Checking Corona around the world, and once again US is #1! The USA’s new brand of exceptionalism.
Exceptionally stupid president — Check!
Exceptionally bad leadership — Check!
Exceptionally ignorant supporters of said president who don’t wear masks — Check!
Exceptionally high levels of unemployment, particularly those in disadvantaged communities — Check!
Exceptionally high coronavirus cases — Check!
I could go on and on…. you have the picture.
We all need a break from this pandemic — just months in.
Yet the story of coronavirus gets bleaker.
From the BBC:
The number of new cases of coronavirus rose by almost 260,000 in 24 hours - the largest single-day increase since the pandemic began, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday.
According to WHO, this is the first time the number of new daily infections has surpassed a quarter of a million.
The biggest increases were in the US, Brazil, India and South Africa.
Source: BBC
The graphs provided for cases by continent show the stunning exponential spread in the US. We literally have the steepest curve — steeper than in Europe at the beginning of the pandemic. Our cases by day are only rivaled by that of Latin America and the Caribbean and they are plateauing. We know Canada has flattened their curve — Is Mexico included in the numbers? Donald will be blaming them for making his numbers look so bad.
Even places that thought they beat the virus are seeing spiking cases. In particular — tourists seeking to escape are transmitting and being infected with Covid-19 in their vacation locales.
Spain
Western European countries, which have managed to largely contain the spread of the virus, are now beginning to reopen their borders and businesses.
However, there are localised surges across Spain - the worst being in the country's north-eastern Catalonia region.
The region has again recorded a daily increase in confirmed cases of more than 1,000, and about four million people in Barcelona, La Noguera and El Segrià have been ordered to stay at home for 15 days.
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Spain only ended its tough national lockdown about four weeks ago and was hoping to kick-start the economy, particularly with tourism numbers.
Neighbouring France is now considering closing borders with Spain in response to the surge.
Also this reporting from the local Fox affiliate in Philly discusses how it is not just American tourists that pose a concern:
With Europe’s summer vacation season kicking into high gear for millions weary of months of lockdown, scenes of drunken British and German tourists on Spain’s Mallorca island ignoring social distancing rules and reports of American visitors flouting quarantine measures in Ireland are raising fears of a resurgence of infections in countries that have battled for months to flatten the COVID-19 curve.
And newer outbreaks continue to grow in places that didn’t initially see large coronavirus numbers- again in places where people seek to escape from home.
India
India's record daily increase of nearly 32,700 cases pushed its total close to 1 million and led authorities to reimpose a three-day lockdown and night curfew in the popular western beach state of Goa, two weeks after it was reopened to tourists.
The state’s top elected official, Pramod Sawant, said people there were flouting social distancing rules and not wearing face masks. Nearly 40,000 people have been fined in the past two weeks for not wearing masks.
This is in line what has been seen in the US — another place where the virus is spiking — at the beach
Beach Social Distancing — Rehoboth, DE
From Richmond Times-Dispatch:
Virginia’s eastern region, outlined by the state’s beaches, has seen an explosive spread of the coronavirus in recent weeks as trends for the rest of the state have seen slight upticks.
But as a slew of states to the south face devastating spikes in cases and new lockdowns, Virginia’s localized surge has prompted questions about how the state will avoid following suit.
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That could mean more restrictions in eastern Virginia, where daily cases surged from an average of less than 100 a day to more than 400 a day in the past few weeks.
Virginia as a whole remains in the third and most relaxed phase of its reopening - what may become the new normal until there is a vaccine or effective treatment, Gov. Ralph Northam suggested last week. There are no plans for a Phase Four.
While it is understandable that people are growing weary of this virus and want to shed cabin fever and escape this new reality — with complacency and those flaunting the mask and social distancing guidelines, it risks a second wave of economic collapse along with a second wave or a continuation of the initial wave of coronavirus in places like the US.
Months ahead of New Years day, cancellations have already begun in anticipation that things aren’t getting better:
In California, organizers canceled the 2021 New Year’s Day Rose Parade in Pasadena for the first time in 75 years, fearing that even six months from now infections could spread among participants and the hundreds of thousands who line the route.
Tourism Industry worldwide has been decimated by this virus
In Japan, the country is subsidizing domestic travel — except for those in Tokyo where coronavirus numbers persist. They are doing this to subsidize tourism while trying not to spread Coronavius from Tokyo.
Egypt thought it finally was on the right track for tourism as its woes with political revolution were easing. Then, coronavirus hit.
Tourism and Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Anany is on a mission to bring back business and help revive the economy.
"It was a disaster for us, like the whole world," he says. "We lost around $1bn per month and we're estimating that we'll still lose a lot of money during the coming weeks and months."
Tourism accounts for more than 12% of Egypt's gross domestic product (GDP), according to the minister.
In recent days, Mr Anany has made media appearances showcasing new hygiene and safety rules as museums reopened and some foreign flights resumed to the provinces of South Sinai, Red Sea and Matrouh.
He says there are virtually no cases of Covid-19 in these coastal areas, making them safest.
"For the time being, you will see the beaches, the sun, the desert, water activities - it's the open air and the sea.
Are Virtual Tours the Answer?
WaPo has a story regarding the lack of tourism to Kenya may threaten wildlife as that tourism money is used to protect the animals and provide jobs to those who might otherwise hunt those animals to make their livelihood. Without the tourists, that money and those jobs dry up and leave the animals vulnerable.
However, tourism companies are offering virtual tours/safaris in an effort to make lemonade out of the lemons they have been dealt.
Safaris in Kenya, strolls through the Namib desert in Namibia, paragliding in South Africa or standing on the edge of the Victoria Falls at the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe: All of these experiences can now be enjoyed at home by virtual tourists like Juan Santiago.
Santiago, who hails from the Spanish capital, Madrid, has already visited Kenya a couple of times at this time of year to watch the migration of wildebeest in the Maasai Mara game reserve, a phenomenon that has often been called one of the Wonders of the World.
But this year, things are different. Instead of going to Kenya, Santiago is paying a virtual visit to the Nairobi National Park. "If the safari is led well, you have the atmosphere of the Nairobi National Park at home. Everything happens in real time," he says. "Even if my family tours Kenya without me after the coronavirus pandemic, this technology lets me accompany them virtually."
Virtual Safari in Kenya
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Kenya has already lost more than $750 million (€656 million) in revenue from tourism since the first case of COVID-19 in the country. That is why, in June, the tourism authority there initiated a live-stream drive as part of its #TheMagicAwaits campaign. It is meant to give the world a taste of what awaits in Kenya when the country is open to visitors once more, says Betty Radier, the managing director of the Kenya Tourism Board.
"People are online and looking for places they could travel to. That is a great opportunity for us to present ourselves live as a destination," she told DW. Sixteen different destinations in Kenya are being live-streamed.
New Zealand is also offering virtual tours to all those countries locked out of its island nation, as small businesses seek to stay afloat in this new normal.
Looking to get away, but without the fear of coronavirus?
You can even take a tour of not one place, but one whole theme such as the Jewish History Tour. Or Travel Spoons Online Cooking Virtual Classes.
In the US domestic tourist locations are making coronavirus mitigated tours their centerpiece — come here for a vacation and this is what we are doing to keep you safe. Here are some examples I found:
The Biltmore Estate
Dia Beacon — Contemporary Art Museum
Laramie WY...naturally socially distanced
This site asks travelers to look on the bright side — at least this didn’t happen 20+ years ago before some of today’s technology exists.
Y’all, this quarantine is frustrating and stressful, but can you imagine what it would have been like 10 years ago? Twenty years ago? One hundred years ago? During the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, many cities instated mandatory quarantines. Talk about lonely. Most households didn’t even have a telephone yet, much less a computer in the palm of their hands or the capability to video chat.
We are so fortunate these days because we don’t have to be alone in isolation. We can have food delivered right to our door. We can take tours from all over the world!
It’s all about perspective, isn’t it?
