It's so hard not to worry

Happy Hump Day to all.  Sorry, old cliche.

I don't know about you, but I'm very worried about our current situation relative to the coronavirus pandemic.  As regular readers know, I'm a resident of central Kentucky and can unhappily report that new positive tests for COVID-19 have increased dramatically throughout my state over the past two weeks.

And that appears to be the case in many, many other states.  

Our governor here is determined NOT to have to repeat the extreme measures he implemented in the spring of this year, closing all but the most essential businesses, as well as schools and other entities.  As it stands now, one can shop most anywhere he likes, dine out in reduced-capacity restaurants, have a drink in a reduced-capacity and limited hours bar, attend a high school or college football game, go to work, get a haircut (as I did earlier today) and so on.

Incidentally, our governor is a Democrat and he was sued more than once by the Republican Attorney General for executive overreach.  So now, if the Governor wishes to take action, it's in the form of an advisory or a recommendation.  The last such directive that has stood without issue is that requiring masks to be worn in public, which it seems every state should also implement.

There are still so many states with little or no restriction of activity or requirement of social distancing and the other steps that our public health experts keep pointing to in order to slow the spread of this insidious disease.  The state of Florida comes to mind almost immediately, as the governor there has lifted virtually every restriction.  And this occurred not long after the state endured a major uptick in cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

I'm rather impatient with those who claim that we all must be guaranteed our personal freedoms, as no one associated with the formation of the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution would attempt to argue that we should be able to flout public health recommendations in a time of a worldwide health crisis.    I count myself lucky not to have witnessed any loud confrontations between store personnel and uncooperative customers who refuse to wear masks, but there is ample evidence of these challenges occurring regularly.

Worth remembering that the FBI recently investigated a group of over a dozen individuals with plans to kidnap, "try" and potentially execute the governor of the state of Michigan.  Because she had the audacity to institute similar protections in her state.

I'm relatively insulated, I can work from home and therefore not risk exposure.  And for me, even a brief period of more public work is manageable, as I have control over who I see and where I go to meet them.  My wife is retired so does not have to leave our home unless necessary.

But I worry about my son and his wife, who both work outside of their home.  And all of my school age grandkids attend school at least part of the time.  So there's lots of potential contacts.

We're being told that a vaccine will be made available first to medical personnel, then to those at high risk and then to the general public.  That sounds like spring or summer of next year.

Here's hoping we all can reach that calendar milestone.