And we’re back! I opted to take a weekend off to a.) absorb WTF this week was and b.) just take a breather from thinking about the numbers. My prediction about the past two days being the “shit hit the fan” moment was wrong, but I fear that it’s looming in this week given the stats and updates from leadership. Surgeon General Jerome Adam’s warned, “I want America to understand this week, it’s going to get bad.” Welp. Back to the format.
WFH in Action
N/A since weekend! Unless you count the hours of grinding on Animal Farm? Haaaaaaaa.
COVID-19 Latest
As feared, we’ve seen a double in cases (80) in Monroe County since my Friday post including a second death. 395 in mandatory quarantine, too. NY has become the epicenter of the pandemic with 15,168 cases as of Sunday night, 13% of which required hospitalization. California and Washington states are nearly tied at 2nd place with just over 1,500 cases. We’re 6% of the global cases. A competition I certainly don’t enjoy crushing.
*sigh*
So Cuomo, who has been giving solid updates each day, is requesting 50% increase in capacity for hospitals including additional testing supplies. He also requested additional ventilators (400) to be sent. Despite the S.O.S. calls, NY is not formally under a “shelter in place” mandate. Perhaps it’s simply because Cuomo doesn’t like that phrasing so he opts for PAUSE, but we certainly haven’t gotten the hard-lined “stay home” message. I’ve taken it anyways because WELL YEAH, but who knows what people are actually doing. Frustrating to see so many people out and about still. We’ll see what this ramping-up week brings. Yikes.
Lessons and Predictions
Predictions first: so, I officially blew my prediction of the shit hitting the fan by now, which brings me temporary relief in the event it’s not actually blowing up at the rate I thought. Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s the case given Adam’s updates above. So, in alignment with the experts, I’m thinking this week will get rocky while we build up towards the apex of this ordeal. Seems like everything is shifting a month given the infection rate. Sigh. This is going to be a long ordeal for sure.
As for takeaways, I spent the weekend thinking about two concepts that were hitting me upside the head:
- How the virus is bringing out a new Rosie the Riveter
- How this ordeal is reminding me of ‘Arrival’
Quick thread on that front:
I really liked exploring the parallels between these two and what we could do differently while considering the lanugage/communication side of all this. ::glares at Trump at the press podium::
Yeah.
The other major takeaways are in how divided the parties are thus resulting in failed relief bills. Can’t say I blame the Dems given the underlining focus on companies and businesses over the workers, but the optics will certainly be used against ’em for the rest of this ordeal. The counteroffer is shoving us further into the Monopoly money territory of panic, too. Can’t get this kind of money when the economy is strong and we’re not facing an epidemic, but here we are! Amazing what happens when push comes to shove. Typical. Welp, an announcement should hit in the morning. Until then, enjoy reading Trump saying, “make the deal” as if all of this isn’t cringe-worthy enough.
Okay, I’m working on keeping these short now that it’s clear this is not the end at all. My original goal was to capture the 14 days we’d be inside, but I’m guessing this could be months. I might shift to weekly updates just to try and capture highlights without exhausting the daily routine. We shall see. I’m greatly appreciating this drop in obligation so I can just let my mind do what and go where it needs to in these moments. So important to leave space for the impact and absorption. Whew. Let’s see how the next days go. Fingers crossed.
