san diego: dialed in: CoViD-19: US Sets Case Record | Beware Scam Testing Sites | CA Deploys National Guard To Assist Test Sites | Arbery Murderers Sentenced To Life+ | Sea Lion Rescued After Crossing The 94! |

Sea Lions At The Beach - Where They Belong (Taken 5.3.2021)

I was gonna skip a post today since the data will be the same tomorrow with no updates, but today the US set the world record for most single day cases. And that doesn't count people testing positive on home antigen tests who don't report their cases to their counties. That is bad. If you didn't believe that COVID is airborne before, I don't know what to tell you. I've been running my air purifier when it's too cold to open windows and I finally ordered a CO2 monitor. I'm officially out of isolation if going by the County's date of telling me I was positive and 15 days out from the actual test date. I'm still laying low, though I did ride along (and to give directions) to take Nova to get her booster at the Jacobs Center off Euclid and Market.

NBC did a great story about potentially fake or scam testing sites, and I would add that this pandemic had brought out the best in some and the worst in others. Sometimes it's hard to reconcile that we have a legitimate problem in this country with far too many people incarcerated and yet I wouldn't mind locking up anyone who has taken advantage of people in this pandemic, like people who have collected free COVID-19 take-home tests from places like libraries or school district lines and then are reselling them to desperate people at insane prices. When the free federal program rolls out, it feels like it will be worse than Ticketmaster with the bots and the fraud and the scammers. Don't buy from these people. If you're feeling symptomatic, assume you have COVID and follow the protocols. If you can go get a free legit test, that's okay, but don't give these assholes one single dime. The Department of Defense just signed two contracts for free rapid tests so they should roll out soon.

There was some good news today. There will never be true justice for Ahmaud Arbery, but today the three murderers were given life sentences. It is still unforgivable that they were never going to be charged in the first place, but that DA was indicted for obstruction in November.

And completely unrelated, there was the story about the sea lion who crossed the 94 and was found all they way by the 94/15/805 interchanges. That is insane! There is speculation he maybe came up the Chollas Creek watershed, but hopefully besides being tired and hungry, he isn't super sick and can be safely released someplace where he won't end up back on the freeway, or Harbor Drive, or the Mission Beach Boardwalk, all places this very animal has been found before. Looking back on 2021, I only went to the Cove once during the whole year after going nearly weekly when Nova still played soccer and I miss it so. I think I know where I'll go when some of this current wave of omicron tamps back down, perhaps by Valentine's Day, but who can really say?

Stay safe out there.

COVID-19:
- San Diegans Should Get Boosters, Test Only As Needed, Work from Home - County News Center (1.7.22)
- Governor Newsom Activates National Guard to Bolster State’s COVID-19 Testing Capacity - Office of Governor Newsom (1.7.22)
- San Diego County Warns Against Potentially Fake Pop-Up COVID Testing Sites. A testing site could be fake if workers ask for Social Security numbers or other non-medical information, if materials do not have a logo, or if a site is on a sidewalk or is not affiliated with a medical provider - NBC San Diego (1.7.22)
- COVID Vaccines Have Slight, Temporary Effects on Menstrual Cycles — Patients experienced cycle length changes that are "not clinically significant," authors say - MedPage Today (1.6.22)
- Which Fully Vaccinated Adults Are Most at Risk of Severe COVID? — Study examines which factors did, and didn't, play a role in risk
CDC MMWR:

Risk Factors for Severe COVID-19 Outcomes Among Persons Aged ≥18 Years Who Completed a Primary COVID-19 Vaccination Series — 465 Health Care Facilities, United States, December 2020–October 2021

News:

DHS warns online threats have increased on extremist platforms over past 48 hours with some against lawmakers - CNN (1.6.22)
Three men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery sentenced to life in prison. The three white men were found guilty of felony murder in November in the fatal shooting of Arbery, a Black man who was running in their neighborhood when they confronted him. - NBC News (1.7.22)
About that sea lion who crossed the freeway...

Wayward Sea Lion Found Miles From Ocean on San Diego Freeway — Not His First Time. SeaWorld rescue team members were able to rescue the critter using three large nets - NBC San Diego (1.7.22)
Sea lion wanders onto San Diego freeway, miles from ocean. Drivers pulled over and waved oncoming traffic away from the creature as it traversed the lanes and into a center-divider area.