It's been over a month since I last posted and to be very honest, there really hasn't been much to post about other than the COVID19 virus. I have been reluctant to post about anything about the virus because it has been so politicized and I don't really do politics on this blog.
Since the Middle of March Virginia has been shut down. When the original stay at home order was announced by the governor, he like other politician stated that its purpose was to keep the hospitals from being overwhelmed. The order was for 14-days, which has been extended several time.
After the first couple of weeks, the COVID Numbers increased but the number of people hospitalized stayed pretty steady. The hospitals were not being over whelmed. I talked to a couple of hospital workers who live nearby who told me that many of their shifts were really quiet slow and the number of patient were quiet a bit less than normal. The hospital that they work at here in southwest Virginia had seen only two Covid19 patients and there were 4 hospitalized in isolation. None were on ventilators.
So in Mid-April why the continued lock down? Well the Governor changed his position and said the number of positive cased where continuing to increase by between 500-1000 a day. The reality of the situation was more people were being tested so you were getting more positive results. If you test less then the positive numbers will go down. The governor cites numbers from the Health Department, which is a state agency and is funded by the state. So there is a good chance that the health department numbers and position are going to be what ever the governor wants them to be. If they don't then there is a good chance that their future funding would be cut. So, the question has become, is the governor and the health department "cooking the books?"
When you look at the number from the Virginia Hospital Healthcare Association Website you get a more accurate picture of what is going one. It list the number of COVID19 Hospitalized, the number of those patients in ICU and the Number on ventilators. The site also list the number of available hospital bed and total number of those that are occupied on a daily basis. Those independent numbers show that the hospital are nowhere near being overwhelmed.
So why are we still on lock down here in Virginia. Well the entire state is once again being ruled by what's going on in Northern Virginia, Richmond and Tidewater. That is where the majority of the COVID19 Case are located. The rest of the state with the exception of the Harrisonburg/Staunton Area are seeing very few cases. As of this posting Montgomery County has 66 total cases with only two hospitalized. Those 66 cases reflect the total number of cases since the start of the outbreak. Those numbers do not reflect the number of people who have recovered from the virus. Neighboring Bland County Has zero total cases and Tazewell County has 6.
So why are businesses in these counties being forced to remain shut down, when the majority of the cases are isolated in Northern Virginia, Richmond and Tidewater. Well, maybe it is giving the governor and the members of the state government the opportunity to "cook the books" in an attempt to secure more federal funding. It's also a possibility to punish the parts of Virginia who didn't not support the governors agenda, namely every area of Virginia outside of Northern Virginia, Richmond and Tidewater.
So as of this post, the political working being used by the governor and the news media is changing slightly, from stay at home to safer at home we are still basically still locked down. Officially the political phrase Phase 1 re-opening has started on May 15, many businesses can not meet the requirements and remain closed.
So where does this leave us for the summer. Really Nothing has changed. I have cancelled everything that I had planed for 2020. I have no plans to travel outside of my little bubble here in Southwest Virginia. I have been out shooting video for my YouTube Channel so that I will have some new content in the weeks ahead.
I am looking at a few day trips around Southwest Virginia that will give me the opportunity to take new photos and shoot new content for YouTube.
The weather for the last couple of day has been absolutely fantastic, sunny and temps in the mid to upper 70's. But that is about to change as rain moves in on Monday, and the weatherman is calling for a possibility of flooding Monday Night and throughout the day Tuesday. When the heavy rain moves out sometime Wednesday, cloudy skies and intermittent rain will stay with us until Friday. So a week of Rain and gloomy weather will keep me in the house for the next week.
I do have a new Youtube video (click here) schedule to post later today so I my do a brief post later with the link to that. Until then - Stay Safe and Healty.
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