August 7th

CURRENT WEATHER

3:07 PM

88°F

RealFeel® 96°

RealFeel Shade™ 87°

Sunny

I found out the package I sent to Elysha had the wrong address - off by one number. I had it saved in my list of Amazon Addresses as 906, and, naturally, it's 905. So I chatted with 2 people and they called to make sure they had the right address. So I hope she gets it. I've corrected it in the list. It's not as much trouble as when I got the wrong number for a package I sent to Jenni and talked to all the guys at the Scottsburg Post Office. Jenni called for money again, naturally. I looked at my records for Dr. Leslie and it said I was from Louisiana. I sent a note correcting that. It's been a long day already. The Coronavirus is making a comeback - the Delta variant. Super-spreader events all over, as well.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

Story from the Star Ledger

New Jersey on Friday reported another 1,249 confirmed COVID-19 cases and seven more confirmed deaths as more than 600 people were hospitalized for the virus for the first time in more than two months. The Garden State’s seven-day average for newly confirmed COVID-19 cases increased to 1,109, up 36% from a week ago and 423% from a month ago. That’s the highest average since May 10, when cases were steadily declining. The average has increased for 32 straight days as the highly transmissible delta variant continues to spread. There were 619 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 or suspected cases across New Jersey’s 71 hospitals as of Thursday night — 20 more than the previous night and the most since May 26. Hospitalizations have more than doubled in the last month, though remain well below the more than 3,000 patients at the height of the pandemic’s second wave in November. Hospital officials say they have been able to handle the uptick so far. Of those hospitalized Wednesday, 105 were in intensive care (eight more than the night before), with 48 on ventilators (10 more). There were 78 patients discharged and 76 admitted. New Jersey’s statewide transmission rate was 1.37 for the third straight day. Any number over 1 indicates that each new case is leading to more than one additional case and shows the state’s outbreak is expanding. The statewide positivity rate for tests conducted last Saturday, the most recent day available, was 5.43%, according to the state dashboard. The Delta variant accounted for 84% of the state’s new cases in the most recent four-week sampling ending July 17. Hospitalizations and deaths have not risen anywhere near the pandemic’s peaks in New Jersey, which officials say is due in large part to the state’s relatively high vaccination rate. Vaccinated people can still catch the virus, and officials have noted there’s a nationwide trend of increasing “breakthrough” cases among those who are fully inoculated. But they stress vaccines are highly effective at preventing hospitalization and death, even against the delta variant.