I’m sick of sickness. I contracted COVID-19 about two weeks ago and at this writing, am flattened still.The new variant is believed to be the world’s most contagious yet and has become prevalent here in the Northeast. Cape infections climbed during the first few weeks of January. You’d think you’d see more masks being worn. You’d think I’d have been wearing one, but some of us (like me) felt safe, all boostered up. Others among us refused to mask up when there was no vaccine at all when there was no remedy and over 4,000 Americans were dying of COVID-19 every day.It’s not just that there’s a new variant. It shows multiple faces even to individual sufferers. Fevers come and go. First, it’s the throat — or the head — then it messes with the bowels, or our smell and taste. It’s at its most deadly when it gets into the lungs.COVID-19 is infinitely improvisational. It doesn’t just infect you; it messes with you. A friend woke up with hives all over his body. Fingers and toes can swell and turn purple. For some, symptoms and crushing fatigue can last for months. I’m well into my second week, no fever left but no relief either.But we’re still the lucky ones. Five hundred Americans are still dying of COVID-19 every day … well over a million of us so far. And it’s still not done with us.Historians point out that pandemics not only take their toll on mortality; they leave a profound sociological, economic and psychological wake behind them, too, that often takes a generation to work out. Sometimes, it seems to me, there is the actual pathogen — and then different societies have their own pathologies that determine the final outcomes.Cape and Islands update:7 deaths, 264 new COVID cases on Cape and Islands. COVID risk is ‘medium.’Take China, for example. COVID-19 seems to have originated there. Until recently, its government attempted to contain the outbreak by rigidly locking down the population wherever an infection occurred. …
Opinion: COVID-19 is still a threat. It’s time to put masks on again – Cape Cod Times
