It has been 659 days since we began quarantining and working at home because of Coronavirus, and more or less, we still are. It has been 736 days (~2 years) since Coronavirus was first discovered in China.

And, unbelievably, we’re seeing some of the highest numbers ever this week. On Monday, more than 1,000,000 new cases were reported in the United States. A million! The graphs are staggering. New York state is literally off the chart!

The Omicron variant, which reared its ugly head in November, is now 95% of cases. Testing has been overwhelmed and we haven’t been able to get a test since Thanksgiving, so we’re not sure if we’ve had it, but it seems like everyone has. People at work are getting taken out left and right; what little return-to-office that was accomplished in the Fall has been reversed.

We never stopped wearing masks in public places, and I’ve only been out once to eat at a restaurant since March 2020. We decided to travel to Thanksgiving and Christmas this year in York, PA, because we were quarantining last holiday (and there was no vaccine then) but now we’re hearing of relatives there who have come down with it.

The only good thing this time around is that we’re all vaccinated (twice, and boosted) and Omicron is showing less severe symptoms. And so are 62% of the nation. Nonetheless, some hospitals are overwhelmed. Nationally, schools and businesses are closing again and emergency services are coming up short.

Google Trends shows what we’ve been through in the last year: The initial waves of COVID-19, then the Delta Variant, and now, Omicron.