Covid-19 – Winter is coming

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Good afternoon,

One of the  lighter  moments in the somber coronavirus press briefing this week  from John Carney came when the governor said he was asked to pass along the accompanying  graphic with the words “Winter is coming.”

Playing the part of someone unaware of popular culture, Carney claimed he knew little about the graphic.

The trademarked motto comes from the hit HBO series, Game of Thrones. The show featured nudity,  warfare, graphic violence but best of all, dragons. I only watched  a few episodes, including the finale but understood why tens of millions were addicted.

Game of Thrones broke many TV rules with scenes to graphic to mention here with character after character meeting a tragic fate.

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But back to the term, Winter is Coming,  which suggested a snowy sense of foreboding that always surrounded the show.

The term fits in with the situation Delaware, and the nation is facing as Covid-19 takes hold. 

The number of daily cases appears to have settled into the 200 area, with flu season upon us.

Hospital capacity remains adequate, with Sussex County an area of concern should things worsen.

The state appears to be on the verge of restrictions that, based on decisions by our neighbors, could include earlier closing times for bars and restaurants as well as reduced capacity limits.

The last resort will be moving schools away from the hybrid in-class, remote instruction model that gets younger children into the classroom.  To date, there are only a few instances of students infecting one another. One of the biggest problems seems to involve staff members eating together or catching the virus outside school. 

In a couple of weeks, we will see Thanksgiving get-togethers, which despite words of caution from public health officials, will see family members from two or three generations gather indoors for a long period of time.

Still,  the picture is not nearly as grim as your average day of intrigue and mayhem at the Game of Thrones’ houses of Lannister and Stark.

The widely followed Johns Hopkins dashboard shows Delaware grouped with Maryland and New Jersey when it comes to the percentage of positive cases.  Pennsylvania is another story, with new cases running at two to three times the rate of Delaware.

On the plus side, we’ve learned a lot about treating the virus, and a larger percentage of cases are coming from younger people who typically fare better than the elderly.

Prospects for a vaccine that would put a dent in the pandemic brightened this week with signs that the joint vaccine developed by  Pfizer and a German company could prove to be  90 percent effective.

For now, the best advice is to wear your mask, use social distancing, practice good hygiene, and carefully weigh the risks of upcoming events and get-togethers:- Doug Rainey, chief content officer.

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