Covid.

So Covid was a big deal in the spring, and then it was less of a big deal over the summer, and now it’s back in the spotlight and throwing off everyone’s plans. Positivity rates are soaring at nearly 15% in Illinois (they should be less than 5% to keep hospital beds open and available). Illinois is reporting its highest daily total of Covid cases since the start of the pandemic with upwards of 10,000-15,000 cases daily. Previously, a high number of positive tests would have been somewhere around 2,000. We were warned not to gather with anyone outside of our immediate family for Thanksgiving so as to not become a super spreader. The upcoming weeks’ numbers will detail how well those guidelines were followed. The difference between Covid then and Covid now is that we are all starting to know people—lots of people—who are catching it. It is no longer an abstract idea as friends and family are being affected by Covid. To keep ourselves safe, our family has put a stop to all indoor activities with friends and the kids are no longer involved in any sports. This pandemic is back in the forefront of our lives and is, quite frankly, a thorn in our side, but there is the promise of several vaccines in the upcoming months so we will keep on living life with extra caution for the safety of ourselves and those we love until our country can move past this. 

Covid also hijacked our district’s plan for in-person learning. The kids were set to phase back in to school at the beginning of November. That plan was scratched, and the district is now hopeful to transition back to a hybrid model (two days of in-person learning, three days of online learning) mid-January when the third quarter begins. Families can opt to remain online only until the fourth quarter, and because we just booked three weeks in Florida smack dab in the middle of winter, that’s what we will plan to do. 

Pandemic fatigue has set in as countless plans are shifted in ways that are out of our control, but as we have learned this is a marathon not a sprint, and we all need to dig in and keep our eyes on the finish line!

Thanks to the NBC for continuing to offer this daily Covid map. 

*No guarantees that the numbers I used in my post were perfectly accurate. I tried my best. But I’m a tired, old, washed up journalist who isn’t on point like I once was.