The Worst CV-19 Hot Spots are not Always Obvious

Here is the map we are all used to seeing.  It shows the total number of known CV-19 cases by county.

We all see what we expect to see.  CV-19 is worse in urban areas.  That would be obvious.  Right?  More people close together means more chance to spread.  It just makes sense.

Here is a map you will probably only see if you go looking for it.  It is CV-19 cases per capita per county.  Suddenly some areas that are pretty rural come jumping out at you.

If you think that because you live in a rural area that this disease won't reach you, this map argues otherwise.  While urban areas still seem to be at the fore, there are some notable rural areas that show up.  That dark spot in Idaho is Blaine County.  Population is around 23,000 for the whole county and yet they have 473 reported cases as of April 16.  That dark spot in South Dakota is Minnehaha Country where the Smithfield processing plant is located.  Of the 1000+ cases in the county 600+ are from that one plant.  I'll let you look up what happened there.  It is not pretty.  It does show what can happen if you don't take the proper precautions.

I pulled the map and statistics for USAFacts.org.  The number of people from the plant that are infected I pulled from an article in USA Today.  If you want to read about what happened at that plant I suggest this article from the BBC.

Holy Week During a Pandemic

It’s Good Friday, and I can’t help thinking that maybe we should be looking at things from a little different perspective this year.

Year after year we come back to the story of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, and year after year we are pulled into the familiar dramatic story, and our focus is on all the usual players, Jesus, the religious authorities, Pilate, and Herod.

Perhaps this year we might want to change our focus.

The Apostles and others have been swept up in this new thing and everything seemed to be going well. Their leader was getting a lot of attention. The reviews were good.

It’s good to get in on the ground floor of the next big thing.

Sure, he attacked the money changers in the temple and has confronted a lot of authorities about things this week. That was worrying at the time, but he seems to have come through that bigger and stronger than before.

Thursday night they had a nice meal for the inner circle. He said some things that they did really understand. Some of them sounded kind of ominous, but he could be like that. Give it a little time. He would keep explaining it different ways until they got it. That's how it always was.

What’s better after a big meal than to take a walk over to the park and just hang out for a while.

And then the bottom falls out.

He’s taken away, and out of fear they scattered. If they stayed together they were more likely to be recognized and pulled into the same terror that was about to consume their leader. The power coming after them was something they could not fight. It came out of nowhere. They couldn't protect each other, so they scattered. They were safer apart. They scattered into the night.

As Thursday night became Friday the terror continued. Alone or in twos and threes they would wander close enough to see what the terror was doing. They needed to witness what was being done to their leader. They needed to understand what might happen to them and try to figure out what it meant. But always alone, or in twos and threes. Getting too close could draw the attention of the terror, and they too could be consumed.

By late Friday afternoon, it was impossible to believe that they would ever be together again.

As this pandemic progresses, we’re all forced to keep our distance so that it doesn’t consume us, our family, our friends, and our communities. We want to gather together and feel the warmth and safety that brings when we’re scared. But this time, that might make the terror notice and come for us.

And like the Apostles so long ago, it can be hard to believe that soon, we’ll all gather together again, the world will change, and a whole new journey will begin.