About a month ago, I wrote a piece for this news outlet entitled “The Covid-19 ‘Dark Winter’ Is Officially Over.” Which it was (and, thankfully, still is). Since that article was published, in fact, coronavirus numbers have continued to show dramatic improvement across the board.
To wit: The seven day rolling average of daily new cases is currently 69,671 – down 73.3 percent from its peak of 261,322 on January 8, 2021. Meanwhile, hospitalizations related to the virus – which originated in Wuhan, China in the fall of 2019 – currently stand at 48,871. That is down 63.1 percent from the peak of 132,474 hospitalizations recorded on January 6.
Even deaths attributed to the virus and its attendant comorbidities – a lagging indicator – have shown steep declines. The rolling seven-day average of Covid-19-related daily deaths in the United States is currently 1,920 – down 44.6 percent from a record high of 3,470 on January 16.
Corresponding decreases in all of these key metrics have also been seen in my home state of South Carolina …
Adding to the good news? Production and distribution of the first two Covid-19 vaccines is gradually ramping up to meet demand. And this week a third vaccine – a single-shot dose from Johnson & Johnson – is being distributed after receiving approval over the weekend from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Is life back to normal? No … and it likely won’t be for a few more months. But things have improved dramatically – something for which we should all be thankful.
I’m certainly trying to keep that in mind as my family deals with an outbreak of Covid-19 that hit our home just days before my wife is due to welcome our seventh child into the world on March 11.
Our eldest son was the first to come down with the virus early last week, and three days later my wife fell ill. Both of them tested positive, pushing our family into quarantine. Then, over the weekend, I came down with it … again.
And trust me, it is every bit as bad this time as it was the last time …
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Of course, my condition is the least of my worries. And I’m not worried about my son as he (thankfully) appears to be over the worst of it. I’m chiefly concerned about my wife – and our baby.
As most readers are well aware, my news outlet has consistently downplayed the severity of the virus. Well, let me say that more accurately: Unlike a lot of outlets which have engaged in wall-to-wall Covid-19 fear-mongering over the last year, my news outlet has consistently sought to address the virus as dispassionately as possible – offering the latest data and our best assessments of it.
Also, I’ve tried to put Covid-19 within the context of risk management – based on age, preexisting conditions, etc. And I have tried to demonstrate the dangers inherent in shutting down our society (again) as a means of attempting to mitigate it.
Do I view the issue differently now that I’m dealing with it up close and personal?
No. I stand by every word of every article. In fact, I think one of the reasons people have been coming to this news outlet in greater numbers since the outbreak of the virus is they appreciate our objective, even-keeled Covid-19 coverage. Certainly, I hope that is the case.
Nonetheless, posting will be light-to-nonexistent over the next few days (from me, anyway) as I try to bounce back from this – and try to care for my family as best I can during our period of quarantine/ convalescence.
My hope is that I will not be out of service very long, as I take my obligation to my readers very seriously – and it pains me not to be able to do my job on your behalf.
So, I would pray your patience … and gratefully accept your prayers. Especially for my wife and our impending arrival.
Hopefully I will be back in the saddle very soon.
Thank you,
P.S. – If you’ve got a breaking news tip while I am out, please hit up my news director Mandy Matney. And if you have questions related to ads or other aspects of the business, please reach out to our director of advertising and special projects, Ali Bruning.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: FITSNews)
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading.
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