CoViD-19 California Blew It | Sunday Stats: 417 New Cases, 4 New Community Outbreaks | Photos: San Diego Zoo Safari Park Rhinos and more

We went back to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park today. It was much more crowded than our trips before, but that could be because we arrived a little earlier in the afternoon than we usually do. They're no longer issuing bracelets upon entry, so I guess my collection will remain as is. 
Because of the crowds, we skipped some areas, like the elephants, and w also just enjoyed more of the walking and finding shady grass to lay down on instead of rushing to see as much as possible. The rhinos ended up being the hit of our day, as a crash of them were up by our favorite lookout. After being elusive, we also tracked Rhino Kacy and her 2 1/2 week old calf, so I spent about an hour watching them until they disappeared again. There are so many areas where the animals can get out of public view without the tram system. Darren and I have this dream that maybe as a fundraiser or something they would allow bikes to ride the roads the trams usually take, but we know that is just a fantasy and a million reasons why that would never fly. 

The cheetahs had been absent on our first go-round, too, but at the end of the day, we looped back and two were out, so Nova got to have her moment of chirpiness with them. We grabbed takeout from Rolberto's off Aero Drive on the way home, only our 4th time getting takeout since March, so that was an extra special treat for us. 

For anyone regularly following along, I had my dumb little Facebook fight yesterday and got one more comment. "really so now if somebody is coughing or has a fever is Covid19??? stay away,stay home...blah-blah...But what happened with a flue,...Flue is gone now???I am curious.Yes my daughter had an asthma too before and she had breathing difficulties,so what???Some people is so ignorant now" That's a doozy and so much to unpack I just had to let it go. With this mindset so prevalent, we're never gonna get past COVID-19. Meanwhile, we ordered goggles and we've all got a stash of masks, so we're not taking any unnecessary risks. I wish 'you do you' or 'to each his own' or 'live and let live' were sound arguments, but the virus just doesn't work that way. Today's stats and some reads after the jump. More photos, too.  

• California COVID-19 Stats:
• 8,373 New Cases/554,160 Total Cases (1.5% increase)
• 104 New Deaths/10,293 Total Deaths (1% increase)
• 6.1% 14-day test positivity rate
• COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO COVID-19 STATS:
• State Data:
• 5,629 New Cases (Last 14 Days)/32,332 Total Cases
• 60 Deaths (Last 14 Days)/593 Total Deaths
• 167 cases/100k population 
• 10% Test Positivity (Last 14 Days)
• County Data:
• 417 New Cases/32,747 Total Cases
• 1 New Daily Deaths/594 Total Deaths
• 110.2 cases (111.5 State Reporting)/100k population 
• 7% Daily Test Positivity/5.4% Test Positivity (7-day average with 7-day lag)
• Case Investigation is 95%
• 4 New/24 Community Outbreaks (7-day)
• COVID-19 Reading:
• I don't necessarily agree with much of this assessment of Governor Newsom's handling of COVID-19. In a state of 40+ million people, every county and city and industry wanted exemptions and pushed for reopenings. Holidays didn't help, and we saw spikes after Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Independence Day. People want to blame protests, but we know what that dogwhistle really means. I'm sharing this article anyway because I imagine Newsom will be addressing many of these points in the days and weeks to come.
• Editorial: California governor’s COVID-19 strategy is in tatters Time for a new approach after data glitch reveals that Newsom is flying blind in his pandemic response - Mercury News (8.8.2020)
• The Pandemic Isn’t Forcing Moms Out of the Workforce — Dads Are. Let’s be crystal clear about why working mothers are suffering Gen Medium (7.31.2020)
• California Public Health Officer Suddenly Resigns As State Recovers From Reporting Errors - KCBS (8.9.2020)