****************
COVID US News One Year Ago Flashback
March 4, 2020
***************************
There are now 158 cases of novel coronavirus in US

Coronavirus cases confirmed on another cruise ship. The ship under investigation, the Grand Princess, is getting ready to dock in San Francisco after a “small cluster” of coronavirus cases were traced back to the ship’s previous voyage, according to a statement from Princess Cruises.

A coronavirus vaccine won’t be widely available for a long time, several top pharmaceutical executives said Wednesday. Early stage clinical trials likely won’t start until the end of the year or in 2021, they said, cautioning that vaccines for previous viral outbreaks, such as SARS and Zika, never made it “over the finish line.”

California governor declares state of emergency over coronavirus.

Health officials in New Zealand have confirmed a third case of the novel coronavirus. (Again, mentioned mainly because I was supposed to be in New Zealand on this same date 2020. Concerned about the unknowns of travel because of the new coronavirus was spreading rapidly, I cancelled.)

***************************
Forward to the Present Time US COVID News
Updated March 4, 2021


There are now “28,580,198 cases of novel coronavirus in US.” CDC statistics
That is over 28 ½ MILLION More COVID cases than on the same day one year ago.

Cruise Critic News: “Cruise lines have temporarily suspended operations worldwide and altered future sailings globally as the coronavirus pandemic continues to grip the world. The U.S. State Department has a Global Level 4 "do not travel" health advisory for travel abroad. Australia and New Zealand have shut their borders, with this year's cruise season cancelled for most lines.”

Far Better than Imagined a Year Ago
**********************
A year ago today, there was high doubt that a coronavirus vaccine could be developed and into arms before the end of 2022. However, as we now stand this week, the USA has 3 different COVID vaccines going into people's arms to help in the battle against the virus.

“Covid-19 Live Updates: U.S. Vaccination Pace Increases to 2 Million Doses a Day” New York Times.

“There’s still a way to go in vaccinating seniors, a group that accounts for 81 percent of all coronavirus deaths in the United States. About half of seniors have yet to receive a single shot of a coronavirus vaccine.” Washington Post

“More Catholic bishops weighed in Wednesday on the morality of coronavirus vaccines, offering at times conflicting guidance to the nation’s 50 million Catholics. Some have urged them to take any available vaccine, while others said they should avoid the newly approved Johnson & Johnson shot because it was made using abortion-derived cells.”

Interesting follow up
***********************
New Zealand Ministry of Health Media release 04 March 2021
“There are no new COVID-19 cases to report in the community. There are 6 new COVID-19 cases to report (traveler from other countries) in managed isolation. *These people arrived on the same flight and are part of the same travel bubble. The total number of active cases in New Zealand is 68. Our total number of confirmed cases is 2,033.”

With strict border arrival policies, infection isolation, nationwide preventative measures and tracing, New Zealand is obviously has faired a whole lot better than the USA during this past year.

New Zealand has had 478 cases per 1 Million in Population
and 5 deaths per 1 Million

The USA has had 14, 320 cases per 1 Million in Population
and 1,606 deaths per 1 Million

****************

About the Photograph:

One of my House Plants that survived the February Artic Blast.
It was small enough to bring into the main part of the house during the time that the Solar Room dropped below 40 degrees.

“Kalanchoe tomentosa grows wild on the island of Madagascar. As an indoor plant, however, panda plant growth is limited by the size of the container, usually reaching only 1 to 2 feet in height and 2 feet around. Further information on growing Kalanchoe panda plants says the velvety appearance of the leaves is created by hairs that spring up in trichomes, deflecting light and limiting transpiration. Brownish red markings on leaf edges, along with the white-silvery hairs, are similar to the fur of a panda bear. Tomentosa means densely woolly or velvety.”

Read more at Gardening Know How: Panda Plant Care – How To Grow a Panda Plant Indoors https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/kalanchoe/indoor-panda-plant-care.htm