Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Self-isolation Day 127.

Last night I went to bed at 10:30, fell asleep quickly, slept throught the night, finally waking/getting up at 7:15.

Last night I played 4 games on Chess.com, winning 1 and losing 3. My new rating is 1280.

I left the apt at 7:45 and completed my new route of 50 minutes. I watched the first 20 minutes of the Today show before taking my shower.

I talked with a buddy from college today for 3 hours.

Teresa beat me in parcheesi today 3 games to 2.

The death count in that fuel truck explosion has now increased to 45.

Teresa has a friend from the gym here who is sure Covid-19 is a hoax and she never wears a mask. She just talked to her and she now believes she has the disease and will see a doctor tomorrow.

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will not release a set of documents this week aimed at giving schools advice on how to reopen to students after coronavirus shutdowns, NPR has learned. Instead, the full set will be published before the end of the month, a CDC spokesperson says.

"These science and evidence-based resources and tools will provide additional information for administrators, teachers and staff, parents, caregivers and guardians, as together we work towards the public health-oriented goal of safely opening schools this fall," the spokesperson said.

 

From the US Embassy:

COVID-19 Quarantine Update and Extension:  As of July 21, there are 211,038 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Colombia according to the Colombian Ministry of Health.  Nationwide isolation measures continue until August 1, with some municipalities enforcing additional measures to control the spread of COVID-19. 

 

Nationwide Isolation Measures Until August 1:  On Tuesday, July 7, President Duque announced the extension of isolation measures in Colombia until August 1, with new exceptions only in areas with low rates of infection. International Airports and Colombian land and sea borders remain closed, but Colombia has resumed some national flights under a reopening pilot program.  For the President’s full announcement, visit the Presidency website. 

Medellin:  Colombia's second-largest city has 10,022 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Medellin's city center is under continued isolation measures and pico y cedula is currently in enforcement, as are dry weekends and curfews on public holidays.  See the Mayor of Medellin website for more details: 

 

Medellin Mayor Daniel Quintero announced that the 4 X 3 model, four days of activity for three days of closure, will continue for three more weekends.

·        July 24 to July 26 (3 days)

·        July 31 to August 2 (3 days)

·        August 7 to August 9 (3 days) 

 

While the race to find an effective vaccine for Covid-19 has crucial implications for nations around the world, it also carries political ramifications in the United States — with Trump banking heavily on finding a vaccine to quell both the pandemic and mounting unhappiness over his handling of the coronavirus response.

Buoyed by a series of encouraging early trial results, the administration is laying the groundwork for a high-profile rollout of initial coronavirus vaccines in as little as three months. It’s a best-case timetable that also tracks with the final weeks before the Nov. 3 election. The White House’s Operation Warp Speed has poured billions of dollars into developing a vaccine in record time, funding several efforts in parallel and buying up doses of the experimental shots in a wager that one will ultimately pay off.

“We’ll end up with a cure,” Trump asserted on Tuesday. “We’re very close to the vaccine — I think we’re going to have some very good results.”

 

The US has 3,841,982 ð 3,905,319 ð 3,980,107 coronavirus cases with 140,800+  ð 141,800+ ð 143,100+ deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of this afternoon Colombia has a total of 197,278 ð 204,005 ð 211,038 218,428 cases with 7,373 deaths.  Medellin has 9,169  ð 10,022  ð 10,872 cases, an increase of 651 from July 21^st July 22^nd. Envigado has a total of 541 cases, an increase of 23 from July 21^st July 22^nd.

 

Joke of the day

A flight crew is landing at an unfamiliar airport. The control tower gives them a runway assignment, and they start their approach.

The pilot says, "Does that runway look kind of short to you?"

The co-pilot says, "It sure does."

"I thought it was supposed to be longer than that"

"Me too"

"Better set full flaps."

"Full flaps set."

"I want thrust reversers the minute we touch."

"Standing by on the thrust reversers."

"And full power once thrust reversers are set."

"Roger that."

"I'm gonna try to catch the very end of the runway and stand on the brakes. Stand by to reverse thrust."

"Roger that."

They touch down, blast the thrust reversers, stomp the brakes, and just manage to get the plane stopped before it runs off into the grass.

The pilot says, "Damn, that was a short runway."

The co-pilot says, "Yeah, but look how wide it is."