CoViD-19 Setting Daily Records | Election Results Trickle In | Big Election Winner: Weed

 

Newman the Sandcat is All Of Us Watching Election Results
(Taken at San Diego Zoo Safari Park 10.13.2020)

I was super negative yesterday about the elections and my personal voting record, but it wasn't all bad. Several of the organizations that I support are reticent to declare winners until every vote is counted, but there were some good winners. I still think this country is gross and 68 million people chose racism, sexism, bigotry, xenophobia, and fake Christianity over decency and that is really, really tragic. My friend, local musician, and Philosophy professor Peter Bolland wrote the following:

If Biden wins, it will be a muted celebration. Because now we know that half of America didn't just get duped by a reality show con man. They saw him in action for four years, and they said, "Yes, that's me. I like that. More of that please." That we didn't just take a brief, accidental detour toward authoritarian, antidemocratic autocracy — we actually deliberately chose authoritarian, antidemocratic autocracy last night, in staggering numbers. That's it. Thanksgiving and Christmas are cancelled forever. I can't even look these people in the eye. And if you're still talking about "unity" and "building bridges" and "listening to both sides" and "finding common ground" it only proves to me how blithely oblivious you are to the frightening forces of white supremacy, anti-intellectualism, and violent ultra-nationalism that are infecting the entire globe. Human beings are the most dangerous animals on the planet — that has always been true. But it's still stunning to see them in action on such a massive scale.

Meanwhile we're still seeing COVID-19 numbers ignite like crazy and it is possible that we'll be sliding back to the purple tier next week. Nova's school was looking for a January reopening, but at this rate, we may be looking at no in-person school until she's going into 9th grade next fall. If that's the way it's gotta be, so be it. We're not risking our lives (or my parents') because life is uncomfortable. 

Hope everyone out there is hanging in there. 

• Election Results:
• KPBS Election Results
• Bike The Vote
• San Diegans for Gun Violence Prevention
• 2020 Election Results: The Squad Is Back in the House and Bigger Than Ever - Teen Vogue (11.4.2020)
• California COVID-19 Stats:
• 4,566 New Cases/944,576 Total Cases (0.5% increase)
• 63 New Deaths/17,815 Total Deaths (0.4% increase)
• 3.3% 14-day test positivity rate
• San Diego County Stats
• State Data:
• 404 New Cases/58,126 Total Cases
• 3 Deaths/904 Total Deaths
• 8.7 cases/100k population (Based on week ending 10/24, Assessed on 11/4. Unadjusted Case Rate Using Linear Adjustment)
• 3.2% Test Positivity (Based on week ending 10/24, Assessed on 11/4)
• 5.3% Health Equity Positivity (Based on week ending 10/10, Assessed on 10/27)
• County Data:
• County Reports 530 New Cases, Region on Brink of Purple Tier - County News Center
• 530 New Cases/58,636 Total Cases 
• 0 New Daily Deaths/904 Total Deaths
• 3% Daily Test Positivity/3.6% (7-day avg after 7-day lag)/3.1% Test Positivity (14-day average)
• 7.4 cases/100k population (Based on week ending 10/24, Assessed on 11/4. County is reporting unadjusted case rate per 100,000 excluding prisons. 
• Case Investigation is 96%
• 6 New/23 Community Outbreaks (7-day)
• 3 Businesses
• 2 Retail 
• 1 Faith-based setting
• Universities:
• SDSU COVID-19, UCSD COVID-19, USD COVID-19, CSU San Marcos, PLNU
• COVID-19: 
• Australia has almost eliminated the coronavirus — by putting faith in science - The Washington Post (11.4.2020)
• Remdesivir for the Treatment of Covid-19 — Final Report (Spoiler: It works. Kinda, Sometimes) - New England Journal of Medicine (11.5.2020)
• WHO-led COVID Drug Scheme Doubles Down on Antibodies, Steroids and Shuns Remdesivir - Reuters (11.5.2020) 
• My Commentary: Before writing off the WHO for this choice/omission, consider that Remdesivir is an intravenous intervention and would be much harder to procure and actually use among poorer populations, a similar issue vaccines will face if they end up being two-shot dosages.
• More Than 61,000 Children Were Diagnosed With COVID Last Week - Scary Mommy (11.3.2020)
• Other News/Reading:
• First Cold Rains on the Way; Free Sandbags for Unincorporated Residents - San Diego County News Center (11.5.2020)
• Fentanyl, Prescription Drug Deaths Increase in San Diego County - County News Center (11.5.2020)
• Voters Rejecting the War on Drugs Is a Win for Public Health. On Tuesday, several states passed ballot measures to relax drug laws. That's not just a criminal justice victory. - Wired (11.5.2020)
• Flu Activity Extremely Low This Season Due to COVID-19 Measures - County News Center (11.5.2020)