Less than a month from my last post, the U.S. Covid-19 infection and fatality numbers are very close to the worldwide totals cited then. In this country alone, over a million people have been infected and approximately 60,000 have died. In spite of the fact that our numbers are now greater than those of the next highest six countries combined, several states are about to reopen businesses and relax other restrictions in an attempt to salvage their economies. The desire is understandable. The tradeoff could be devastating. Federal leadership remains almost absent, and when present at all, is often self-contradictory and inconsistent.
Writing about the pandemic is not what I originally intended to do here. I’d much rather talk about my upcoming book, the challenges and joys of writing it, and the growing importance of organizations like The Kindness Corps. It may be too early to open up our economy but it’s not too early to begin ramping up our care for those who will be most severely impacted by its painful but necessary shutdown. I promise to shift gears, at least temporarily, in my next post.