The county that we are in here in Houston, has raised the threat level to RED as of last night...
...in the 24 hours preceding yesterday, more than 300 people were admitted to the Texas Medical Center (one of the largest in the world) with COVID illnesses. The ICU bed capacity of all hospitals in the Houston area is at 92% and increasing. The CEO of the medical center group said that if you don't have a life threatening emergency, please stay away from the emergency rooms because they are too full.
Some smaller hospitals are turning patients away and the numbers in the Houston area are now eclipsing where we were at the peak last Summer.
They are also telling people that if you are unvaccinated, do not leave your house unless it's essential. We can't have mandatory stay at home again due to the Governor's order. We are both fully vaccinated and have been for a few months now so we're grateful for that. Sure the vaccine means we'd most likely be OK if we got it, but let's be honest, who wants it at all? Even if symptoms are minimal (that's a chance you take), once you get it, you have the potential for the "long-haul symptoms" affecting so many and that could wreak havoc for years to come.
No thank you.
2nd Man gets to work at home 100% of the time so he's good there and I'm still going in but we're a small office and all but one of us is vaccinated (and I would assume that person will work from home for their own safety). I have been masking when going to the store since vaccination but now I'm going back to using double masks and limiting my grocery store trips to once a week. We can always make a quick stop at the rural grocery store near the farm to avoid crowds.
I will be doing an inventory of our pantry and other supplies this weekend and will make a trip to the store next week at lunch and fill us up on what we need.
Please get vaccinated and/or at least wear your mask, even if your community doesn't require it. This delta variant is many times worse than the original and I remember my basic biology: A virus' goal is to keep living so it adapts as it moves from host to host. Now that most older people are vaccinated, the virus has mutated to affect younger and younger people. Once that's exhausted it might mutate into something that we can't control.
Be safe people.
Back to fun farm stuff this weekend. Mowing, maybe another raised bed cleaning, we'll see how it goes when I get out there (and see what the temp is, ha).
Please stay safe.
ReplyDeleteWe always try our best!
DeleteHere in Wharton County the covid threat is rising very quickly too. Too many people jumped from staying safe into crowded enclosed places with no masks.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's what we were saying at work the other day, it just seems like the vaccines made people vaccinated feel they were perfectly protected and then the unvaccinated felt a lot of others were vaccinated and so they were protected and then the Delta variant had other plans. It's just many times more contagious and severe than the original.
Delete<3 Stay safe I've gotten both shots
ReplyDeleteYay! Yep, we have both of ours but still avoid large crowds of people that we don't know their status.
DeleteThat's crazy....I admit I don't pay attention to the news...I live so rural now that I rarely go out. I think we are in Green here, but no matter what I will always wear a mask until Covid is completely wiped out. I have my first vax and waiting until September for the second. Everything is going to be okay. Take good care of yourself and your Second Man!! ♥
ReplyDeleteThat's great news for you, yep, we just decided that it's easier to mask up until this is over. Heck, we haven't had a cold or flu or seasonal allergies in almost two years now. I might wear my mask more often even when this is over.
DeleteThanks for publishing this advice but I fear that those who won't get vaccinated, won't wear masks and won't isolate themselves are those who don't read your blog. Roderick
ReplyDeleteHey, if one person does, it's a good thing. Hope you and yours are staying safe.
DeleteIt's the same here in AZ .. cases rising every day ... The Delta variant (and now the Epsilon which is barely talked about yet) are so contagious... it's like measles or chicken pox in it's speed of passing to another person whether vaccinated or not. Yes the vaccine helps reduce symptoms but still easily passed on. Masks so so necessary but our gov is so backwards, he says masks not allowed in schools. Schools are doing it anyhow in many cases. Law suits are flying. Good luck ...
ReplyDeleteThanks, it's so crazy. Kids have it tough. I just don't understand why government officials don't want kids to staff to have to wear masks. School is a breeding ground for all sorts of things in regular times. If we were parents our kid would wear his/her mask. Here in Texas they made it a law that schools can't tell parents if there is a covid outbreak. It doesn't even make sense, I mean if there is a lice outbreak they send out texts.
DeleteStay safe!
I am fully vaccinated but have never quit wearing my mask when going to the store. My county (Wharton) is only 36% vaccinated. The 14-Day change in my county is +518% which is classified as "extremely high” – the highest level. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/wharton-texas-covid-cases.html
ReplyDeleteWhen I go to the grocery store, I go when the store first opens in the morning. There are less people at that time and the air has been filtered all night. I double mask of course.
Stay safe everyone.
Good idea about going first thing in the morning. I've learned over the years when the store I go to most often is the least busy (during the work day of course) and so I'm going to just head out once this week. And yep, double masking here too. People can laugh at me or say I'm overly cautious but hey, we know too many people fully vaxxed who still got it and they say it's because they didn't think they needed to mask. Nope, don't want even a mild case. I'll mask, thank you, ha.
Delete"I'm still going in but we're a small office and all but one of us is vaccinated (and I would assume that person will work from home for their own safety)."
ReplyDeleteDon't ever assume. Be safe!
This is true, thank you! You stay safe too.
DeleteStay safe. Please.
ReplyDeleteWill do! And same back!!
DeleteCOVID, especially the variant, is very bad here in Florida, too. I'm vaccinated and wearing my mask. Our governor does not take the situation seriously.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
I forgot you were in Florida. Yes, please be safe. One of our customers has relatives in Florida and asked them to come stay here for a while. Be safe, wear your mask and don't get in big crowds of strangers.
DeleteThank you for the update. My dad is a retired hospital administrator and those admission numbers were the ones he followed during Covid. It's all about the beds! Stay safe! laura
ReplyDeleteYep, all about the beds for sure. We are staying safe, you do the same. Maybe we can all get this over sooner rather than later .
Deletei am afraid that epsilon is going to be the real killer. we are all double vacced but are back to wearing masks and not going to crowded places. stupid peoole are going to do us all in. no wonder the orange doofus was /is so popular. there are a lot like him out there. stay safe!
ReplyDeleteI think it was the "orange doofus" who got the pharmaceuticals/FDA to get that vaccine to the people in record time.
DeleteI heard about Epsilon as a 'variant of concern'. There was an epidemiologist the other night explaining how they are worried about Delta combining with a variant from South America that is rising in Florida and creating a new one. If we get to OMEGA, we're all in trouble (old movie reference "The Omega Man" with Charlton Heston, ha. I just can't imagine if these people acted the same during either polio vaccine? I mean, everyone got it and it was eradicated. We wear masks to keep us from infected them and creating a new strain. We vaccinate to keeps us safe but if they don't get vaccinated it creates more variants as well.
DeleteI'm grateful the vaccine got here quickly. Just don't understand why all the supporters of the former President don't get it. All of a sudden now it's a conspiracy by Bill Gates and George Soros. I just shake my head. You can't fix stupid, ha.
Cases of delta variant dominate here in Alabama, and the unvaccinated are the main patients. I think we have 31% vaccinated. I have never for one moment given up my mask or increased my already limited contact with others. Stay safe.
ReplyDeleteYep, same here. I'd rather us just not have it all, mild or asymptomatic. There is a way not to get it, vaccine and mask. It's simple. Stay safe!!!
DeleteI'm so pleased that you and 1st Man are vaccinated. Well done. I, too, have had my two jabs. Yes, being vaccinated doesn't mean we are totally protected and will never catch the virus, but it does mean that we WON'T suffer the worst version of Covid-19.
ReplyDeleteStay safe.
Hi Dani!! Nice to see you here again (everyone check out her blog). Great way of putting it, we are not totally protected but we are the best protected you can be and not get the worse symptoms. You stay safe too!!! Hugs to you always!
DeleteNo matter how difficult our situations may be, we can get through it if we don't look too far into the future, and just focus on the present moment.
ReplyDeleteWe can get through anything by just taking it one day at a time. Just got to have faith.
You gotta have faith. Well said. We'll get through this together for sure. We seem so divided, I hope things change and we can all come out the other side and look back on these times.
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