Keep Your Eyes Peeled—But Beware If They Feel ‘Itchy’
Adapting to a crisis requires a good sense for what’s really happening in order to respond properly. As we saw early in the pandemic, sometimes that requires a “best guess” approach, but with experience—and an accurate picture of the situation—we can “adapt and overcome,” as the saying goes.
A new strain, called “Arcturus” (officially XBB.1.16) is spreading rapidly in India, which reported 13 times as many documented cases in mid-April as in March—more than 10,000 per day. The threat is real enough that the country launched drills to test hospitals’ ability to handle a new influx of patients and some of India’s states restored masking guidance.
As happened with other variants, Arcturus moved west with maybe 100 cases reported so far in the U.K. The “maybe” is because, unfortunately, the U.K. Office for National Statistics published its last report on the virus March 24. An Oxford University professor who studies the evolution of viruses, Aris Katzourakis, said that without regular reporting, the U.K. would be “fighting blind.” For now, many are turning to data collected by King’s College in London.
Based on previous experience, it won’t be long before Arcturus starts making people sick on this side of the Atlantic, just as the administrative end of the public health emergency arrives in May. So far, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention promise that they will continue providing COVID-19 information, critical for those of us working to keep it in check.
It’s import that we keep our eyes open. We suffered enough needless deaths when the misinformed told us back in 2020 that COVID-19 was “just the flu.”
Did You Know?
Along with the typical symptoms of fever and a cough, people infected with the Arcturus strain of coronavirus also report suffering from “itchy” conjunctivitis or “pinkeye.”
COVID-19 BY THE NUMBERS: In the U.S., 1,160 people died from a coronavirus infection during the week that ended April 24, per the CDC. The percentage of Americans who received an updated booster remained unchanged at 16.7% of eligible people.
Amanda Schleede is founder and CEO of Attend Safe, which helps people to attend to life with sensible safety protocols. Visit Attend Safe online at AttendSafe.com.