Olympic Flame

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The XXXII Olympiad was originally slated for 2020 in Japan but was postponed in March 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic it was rescheduled to July of 2021.

The Daily Mail reported that, Japan’s government is expected to widen a virus state of emergency May 14, 2021, just 10 weeks before the Tokyo Olympics are set to open. The widening emergency, aimed at combating a fourth wave which is putting Japan’s medical system under strain, comes with public opinion firmly opposed to holding the Games this summer, fearing further infections.

350,000 people have signed a petition calling for Tokyo Olympics to be cancelled as Japan expands Covid-19 state of emergency. Only 1% of the Japanese population is fully vaccinated. Kenji Utsunomiya, a former candidate for Tokyo governor, urged Games organizers to ‘prioritize life’ as he submitted the 351,000-signature petition to city authorities.
On May 13, 2021, a doctors’ union warned it was ‘impossible’ to hold the Games safely during the pandemic, but organizers say virus countermeasures will keep the athletes and Japanese public safe. One of the country’s most prominent businessmen, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, said he is ‘afraid’ of the Games going ahead. ‘I am very much afraid of having the Olympics,’ he told CNBC. ‘Not just Japan, but many countries they’re having still a big, tough situation, I don’t know how they can support sending athletes.’

Karens Fear The Vaccinated

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Vice World News reported that, a new conspiracy theory is convincing anti maskers that they have to start masking up and social distancing to protect themselves from the vaccinated.

The baseless conspiracy theory proposes that the vaccinated will “shed” certain proteins onto the unvaccinated who will then suffer adverse effects. The main worry is the “shedding” will cause irregular menstruation, infertility, and miscarriages. This is part of a larger conspiracy that COVID-19 was a ploy to depopulate the world, and the vaccine is what will cull the masses. 

Experts say the conspiracy is born from a fundamental misunderstanding of how vaccines work. It has been widely debunked.

Anti-vax influencers are instructing their fellow anti-vaxxers as well as anti-maskers that one of the best ways to defend themselves from this blight is to co-opt social distancing, and wearing masks, the very strategy they have long decried.  They long cried that those that wore masks were sheep. Now they must sheepishly protect themselves from the growing flock. Of course many anti maskers think that masks do not work therefor they would not be protected from the vaccinated even if  they do adopt the masks. Who ever came up with these new insane conspiracy theories must be a genius who finally found a way to get their misguided followers to mask up and social distance.

A podunk private school in South Florida went so far as to ban vaccinated teachers from interacting with unvaccinated students. Teachers were cautioned that if they get vaccinated, they won’t be allowed to return next year. The school’s CEO and co-founder cited unsupported assertions about Covid-19 vaccines that contradict a large body of evidence of the vaccines’ safety and efficacy from the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization. There is more scientific evidence to prove that Botox injections shed a persons ability to reason.

Oxygen is God

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Insider reported that India produces 7000 pounds of oxygen a day. Most of it is for industrial use. However people are dying for lack of oxygen. Liquid oxygen has to be stored at -297 degrees Fahrenheit. India doesn’t have enough Cryogenic tankers to store and transport the increased demand due to COVID-19.

For safety reasons oxygen can not be transported by air, it has to be transported by road or train. It is this distribution problem which is causing people to die due to lack of oxygen.

People are having to turn to a Sikh temple which is offering an ‘Oxygen Langar‘ in the street outside the temple to anyone who comes. Gurpreet Singh Rummy the president of Indirapuram Gurdwara said, “We believe no one should die due to a lack of oxygen. Oxygen is a small thing, but these days people treat oxygen like god. If you can get it, it will save your life.”

One in four patents who get into a hospital need oxygen. Some hospitals have asked people to bring their own oxygen cylendars. The black market has inflated the prices on oxygen cylendars. One man paid $600 for oxygen which is about nine times it’s usual price. Researchers have determined that the overall death toll inn India is likely 10 times higher than the numbers being reported with over a million dead.

Unmasking the Court

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On April 28, 2021 the CDC most recently updated its guidance on outdoor use, saying those who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear face coverings unless they are in a big crowd. Along with people who have been vaccinated, the CDC is also saying those who are unvaccinated can go without masks outdoors in some circumstances. On May 10, 2021 Dr. Anthony Fauci said on CNN that the CDC may soon be relaxing their guidelines on indoor mask use but that hasn’t happened yet.

On May 7, 2021 the CDC published updated guidance that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an airborne threat, explicitly stating that transmission and subsequent infection with the novel coronavirus can occur via inhalation of very fine respiratory droplets as well as aerosolized particles from further than six feet away.

Florida Governor Ron DeathSantis suspended all local COVID-19 emergency orders on May 3, 2021 and signed a proposal lawmakers approved that limits the local government’s ability to impose mask requirements and other social distancing measures used to combat the coronavirus this past year.

Orange County Governor Jerry Demings had a plan in place to lift mask requirements by June. His response to DeathSantis’s order was, “In review of the governor’s executive orders, I am not surprised. He first indicated that the order would not take effect until July 1, 2021, and then quickly changed it to be ‘effective immediately.’ He then offered new language that invalidates a local government’s ability to take action during a public health emergency. Orange County Government will continue to review its statutory authority and will respond accordingly. Gov. DeSantis has been slow to act in responding to the pandemic, which has caused local elected officials to take action to fill the void and keep their residents safe. I want Orange County residents to know that I will continue to make decisions in the best interest of their health, safety and welfare and will not wait on the governor to tell me what to do. This immediate past legislative session is proof positive of how the state is preempting local home-rule powers – that is not good for democracy. When I ask myself, “What is really the purpose of the governor’s actions?” I conclude that his actions are part of a larger partisan strategy by the Republican Party to usurp the authority of Democrat-led urban counties and cities across America. We expect better from the governor of Florida.”

After DeathSantis lifted all COVID safety precautions, signage in the Orange County Courthouse to wear masks will be removed. On February 8, 2021 the Court began conducting some in person business. Some court business is being done virtually, but if you go to court, it looks like you will soon be risking our life unless you are fully vaccinated. I am betting that many of the mindless masses pressing into the court are not vaccinated.

400 Children 10 days

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More children are getting infected by COVID-19 i the second wave than in the first wave in India. There was a 51 per cent rise in infection among children within a period of a month in the state of Maharashtra India. As many as 1,34,470 children as young as 10 years have been infected versus 88,827 on April 3, 2021. More than 75,387 children were infected within 25 days in the state.

400 children under the age of 10 have been infected by COVID-19 Mumbai India the last 10 days.

Over 470 children below the age of 10 have been infected with COVID-19, since the beginning of this month in Bengaluru, as the city is witnessing a spike in infections.

According to some experts, unlike in the past children are now vulnerable because they are more exposed to outdoor activities, functions and gatherings, as also schools reopening for a certain age group, which was not the case earlier due to lock downs. Along with the serious health impacts, UNICEF warns that children are facing a multitude of physical, mental, social and economic risks. UNICEF representative in India, Yasmin Ali Haque, says children are losing parents and caregivers to the virus. This is leaving many destitute and without anyone to care for them.

At least 706 government school teachers and other employees have died of coronavirus due to poll duties during the Uttar Pradesh panchayat elections, alleges the state-level teachers’ association. The minister of state for basic education, Satish Chandra Dwivedi reacted to the allegation of teachers’ deaths saying, “There’s no specific audit done by basic education department about the number of teachers’ death. It is wrong to say all those who were engaged in election duty died due to Covid. How do we know that teachers were not infected when they came for election duty? And how does anyone know that teachers, after returning from the election duty, got infected for some other reasons?” This response is typical of government officials to deflect and blame. The vaccine roll out has been deathly slow in India.

Children make up 22% of new U.S. COVID-19 Cases in the United States and account for about 3.1% of hospitalizations. As more and more adults continue to get their COVID-19 shots, infection rates are slowly falling. Dr. Grace Lee, a pediatric epidemiologist at Stanford Children’s Health said if vaccines are approved for children, those infection rates would also likely plummet.

Bees Detect COVID-19

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Researchers in the Netherlands have trained bees, which have an unusually keen sense of smell, to identify samples infected with COVID-19, a finding they said could cut waiting times for test results to just seconds.

Using the Pavlovian training methodology, researchers gave the bees sugary water as a reward after showing them samples infected with COVID-19. The bees would get no reward after being shown a non-infected sample.

The bees  are put in harnesses much like a horse at a race track. When presented with a COVID positive sample the bees would extend their tongues to receive a reward. The extending of the bees’ straw-like tongues to drink is confirmation of a positive coronavirus test result, according to the researchers.

It can take hours or days to get a COVID-19 test result, but the response from the bees is immediate. The method is also cheap, potentially making it useful for countries where tests are scarce, researchers said. The technique of “insect sniffing” was effectively tested by the U.S. Dept. of Defense to detect explosives and toxins in the 1990s. The notion of harnessing bees to have them sniff COVID samples all day could be inhumane as well. If you were to give me a sip of Mountain Dew every time I sniffed a COVID sample I would be a happy camper.

Little Shop of Horrors

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The Orlando Shakes is presenting Little Shop of Horrors at the Lake Eola Band Shell through May 23, 2021. The Shakes is doing a good job at making these outdoor performances as safe as possible during this pandemic. Since the last time I was at the bandshell, the CDC had updated it’ policy on the use of masks saying it is fine to not wear a mask when outside. Last time I was at a performance here everyone in the audience had to wear a mask. This time they were told they could remove the masks once seated but put it on again when they got up. Pam and I kept out masks on though more than half the audience removed their masks during the show.

I got to study the set for some time before the show started. I loved posters that were added to the skid row walls that announced Spores! The spores pictured vastly resembled the COVID virus. The opening number had a full line of people in hazmat suits singing about a threat to our very existence. That was an added layer of pure genius to make the show particularly timely.

I am very familiar with the show and loved the casting choices made. This cast really could belt out the songs as well. The true star was Audrey 2 who was performed in glorious flamboyant drag with a pink gig, metallic green dress and plenty of bling. The plant itself was circular and opened slit-wise up and down like a vagina rather than a jaw.

When Mushnick mentioned red spatter on the flower shop floor, I flung some red spatters of paint at the sketch. For this show the loud automotive noises from downtown seemed to blend nicely with the skid row squalor of the show. The music of Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman are memorable.

No Oxygen in India

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People in India are dying gasping for oxygen. Hospitals are full so many are turned away and some dye at hospital entrances. Even empty oxygen cylinders are hard to find. With more than 300,000 coronavirus cases a day in India for the past two weeks, medical supply chains have broken.

NPR reported that On May 4, 2021, as many as 24 patients died after the Chamarajanagar district hospital in the southern state of Karnataka ran out of oxygen. On May 1, 2021, 12 COVID-19 patients died at Delhi‘s Batra Hospital after an oxygen delivery was delayed by just 90 minutes. Several more such incidents have been reported across the country.

The Allahabad High Court in northern India on Tuesday declared that hospital deaths from oxygen shortages amount to “genocide.”This humanitarian nightmare is being called callus criminal negligence.

A Sikh house of worship in Delhi allows people to come sit in front of the temple where they can breath free oxygen. Another organization has converted empty buses into oxygen waiting areas. The buses are parked in front of hospitals to help people who can not get in.  Many other countries including the US have pour aid into India. Including empty cylinders and oxygen concentrators. On April 28, 2021 the U.S. dispatched to the Indian capital its first shipment, which included more than 400 oxygen cylinders and 960,000 rapid-testing kits. Much of that aid became mired in customs queues. The aid was still not distributed a week later.

India has banned the use of oxygen for industries and is diverting most of it for medical use. The problem is distribution. Liquid medical oxygen is flammable and in most cases can’t be flown. It has to move by road, rail or sea freight. Many oxygen-tanker drivers got sick with COVID-19 right at the moment when oxygen demand skyrocketed. Officials had to arrange replacement drivers, and it took time. According to the Delhi government, hospitals are asking for close to 1,000 metric tons of liquid oxygen per day on average, but only 40% of that is being supplied. The biggest problem is that government bureaucracy has slowed things down.

Pre-Pandemic: Field of Dreams

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The Timucua Arts Foundation (2000 South Summerlin Avenue Orlando, FL 32806) presented a staged reading of Field of Dreams. This staged reading was presented by, Michael Finn, an active film maker who gets incredible actors to read classic films. He reads the actual director’s notes, making the experience unique and fascinating. Here are a couple of the actors who are performed on February 23, 2021:

Cameron Francis – as Doc Graham & Archie Graham (plus other roles).

Kelly Tinsley (playing “Annie”).

Tom Nowicki – as Ray.

J LaRose – as Shoeless Joe Jackson.

Veronica Nia Kelly – as Karin (plus other roles).

Kenny Babel – as Terrance Mann & “The Voice”.

John Connon – as “Mark” & other roles.

Jenna Meyer – as “Veda” & other roles.

This was a fun new way to experience the classic film. As the film played silently the actors read the parts in the script while staying in sync. It was much like Rocky Horror meets the open Iowa farmlands. Look how close the actors sat next to one another. I miss documenting intimate theatrical evenings like this. If you vaccinate it will come.

Orlando City Soccer in a Pandemic

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In March of 2020 Major League Soccer suspended the season due to COVID-19. That included the Orlando City Lions.  Five months later Orlando City Soccer re-opened to fans. At that time, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said only 20% of the stadium’s capacity would be permitted and those fans must be season ticket holders. He estimated about 6,000 fans could attend. In October of 2020 a match was canceled because two staff were infected with COVID-19.

Orlando City Soccer Re-opened on April 16, 2021. All City Soccer Staff are supposed to have been vaccinated. On May day of 2021 the Lions played Cincinnati at home. Pam Schwartz had been offered a chance to watch the game from box seats so we decided to go. The mask mandates had just been changed by the CDC allowing people who have been vaccinated to not wear masks when outside. The CDC warned that masks should continue to be worn at any crowded stadium setting.

We were able to park right next to the stadium and security was surprisingly lax. There was a temperature check and hand sanitizer available at the entrance. I just had to raise my hands above my head and walk right through a metal detector. I usually have to empty out my pockets which were full of art supplies. My pencils are often mistaken for weapons, but not on this day.

In NYC fans can get a vaccine as they enter Yankee Stadium or Mets Stadium. On top of that the ticket is free if the fan gets a vaccine. A growing number of venues are asking visitors to prove they’ve gotten their shots by displaying what’s called a “vaccine passport.” Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, and Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, are among a growing list of sports spaces that now require digital vaccine verification’s. Those teams and others have been using an app called Health Pass from tech company Clear for COVID-19 screening.

The NBA has employed COVID sniffing dogs. Researches have found that the dogs are amazingly accurate at detecting people who are infected. Anyway other than a temperature check there was no assurance that infected individuals were not entering the Orlando City Soccer game. I had my vaccination card in my wallet but it was not needed.

Pam and I have both had two shots of the Pfizer vaccine so we are both about 95% protected. We were assured that everyone in the box where we watched the game were also fully vaccinated, but how can you really be sure that is true? The box seats offered some separation from the crowd. Fireworks went off during the Star Spangled Banner and I could smell the gun powder through my mask which was a stark reminder that everyone in the stadium was swapping air. The bleachers to my left were full of the more fervent fans. They stomped on the bleachers. A drum corp and flag waving fans shouted through out the match. I noticed many fans felt they needed to remove their mask in  order to shout their anger during the game. That kind of defeats the point of the mask. In those stands there was no social distancing. Shirtless men danced up and down the aisles belly to belly and one guy flung his beer all over the crowd around him. You would think there never had been a pandemic in Orlando. The COVID-19 numbers slowly continue to drop in America but the fervent COVID denial-ism that I saw in the stands will most certainly help circulate more infections in Orlando.

India is experiencing a devastating Covid-19 second wave killing thousands people every day. Despite the carnage, the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament is playing on less than a mile from hospitals filled to capacity.  “I’m advised that the Indian government is of the view that playing the IPL while the population is in lock down provides a few hours of joy and respite each day at an otherwise difficult time for the country,” Pat Cummins wrote in a statement on Twitter.

It felt good to be out and about sketching in public again, and I hope that the box seats, vaccine and mask were enough to keep me safe. I had a beer, but never drank it since I didn’t want to take my mask off. I thought getting back out to sketch on location would involve incremental steps, but this was like jumping into the deep end of the pool. 11,503 fans filled the stadium which can hold 25,500 fans. Is that too crowded? Only time will tell.

There have been 34,817 new cases of COVID-19 in Florida in the past week. 434 Florida residents died from COVID-19 this week. There have been 3,841 new cases this week. 31 Floridians died today, May 2, 2021.
Orange County Florida does not meet the criteria for the next phase of reopening according to the Florida Community Dashboard.
Decrease in ER Visits for COVID-like illness: NO
Decrease in ER Visits for influenza-like illness: NO
Decrease in new cases by date: NO
Decrease in percent positivity OR positivity below 10%**: NO