Journal of the Plague Year

Today was my weekly grocery shopping. I went during the pre-opening hour reserved for the elderly and infirm.

There was no lineup this time, although the store was busy. Social distancing was impossible. There is no way you can anticipate the movements of others, and most if not all were paying it no heed.

There were few bare shelves; although powdered milk was still out. They even had toilet paper.

I wore gloves, and used a pencil to enter my pin code at checkout.

Each cashier was suddenly behind plexiglass. All were masked and gloved. There were strips on the floor to guide social distancing, although nobody was paying attention to them.

As I went through the cash, one guy came up to the next cash with four crates full of sanitary wipes. The store owner told him he had to put them back. He tried a second time, and was forced to return them again. Shouting. He left with one crate, told not to come back that day.

Boris Johnson now has coronavirus, as well as the UK Health Minister.

Another milestone: the number of confirmed cases in the US now surpasses the number in China. This despite the fact that the US has only a fraction of the population. And the numbers are still growing fast.

However, the important number is the total deaths compared to the total infected. On that, the US is doing far better than China. Either they are doing better on treating, or better on testing, or both.

Dr. John Campbell, one of the two YouTubers I most trust on this crisis, reports that hopes the virus will be slowed by warm weather look vain.

Reports from Madrid that doctors are not allowing patients over 65 on ventilators. They are just given sedation and left to die.