Just Another Day When You Die Trying

I'm in a really bad headspace. The cases at work in the schools here are skyrocketing and several of my students and coworkers have tested positive in the last week or two. Kids and staff who always wear their masks and who have never gotten sick before are getting Covid for the first time in 2 years and there are others still who are getting it a second or third time.

Meanwhile, because masks are technically optional now, (which violates a contractual safety agreement) kids are coming to school unvaccinated, unmasked, and often sick because we have both poor health care options and no flexibility for mothers who can't take more time off to quarantine. I spend most of the day feeling anxious, getting coughed on and with constant fluids and germs, which was typical before the pandemic as I work in closer proximity to kids and see kids with physical, cognitive and/or sensory needs aged 3-21 but with the added stress of Coronavirus being a much more dangerous thing to catch. There's a 5 day guideline through the CDC and most people are still symptomatic after 5 days so they are coming back sick infecting others. It's so bad that there aren't even enough healthy substitute teachers to cover for all of the sick teachers who are out.

Meanwhile, we've been told by so called public health experts the last few months that Omicron is mild and we should treat it like an itty bitty flu and Reuters came out with a larger study that suggests that was all a complete lie. www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/omicr...

I am not sure what it is going to take for people to make safe choices for themselves and others but relying on our government either for accurate information at this point or any type of safeguards is completely futile and for people like myself who always double mask indoors and don't even eat indoors, I feel like I'm in a sort of Twilight Zone surrounded by coworkers and students acting recklessly who will spread this to me eventually and that it is only a matter of time.

I should mention I have heard of a lot of mysterious deaths not attributed to Covid but seemingly connected for otherwise healthy people my age or even younger who were infected with Covid and likely died from complications. In my country, if you die from stroke or heart attack, for example, even if the main cause was Covid, it's not counted as a Covid death. (This is another way they can get away with under reporting or acting like this is a non issue now)

And again, at this same time, there are a lot of people who act as if wearing a mask is the worst punishment they can possibly endure and that everything is fine. Our current publicized rates as a city are around 5% but the Covid % in our waste water tells a different story. It is highly likely that most people aren't reporting positive rapid tests they take at home (apparently only one in 70 tests may be reported) and I think there are a lot of people who have just given up on getting tested unless they are really sick.

So what does all this mean? Well, in America, we have always had huge inequities when it comes to health care so now we're going to have more of the same only with a growing percentage of a work force with long Covid symptoms and increased suffering. I guess all of that is ok as long as those billionaires, keep getting richer, though. I would hate for Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos to have to give up a trip to space on behalf of having a shred of humanity and empathy for others.

**All photos are copyrighted.

Taken on: April 11, 2022

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Rochester

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Camera: Canon EOS 5DS R, f/14.0, 1/50 sec, 50mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 5DS R
Lens:	EF50mm f/1.4 USM
Aperture:	f/14.0
Exposure Time:	0.02 sec (1/50)
Focal Length:	50mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Manual
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop 23.2 (Macintosh)
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