'Tis "Fair Day" in the county, all schools off for the day so as to attend the maskless, throng-ridden multi-day superspreader event of goats and pigs and the “raising one of Ohio's largest flags," and "a ton of things on display like art and produce" (these being excerpts from the local paper – a paper where my father used to be the photographer and where my love of the smell of a darkroom and typewriters was inculcated – which has, in recent years, become a metastasized cancer of poor editing, conservative ideology, and nostalgic, red-hat resentment for a time that existed only in the shitty local art on display in tourist trap hellholes).

Another favorite story, from last week: while I can't recall the headline, it was a lament over the lack of people willing to volunteer to man entrances and booths at the fair, told in that same "dignity of work" bollox-style of faux-outraged tone-deafness with which they bemoan the lack of people willing to work at area restaurants for shit wages and shittier benefits.

Thought it might be fun to include the COVID numbers reported for the area – and my wife's school building – every so often.

From the county's health department, from 29aug-04 sep: 469 new cases, up from 346 the week before and the seventh week in a row of an upwards trend, with a total to date of 10,659 in a county whose population is, as of 2019, 115,070 and where less than 50% of the residents eligible for vaccination are jabbed. There have been 500 hospitalizations and 230 deaths since the pandemic began; four hospitalizations (down from six) in the latest report, and zero deaths, (down from two). Test positivity rate is 13.23%, up from 12.64% the previous week.
For my wife's (mask-mandated) school: last updated 02sep (in spite of saying they will update the graphic weekly): 12 active cases, with one staff member and eleven students (lunchtime fun-fection) in various states of infection.

Reports over the next few weeks should be fun. The day awaits. `