Quincy Quarry Weekly Fish Wrap: Football Happens …

– News covered by Quincy Quarry News with commentary added.

Game plan? What game plan?
An old Columbia Pictures image

Quincy Quarry Weekly Fish Wrap: Football happens …

For those among the overgrowing legions of Quincy Quarry readers who pay attention, the Weekly Fish Wrap contact manager errantly resent the November 19 newsletter on November 26.

Why offering no excuse, the reason for this Q-up was that the football bacchanal that is also Thanksgiving Day distracted the Quarry staffer tasked with writing the Fish Wrap for last week.

In turn, though absent new content, the Quincy Quarry social media bot automatically reran the previously posted content.

In any event, the long ongoing primary local concern continues to be of concern even if Quincy Mayor Thomas P. Koch has arguably been ducking it of late.

The Grim Reaper is back …
Image via buzz-caribbean.com

The concern: how Quincy has not only crossed well into Yellow Zone COVID-19 risk status, Quincy is now also both well into the upper end of the Yellow Zone.

And even more troubling is how if current trends continue at but roughly half of the recent rates of weekly increases, Quincy will all but assuredly flip into Red Zone risk status in coming weeks.

In fact, Quincy could well be be at best but a razor’s edge away Red Zone status – if not in it – as soon as next week as well as all but assuredly would be red flagged if Quincy suffers a pandemic spike on top of the current ongoing spike if too many locals did not heed the call to engage in duly moderated Thanksgiving gatherings.

In the meanwhile, however, Quincy Mayor Thomas P. Koch took a couple of weeks off from his now but sorta/kinda weekly COVID-19 YouTube updates posted on the City of Quincy website.  At the time of publication, Quincy Quarry had no knowledge of the reason for the mayor’s hiatus; however, one would like to think that he had the good sense to not go on a Thanksgiving vacay to Aruba.

In any event, when Mayor Koch finally did post a new YouTube COVID-19 update, he did so on Wednesday this week and thus a day before the release of this week’s troubling Massachusetts Department of Public Health weekly COVID-19 update yesterday.

That and during his latest video, the mayor mostly talked up how Quincy is doing somewhat less badly than statewide averages, surrounding communities and some points of comparison across the county.

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So much for also mentioning that Quincy is well into the Yellow Zone …
Massachusetts Department of Public Health graphic

Granted, while these statements were probably true technically when his latest video recorded even if at least some were arguably cherry-picked partial truths, at no point did Mayor Koch verbally acknowledge the verity that Quincy crossed into Yellow Zone risk status, that it did so right after his last COVID-19 update video two weeks ago, much less acknowledge the fact that Quincy is now well into the Yellow Zone to a point verging on Red Zone status.

Instead, during the latest video a graphic was briefly flashed that noted to those who are paying attention that Quincy is now well into Yellow Zone risk status as well as that local risk is continuing to worsen. 

Further problematic in particular, Mayor Koch noted that Quincy was doing better than surrounding communities.

Per the state’s weekly COVID-19 report released the next day, however, Quincy’s infection statistics are worse than Weymouth’s as well as that Quincy is currently closer to Red Zone status per the combined metrics COVID-19 risk rating measurement protocol than Braintree, Boston or Milton.

In short, timing is everything …

Further, given a knowing assessment of recent trends, one can only reasonably opine that local COVID-19 infection rates will continue to rise – if not also soar – given Thanksgiving gathering fueled infections and perhaps even more care of upcoming traditional winter time festivities.

Granted, as well as understandably, cabin fever is taking a toll, but it is not fatal unless someone snaps.

The worst day fishing beats the best day working remotely
Image via pixnio.com

Plus, one can opt to take some of the edge off by cleaning up fall leaves, clearing early in the season yard winter kill, shop online for Christmas, get a head start on spring cleaning for those who need a head start or just opt for a little relaxing and socially distant fishing.

After all, ignoring the reality of COVID-19 and/or failing to abide by proven pandemic avoidance best practices are unarguably bad ideas.

Further, even though vaccines are looking to soon be approved, such will only then begin a surely many months long process of vaccinating everyone who wants to be vaccinated.

Dude: it will only take but a pin prick to protect humanity from the scourge of COVID-19
Image via freepik.com

And even more worrisome, a recent statewide poll found that a bit less than 60% of Massachusetts residents were planning to be vaccinated whereas 22% were definitely planning on not being vaccinated and another 16% were unlikely to opt for vaccination.

To develop herd immunity, however, somewhere between 80% and 95% of the population needs to have either post infection immunity or have been vaccinated.

In other words, fasten your seat belts Quincy as even more bumpy road surely lies ahead.

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