COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[Calthrina950]

The Wuhan Institute of Virology was one of only a handful of labs doing the relevant kind of research.

Assuming the virus is artificially selected and not naturally selected yes.

Nobody should be getting worked up about masks now, but I think there was a time when it was appropriate, no matter how the pandemic started.

There certainly was a time, and that time, in my view, has passed. Personally, I don't fully understand why a mask mandate remains in place for travel, particularly since mask requirements have been dispensed with at many festivals, concerts, and other types of large indoors and outdoors gatherings. Perhaps one for international travel is still needed, but surely not for domestic. And I'm not sure how much longer the media will continue to hype up the emergence of new "variants" of the virus. The "Delta" variant is the latest one which has garnered a considerable amount of attention.

[Calthrina950]

The updated numbers for COVID-19 in the U.S. are in for 6/15 per: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

I'm keeping track of these updates daily and updating at the end of the day, whenever all states finish reporting for that day.

ΔW Change: Comparisons of Weekly Day-to-day Growth or Decline of COVID-19 Spread/Deaths.

• IE: Comparing the numbers to the same day of last week, are we flattening the curve enough?

Σ Increase: A day's contribution to overall percentage growth of COVID-19 cases/deaths.

• IE:What's the overall change in the total?

Brackets []: These represent the total change for the day, including backlogged reports, if any.

• These numbers are inflated relative to the actual reports for the day, so they are not used to calculate the comparative percentage shifts.

Older Numbers (Hidden in spoiler mode to make the post more compact)

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

<Last Numbers for 3/26-3/28 in this Post>
<Last Numbers for 3/29-4/4 in this Post>
<Last Numbers for 4/5-4/11 in this Post>
<Last Numbers for 4/12-4/18 in this Post>
<Last Numbers for 4/19-4/25 in this post>
<Last Numbers for 4/26-5/2 in this Post>
<Last Numbers for 5/3-5/9 in this Post>
<Last Numbers for 5/10-5/16 in this Post>
<Last Numbers for 5/17-5/23 in this Post>
<Last Numbers for 5/24-5/30 in this Post>
<Last Numbers for 5/31-6/6 in this Post>
<Last Numbers for 6/7-6/13 in this Post>
<Last Numbers for 6/14-6/20 in this Post>
<Last Numbers for 6/21-6/27 in this Post>
<Last Numbers for 6/28-7/4 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 7/5-7/11 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 7/12-7/18 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 7/19-7/25 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 7/26-8/1 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 8/2-8/8 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 8/9-8/15 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 8/16-8/22 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 8/23-8/29 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 8/30-9/5 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 9/6-9/12 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 9/13-9/19 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 9/20-9/26 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 9/27-10/3 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 10/4-10/10 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 10/11-10/17 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 10/18-10/24 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 10/25-10/31 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 11/1-11/7 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 11/8-11/14 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 11/15-11/21 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 11/22-11/28 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 11/29-12/5 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 12/6-12/12 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 12/13-12/19 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 12/20-12/26 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 12/27-1/2 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 1/3-1/9 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 1/10-1/16 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 1/17-1/23 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 1/24-1/30 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 1/31-2/6 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 2/7-2/13 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 2/14-2/20 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 2/21-2/27 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 2/28-3/6 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 3/7-3-13 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 3/14-3-20 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 3/21-3/27 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 3/28-4/3 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 4/4-4/10 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 4/11-4/17 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 4/18-4/24 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 4/25-5/1 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 5/2-5/8 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 5/9-5/15 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 5/16-5/22 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 5/23-5/29 in this Post>
<Last Numbers from 5/30-6/5 in this Post>

6/6: <Sunday>

• Cases: 34,210,782 (+6,408 [+7,023] | ΔW Change: ↓17.32% | Σ Increase: ↑0.02%)
• Deaths: 612,366 (+166 | ΔW Change: ↑33.87% | Σ Increase: ↑0.03%)

6/7 (Last Week Holiday): <M>

• Cases: 34,227,237 (+12,283 [+16,455] | ΔW Change: ↑50.99% | Σ Increase: ↑0.05%)
• Deaths: 612,701 (+335 | ΔW Change: ↑153.79% | Σ Increase: ↑0.05%)

6/8: <T>

• Cases: 34,242,866 (+13,542 [+15,629] | ΔW Change: ↑4.36% | Σ Increase: ↑0.05%)
• Deaths: 613,052 (+351 | ΔW Change: ↑22.30% | Σ Increase: ↑0.06%)

6/9: <W>

• Cases: 34,264,727 (+14,201 [+21,861] | ΔW Change: ↓16.34% | Σ Increase: ↑0.06%)
• Deaths: 613,494 (+442 | ΔW Change: ↓14.00% | Σ Increase: ↑0.07%)

6/10: <Þ>

• Cases: 34,275,437 (+10,710 | ΔW Change: ↓59.51% | Σ Increase: ↑0.03%)
• Deaths: 613,906 (+412 | ΔW Change: ↓24.82% | Σ Increase: ↑0.07%)

6/11: <F>

• Cases: 34,306,280 (+15,928 [+30,843] | ΔW Change: ↓5.89% | Σ Increase: ↑0.09%)
• Deaths: 614,732 (+421 [+826] | ΔW Change: ↑70.45% | Σ Increase: ↑0.13%)

6/12: <S>

• Cases: 34,315,867 (+9,587 | ΔW Change: ↓18.31% | Σ Increase: ↑0.03%)
• Deaths: 615,037 (+305 | ΔW Change: ↓20.78% | Σ Increase: ↑0.05%)

6/13: <Sunday>

• Cases: 34,321,093 (+5,226 | ΔW Change: ↓18.45% | Σ Increase: ↑0.02%)
• Deaths: 615,053 (+16 | ΔW Change: ↓90.36% | Σ Increase: ↑0.00%)

6/14 (Yesterday): <M>

• Cases: 34,334,299 (+7,310 [+13,206] | ΔW Change: ↓40.49% | Σ Increase: ↑0.04%)
• Deaths: 615,263 (+106 [+210] | ΔW Change: ↓68.36% | Σ Increase: ↑0.03%)

6/15 (Today): <T>

• Cases: 34,351,363 (+11,884 [+17,064] | ΔW Change: ↓12.24% | Σ Increase: ↑0.05%)
• Deaths: 615,703 (+341 [+440] | ΔW Change: ↓2.85% | Σ Increase: ↑0.07%)

Did you see my question to you that I posted earlier?

[Calthrina950]

Did you see my question to you that I posted earlier?

Hi Calth. Yes, I saw it earlier on my phone and forgot to respond once I got back on my laptop, apologies.

The short answer is no; I don't know what might be causing such a big discrepancy between each of these sources. It might be that the media is only counting the 50 states, while Worldometers counts all of the U.S., including its territories and overseas military personnel. Perhaps that could account for it? This answer is, however, purely speculation, and I haven't had the time to delve deeper into the matter.

Does anyone else have a more thoroughly researched answer? What are your thoughts, Calth?

I wouldn't know either, which is why I had asked you about it. But thanks for the insights about your tracker. I trust yours over whatever the other outlets have been using.

[Calthrina950]

Did you see my question to you that I posted earlier?

Hi Calth. Yes, I saw it earlier on my phone and forgot to respond once I got back on my laptop, apologies.

The short answer is no; I don't know what might be causing such a big discrepancy between each of these sources. It might be that the media is only counting the 50 states, while Worldometers counts all of the U.S., including its territories and overseas military personnel. Perhaps that could account for it? This answer is, however, purely speculation, and I haven't had the time to delve deeper into the matter.

Does anyone else have a more thoroughly researched answer? What are your thoughts, Calth?

I wouldn't know either, which is why I had asked you about it. But thanks for the insights about your tracker. I trust yours over whatever the other outlets have been using.

Could people be lying?

I wouldn't be surprised. But of course, there's also been a running dispute with regards to the classification of coronavirus deaths, and many death reports have noted that a person died "with Covid", which might complicate the count. On the whole, however, I believe that the statistics which we have are reliable and as accurate as they can be.

[Calthrina950]

The media seems to use the Johns Hopkins count which has always been a bit further behind than Worldometers. I have no idea why though.

I was watching CBS This Morning, and they were repeating their assertion that we just crossed the 600,000 mark. They specifically cited Johns Hopkins University as their statistical source.

[Calthrina950]

Went to Target & the local supermarket. Today is the second day without California's mask mandates, capacity limits or social distancing. It honestly doesn't look any more different than the last month. I'd say 95% of the folks indoors were masked and the only ones not following social distancing were the 5% of unmasked folks.

It seems at the theme parks, there's a lot less mask-wearing & social distancing going on. But as far as day-to-day indoor shopping, same as it ever was.

I wouldn't be surprised if the numbers go down considerably over the next few weeks. Today, I went back to my job after having been on "vacation" for the past week and a half. I would say that around 80-85% of customers and employees are no longer wearing masks, and about 10-15% still are. At this point, the only remaining mask wearers at my job, I suspect, are the ones who don't feel comfortable with discarding the masks yet or may still be waiting for the two-week period before they are fully vaccinated.

[Calthrina950]

Went to Target & the local supermarket. Today is the second day without California's mask mandates, capacity limits or social distancing. It honestly doesn't look any more different than the last month. I'd say 95% of the folks indoors were masked and the only ones not following social distancing were the 5% of unmasked folks.

It seems at the theme parks, there's a lot less mask-wearing & social distancing going on. But as far as day-to-day indoor shopping, same as it ever was.

I wouldn't be surprised if the numbers go down considerably over the next few weeks. Today, I went back to my job after having been on "vacation" for the past week and a half. I would say that around 80-85% of customers and employees are no longer wearing masks, and about 10-15% still are. At this point, the only remaining mask wearers at my job, I suspect, are the ones who don't feel comfortable with discarding the masks yet or may still be waiting for the two-week period before they are fully vaccinated.

I wouldn't be surprised either. But I also wasn't surprised to see anyone throw away their masks away because the state snapped their fingers and made mask mandates disappear. It's a gradual process and old habits are hard to break. I'm kinda used to wearing the mask now and it feels weird going shopping without it.

I fully understand. I was hesitant at first about taking my mask off once the mandate here in Colorado ended, and Home Depot lifted their mandate for employees. But I've gotten used to being maskless again, especially since the overwhelming majority of people at my workplace are now doing the same. However, I still have some coworkers who are vaccinated but plan to continue wearing a mask for the foreseeable future.

[Calthrina950]

I saw this in a campaign ad, do Americans (in blue states) actually do this? I mean under 6 y/o children wearing masks in an outdoors playground? I am as pro mask as you can get, but this seems completely insane.

How about masking at home? As I've noted elsewhere, my father continues to require me to wear a mask around him and my stepmother, even though I'm fully vaccinated. He told me that he wants for me to do so until the end of the year, until there is "more data" on the effectiveness of the vaccine. I would say that's going too far.

[Calthrina950]

How about masking at home?

I don't know anyone who does this either.

I do. As I noted above, I'm being required to wear a mask at home.

[Calthrina950]

How about masking at home?

I don't know anyone who does this either.

I do. As I noted above, I'm being required to wear a mask at home.

That is weird. I only mask up if I am a guest in the home of someone who either hasn’t been vaccinated or if their vaccination status is unknown.

Like I've said before, my father isn't comfortable with the situation now, and thinks that the virus is going to have a resurgence. I'm fully vaccinated, but both he and my stepmother still think that I can transmit the virus to them if I catch it.

[Calthrina950]

Earlier this morning, I was sent a video by my father-whose vaccine skepticism I've chronicled here-which is from OANN, the right-wing cable network that has set itself up as an "alternative" to Fox News. I wish I could post the video here so that posters on here could see it, but I don't think there's a way to do that, as the video was sent to me as an attachment. He got it from a friend of his.

Basically, the video claims that there are "serious" doubts about the effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccine, and that it has more "severe" side effects than all other vaccines. It lists the number of miscarriages, deaths, hospitalizations, etc. of people who've had the vaccine, and talks about "concerns" regarding the vaccine in Britain and Israel.

Given that this is OANN, pretty much all that it says is either misinformation or biased, and as has been noted, the number of "vaccine deaths" pale in comparison to the number of people who've died from coronavirus. So he's gone from justifying his skepticism on the basis of an article in AARP to now relying upon this cable network. And yet he says I buy into false media narratives....

[Calthrina950]

I had a co-worker at my job today tell me they might start wearing a mask again because they are concerned about the Delta variant. People seem to be truly terrified over this.

[Calthrina950]

Why does there seem to be a reoccurrence of red this week?

[Calthrina950]

Why does there seem to be a reoccurrence of red this week?

I think we bottomed out due to vaccines, and now it's starting to spread among the unvaccinated again. It doesn't have the real estate due to expand too much anymore, but unless we manage to get more people to sign up for the vaccines, it might trend up for a while.

I certainly do find it frustrating that there are so many people refusing to get the vaccine. But I saw a news report yesterday stating that the overwhelming majority of cases and deaths that we are now seeing are among the unvaccinated. The vaccine has been readily available for some time now, and anyone who still refuses to get it is putting themselves at jeopardy.

[Calthrina950]

I hope there won’t be another lockdown, I recently got a job at my local movie theater and our business is picking back up.

I don't support lockdowns right now, but I think we've moved far too fast in eliminating our other good measures. Masks and social distancing have been extraordinarily effective. The CDC made a big mistakes and moved too fast. We should've relaxed restrictions as we met certain vaccine benchmarks.

As I said before, I believe in the vaccines. I wouldn't have allowed myself to be injected with two doses of Pfizer's vaccine if I didn't. However, I do think warm weather is giving us an artificial low. I'm very concerned about a low vaccine uptake and viral mutations that manage to get past our vaccines. That would spread worse than a wildfire.

I agree. I am 100% sure that the CDC will reimplement mask mandates once the Delta Variant causes cases to skyrocket to a level that would make the winter 2020/2021 surge look like nothing. Still, a lot of the MAGA and Stop the Steal supporters would not go along with that.

I think (hope) that even if cases rise again they won’t reach the highs we saw in December and January.

At least that’s my understanding when I read articles and such.

I certainly don't want for mask mandates to return. I've seen the reports about how Israel is reimposing its indoor mask mandate, despite the facts that a majority of their population has now been vaccinated and that they have a very low death rate.

[Calthrina950]

Obviously a mask mandate is much less onerous than any sort of shutdown.  But wearing a mask every day is still much more onerous and much less effective than just getting vaccinated.  So reimplementing a mask mandate before we implement a vaccine mandate would be inexcusable.

A vaccine mandate would be struck down 5-4 on the Supreme Court, would likely include exemptions, and would serve as a literal shot in the arm to the anti vaxxer movement. On the other hand, a National mask mandate would be much easier to enforce and would be deemed as Constitutional.

People keep saying a vaccine mandate would be struck down without any sort of evidence.  There are plenty of vaccine mandates in place now and they’ve always been upheld when they have been tested.   And a mask mandate would not be easier to enforce because you have to keep enforcing it all the time everywhere.  You only need to get the vaccine twice.

As has been said, the vaccine is far more effective and far more convenient in combatting the pandemic than masks are. I'm not sure why some people seem to be convinced that it is the other way. You have a noticeable number of fully vaccinated people still wearing masks when it is not absolutely necessary, and you have some who still doubt the vaccine's efficacy in general.

[Calthrina950]

Obviously a mask mandate is much less onerous than any sort of shutdown.  But wearing a mask every day is still much more onerous and much less effective than just getting vaccinated.  So reimplementing a mask mandate before we implement a vaccine mandate would be inexcusable.

A vaccine mandate would be struck down 5-4 on the Supreme Court, would likely include exemptions, and would serve as a literal shot in the arm to the anti vaxxer movement. On the other hand, a National mask mandate would be much easier to enforce and would be deemed as Constitutional.

People keep saying a vaccine mandate would be struck down without any sort of evidence.  There are plenty of vaccine mandates in place now and they’ve always been upheld when they have been tested.   And a mask mandate would not be easier to enforce because you have to keep enforcing it all the time everywhere.  You only need to get the vaccine twice.

As has been said, the vaccine is far more effective and far more convenient in combatting the pandemic than masks are. I'm not sure why some people seem to be convinced that it is the other way. You have a noticeable number of fully vaccinated people still wearing masks when it is not absolutely necessary, and you have some who still doubt the vaccine's efficacy in general.

A high-quality, multi-layer mask is 97.5% effective at stopping COVID, a lot more effective than the 60-93% efficacy of the vaccines on non-Delta Variants.

Where do you get this? Are you seriously saying that we should be permanently wearing masks? Why do you think our public health and government officials have been so adamant on people getting vaccinated? Why have so many seen vaccinations as a way out of the pandemic? Like I've said before, we shouldn't allow for the precautions taken earlier in the pandemic to become the norm.

[Calthrina950]

WHO Urges Fully Vaccinated People To Continue Wearing Masks As Delta Variant Spreads—But No Word From CDC

World Health Organization (WHO) officials stressed Friday the need for fully vaccinated people to “continue to be appropriately cautious” and keep up with social distancing measures like mask wearing as the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus becomes increasingly dominant in the U.S. and spurs new Covid-19 surges around the world—including in highly vaccinated countries.

[...]

“Us[ing] masks consistently” and following other social distancing measures like avoiding crowds, hand washing and being in well-ventilated spaces is “extremely important, even if you’re vaccinated,” Dr. Mariangela Simao, WHO assistant director-general for access to medicines and health products, said, warning, “Vaccine alone won’t stop the community transmission.”

I have a sick feeling that we declared victory too early. It's just becoming summer too. I don't think we have a clear picture as to what's going to happen later in the year.

I still wear a mask when I go places.

I stopped wearing it at work though, even though most of my coworkers are not only unvaccinated but anti-vaccination :/

Interestingly enough, I have a coworker who is still wearing a mask, even though she's fully vaccinated. When I asked her why, she told me that she still does so because she doesn't trust many of the other people in our workplace, who claim to be vaccinated but who are lying and actually aren't.

I believe you mentioned before that you live in a very Republican county. Do you mind me asking which county you live in?

[Calthrina950]

WHO Urges Fully Vaccinated People To Continue Wearing Masks As Delta Variant Spreads—But No Word From CDC

World Health Organization (WHO) officials stressed Friday the need for fully vaccinated people to “continue to be appropriately cautious” and keep up with social distancing measures like mask wearing as the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus becomes increasingly dominant in the U.S. and spurs new Covid-19 surges around the world—including in highly vaccinated countries.

[...]

“Us[ing] masks consistently” and following other social distancing measures like avoiding crowds, hand washing and being in well-ventilated spaces is “extremely important, even if you’re vaccinated,” Dr. Mariangela Simao, WHO assistant director-general for access to medicines and health products, said, warning, “Vaccine alone won’t stop the community transmission.”

I have a sick feeling that we declared victory too early. It's just becoming summer too. I don't think we have a clear picture as to what's going to happen later in the year.

I still wear a mask when I go places.

I stopped wearing it at work though, even though most of my coworkers are not only unvaccinated but anti-vaccination :/

Interestingly enough, I have a coworker who is still wearing a mask, even though she's fully vaccinated. When I asked her why, she told me that she still does so because she doesn't trust many of the other people in our workplace, who claim to be vaccinated but who are lying and actually aren't.

I believe you mentioned before that you live in a very Republican county. Do you mind me asking which county you live in?

Tons of people I know, including my mom, still wear a mask after vaccination while inside. She doesn’t seem to have a concrete reason, but you do you I guess, it can’t hurt.

It is everyone's choice. I do recall seeing a poll somewhere about a week or two ago saying that a majority of Biden voters are still wearing a mask in public, whereas the majority of Trump voters are no longer doing so. And there is this poll from Axios-Ipsos, stating that 92% of Democrats are very or somewhat concerned about the new Delta variant, along with 73% of independents, while only 50% of Republicans say the same. So there continues to be a massive partisan divide with regards to coronavirus precautions and the pandemic itself.

[Calthrina950]

Finally scheduled a shot tomorrow

I'm glad to read this. I hope it goes well!

[Calthrina950]

WHO Urges Fully Vaccinated People To Continue Wearing Masks As Delta Variant Spreads—But No Word From CDC

World Health Organization (WHO) officials stressed Friday the need for fully vaccinated people to “continue to be appropriately cautious” and keep up with social distancing measures like mask wearing as the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus becomes increasingly dominant in the U.S. and spurs new Covid-19 surges around the world—including in highly vaccinated countries.

[...]

“Us[ing] masks consistently” and following other social distancing measures like avoiding crowds, hand washing and being in well-ventilated spaces is “extremely important, even if you’re vaccinated,” Dr. Mariangela Simao, WHO assistant director-general for access to medicines and health products, said, warning, “Vaccine alone won’t stop the community transmission.”

I have a sick feeling that we declared victory too early. It's just becoming summer too. I don't think we have a clear picture as to what's going to happen later in the year.

Of course the CCP-controlled WHO is saying this, they have no credibility. The Chinese vaccine has been an embarrassing failure, and now they're trying to convince the rest of the world that our vaccines are too. Luckily I think the United States will largely ignore this.

Yes, lets just ignore the fact that the Delta variant is spreading to vaccinated people just so you can pretend you haven't been brainwashed by Trump cultists and Fox News.

Hey BlueAnoner, stop spreading misinformation. It's like you idiots want to be locked down forever. I'm normally a moderate, but I've run out of patience with liberals and their restrictions.

At this point, any American who wants a vaccine has been able to get it for months. They are extremely effective, even against "muh scary variants". It's why I hate the media. They're losing views and clicks without Trump, so they try to gin up fear of COVID (despite it clearly being on its way out in the US) to keep up their ratings.

I have noticed that the media has paid an extensive amount of attention to the Delta variant, and much of their reporting remains sensationalist, as it has been throughout the pandemic. However, even many journalists seem ready to move forward.

[Calthrina950]

I wore my masks everywhere indoors and in crowds up until 14 days after I got my second dose of the vaccine. I did everything right, and I'm done now. I was always patient with the common-sense restrictions and I still have no patience with the conspiracy kooks and anti-vax people, but I'm growing equally impatient with those that are pretending that masking up and social distancing are tenable ways of life even now that we have the vaccine. In fact, I just saw another article from the New York Times about how we need masks again, and judging from nearly everything I've been hearing from liberal outlets, I'm thoroughly convinced that their goal is to endure COVID restrictions indefinitely. When does it end if not with the 99% effective vaccines that have time and again been proven to be mostly effective against all the variants?

As I've mentioned on here before, I've now been required to wear a mask at home, despite being fully vaccinated. My family is far more concerned about the new Delta variant than I am, and seem to believe that we're going to experience a resurgence. What's frustrating to me is that my father-who imposed this masking requirement-still hasn't gotten his vaccine. He's said it's because of underlying conditions he has, but I don't fully understand.

[Calthrina950]

Is it just around them they make you mask? You don't have to wear it in your room I hope.

No, not in my room. But my stepmother reiterated to me what my father wants me to do this morning, and it's just compounding other issues I'm already facing. If he had gotten his vaccine by now, this probably wouldn't be an issue. And I still find it ironic, given that early in the pandemic, I was the one who was panicked, and he told me that I was overreacting and needed to calm down. Moreover, as I've said before, he is a two-time Trump voter, so that makes his views on this even more strange.

[Calthrina950]

Now that the pandemic is over, "CraigTheLawyer" on Twitter is no longer providing a count of how many tests are administered, so I can no longer compile what the nationwide positivity rate is. We finished the pandemic well below 2%.

Has it been officially declared over? Of course, for most people, it is, but the media certainly hasn't gotten to that point yet.

[Calthrina950]

Has it been officially declared over? Of course, for most people, it is, but the media certainly hasn't gotten to that point yet.

The mayor of Fargo, North Dakota, said it was over just before Memorial Day.

That's the mayor of one town. I personally am of the belief that we're heading out of it, but I'm not ready to make a blanket declaration that it's over unless if the authorities declare otherwise.