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Showing posts from February, 2021

Qatar & COVID-19: Part 11, February 2021 Return to Restrictions in Light of a Doubling of Infections

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Predictable Responses to "Pandemic Fatigue"  and a More Contagious Variant of the Virus  Just when I was lacking motivation to maintain my daily account of the pandemic, a task I began in March 2020, increasing infections in Qatar has me wanting to track the daily information.  I actually found that my lack of attention to daily information made it more difficult to understand the unfolding nature of the pandemic.  So I'm back to work.  I also want to report that I have gotten two doses of the Pfizer vaccine.  I am so very grateful to Qatar for making the vaccine available to higher-risk residents.  After the first dose, I had a sore arm at the injection site, a slight headache, and fatigue after the first dose.  I felt fine the next day.  After the second dose, I expected a stronger response given my developing antibodies.  But, instead, I only experienced a sore arm.  It may have helped that I tool an afternoon nap.  So, based on my experience, I strongly recommend the

Qatar & COVID-19, Part10: January 2021, Vaccinations Begin While New Variant Poses Risks

[To my readers:  I have not completed this post.  My duties at Qatar University College of Law demanded my time and attention.  But, I promise to complete and edit this post when I have time.] Jan. 16:  World deaths exceeded 2 million people.  It is more people than call the U.S. state of Nebraska home and about equal to the population of Slovenia. It is roughly as many people who are estimated to have died in the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. And it is more than the total number killed in the decades of Soviet and U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan combined. In addition, there have been almost 500,000 unexpected deaths globally over the past year, a review of mortality data in 35 countries shows — providing a clearer, if still incomplete, picture of the toll of the crisis. Far more people died in most of these countries than in previous years, The New York Times found. And the carnage is spreading faster now than at any other time in the pandemic.  It took more than nine months

Qatar & COVID-19, Part 9: What Does December 2020 Hold for the Nation?

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[To my readers:  I have not completed this post.  My duties at Qatar University College of Law demanded my time and attention.  But, I promise to complete and edit this post when I have time.] WHO has created a timeline summarizing its actions in connection with the pandemic.  While the pandemic ranged out of control in the US, two events in Qatar could have a deep impact on the pandemic in Qatar.  First, behaviors that aid the spread of the virus seem to be on the rise, especially during National Day celebrations over the December 18 week-end.  Second, Qatar has approved the use of the <> and <> vaccines.  Officials began vaccinating health care workers on <>.  Dec. 1:   Qatar reported 168 new cases , with 150 community infections and 18 from travelers.  Infections total 139,001 with 2,457 active infections.  ICU, with 30 patients, had three new admissions. Officials have tested 1,116,081 people. A 67 year-old died, bringing the death toll to 238.  Ministry of Inter

Qatar & COVID-19, Part 8: November 2020, Another Month of Stable and Low Infection Levels

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  [To my readers:  I have not completed this post.  My duties at Qatar University College of Law demanded my time and attention.  But, I promise to complete and edit this post when I have time.] Nov. 7: In the US , another day, another record shattered. The United States reported more than 128,000 new coronavirus cases Friday as the number of fatalities nationwide exceeded 1,000 for the fourth consecutive day.  The seven-day average of new cases was nearly 100,000, almost 20,000 higher than on this day last week. The US state of Delaware’s stay-at-home order and mask mandate contributed to an 82-percent decrease in infections and a 100-percent decrease in coronavirus-related deaths from late April through June, according to a weekly report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adults testing positive for the coronavirus were almost twice as likely to report having gone into workplaces in person or into a school in the previous two weeks than those who tested negative,