NOTES, 20 JANUARY 2022
Greetings, on Thursday, January 20, 2022. My favorite photo from last year summarizes my feelings right now:
I'm a grumpy old man. I am cold and tired. But, darn it, I am here, mask on, social distancing, and doing what I am supposed to do and doing it with the snazziest mittens! As Bernie Sanders at Biden's inauguration, we keep on doing what we know we should do because we would not want it any other way, and if we can do it with a little pizzazz, so much the better.
Let's check in on the subjects we have been following of late.
PANDEMIC. If one looks at the charts, as this one , one sees we are in the fourth great surge of the COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of spread, this one is by far the worst. The trend is skyrocketing. To see this present explosive spread, let us compare the last two ten-day periods using Worldometers' data.
The world. New cases: 19,476,410 (Jan. 1-10); 32,021,300 (Jan. 10-20).
New deaths: 52,227 (Jan. 1-10); 78,478 (Jan. 10-20).
The United States. New cases: 5,566,530 (Jan. 1-10); 8,545,320 (Jan. 10-20).
New deaths: 12,451 (Jan. 1-10); 14,208 (Jan. 10-20).
South Carolina. New cases: 72,931 (Jan. 1-10); 188,480 (Jan. 10-20).
New deaths: 110 (Jan. 1-10); 283 (Jan. 10-20).
Alabama. New cases: 82,116 (Jan. 1-10); 109,638 (Jan. 10-20).
New deaths: 169 (Jan. 1-10); 132 (Jan. 10-20).
Charleston County. New cases: 7,286 (Jan. 1-10); 14,852 (Jan. 10-20).
These figures show sharp rises in almost every category. Notice especially the enormous jumps in the spread of Covid in South Carolina and Charleston. The rate of infections more than doubled in these two ten-day periods. As we know, the Omicron variant is highly contagious, and the data bear this out. Covid is now spreading as wildfire; and we are still in the depths of winter with another two months to go before spring. There is no reason to think this fourth surge is going to end anytime soon. Meanwhile, only about half the people in SC (53%) and AL (48%) are fully vaccinated.
The world has been in the grips of this plague for two years now. How much longer and how many more variants will appear is anyone's guess. Nevertheless, we have no choice but to keep up the good fight for the foreseeable future. This microscopic virus is a most persistent bug. It has already killed more than 5 million people worldwide including nearly 900,000 in the U.S. We will get through this, but I am afraid there is much more suffering and loss to come.
The federal government is now offering four free Covid tests, to be mailed to your address. Find the site for this here .
SCHISM. Not surprisingly, there is no word yet from the SC Supreme Court. Let's not hold our breaths on this. The last time, it took the justices 22 months to issue their written opinion.
Meanwhile, both dioceses that came out of the break are forging ahead even in the dark days of Covid. The new Anglican diocese is set to have its annual convention on March 11, at St. James's, on James Island. On March 12, Chip Edgar is to be consecrated the bishop coadjutor of the ADSC at the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul, Charleston. When Mark Lawrence retires, supposedly at the end of this year, Edgar will take over as the II diocesan bishop of ADSC. He will face a host of major challenges, to say the least. The very independent existence of the entity that withdrew from TEC is in doubt.
THE ADVENT. The scene at the Episcopal Cathedral Church of the Advent, in Birmingham, has been quiet of late. Today, the search committee, for the new dean, issued a letter promising they were making progress. They said they had 51 candidates originally and were now winnowing. Meanwhile, the Interim Dean, Craig Smalley, is doing an admirable job keeping tensions down and the parish together even as the previous dean is busy building a new non-Episcopal church in Birmingham.
Let's face it. We are in a hard time that just does not want to stop. However, as a student of history, I can assure you this is small potatoes compared with some of the enormous challenges of the public health catastrophes of the past (think Black Death in the 14th Century) even if that does not make us feel any better right now. People have survived worst than Covid; we can survive too, and not only survive but thrive in some ways, e.g. the upward boost of wages in the U.S. along with an unprecedented abundance of jobs. So, like Bernie, let's bundle up, put on our masks, and make our defiant stands, with verve, against the slings and arrows (and deadly viruses) that life throws against us. Peace.
