covid diary: day 72

Eastern bluebird in the early morning

So here's something interesting: We're not hearing a lot about African countries being overwhelmed by COVID-19. According to the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 map (which, incidentally, is the also the source I use for nationwide cases/deaths in the U.S. every day), it looks like South Africa has the most cases, at 19,137, and also the most deaths at 369. Now, relative to other trackers of COVID-19 cases/deaths, Johns Hopkins tends to report lower "official" numbers, but it's a very reputable source, and a fairly easy-to-use interface.

Anyway. As I was saying. Not much is being reported about African countries being hit hard by the virus, and I've sort of been wondering why, but just assumed it was because we had enough to worry about at home. But maybe there's another reason, and that reason is this: Because many African countries have found ways to deal with the outbreak better than we have.

Today I read a piece in The Guardian that at least partially confirms this, and it asks a question right in the headline that I think is pretty damned important: "Why are Africa's coronavirus successes being overlooked?" It doesn't actually answer the question (cough worldwide racism, history of colonialism, bias against "third-world" countries cough), but it makes a case that we should definitely be paying more attention. For example:

Senegal is in a good position because its Covid-19 response planning began in earnest in January, as soon as the first international alert on the virus went out. The government closed the borders, initiated a comprehensive plan of contact tracing and, because it is a nation of multiple-occupation households, offered a bed for every single coronavirus patient in either a hospital or a community health facility. 

As a result, this nation of 16 million people has had only 30 deaths. Each death has been acknowledged individually by the government, and condolences paid to the family. You can afford to see each death as a person when the numbers are at this level. At every single one of those stages, the UK did the opposite, and is now facing a death toll of more than 35,000.

Look at that bolded sentence again. You can afford to see each death as a person when the numbers are at this level. Here in America, we can't do that. Unless the virus hits close to home on an individual level, we can only imagine things like the Rose Bowl (capacity: 90,888) filled to capacity, then imagine every single one of the people inside (plus a few thousand more tailgating in the parking lot) dead in the space of three months. Look. Visualize it.

In that Guardian article, the reporter mentions a plant, artemisia annua, or sweet wormwood, a member of the daisy family, that has shown some promise as a treatment for COVID-19. But then she is very careful to note that she didn't take African countries' word for it. No, she contacted a "respected" research institute in Germany to verify that they are also researching the same plant (though a variety grown in Kentucky). Listen, I'm all for verifying research, but the way this is presented (not that this is the author's viewpoint, but that she is arguing against it as a common viewpoint around the world) is that it's not a real treatment unless some European or American institute declares it to be. And likely gets the credit for it in the process.

At home, it's the last day of school. YIPPEE! I mean that sincerely. Liam finished with all A's and has done a really great job at managing his time every week and staying in contact with his teachers throughout. He has checked in with me often to tell me what he's up to, but just because he's interested in talking about it, not because I have demanded updates. Max has probably found this the most challenging, because he has his father's propensity for procrastination, and once you procrastinate on a a few things, then the teachers add more assignments, eventually it snowballs into an overwhelming mess that you don't know how to deal with. This week has been rough for him, but today he ended up with only two assignments to finish out the year, and hopefully he has learned a valuable lesson about staying on top of things when he goes to high school (!!!) next year. With the exception of the hated writing assignments, Henry has basically breezed through the end of fourth grade with no trouble, and he's more than ready to start at Riverside in the fall. From here on out, as far as k-12 goes, at most we will only have kids in two different schools, so I'm pretty pleased about that. I'm so proud of all three of these boys for getting through this school year. I know they've missed their friends, and even probably (gasp!) their teachers, but this is a huge accomplishment.

Finally, today is the last day of steady work for Mike, who is laid off as of this afternoon. He'll definitely be out of work next week, then probably on one week, off one week for the foreseeable future, and then who knows what will happen. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Nationwide cases: 1,600,481. Deaths: 95,921.