Random and illustrative stories about the global pandemic and how businesses and various business sectors are trying to recover from it, with brief, occasional, italicized and sometimes gratuitous commentary…
• In the US, there now have been 2,089,825 confirmed cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus, with 116,035 deaths and 816,174 reported recoveries.
Globally, there now are 7,613,578 confirmed coronavirus cases, resulting in 424,137 fatalities, with 3,852,889 reported recoveries.
• From the Wall Street Journal:
"Some U.S. states that were largely spared during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic are now seeing record hospitalizations, causing some experts to fear that loosened restrictions and the approach of summer led many Americans to begin letting down their guard.
"The post-Memorial Day outbreaks in states come roughly a month after stay-at-home orders were lifted. Experts urged people to continue to take the virus seriously and not take increased freedom as permission to stop wearing masks or resume gathering in large groups."
The Journal writes that "in Arizona, the state’s health department over the weekend reminded hospitals to be in emergency mode as intensive-care units in the state approached 80% capacity. Texas set three straight days of hospitalization records this week, surpassing 2,000 a day for the first time. Utah hospitals have hit records twice in hospital admissions since May 25 … Alabama reached an all-time high for hospitalizations Wednesday, according to state data. The state now has 647 people in hospitals with Covid-19, up 44% from Memorial Day.
"In Arkansas, hospitalizations have doubled, from around 90 to 181, along with sharp increases in positive test results. South Carolina saw a 24% increase during that time.
Meanwhile, some states that experienced higher rates of infection and had later openings, such as New York, are experiencing a decline in hospitalizations."
According to the story, "Experts analyzing states with worrisome trends in serious cases are largely pointing to the onset of summer, when people began to congregate in resort spots. Some also suspect that officials who allowed businesses to reopen after a relatively calm few weeks might have sent an inadvertent message that the problem had largely passed."
• USA Today reports that in Cleveland, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame plans tio reopen on June 15 … but visitors will be told to stay at least “two Stratocasters apart."
The story says that "temperatures will be checked at the door and fans must wear masks. There will be continuous cleaning inside and hand sanitizers. There also will be advance online ticketing, limited capacity with timed ticketing and no cash will be accepted."
On June 14, healthcare workers and their families will be able to tour the Hall for free.
