Blue Planet Journey

"This illustration , created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. Note the spikes that adorn the outer surface of the virus, which impart the look of a corona surrounding the virion, when viewed electron microscopically. A novel coronavirus, named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China in 2019. The illness caused by this virus has been named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)." The phrase "social distancing" is now in everyone's vocabulary. Caroline tells me that the phrase is troubling to her, because social interactions are critical to our well-being, and people should avoid social isolation. In the Age of COVID-19, the trick is to socialize safely.  I think we will call it  novel distancing ... a new normal of distancing.  Socialize, yes.  But watch ...

A United flight this week from Maui to Chicago, on a wide-body Boeing 777-200 .  The lack of passengers is rather obvious.  Both Caroline and I had an entire row - both side and middle seats - to ourselves.  At the time I write this, the coronavirus Covid-19 continues its march around the globe. I've written previously  about my experience flying to Hawaii after 2 Caribbean cruises with thousands of passengers, including dozens (I assume) from China, and when arriving at HNL, I was "lyfted" home with nary a question on February 3. Later that week, I wrote to Dr. Bruce Anderson, the director of the Hawaii Department of Health, after attending a briefing at the Manoa Neighborhood Board meeting: "As I listened to your presentation, I reflected that 3 days earlier, I had returned from a Caribbean cruise, with numerous people on board from Asian counties. Yet there was no question for me when I entered Hawaii. Perhaps the agricultural form that all visitors and...