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| Teddy Bear Christmas At Hotel Del Coronado in the Before Times (Taken 12.28.2019) |
I have so much to talk about today, but I'm gonna put a lot after the jump, because today was actually a lovely day. I'm trying to reset my circadian rhythm so I didn't let myself sleep all day as I had been from our DDD experience last week. I woke up to Nova and Darren in the kitchen, and she was inspired by the bag of yeast I bought to make pizza dough from scratch. I spent some time outside, the weather perfect, and I went through some things to donate from the studio, put away laundry, and I messed around shooting Jupiter and Saturn at dusk. For the pizza makers, it ended up being about a six hour process and I wasn't super happy that D had to run to Vons for mozzarella and other stuff because I'm trying to make us fully quarantine so we can do backyard Christmas at my mom's, but I told him that's it: if we run out of stuff, we run out, or we can do grocery delivery, but there will be no leaving the house for us besides late night dog walks.
Meanwhile, I caught up with my sister on the phone, and she told me that a girl from my niece's soccer team tested positive. The girl hadn't been to practice since Tuesday, and they've been doing outdoor, separated, workout only practices, but (a) I was so glad we pulled Nova from her team when we did because it was easy to see how the rules slip and (b) it made me mad because her program (though not her specific team) were the ones shown over and over on the news demanding the reopening of youth sports and competitive play. My sister and the girls found out on Saturday and all went and got tested, so hopefully they'll get their results tomorrow, but they're on lockdown now, too, or as my sister said in soccer speak, the DL.
More and more friends are testing positive or knowing people who are sick. I found out a college pal who lives in London is a long-hauler after getting COVID in March and her symptoms are debilitating and devastating. Another friend's dad died last week. And then I caught myself fighting with someone on Facebook who is literally making up her own statistics, fighting with nurses and people who work in hospitals and morgues that they are all just exaggerating the numbers and danger. It is maddening. California is quite literally the world epicenter at the moment. If you think you don't know anyone adversely affected by COVID-19 at this point, you're are just not paying attention.
Anyway, lots to get to today, so all of that after the jump.
Last night while doomscrolling, I was reading a lot about the virus mutations in South Africa and England and now Netherlands, and I was honestly thinking that if I was a venue owner, I would start making a plan to shutter my doors for all of 2021, even if it means losing my lease and having to find a new location later (I said I was DOOMSCROLLING.) The United States never attempted to control the virus, only to 'flatten the curve,' which we did and then did again and then just gave up because we have COVID-fatigue and gawd-given free-dumb. The vaccines, for now, are not going to outpace the virus (especially with the poor planning, delivery, and failure to maximize orders and production) and if you look at the forecasts, which have been accurate to this point, are estimating that this time next month, our local COVID-19 hospitalizations will be nearly double what they are today, with the rest of California even worse off than that. I would like to believe that after February, numbers would get under control, only because Christmas and New Years will be behind us, but anything could happen with the courts, they could rule to open everything back up, or these faster spreading mutations could really take hold, and then we're really, really doomed.
But then I saw that congress had 'come to an agreement' about the new aid/survival/stimulus package and I got a glimmer of hope. I thought if the bill passes and businesses can hold out until the Biden administration, maybe the venues can survive, even if we're still not doing shows until late 2021 or 2022.
Today the bill passed and I don't know where my little family falls into it, but if we get anything, we will be tucking away every penny that we can, because the last few months have been nail-biters (except, of course, not literally because we don't bite our nails or put our fingers in our mouths or touch our faces at all anymore because of COVID-19.) The Pelosi-Schumer press conference was full of much deserved anger and vitriol, but they got something done, even if it was only performative to relieve pressure from the Georgia elections. "It's not what we got in this bill, but what we got out of it, too," Senator Schumer said when saying they got the Toomey Fed-blocker provisions out as well as the lawsuit protection for businesses, some of which had nothing to do with COVID-19 at all.
So venues, hang on. Don't listen to me. I've never owned a business and don't know what I'm talking about. We can get through this. And we'll be pushing for more with the new admistration.
Indie Venues Get $15B in New COVID Relief Bill - Billboard (12.20.2020)
- COVID-19:
- This is from Saturday's County of Los Angeles Dept of Health Bulletin (You can subscribe here.) I wanted to share it because it reiterates the idea that just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD, which I guess is the whole point I was making about the restaurants who chose to open the second the judge ruled in their favor on Wednesday but suddenly were confused about the ruling when the appeal was stayed on Friday.
A recent decision by the Court of Appeal affirms Los Angeles County's duty to prevent disease transmission and protect public health through existing Health Officer Orders, and the suspension of outdoor dining remains in effect. Public Health reminds all sectors and businesses that all other requirements, safety directives, and temporary business closures also remain in effect.
The Los Angeles County Health Officer Order will be modified today to align with recent Supreme Court rulings for places of worship. Places of worship are permitted to offer faith-based services both indoors and outdoors with mandatory physical distancing and face coverings over both the nose and mouth that must be worn at all times while on site. Places of worship must also assure that attendance does not exceed the number of people who can be accommodated while maintaining a physical distance of six feet between separate households.
Public Health strongly recommends that places of worship continue to hold services outdoors, with physical distancing and the use of face coverings to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to congregants and to the entire community. Because Los Angeles County is experiencing an unprecedented surge of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, every effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to congregants and to the entire community is critical. - Tougher UK coronavirus curbs may last some time, health minister suggests - Reuters (12.20.2020)
- COVID-19: Italy, Austria, Belgium and Netherlands ban UK flights over new coronavirus strain fears. The Dutch ban will last until at least the end of 2020, while the Belgian order is only for 24 hours at the moment. - Sky News (12.20.2020)
- More on the Vaccine Rollout:
- Allergy Guidance - American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology
- The Trump Administration's COVID Vaccine Rollout Is Pure Chaos. Several states have been told they will get significantly fewer doses than originally expected. - Vice (12.18.2020)
- Is There Nothing About This Pandemic That These Clowns Won't F*ck Up? Pfizer says it has plenty of vaccine doses, but the Trump administration* isn't getting them distributed. - Esquire (12.18.2020)
- Panel: People over 75, essential workers next for vaccines - AP News (12.19.2020)
- While you contemplate your holiday gatherings:
- From A Doctor: Use Our Family’s ‘Safe’ Thanksgiving Story As A Warning - Scary Mommy (12.10.2020)
- Politics/News/Other Reading:
- Local Law Enforcement Agencies Have Spent Over $100 Million on Tactical Equipment In Violation of Public Disclosure Laws - La Prensa
- Congress seals agreement on $900 billion COVID relief bill - AP News (12.20.2020)
- Global COVID-19 Stats (JHU 12/20 8:30pm):
- 76,798,836 Known Cases
- 1,692,871 Known Deaths
- US COVID-19 Stats (COVID Tracking Project):
- 194,988 New Cases/17,647,893 Known Cases (9.2%+ Change over 7 Days)
- 1,618 New Deaths/309,449 Known Deaths
- 113,663 Current Hospitalizations
- 21,761 Currently in ICU
- 7,695 Currently on ventilator
- California COVID-19 Stats:
- 46,474 New Cases/1,854,456 Total Cases (2.6% increase)
- 161 New Deaths/22,593 Total Deaths (0.7% increase)
- 12% 14-day test positivity rate
- 17,750 COVID-19 Hospitalizations (+352 patients, +2% from prior day)
- 3,710 COVID-19 ICU hospitalized in CA (+90 patients, +2.4% from prior day)
- 1,353 ICU beds available (+69 from prior day)
- San Diego County Stats
- State Data:
- Southern California ICU Bed Availability: 0.0%
- 2,509 New Cases/122,972 Total Cases
- 27 Deaths/1,280 Total Deaths
- 52.7 cases/100k population (Based on week ending 12/8, Assessed on 12/15. Unadjusted Case Rate)
- 10.9% Test Positivity (Assessed on 12/15)
- 13.5% Health Equity Positivity (Assessed on 12/15)
- 1,264 hospitalized COVID-19 patients (+11 patients, +0.9% from prior day)
- 324 ICU hospitalized COVID-19 patients (+8 patients, +2.5% from prior day)
- 209 ICU beds available (+26 from prior day)
- County Data:
- No San Diego County COVID Update On Weekends
- 3,493 New Cases/126,465 Total Cases
- 0 New Daily Deaths/1,280 Total Deaths
- 15% Daily Test Positivity/10.9% (7-day avg after 7-day lag)/9.3% Test Positivity (14-day average)
- 29.5 cases/100k population (Assessed on 12/15. Unadjusted case rate per 100,000 excluding prisons.)
- Case Investigation is 46% (under 70% goal)
- 10.2% Increasing Day Over Day Hospitalizations (1,218 COVID-19 Confirmed Patients. Over 10% trigger. 199% increase over 30 days)
- 19% ICU Capacity (312 COVID-19 Confirmed Patients. Under 20% Trigger. 156% increase over 30 days)
- 4,689 Current Beds In Use (All Causes)/6416 Current Total Bed Capacity (20% reserved for C-19)
- 7 New/40 Community Outbreaks (7-day)
- Universities:
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