110: Covid Parties
Students in Alabama are throwing “COVID Parties” as a game to intentionally infect each other. In fact, they are pooling money and the first one to get infected gets the pot. Seriously.
There were reports that it was all hoax, but Snopes has found that indeed these parties are happening. People are outraged. Why aren’t these students social distancing?
I was in a fraternity. I like to think it was less about being a “frat guy” and more because my school had a greek-heavy culture (67% of all students were in a frat/sorority). As a member though, I saw some pretty insane things. One of my best friends ran drunk through a library naked and was climbing across tables until he slipped and knocked out his front teeth. Another friend got drunk and stole a bulldozer from a local construction site and then drove it back to his dorm before passing out in the front seat. While nobody died, there was plenty of irresponsible behavior and just terrible decision making. To think that today’s 18-21 year olds will definitely wear masks and keep 6 feet apart from each other when off campus is just crazy.
This is all just a reminder that we’re going to be in this for a while. There is zero chance we become like New Zealand and get to zero cases and feel safe walking into a mall or movie theater. Buckle up because it’s not happening.
Vaccine Watch
On a happier note, early trial results on Thursday showed that patients who received an experimental vaccine being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech generated immune responses to the virus, and there were no life-threatening side effects, according to early trial results posted Thursday. Yes!
Other Stuff
The lockdown has given our country’s best and brightest an opportunity to explore some of the broader depths of science and make some incredible discoveries on life’s biggest questions. Exhibit A: (thx Allbin)
Costco has a clever strategy to crack down on your big birthday parties: The company has stopped selling half-sheet cakes.
Vanilla Ice was scheduled to play a concert on July 4th, but he finally cancelled it yesterday. I guess he stopped, collaborated and listened and then put the concert on ice ice baby.
Most people aren’t soccer fans, but right now we have a young American tearing up the Premier League. He’s our brightest star in…., well, forever. Check out his goal from last weekend.
This guy did a great job.
Wondering what to do this weekend instead of hanging out in a massive crowd? There’s a live recording of the “Hamilton” on Disney+; “1776,” a 1972 movie that follows the debates at the Second Continental Congress; or the 1939 adventure film “Drums Along the Mohawk,” which follows a settler couple on the frontier during the American Revolution.
Corona
The number of cases increased in the majority of states over the last week, and decreased in only two states. No part of the U.S. is safe. Six weeks ago cases were decreasing or holding steady everywhere. Things can sure change quickly (Ex: Florida saw cases decline by 14% between May 4-11 and increased this week by 109%)
In fact, the US gained 50k new cases yesterday for the first time ever.
On June 1, Florida officials announced 667 new cases. On July 1, they added more than 6,500. On Thursday, they reported over 10,100, a record.
Closer to home, we’re spiking too. Here’s San Francisco:
We’re spiking right now so stay inside. Good luck everyone. Happy Friday.