Lots of news.

It's been a week of a lot of intersections. 

In Columbia and Boone County:  Two workers at a grocery store and a hair salon and a child at a day care center tested positive.  I know many people want to know where the positive cases are so they can avoid getting sick, I don't think that is helpful.  First, a positive case just tells you who got exposed a 4-10 days ago, not where you might get exposed now.  Past information isn't always helpful.  It also presumes that every other place is safe and free of people with the virus.  With the level of testing we have now, (and honestly with any level of testing other than testing everyone every day) we just can't say that. What this says is that it is likely we can be exposed to folks who are shedding SARS CoV2 while shopping for groceries, getting our hair or nails done, or by having our children in day care. 

A resident of Boone County developed symptoms of COVID 19 while celebrating Memorial Day at several entertainment sites at the Lake of the Ozarks and tested positive this week.  We  could have predicted that at least one person was potentially infectious during that gathering.  This is a bit of a challenge for contact tracing and so the health department has resorted to issuing a press release listing the places this person visited so that others who were there at the same time can possibly be informed.

Around the country, people are out in public spaces expressing their outrage over the way police interact with the communities they serve.  These gatherings will almost certainly increase the spread of SARS CoV2.  The fact that they are outdoors reduces the risk, as will wearing masks, but not as much as if people stayed away from each other.  The risk is further increased by the use of tear gas by law enforcement (study showing a link between respiratory illness and tear gas exposure)..  I was surprised to learn that there are international agreements that outlaw the use of teargas by military forces, but allow its use by police on civilian populations and that the ACLU has concerns about the way it is used in US.  (Link to ACLU statement).  If you get exposed, here is a link to a decontamination procedure. 

Due to flooding in Michigan and storms in Bangladesh, people are having to evacuate. Housing displaced people during a pandemic is to say the least problematic.  

Sending you wishes of great health.