by ezs | Mar 2, 2022 | evilzenscientist
Weekend – with war in Europe dominating the headlines, the US and much of Europe seems to have forgotten we’re in the tail end of a pandemic.
Cases are down – but still higher than much of the last two years.
Friday – Hong Kong planning to test all residents, shops rationing some food and medicines.
Thursday – Live coverage from the Guardian looks to be over. Newsroom is focused instead on war in Ukraine.
Wednesday – the end of Omicron is being mistaken for the end of Covid.
Tuesday – the smaller, child sized, shots of Pfizer are less effective. Stops serious illness, but doesn’t prevent infection.
Monday – European war, and the potential for massive global escalation, has given The Guardian newsroom a completely different focus. No daily aggregates from The Guardian in almost a week.
This time 2021 – vaccine rollout well underway; 28M in US with two shots. A great early lead.
This time 2020 – I was in the office, running an architecture design session, no social distancing. All of the talk was about the coronavirus. 2 March 2020 – State Of Emergency declared in Washington State. Work from home officially started on 6th March.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/series/coronavirus-live
https://www.seattletimes.com/tag/coronavirus/
by ezs | Feb 22, 2022 | evilzenscientist
Weekend – looks like The Seattle Times and The Guardian are down to weekday updates – which is unsurprising.
UW reporting "end of the pandemic". Locally cases are "much lower" than the peak of a few months ago.
Wednesday through Friday – Ukraine invasion. Newsrooms have put most coronavirus news way below the fold. General trend is lifting restrictions and mask requirements; continue to encourage vaccinations and boosters.
Tuesday – most COVID restrictions in UK, Ireland, US starting to be removed. On the other side – 100K new cases in Brazil. Free testing to end in England.
Monday – possible war in Ukraine has taken Covid off the headlines globally. NZ ends vaccine mandates.
This time last year – vaccination systems went online, and were swamped. 500k US deaths from COVID.
This time 2020 – this was the week when panic buying really started. Cleaning products, face masks, hand sanitiser, paper towels, toilet paper – all stripped from stores.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/series/coronavirus-live
https://www.seattletimes.com/tag/coronavirus/
by ezs | Feb 16, 2022 | evilzenscientist
Weekend – potential for Ukraine invasion has bumped Covid reporting off the Guardian for the weekend. Second booster shot being considered. Queen tests positive for COVID.
Weekly infographic from The Seattle Times shows rapidly falling positive cases, and the overwhelming variant at the end of January was Omicron. Mask mandates are going away rapidly.
Friday – Omicron wave reaches South Korea. Building concern around Omicron variant BA.2 – this from BBC early in February.
Thursday – continued re-opening in the US. Washington State and King County removing mask mandates.
Wednesday – Omicron keeps heading east, across Europe, in it’s wake countries are emerging from and lifting most restrictions.
Tuesday – Canada, US, Europe – "protest convoys" and what looks to be some pretty major astroturfing.
Monday – Microsoft announce a broad plan to return to the office; most employees have been at home for two years. Flexible working will be the new normal.
This time last year – mutations, variants, "over by Christmas" which could have been the case in so many ways.
This time 2020 – still in the office, still looking at the handful of cases emerging in Washington State and New York. Regular, weekly blogging started in March 2020.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/series/coronavirus-live
https://www.seattletimes.com/tag/coronavirus/
by ezs | Jan 31, 2022 | evilzenscientist
Weekend – Omicron starts working through NZ; hopefully the vaccination drive means the impact is low.
Cases are on the rapid decrease here in Washington State; tests and N95/KN95 masks are now readily available. I hope the stockpiles get replenished for the next wave.
Friday – US health systems are "broken", full hospitals, understaffed.
Thursday – following record cases, Europe set for a spring and summer of "tranquility" WHO
Wednesday – COVID hospitalisations dropping in Western Washington State.
Tuesday – BA.2 subvariant of Omicron is picking up; re-infections seem to be picking up.
Monday – Spotify vs. Joe Rogan and misinformation vs. Neil Young. Downing Street parties.
This time last year – "US is blind to mutations and spread"
This time 2020 – the quiet between "first case" and "panic".
https://www.theguardian.com/world/series/coronavirus-live
https://www.seattletimes.com/tag/coronavirus/
by ezs | Jan 24, 2022 | evilzenscientist
Weekend – well – the case count is literally off the chart, again. This may be bad date for one day, but there are still 24k+ cases being detected and reported. The case rate per 100k shows most of the case density is in the east of Washington.
Friday – UK cases, hospitalisation and deaths dropping. Continued indication that the main wave of Omicron is past in parts of the US and UK. On the flip side, the lagging indicator – deaths – are reaching record levels across the US.
Thursday – free N95 masks coming to local pharmacies – as a result of the 400M mask federal effort. These are from the National Strategic Stockpile. I hope these get cycled into first line, health care, educator and then community use – and the stockpile gets rebuilt quickly.
Wednesday – King County Omicron cases are dropping, by over 40% in the last week, hopefully a positive sign that vaccinations, boosters, immunity will give us a healthier summer. Many places emerging from Omicron and removing restrictions.
Tuesday – Possible conflict in Ukraine and the woes of Boris Johnson are pushing Covid news below the fold.
Monday – US federal and state governments are shipping N95/KN95 masks and lateral flow tests to homes. Our WA State tests arrived within 2 days, via Amazon.
This time last year – vaccines, supply and demand, variants and testing. Watched the documentary "76 Days". Mask wearing is hyper partisan.
This time 2020 – the daily blog pre-amble. Looking back at diaries, planners and notes – this was still "in the office" and there was some nervous talk about the "Chinese flu" and the recent case in Washington. One of the team had recently flown through SE Asia returning from vacation, and spread a virulent cold/cough through the team.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/series/coronavirus-live
https://www.seattletimes.com/tag/coronavirus/
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