Covid in California - Part 5

More Bleakness

May 2020

May ends on a despairing note. Protestors took to the streets in cities all over the country. First there was rioting and looting in major US cities transforming shuttered, ghostlike centers into battlegrounds. Blacks venting years of suppressed anger countered by law enforcement. The catalyst, the brutal death of George Floyd earlier this week.

Honoring the brutal death of George Floyd

Suffocation by the force of a policeman's knee against Floyd's neck. An incident triggered by Floyd paying for cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. A series of other, recent racist events -the bird watcher at Central Park, the trial preparation for the February Ahmaud Arbery shooting incident, the Breonna Taylor shooting - had already set the scene. Over the weekend, anger was channelled into peaceful protests that swelled and spread around the nation and world. Large gatherings marched in solidarity, waving banners. Curfews had to be imposed, but these were violated in places when some protestors switched to destructive behavior. Police deployed tear gas and rubber bullets and made arrests. And all of this while Covid 19 hit East Coast Blacks harder than any other ethnic group. When the person holding the highest office in the country is unable to reach out and show compassion, and in fact, does the opposite - it leaves us more frustrated, sombre. Not what we need in the midst of a pandemic.

Covid 19 numbers on this last day of May:

Identified cases: Worldwide 6.2 million; USA 1.8 million; California 100,000; South Africa 30,000; UK 275,000; Australia 7,195

Brazil has zoomed up to half million cases, Russia 400,000

I'm concerned to see that LA is the new epicenter in the USA. Nationwide numbers are going up, but the East Coast continues on a promising trend.

But we did have a memorable start to the day. Early morning we assembled breakfast makings and drove up San Marcos Pass and headed to La Cumbre Peak. Cloud cover and fog obscured the normally sensational view of ocean and islands. At the peak there was a group of youngsters having breakfast outside tents they'd slept in the night before. There was also a notice that a permit was necessary to use a gas stove.

Why do pancakes taste better when cooked in the wilderness?

So we drove down the road a bit and pulled into a spot away from notices and set up the portable stove. The setting of valley and mountain views, wildflower scents and nature sounds boosted the enjoyment of our coffee and pancakes stuffed with berries. Didn't do much walking today. But yesterday morning we had walked 5 miles on a long stretch of beach before breakfast.

Great Blue Heron ignores us as we stroll from Coal Oil Point to the Bacara Beach and back

Journal entries for the last ten days of May:

May 21

Exciting day! For the first time since March 14 I shopped inside stores. Stepping into Sprouts and Costco, I experienced the strange world we're now living in! The stores have adapted remarkably. Wider aisles, taped paths to direct customer traffic, mandatory face masks, plexiglass shields to protect workers at the check-out counters. Twenty years ago when Costco first opened up in town we derided its bigness and absurd volume of commodities. Who buys such huge amounts, we used to wonder. Well, today I  was grateful for exactly that. I careened through empty aisles dodge-'em car style, avoiding people, to stock up for the next few months: Toilet paper (Guilty!!), paper towels, soap, laundry detergent, oils, and wine. Astonishingly, the shelves were well stocked, unlike my last expedition back in early March. I avoided the popular aisles so didn't get everything I'd intended.

California is entering Phase 2 of lockdown. Restaurants can allow dine in, and other retail will soon open up. With our county numbers low we are bracing for reckless behavior. Cheering local news is that State Street will have some traffic free blocks to allow restaurants to spread out tables on the sidewalk, European style. Us locals have long dreamed of this.
California is by no means out of the woods. On Worldometers our graph shows eye popping daily increases in new cases and daily deaths, mainly in LA county. The state is now trending more poorly than New York.

At the start of the lockdown, on March 19, we didn't know what to expect 2 months in the future. China's locked down cities were beginning to open up. Their new case numbers and daily deaths had dwindled to double digits. We assumed that our situation wasn't and wouldn't be as bad as theirs! Ha! Well, in California, even with the earliest lockdown in the nation, and a relatively strict one (though not as strictly enforced as China, Italy or Spain), our state is showing a range of results. Some counties, like ours, never reached seriously high numbers and we appear to have suppressed the spread. The Bay Area avoided a New York catastrophe. The metropolitan areas of Southern California, LA especially, after initial success in flattening the curve, are seeing spikes. I'm sure theories abound to explain this. Trouble is, our area is an easy drive up from LA and once we open up we're going to attract visitors and risk a new wave.
We're just going to have to continue 'sheltering in place' for a while longer.

Globally, Covid now has a strong foothold in Latin America. That's where the largest number of new cases are appearing. Brazil's numbers are soaring and it's now in 3rd place, below the USA and Russia. The top 3 countries all have reckless, right wing leaders, more interested in power than in following the science to protect their nations.

May 22

It's the start of the Memorial Day weekend. Some excitement is in the air, but nothing at all like usual.

Dr. Fauci on NPR with hopeful vaccine news. Moderna has seen promising results in the first phase of their human trials. There is a good chance that by January the general public may have access to a successful vaccine.

Meanwhile, we now understand that our daily lives will continue in this modified form until then.
I feel less anxious now than 2 months ago due to knowing so much more. Back in March we had questions. What was the extent of our community spread? Would we be subjected to the crisis situation we saw in Wuhan and then Italy? Would our local governments and health care providers prevail despite a leadership void at the national level? How would we cope in isolation? How long would it go on for? In March Chinese cities were beginning to open up. They had seen remarkable success in just 2 months. Would we follow the same path? Surely our situation was less serious and would end sooner??
And now we have the answers and this makes it easier to face the months ahead.
In March, little was known about the virus and the disease it caused. Now, 5 months after the coronavirus had begun its global path of tyranny scientists have unravelled a load of information. And each day we learn something new. Sometimes the news is hopeful. Like the fact that the virus doesn't mutate much and when it does its behavior is similar to early strands. This bodes well for a vaccine. Distressing news, like the new inflammatory condition seen in kids, brings us down.

Today, I went to Trader Joe's for the first time in ten weeks. Our community has low identified cases, but we are about to loosen up and enter Phase 2. I seized the opportunity realizing it may be months in the future before I may be able to do it again. Back in early March when Covid craziness hit I did some serious shopping with the hope of stocking up for a while. But empty shelves thwarted my efforts. I was pleasantly surprised to see a fully stocked store again. Everything I wanted was available and with spring in full swing I found cherries and apricots too. What a joy to glide through the aisles and select old favorites. Reassuring too was the Covid friendly shopping experience. Limiting the number of people entering the store and people waiting in line have to stand on red painted spots spaced 6 feet apart. Face coverings were mandatory.

Waiting in line to enter Trader Joe's, standing on a marked spot for physical distancing

Carts cleaned up with disinfectant by an employee. Aisles wider and with only a few people inside it wasn't hard to maintain comfortable distance from shoppers.

May 25 Memorial Day

There was a distinct holiday weekend atmosphere around us despite our confinement. State Street awoke from its 3 month slumber, in a new incarnation. Traffic free, with cafes and restaurants using the sidewalks to spread out their tables, enabling physical distancing. We had no intention to bow to curiosity and join the eager crowd out there hungry for distraction, especially with the fine, summer weather.
No complaints about our weekend though. It's so remarkable that despite the lockdown we can access fun activities.
Our 3 day weekend started on Friday evening with an after dinner stroll to our friends' home on La Goleta Road. Anna and Petar opened up a chilled Sauvignon Blanc, each couple at their own table on their spacious deck for distance and ease of mind. The breathtaking view of oak forest and mountains guaranteed a good time. As did warm spring temps and lively conversation.

We awoke at sunrise on Saturday morning and headed into the backcountry where we did a two mile hike on the Fremont Ridge Trail. Blissfully cool temperatures and lots of shade made it a lot of fun. It was the threat of a caffeine headache that got us to turn back for the uphill trudge to the car. But the endorphins lingered through the day. Daryl spent much of the day painting the exterior trim of our house which involved climbing up our tallest ladders. To prevent an adrenalin rush I hid inside and found distraction in Louise Erdrich's The Night Watchman.

It was low tide when we stepped on a peaceful beach early Sunday morning. From UCSB campus we strolled on soft sand, admiring shells and sea creatures on our way toward Coal Oil Point. Fresh, briny air, the cries of seagulls, pelicans in flight, plovers hopping about, a loan egret, rock pools, and the sound of crashing waves.
The shade of the cliff wall protected me from a sun that was strengthening by the second. Another perfect start to the day.

Our friends Premi and Sri joined us on our patio for dinner. It's so good to have face to face interactions with friends during this time when we're mostly isolated. I made a quiche, delicious it was too with fresh basil, red onions, yellow zucchini and roasted bell pepper. They had spent the afternoon cruising State Street and had bought marzipan filled Kringle from Andersen's Bakery for our dessert. Sinfully scrumptious!

It's 4 months since Wuhan was locked down due to the coronavirus and 3 months since Italy made history by being the first nation to go into a strict lockdown. Today, Wuhan and other Chinese cities have succeeded in the battle, reporting few daily new cases. Italy, Spain, Germany and France are opening up with increasing confidence. True for much of Asia. Not South Asia though. Covid 19 cases are exploding in India and its neighbors. Latin America, especially Brazil, is the new hot spot. The USA is still number one in total cases and in daily new cases which average around 20,000. Politics and a leadership void at the federal level will continue to mar our progress. Each region shows unique trends. New York continues on its trend of fewer new cases. California, which appeared promising back in April with a flattened curve, is now seeing frightening surges in LA county and metropolitan Southern California. Mystifying. How is the virus spreading after a 2 month lockdown? Who are the vectors?

The Bay Area in California, Washington State and Oregon continue to show success, reporting small new daily cases.

In South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a transition to Phase 3 of their lockdown starting on June1. This would mean most of the economy will open up. Still no tobacco products though! Their curve went from flat to vertical. After initial success certain regions, especially the Western Cape, are exploding in Covid cases. However, the government has spent the lockdown period to beef up hospitals and resources. They believe that the expected surge would not overwhelm their facilities.

New Zealand's success in defeating the virus has won everyone's admiration. Interestingly, as they open up, they too will continue with prevention strategies such as physical distancing.

May 29

An intense news cycle related to racist acts. An incident in Central Park, NYC, shocked me. A birdwatcher, a black man, Harvard graduate in communications, politely asked a white woman to leash her dog. When she reacted by calling 911, the birdwatcher filmed her. The recording, posted by his sister on YouTube got millions of hits as everyone watched in horror how an initially innocuous encounter could escalate into a disaster. This time it was the white woman who suffered job loss, pet loss, and disgrace.

A bigger story took place in Minneapolis where a police officer was video-ed when he pressed his knee against a black man's neck and choked him to death. George Floyd's brutal final moments sparked riots on a major scale where buildings, including a police precinct, were set on fire.

Another story is a battle between Trump and Twitter. His incendiary messages have been tagged with fact checking links and warnings. Where will this go?

Two things lifted up my spirits today. I went for a run on the beach at low tide, starting at Goleta Beach, all the way past Campus Point, then back again. Fog kept the temperature cool enough to enjoy vigorous exercise. Taking in the sounds of surf, birdsong and gulping in salty air, I was thoroughly energized.
In the evening I met with my book club over Zoom. We discussed The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich. It wasn't a story that grabbed me, but the effort was worth it. Such finely honed prose and skilled characterization by a writer focused on the issues of Native Americans of the Northwest. This story was loosely based on the author's grandfather's life and role in rebelling against an unfair law to do with land rights and ownership passed in the late 1950's. I loved the excuse to interact with buddies, to see their faces, hear their voices. So comforting. We're lucky to be living at a time when technology has made isolation so doable.

Zoom Bookclub

What does June hold for us? How bad will things get in Latin America? What about India and South Africa? Will Australia and New Zealand continue to be safe from Covid? And what will we see in California? We're on an upward trend currently with daily new cases, but our medical resources aren't overloaded and our total deaths not terrible.