We had wonderful sunshine for the early part of the day. I even saw part of the moon behind clouds this evening. My big event was to move the snow off the car. I thought this would be relatively quick, but no, it wasn't. There was 15-18 inches of snow on the car from nose to tail. It felt like so much more work than moving all the snow from porches and walkways yesterday. Likely, this was due to having my arms above heart level while moving all that stuff off the car. Once that was mostly done, I had to move the piles off the ground area I'd cleared around the car yesterday. It was invigorating, but I will really hurt tomorrow, I expect.
The big news in town involves an outbreak of COVID-19 cases among mainly university students. There was a major event with school rings distributed a week ago followed by some parties. Most new cases have been fully vaccinated, so symptoms are like a minor flu and can be dealt with at home. The university has had programs in place since last year to assist students on and off campus when they are isolating. At present it appears that most transmission occurred in smaller social groups in private celebrations, though this could change as more contact tracing occurs. So, we are hearing of possible places where people might have encountered someone who has since tested positive -- university library, study halls, dining halls, and several restaurants in town where celebrations occurred with family and friends from out of town. The first cases were reported late Monday. By Wednesday there were 21 cases. As of today, the total number is 112. Epidemiologists suggest this might be near the peak of the outbreak and we should begin to see lower daily numbers of new cases (today there were about 55). We are told that vaccines have helped disease to be less virulent and that they do work as over 2000 people were part of the ceremony (which required proof of vaccine with photo ID and masking for all attendees) and the celebrations. Today the university cancelled all in-person exams. These will be postponed to January, or provided in a take-home or online format in the coming days, where possible. This comes during a time of heightened anxiety surrounding end of term, exams and major assignments, and preparation for the holiday break and potential travel home.
I plan to stay home as much as possible for now. I'll get my groceries by curbside pickup and will have to make do with what is available at that one store -- for now. I wanted a soothing song for today for the local news and another item that I will move to the blog for tomorrow. The song that came to mind first is one that I play here every December. It is an interesting pairing of singers and songs in counterpoint. Keep safe. Enjoy!
Peace on Earth (Little Drummer Boy) -- Bing Crosby & David Bowie
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