May 3, 2020 At home BECAUSE it is not safe out there

Texas opened up for the economy on May 1.  Gov. Abbott’s Phase 1 allows pretty much everything except salons, gyms and bars to be up and running, limited to 25% occupancy (for 2 weeks, then ramping up to 100%).   And, the governor has hinted that even salons, gyms and bars will be green-lit very soon.  As rash as all this is, it might have been workable, except that his order specified that masks are NOT required. 

Here in Travis County, people were comfortable with the mask requirement.  Experts say masks decrease infection, particularly at the early stage before people realize they have the virus.  Now, masks are voluntary, and we know how that plays out.  Back in March, Abbott excused his failure to issue a state-wide order on the grounds that local mayors and judges were in the best position to know what their areas needed.  Now, he has declared that local authorities may NOT create rules varying from his new order, about masks or anything else virus-related.   

However, a business MAY require customers to wear masks (just like they can require customers to wear shirts and shoes).  Any time I am required to be out and about in the foreseeable future, I will only patronize businesses that REQUIRE MASKS.

Opening up now is rash in Texas, based on our statistics on confirmed cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.  Even the rather lax federal guidelines for opening up (requiring cases and deaths trending down for a period of 2 weeks) have not been met.   Instead, we are continuing a trend of over 1,000 new confirmed cases each day.  Also, the total number of Texans hospitalized reached record levels several days last week; previously in the 1400s and 1500s, the number ranged from 1682 to 1778.  And, on April 30, 50 Texans died of COVID-19–more than any other day to date.   

Clearly, opening up now isn’t based on our medical situation.  Instead, it is based on economics, specifically reducing the unemployment benefits to furloughed workers and the special payments to idle businesses.   If it is somehow safe enough for most businesses to re-open now, why are state offices, Capitol Building, Governor’s Mansion, etc. not included in Abbott’s order?   And, it isn’t just Texas—the hypocrisy extends to Washington, DC, with government buildings closed and the House of Representatives refusing to return to work for safety reasons.  Even Lakeway continues to keep city buildings closed to the public; tomorrow’s Council meeting will be held online.

Back to me….

For anyone curious about how my experiment with freezing a gallon jug of milk went—it turned out just fine.   The bulge that developed near the bottom of the jug isn’t leaking.  The milk tastes normal.  The printed expiration date was April 29.  I bought and froze it on April 14 and thawed it on April 28; I should be able to use it now for a full 2 weeks.  I WAS surprised by how long it took to thaw—3 full days, & even well after that it had slushy portions. 

frozen jug of skim milk

My current project is building a bookcase.  The former owners of my house left behind some wooden wine boxes, and they are the perfect size.  I sanded and primed them this weekend. 

wine boxes–soon to be a bookcase

Other than that, I continue working full-time online from home, with stellar oversight from my 3 feline supervisors.  At some point, I’m going to have to start on spring cleaning ….

Perspective is key, and it helps to see what changed in the last week.

A week ago (April 26), worldwide, there were 2,994,436 confirmed cases and 206,973 deaths.  As of today (May 3), there are 3,563,335 confirmed cases and 248,135 deaths.

In the US, a week ago there were 987,160 confirmed cases and 55,413 deaths.  Today, there are 1,187,768 confirmed cases and 68,587 deaths.

In Texas, a week ago there were 24,631 confirmed cases and 648 deaths.  Today, there are 31,548  confirmed cases and 867 deaths.

In Travis County, a week ago there were 1,412  confirmed cases and 39 deaths. Today, there are 1,756 confirmed cases and 52 deaths.

A week ago, we had 26 confirmed cases in Lakeway’s zip codes of 78734 and 78738.  Today, we have 26 cases (no change).

Things I wonder about:

–How did I get paint get THERE?

–How long can I let my car sit in the garage without driving it, without ending up with a dead battery?

–When will I see my first parked fawn of the season?

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