Pandemic Diary 78

Posts for a Book to be Called, Tentatively, ‘A Book of Plagues’

Dec 1

I posted this on Facebook yesterday, after seeing some posts from others that downplayed the impact that COVID is having. My sister, Sandy, tested positive over the Thanksgiving holiday, and her husband Chuck awaits results, though it is clear his test will come back positive, as well. It’s a scary moment for our family, and I got angry at the naysayers.

Here’s my original post:

I know people with COVID. I have family with COVID (my sister, Sandy and her husband Chuck). I know people who have lost loved ones to COVID. There are 13.5 million Americans who have or have had it, one of every 24 Americans. Nearly 270,000 have died, a figure that does not take into account those who died from it but were never tested, and does not account for those who avoided medical care because COVID-overrun hospitals could not provide regular care. This pandemic is real and dangerous. It spreads like few things we’ve seen. Still, too many are not taking it seriously.

Responses varied. Some were supportive, but several were from the doubters. Trust in god, they said. Or variations of “it’s no big deal.” Those responses caused me to write a new diary post:

Life must go on, she says. We are not afraid. As if this is about fear. As if precautions are a test of bravery. // He questions the impact on hospitals. Says it’s only true if you watch CNN. // A 99.8% survival rate, she says. A 99.99999% rate, he says. Exaggeration. More than 2% who’ve contracted COVID have died, 20 times the rate of the flu. // Let’s not push hysteria, he says, but 13.5 million Americans have or have had it. One in 24 Americans. My sister Sandy has it. Her husband Chuck, too. // A friend says she still has trouble with her lungs months later. She lost her father to the virus. Nearly 270,000 have died. In 10 months. And the numbers are ratcheting up. // We face a “grim reckoning,” The New York Times writes, “an appalling milestone: more than one million new coronavirus cases every week.” We “now must endure a critical period of transition.” Face the likely surge. Half a million to three-quarters of a million total deaths by Spring. Even with a vaccine imminent. // “The next three months are going to be just horrible,” a doctor tells the Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/30/health/coronavirus-vaccines-treatments.html?referringSource=articleShare).

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Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet