So far no one is beating down my door to respond to yesterday’s request. Missed it? Take a look.
*****
I’m torn about promoting indoor events right now because we are in a legitimately significant COVID wave. This is not just some gut feeling I have. Maryland wastewater monitoring indicates a “Very High” level of COVID-19 infection (per CDC). Anecdotally, I keep seeing folks who managed to stay COVID-free until now report that they are infected.
It’s not just a cold.
My personal recommendation is that you mask in indoor spaces while levels are so high. That makes indoor dining an extremely difficult choice. It’s the same old problem from earlier in the pandemic: does the restaurant have high ceilings and good ventilation/added air purification systems? Can you go at a less crowded time of day? Perhaps outdoor dining is a better choice.
I can’t tell you what to do. I can be blunt and voice the unpopular opinion that COVID is not over and that repeat infections pose long-term health consequences that you would not wish on anyone. Pretending that everything is fine with the understandably human desire to “get back to normal” has encouraged continued transmission and mutation.
That’s not progress.
I suspect we’ll be seeing more announcements of restaurants needing to close for a day or an evening as infections runs through food service staff. Our insistence on getting back to normal comes at enormous cost to them. Food service workers have experienced some of the highest rates of infection and reinfection and they are the least likely to have health insurance and/or disability benefits.
It ain’t over, folks.
I’ll be back tomorrow with something cheerier. I’m open to suggestions.
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