My last update on COVID was for statistics as of August 5th. Today marks day 102 of Safer at Home and day 159 of overall restrictions. The number of cases continues to be grim. To date, North Carolina has had 167,000 cases and 2,721 deaths. In the United States there have been 6.1 million cases and 183,000 deaths. Worldwide there have been 25.1 million cases and 844,000 deaths. The heat certainly does not seem to be a deterrent to the virus.
We personally do not know of any friends or family members who have contracted the virus. We know of people, of course, but no one in our close circles. Knock on wood, there have been no reported cases of anyone living in our Imagery community either. We continue to live in a bubble here, and know that it can burst at any point in time. A local sister community of ours recently held a golf tournament and post-party, and they now have quite a few cases of the virus.
As schools and universities have resumed classes, hotspots of cases have been reported. It is expected that many schools will close and go back to virtual learning. We have a number of college-aged kids living in our community right now due to COVID. As this is a 55+ development, we can only hope these kids remain diligent about wearing masks and social distancing so as not to compromise our higher risk population. It is a tough situation for everyone.
In other news, today I did something that makes me feel like an old person. I registered for Medicare, which I will be eligible for soon. While the online registration process was quite easy, going through the materials to determine which plan is best for me is confusing - even for someone who is reasonably intelligent and worked in insurance for 15 years. It pretty much comes down to your risk tolerance level. Do you want to pay more each month so that you pay less out of pocket in the event of a claim or claims? Or do you want to pay less each month and gamble that you won't need any procedures? And by the way, option number 2 allows you to receive dental, vision and hearing benefits as well as a free gym membership in many areas. I am working with a Medicare specialist to help me understand the best route for me in light of my health history, anticipated procedures (none) and medications (none).
To keep me grounded, our long-awaited community pool finally opened for the first time this weekend, and that seemed somewhat normal. And the ever-changing clouds over the lake behind our house is a constant source of wonder to me.
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