most cases relative to population.
Some hospitals arerunning up against their ICU capacityagain, but capacity isnt just about beds.
Your safety measures suck
Do not travel.
Do not have a get-together.
I know, you think youre special and its everyoneelsewho is driving the spread of COVID.
No, actually, it could very well be you.
Everybody is getting tested?
Remember thatroutine COVID tests didnt protect the president, because tests alone are not a prevention strategy.
Your Thanksgiving will be socially distant?
Good luck with that.
But very few families will be able to pull that off.
Are people going to be cooking together in the kitchen?
Repeatedly going into the same bathroom?
Getting a little too close once theyve had a few drinks?
In most parts of the country, well be indoors.
Masks dont save you if youre sharing the same air with a bunch of people all day.
You take off your mask to eat anyway, dont you?
Think about it: restaurants and bars are among the biggest drivers of COVID spread.
Canada has their Thanksgiving in October, the same day we observe Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples Day.
Those Thanksgiving celebrations last monthprobably caused the uptick in cases in that country a few weeks later.
Can we learn from experience for once?
Mid-pandemic holiday gatherings are a terrible, terrible idea.
