{"id":17498,"date":"2020-09-01T16:00:04","date_gmt":"2020-09-01T20:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=17498"},"modified":"2024-11-19T14:01:07","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T19:01:07","slug":"that-virus-thingy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=17498","title":{"rendered":"That Virus Thingy"},"content":{"rendered":"

September 1, 2020, Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas <\/em>\u2013 Six months have passed since we really started counting \u201cthat virus thingy.\u201d I check the US stats on the Centers\"\"<\/a> for Disease Control website every week; so far no US state or territory has had a week go by with NO new cases. Except for American Samoa, bless their peaceful, well-isolated hearts. Today I took a worldwide look \u2013 the World Health Organization has an excellent site and really good advice. It\u2019s vitally important to track what is going on in our own neighborhood, but I believe it is equally important to track what is happening beyond our borders. Compare \u2013 how are they managing? How are we, in the US?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>As of the beginning of September, 2020, the World Health Organization shows 25,541,380 cases of COVID-19 reported worldwide; 852,000 deaths. If we want to compare that death count with the population of cities of equal size \u2013 we could say that EVERYBODY in Indianapolis, Indiana is dead now. Or, Seattle, Washington. Dead. No living, breathing persons left in those cities. When you look at it THAT way, it seems like a lot of deaths, doesn\u2019t it? Other cities in the US that have populations in the 800,000 range are Charlotte, North Carolina; San Francisco, California, Columbus, Ohio; Forth Worth, Texas. \u00a0Imagine them gone! Imagine a dystopian horror tale, such as Peter Heller\u2019s The Dog Stars<\/em> \"\"<\/a>(2012); a world where the unexpected happened \u2013 a flu pandemic struck \u2013 and life on the planet had to adjust to \u201cwhat is.\u201d While I\u2019m a believer in Positive Thinking, I\u2019m also a believer in being well-informed. And approaching life in ways that are reasonable, and not based on impatience to \u201cget back to normal, now!\u201d Like, opening schools.\u00a0 Sure, kids are getting a sucky education right now. Sure, parents are sick and tired of having to manage and monitor their children\u2019s schooling from home. \u00a0Sure \u2013 well the issue is ablaze in arguments and accusations and vastly different proposals. Politics involved. What is the best solution? Start with facts.<\/p>\n

Here are the numbers broken down by sections of the world, and then the US.<\/p>\n

World Health Organization Statistics \u2013 Number of Cases Reported Worldwide as of September 1, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n