Endgame

I've seen a lot of Facebook posts recently about "what is the endgame," and when can we go back to something more like the way things were, and "I don't know about you, but I'm just going to go back to hugging everyone."

For me, the endgame will be when graphs of case counts and test positivity rates reliably angle downward and stay very low for an extended period of time. When we get to the level of circulation of virus where cases can be tracked and outbreaks managed. That's it. There may or may not be an approved, broadly available vaccine by then, and we may or may not have hit some arbitrary date; the facts and data will dictate the status of the pandemic.

Unfortunately, it will take everyone's effort to get us there, and right now even people who've been compliant so far are getting burnt out on all these precautions and restrictions. But until then, I will be 6+ feet away with my mask on, and appreciate you doing the same.

See also: this article from The Atlantic, There Won't be a Clear End to the Pandemic, that outlines the "gradual fade out" of the pandemic and its milestones.

Trader Joe's

Yesterday I went to Trader Joe's for the first time in over 6 months. I'd been thinking of going for a while, but every time the line was really long or I just chickened out. Finally, I hit it at 2:30 on a Wednesday, and that seemed to be a good time.

They only let a certain number of people in the store at once, so everyone else lined up outside, spacing themselves 6 feet apart. I waited for a little less than 10 minutes, and the line moved pretty quickly. At one point they called for anyone who was elderly, pregnant, or at risk to skip the line (not sure why, wouldn't you want to make sure those people have less exposure, rather than packing them in..?). At the front of the line, an employee stood outside and directed people, and there was a little station with hand sanitizer and wipes. All the carts and shopping baskets were outside, so you could just grab one and go in when it was your turn.

Inside, the store was relatively empty, though there was still some crowding in the produce section, which is always a bottleneck in the store I shop at. They have some extra displays in that area that I think could be removed to allow better flow through that space. The frozen food aisle was also a little crowded, though people were respectful of space and waited to move in until the last person had moved away. The counter where they usually serve samples was completely removed, and replaced with seasonal decorations.

Other than that, most of the aisles were pretty empty, and there was no wait to check out. I went with a list that I'd been working on for months, and did all my shopping in about 5 minutes. From the time I got in line outside until the time I checked out was only about 15-20 minutes.

Would I go back? Yes, probably - they have a good system to control capacity, and if you go at the right time, the wait isn't too long. But except for a couple seasonings and things, I don't use TJ's for my main grocery shopping, more for fun snacks and treats (a lot of which I am getting from Imperfect Foods now), so I don't think it's an urgent necessity.

200,000

"CNN reports that the United States has now surpassed the grim milestone of 200,000 COVID deaths. The number of COVID deaths in the U.S. is now greater than the number of Americans who died in battle during the past five wars. It is equivalent to 109 Hurricane Katrinas or 66 9/11 attacks. The number of deaths is projected to continue growing at alarming rates, but could be greatly reduced (by 62.7%) through widespread mask-wearing, crowd avoidance, and testing."

Above is quoted from Covid Act Now's daily news summary - I have nothing else to add.

9/11

I can tell you exactly where I was standing 19 years ago this morning, when I got a call that the first tower had been hit, and turned on the TV in time to see the second tower. I was in college, and the events of that day totally changed my life trajectory, and of course had a huge impact on the United States. After the losses of 9/11, Americans banded together, united against a common enemy. People enlisted in the military. They willingly endured minor - sometimes major - inconveniences, like having to go through security checks and x-rays to enter public spaces; only being allowed to carry special clear bags into some venues; or taking their shoes off and decanting all their liquids into small bottles, followed by a detailed scan or close-contact groping, to board an airplane. (These acts, by the way, are often ineffective - look into "security theater" if you're not already familiar with the term.)

If you average all the COVID-19 deaths in the last six months, the United States has experienced the equivalent of one 9/11 every three days. We surpassed the number of 9/11 deaths back in April. And yet many people refuse to take even the most basic, simple, minorly inconvenient precautions that are scientifically proven to help protect those who are at risk, those who don't know they're at risk, and those who don't have any other choice. In fact, some people are claiming that the whole virus is a hoax, or overblown.

In March, I expressed my hope that humanity would once again be able to unite against a common enemy, like we have so many times in the past - and I think that is why I've been especially disappointed in the response by many to this situation.

I'm not trying to minimize the losses or victims of 9/11 by comparing them to something else. But here is our chance to prevent people from experiencing that same type of loss, are we using this opportunity effectively? If you are spending any time in remembrance of the victims of 9/11 today, I hope you also take steps now to prevent future victims of COVID-19.