Cary67

I didn't know Lobster fest was back on again at Red Lobster.

A harsh reality is that a significant percentage of Americans don't want to sacrifice what they consider their entitled to. They put up with strict lock downs for 4-6 weeks then had enough. Whether it is indoor dining, heading to bars(hello Wisconsin), or catching a movie. Or perhaps like in IL screaming to play high school sports or receive in person sc hooling. Or in my case your kids would need to travel to another state to play soccer. Some of the most hated governors are the ones with stricter covid policies(hello Pritzker and Whitmer). The ugly truth is this disease's infection mortality rate is around .35%-.65% give or take. So too many people have milder versions or don't know the possible long term effects of having it. Thus even though .35% of 320 million would kill about 1.12 million people if allowed to run its course, most people figure it won't be them. They look at the deaths as numbers on a page and figure if your vulnerable hide in your basement till a vaccine comes out. But don't make me sacrifice what I want to do. Trump has some blame for this but alot of people have been given choices with enough info at hand and have made them. And this doesn't mean you have more lockdowns it just means Americans need to wear masks and not engage in activities where you hang out with people not wearing them. As for restaurants and bars order take out and demand the govt give these types of businesses a huge bailout into the spring to keep them afloat till a vaccine does arrive. Also believe in person education can be done or at least given the chance with the right safety protocols in place.

Looks like some of your comments were "phased" out?lol

A failure of the US to acknowledge and push cloth and disposable mask usage early on was a problem. Asian countries have been using masks for years having to deal with SARS and MERS. Americans have a social stigma when it comes to wearing them and were slow to adopt them. Perhaps a little hubris factored in also. By that I mean our scientific and medical community may have been reluctant to admit other areas of the world knew more than we did about respiratory viruses

Most of the info I've looked at placed the infection mortality rate at around .40-.65% averaged across the entire age spectrum. Those aged 0-20 much lower at .003% up to 1-3% for those over 70. This is not even counting the numbers of individuals who recover but may have lingering issues or just plain go through one of the most difficult illnesses of their lives. This pandemic has exposed our country's lagging education in the sciences and the damage misinformation can cause on social media. The same attacks can be seen with climate change. While most will come down with milder cases its interesting to see the lack of patience our community has in following simple mask mandates to help lower community spread. I was just up in rural Wisconsin just north of Portage and many people at bars and restaurants were not adhering to any of the guidelines. I think Wisconsin's positivity rate hit 27% on Saturday. I want the economy and businesses to stay open as much as possible with reasonable safety precautions in place.

Wisconsin trending up in positivity. Another question. IL puts out state positivity rates daily that show rates between 3.5% and 4.2%for the last month. However when you look at the IDPH regional metrics or the county level rates they always come in much higher. The county data lags by at least a week but here in McHenry the positivity rate hovers from 5.7%-7.7% mostly. Region metrics show almost all the regions consistently higher than the state average. Any reasons? Do they calculate the case burden differently?

To quote an almanac favorite, "More wet than white." Above normal precip, above normal temps

Unfortunately I think bars and indoor dining may have to be closed. Maybe you could extend a specialized stimulus package for the next 6 months to sustain restaurants and small business owners of bars. It seems certain establishments are just not conductive to preventing the spread of covid. The idea of shared indoor space without masks is a problem. Specific and targeted closures of certain types of businesses maybe the only way to try and get this under control without resorting to widespread lockdowns. I think states like IL and NY should proactively already be taking these measures based on whats happening in southern states

I can tell you from my experience golfing a couple places west of Randall Rd. this week; covid is an afterthought. No masks inside the proshop, beverage cart lady handing out drinks with no mask. Was passing through Elburn after golf and stopped for a beer at an outdoor patio bar. No masks anywhere including the employees.

Not speaking to your health status specifically.Diabetes does long term damage to the vascular system. High levels of glucose adversely effect blood vessel walls and lining. Unfortunately the more studies done on Covid are showing it not only attacks the respiratory system but does neurological and organ damage also. Could be classified as a vascular disease as much as a respiratory one.

My guess is that the vaccine will not prevent infection but have some degree of efficacy in lowering the mortality rate. A less severe outcome, less hospitalizations but you still may become sick.

Not disputing that but keep seeing reports on the news that hospitalizations and icu bed usage on the rise in TX,AZ, and Fl due to increasing case numbers. Cases increasing specially amongst 18 -40 yr olds due to bar scene and probably indoor dining.Not sure what to believe. I can see the death numbers are declining per day but would figure they will begin to swing up in the next 4-6 weeks due to lag time for those 20yr olds to give it to the more vulnerable population and see deaths several weeks after that.

No visits to your local DMV for now

Snowing now.

Actually would have thought better ventilation and dispersion of the virus. Studies of virus done in laboratory conditions would seem to be optimal conditions for spread. But again more questions than answers

Im up. That band looks nice

Bring on the mood flakes

DAB here. 2" Alek, Lasalle-Peru to Kankakee line 3-4"

Not close enough to either Springfield or Madison.lol

Coating on the grass and precip moving out. Ready for the next near miss south

Three days of model runs left is an eternity to have this disappear. Remember February

NAM long range volatility. Will probably hedge back south

Not just after April 15th. Try seasonal totals. Springfield 30.4" vs ORD 30.1"

Been getting groceries delivered to minimize the risk along with door dash delivery once a week for morale