The COVID 19 epidemic continues to rise - FAST

Happy Thursday. Our self isolation ended last Sunday. We tried to take a drive to Tuk on Sunday, but the road was closed to normal traffic when we wanted to go.

Well, we now have one COVID 19 case in Inuvik, but that person is self-isolating so no spread here. However, I am taking much more precautions. I am not going to go out, except in car. At 79 and counting, with a compromised immune system due to cancer, chemo, and pain drugs, I am a prime candidate for testing positive to the virus and dying of pneumonia.

Country-wide, according to today's New York Times, Canada has only 109 deaths, doubling every 4 days. the US on the other hand has 5,708 deaths, doubling every 3 days. We intend to tell our Illinois friends to be more careful because the state of Illinois already has 152 deaths, doubling every 2 days! Note that Illinois has almost 50% more deaths than the country of Canada. People in the US really don't want to stay home. I think it was California that hasn't even closed it's public beaches. The NY Times showed a beach really quite well populated.

I have great news! Great for me anyway. I have been on the board of a high tech company in the nuclear industry for the past about 15 years. The day before yesterday my phone rang late morning and it was the board Chair of that company. He offered me a contract (accepted of course) to tackle an engineering problem related to his company's power plant design. Why me? Because we have developed considerable trust over the years. And he hired me knowing that my short-term memory and some cognitive ability has suffered because of chemo and pain drugs. So I am quite delighted.

My required engineering texts are in a rented storage unit in Yellowknife, and they are all 40 or more years out of date. So I bought 2 books through Indigo-Chapters on line. One of them has already shipped, on Engineering Mathematics, but it is not the one I need the most, on Thermodynamics and Fluid Flow Dynamics as applied to power systems. My specialties in engineering have always been thermodynamics (the study of thermal energy in all its forms) and fluid mechanics (looking at how fluids, liquids or gases, flow in systems we use every day or in power plants).

I would like to think that this pandemic will bring people together in a helpful community-oriented way in the western world. However I was disappointed to learn, again from today's NY Times online that last month, March 2020, resulted in the second-highest month every for personal gun sales in the US. That doesn't bode for being helpful and community-oriented! Also, Dr Anthony Fauci, President Trump's medical adviser is getting death-threats. It is amazing that there are folks in the US, the fastest growing country for COVID 19 cases, who simply want everyone back to work to kick-start the economic engine, regardless of the threat to human health.

A good friend of mine is of the opinion that this pandemic will bring about a reset to society in the western world. It seems to me that it is really a boon for communication industries, since whole conferences are now planned using Zoom-related technology.

COVID 19 on the Rise

It has finally hit the NWT. There was a confirmed case in Yellowknife the second week of March - someone who had flown in from the south! Well guess what, that week of March 9 is when we were in Yellowknife for my treatment! So as soon as we were told about it yesterday we had to go into voluntary isolation for up to two weeks from the time we could have caught the COVID 19 in Yellowknife. So until next Friday the 27th, we have to remain in isolation. 

But no worries. Our friends here in Inuvik have already volunteered to do the delivery of groceries, bottled water, etc. Sandra and I are completely free of illness symptoms. In fact I have not even had one single cold since my cancer operation on December 6, 2015. So that is almost 4 1/2 years ago.

It feels strange to be in a high-risk segment of society, being in my 80th year, and suffering no coronavirus symptoms. I talked to my dear cousin Lillian who is just two years younger than me, living in the Vancouver area, and there have been five deaths to the virus so far. So she is quite concerned about staying at home, not going out and about any more than absolutely necessary. I am going to have to travel to Yellowknife every month for Nivo treatment as an absolutely essential travel. My next trip is scheduled for April 8 - 9, including a CT scan to make sure the tumors remain in remission.

Sandra is shifting us a bit further nutrition wise to a vegan diet. And it is not as hard or far out as I thought it would be. For example, I love pancakes, and yesterday I made wheat, oats and ground flax pancakes with avocado oil. Super delicious.

Sandra and all of her staff are now working from home. The work still has to be done. All of the counselling that her staff do will now be done by telephone. And no one knows how long this epidemic is going to last. It is not a good time to need counselling because nothing beats meeting face to face.
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This being isolated at home doesn't really bother me, since I love writing, and I have a library of books to read, with more on order. I give away as many as I order now, so our library remains pretty well  static with the size it is now. And we have a store of good DVD movies. Tonight before bed we are going to make our own popcorn and watch Casablanca, one of the best movies of all time I am told.