Corona Log Entry 27/2/22

Corona Log Report- Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022

       It had been a warm and gorgeous day here in SW Florida. Temps had reached the mid-eighties. The blue sky and warm sun were pleasing on the psyche. We had played 18 holes of golf this morning and then stopped at the club house for salmon salads.

        Recently, the CDC has rescinded its masking requirements for Covid-19. New York and California still require wearing masks indoors, but there is sentiment to remove that requirement in the near future.

       Several European Countries are also opening up for business as well. To the North, Canada still requires full vaccinations and a recent “at home” test result for Covid-19 for entry at the border. In General, there seems to be the feeling that we might be finally winning the battle with the Covid-19 virus. There are reports of yet another variant of “Omicron,” but it hasn’t yet registered on all of the medical alerts.

       Independent truckers, protesting all of the masking requirements had blocked the downtown streets of Ottawa, the Canadian Capitol, protesting border crossing requirements for their industry. The protest turned into an “anti-Trudeau” rally, before it was finally broken up and dissipated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

      The Corona death toll in the last two years is now over 947,000 souls  in the United States, with over 79 million people infected at one stage or another. The hospitalization and death rates are falling across the country, yet Covid-19 still takes Americans by the thousands. The viral menace still stalks among us. Even the Queen of England is not immune. The 95-year-old Monarch was stricken with the Omicron virus. Reports are that she is well and recovering nicely.

       The tourist industry is the best determining sign of a recovery. Bookings for cruises and tours are up considerably, and prices rise with the increased demand. All of us cautiously hope that the panic may be cresting. We still wear masks, wash our hands frequently and social distance as much as possible. It seems like a very long time ago that we were sitting seaside, in San Diego, and first heard tell of the new “Corona Virus” that had attacked passengers on a Princess Cruise ship sitting off the port of San Francisco.

      Domestically, the supply chain snafu is still with us. Products have been disappearing from grocery market shelves as the log-jams continues. Automobile costs have sky rocketed, because of lack of parts ad computer chips needed to make them all operate. Gas prices too are on the rise. because of domestic and international conflicts. President Biden will be tapping into the national emergency reserve, for the oil needed to manufacture several million gallons of gasoline and heating oil.

       Real Estate prices have been soaring for no reason except the availability of cheap mortgage money. The Federal Reserve is considering hiking interest rates for banks, to try and put some brakes on the inflationary spiral. We notice both spirals here in Florida. Home prices have risen to astonishing levels. Vacation rentals have soared with them, to unheard of heights. We are taking a run down to the Florida Keys this week. The hotel rates, even for modest little motels, is astounding. Two hours drive from Key West, in a small motel, with still cost you $300 a night. Places in Key West quickly run up to $1,000 a night. And even at those rates, you can’t find a vacancy. I don’t know where they are all coming from.

        The stock markets took a nose dive with the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, but then rebounded the next day. Money finds its own level. Crude prices for oil are running over $100 a barrel. Natural gas for heating is also running up. Most of this is related to shortages in Europe, caused by disruption of the Russian oil and gas supplies. One of the odder investment tools, Bitcoins, have lost 40% of their value in the last few months. The whole international Ponzi scheme may about to collapse.

        Internationally, the Russian Invasion of the Ukraine tops all of the news. This gritty little Republic’s fight for freedom is capturing the imagination of the world, in defying the Russian Bear. In the background, is the hidden agenda of the Russians. They mean to seize the Baltic States and any other territory once a part of the old Soviet Union. The crux of the issue is something called “article five” of the NATO Alliance compact. It states that any attack on one of its 33 members, will be considered an attack on all of them. The Baltic States and Poland are now part of NATO.

       In Washington, the Ukraine War tops all domestic stories. Congress is trying to put together another $200-million-dollar aid package for the Ukrainian Army. Money will also be needed for the one million Ukrainian refugees who have spilled into Poland and Hungary to escape the tide of war.

      President Biden has proposed  Federal Court Justice, Ketanji Brown-Jackson to be the first African American woman to serve on the Supreme Court. If confirmed, she would replace retiring Justice Stephen Brier. It will be the usual Dem./ Republican slug fest, in the 50/50 Senate chambers.

      I am hopeful that this will be one of my last Corona Log entries. Hopefully, we have tamed this viral monster and relegated it to the normal annual gamut of flu viruses that we do battle with. Until that time, we take things, one day at a time.

                                               -30

                                        (923 words)

                                    Joseph Xavier Martin