Yesterday the grim milestone of a million cases of COVID-19 was reached. My state is rapidly approaching 1,000 cases. Just three weeks ago there were no confirmed cases here. On the same day, 6.5 million Americans filed unemployment claims, bringing the two week total to over 10 million. That number would have been even higher were it not for wait times of several hours on the phone and state unemployment websites crashing, delaying a large number of claims.
States are bidding against each other to purchase PPE supplies. New York will run out nest week if something doesn’t change. There is no co-ordination between the federal government and the states, and governmental aid organizations are still shipping masks overseas. The first son-in-law, a brown-nosed privileged dweeb, claims that the federal emergency PPE supply belongs to the government, not the states.
A bicycle food courier described a scene at a restaurant in Manhattan where a mob of couriers had to be broken up by police because they were too close together as they waited for a single overworked chef struggling to keep up with take out orders.
If ever there was a dystopian fiasco, this is it.
It’s not hard to imagine bread lines in the near future. There are still no relief checks in the mail. Rent and mortgages are overdue now. If the landlords don’t get paid. and their mortgages don’t get paid, what will happen to the banks? Where is the relief money coming from? Will it cause inflation?
I had a fasting blood draw first thing in the morning. I went to the lab at my PCP’s office, normally a bustling place even at 8 am. My annual physical was cancelled a couple of weeks ago as a non-essential appointment, but then my doctor rescheduled it and reordered my labs because I’m special and she loves me. I was asked screening questions before I could enter the building by a person in scrubs and a mask. The clinic was empty, the chairs spaced far apart, the wait short. I walked though a short, narrow hallway to get to the chair where I would get drawn. The phlebotomist wore a mask. After the blood draw I had to walk back to the lobby. The hallway was blocked by two women standing in it just about two feet apart, chatting. I stood six feet away from them, waiting for them to finish so that I could leave. They took no notice of me. I finally said, “Excuse me, can I get through?” One of the women nodded and just stood there, like she was letting me walk by. Then I said, “I’m trying no to get too close.” She looked surprised and moved away. You would think that healthcare workers would get this. But they don’t as I experienced again, later that day.
I saw two of my pregnant clients and did a 24 hour post-partum visit. I felt safe going into the houses of people who have told me that they are strictly isolating. I screened them on the phone and checked their temperatures at their appointments. It felt good to have a normal day, and it was terrifying. I had to bring a specimen to the lab for a routine 36 week test. Usually, I walk through wide double doors to a window a few feet away to drop off my sample. That’s the provider entrance. But that door was locked. I called the number posted on a sign and it was busy. I saw a courier coming in and asked him if he would bring my specimen in and he told me to do it myself. So I had to go through the patient entrance. I stood in a tiny waiting room where two non-masked patients waited in chairs, a county detective wearing a mask waited to be helped, a phlebotomist wearing her mask below her nose walked around, and two non-masked lab employees busily worked. I told one employee that I needed to drop off a specimen and she told me to wait. Then she disappeared into the back. The other employee went up to the detective, and screened him, taking his temperature with a forehead thermometer. Then he went away. When he came back I repeated that I was waiting to drop off a specimen and I was feeling worried about being there. He finally screened me, and came right up to my face, no mask, and took my temperature. Then he followed me down to the drop off window. In all, I waited about ten minutes, trying to maintain a safe distance which seemed impossible in such a small space. And it didn’t occur to me until afterwards that I didn’t notice if he was wearing a mask. Then I realized that I had seen his teeth. They were kind of crooked and odd looking.
I called the same lab this morning and spoke to them about all of the unsafe ways that they were doing things. And I recorded the call. He thanked me for bringing these issues to his attention. Really? What in the fucking hell?
I’ve been thinking about pina coladas today. I have none of the ingredients to make one. But you could, if you had a can of coconut milk, some pineapple juice, rum and ice. Don’t forget a maraschino cherry.
You could also make a citrus syrup, and after it’s strong enough, use it to flavor other concoctions.
Start saving the rinds from oranges, tangerines, lemons and limes in the fridge. When you have about a cup, scrape the inner white pith off. Chop them into 1/2 inch pieces. Make a simple syrup with a cup of sugar and a cup of water. Put the rinds in a heatproof glass container and pour the hot syrup over them, being sure to tap out any air bubbles, and keeping the rinds below the surface of the liquid. Store this in the refrigerator, covered for a day or two. Remove the rinds, squeezing them into the syrup to extract all the flavor. Use to add a bright citrus note to any cocktail. You could make something delicious with vodka, citrus syrup and soda.
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