Anyone trying to figure out which activities, locations, etc. are safe and which are NOT safe should read this article, Social Distancing Is Not Enough, by Derek Thompson for The Atlantic. It examines known super-spreader events and shows why they were so brutal. The result is solid info on what to do and not do, plus precautions to take to protect yourself in various situations. We have to protect ourselves—clearly, no one else is doing it. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/05/how-will-we-ever-be-safe-inside/611953/
Another valuable resource for planning your next steps is here—Pools? Planes? Camps? What public health experts will — and won’t — do this summer 5/27/20 https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/public-health-experts-summer-safety-faq-coronavirus/2020/05/27/02a5a5a8-9f74-11ea-b5c9-570a91917d8d_story.html?arc404=true
This is also worth a read as you decide about summer—The next 100 days: How the coronavirus will continue to change your life at home, at work, at school and beyond 5/27/20 https://today.statesman.com/express/wednesday–may-27–2020/9?utm_source=express-edition&utm_medium=email
Plus, I highly recommend The Rachel Maddow Show. She covers political affairs, often related to COVID-19 at this point. I find the show highly informative and entertaining. After all, knowledge is the first step to protecting ourselves. The show is televised on MSNBC each weekday evening. It is also available online https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show
As always, my Covid-19 page has links to articles added daily, on all aspects of the pandemic.
In Texas
Last week, the state’s ugly practice of including antibody test statistics with basic virus testing was called out by the media, denied, and then changed. Just to be clear, most testing done for COVID-19 is to find out if someone has the virus currently. In the past month or so, a different type of testing has begun—looking for antibodies to see if people had the virus in the past and are now (hopefully) immune to getting it again. Out of ignorance or guile, Texas was dumping those efforts together as the “testing” it reported daily online. Since antibody testing (so far) rarely comes up positive, those extra negative results skewed things to make it appear Texas had fewer new COVID-19 cases than it did. And, of course, these encouraging numbers were cited as good news supporting Texas opening up very quickly. At Gov. Abbott’s May 18 press conference, he was specifically asked if antibody tests were combined with virus testing, and he denied it. Yet, by May 22, state officials admitted this had been the case and from then on test results have been reported separately—virus and antibody, number of tests done, and percentage positive.
In Lakeway
At the May 18 Council meeting (held online), members Higginbotham, Smith and Mastrangelo were sworn in for their second terms (no one having run against them.) Also, Higginbotham will continue her able service as Mayor Pro Tem for a second year; Council approved this at the mayor’s request, but Smith’s nay vote and Kumar’s abstention indicated bad feelings.
Council went on and on about whether or not to adopt provisions requiring a special event permit. While I don’t have strong feelings on this either way, Council seemed to have no idea what number of people gathering (50? 100? 250? 1,000?) would constitute an issue. Maybe that means we don’t have a problem.
Use of Lakeway’s stockpiled Hotel Occupancy Tax funds for economic recovery post-pandemic was discussed. The state has not loosened the rules for use of these funds (they can only be used for something that demonstrably increases hotel occupancy), but that could change. In the meantime, Council will look into giving some of the $7million now held back to our local hotels, as a rebate.
The meeting concluded with Council considering 8 items in Executive Session. I think EIGHT secret items might be a record, and they spent 3 full hours at it. In the end, no action was taken, and nothing was discussed in the public portion of the meeting. (One item was personnel issues, which must have included the May 12 resignation of Charlotte Hodges, who served less than 2 years as Director of Building Development Services.)
Council next meets Monday night, June 1. So far, per the calendar, this looks like a return to a real in-person meeting, held at City Hall with citizen attendance. Also, as of now, all monthly committee meetings appear normally on the June calendar, so City Hall may be opening up. We’ll see…. UPDATE: On May 29, the city changed Council’s June 1 meeting to be held online . So, citizen participation must be arranged on Monday and will be via phone. See the Agenda for details. Council meeting’s agenda and meeting packet will be late posted in the day on Friday, May 29. Go here–https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/archive.aspx
Go here to watch online, live or after the fact—https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/1062/Videos—Meetings-Events
Belated Happy Memorial Day to all! It was different in many respects, but the underlying theme remained powerful. For the first time, the city lined major boulevards with miniature American flags. I found it evocative, passing through flag-lined paths on my morning walks, and I hope this becomes a new tradition for us.
Back to me….
I started a new painting project, a small table this time, and did some spring cleaning.
Also, I got my car inspected last week. As always, Lakeway Texaco went above and beyond. I loved their friendly “Masks required” sign on the door. And, their cheerful and professional service had me done and out the door in 15 minutes!
Plus, I had my garage door serviced, so now it hums rather than squeals. The cats are pleased. Even better, Lake Travis Overhead Doors replaced the seal along the bottom. A recent fire safety inspection warned that the gaps where the old seal was missing did more than allow leaves and dirt to blow inside; in the event of a wildfire, embers would blow in and could set the house on fire. Bonus—rodents and snakes are now kept out, as well.
Perspective is key, and it helps to see what changed in the last week.
Actually, I’m not at all sure the numbers can be trusted or even tell us much now. Testing (particularly in the US) remains abysmally low, so confirmed cases and deaths are far less than reality. Government agencies at local, state and federal levels have all toyed with the stats for their own purposes. Undeveloped countries and those at war don’t have the means to keep track. Worst of all, we’ve become numb to the carnage as the numbers plow right through estimated totals, as the tables ebb and flow. And, COVID-19 cases and deaths won’t be stopping anytime soon.
So, I’ll keep up my daily spreadsheet with all the numbers (yes, I’m a completist….). But going forward I will likely just mention highlights here, good or bad.
Worldwide, there are now close to 6 million reported cases, which is a serious under-count. In the US, we recently exceeded 100,000 deaths confirmed as caused by COVID-19. Again, many more Americans than that have died from the virus, but remember when models predicting 100,000 deaths in the US were dismissed by elected officials as outlandish fear-mongering? Maybe keep that in mind come November.