Blue Planet Journey

Patrons at Papa Murphy's pizza shop unconcerned about transmitting covid-19 to the workers and other customers. Governor Herbert’s color-coded health guidance system now has Box Elder, Cache, and Rich Counties in the “yellow” or low risk phase. We know this comes as a relief to many, because it means we “flattened the curve” and avoided overwhelming our local health care system with sick COVID-19 patients. Utah's health guidance system This outcome came at a terrible cost for many individuals and businesses. Our routines were uprooted, people lost their incomes, businesses suffered major losses, and travel plans were postponed. And people have suffered. This week, we exceeded 100,000 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there have been over 1,700,000 cases, with over 8,800 in Utah. Some cases involved hospitalization, but most people have stayed home with fever or chills, a cough, shortness of breath or difficulty brea...

Caroline on the Royal Promenade, Deck 5, Allure of the Seas .  At double occupancy, the  Allure  has a capacity of 5,484 guests, plus 2,200 crew. This was an interesting time to be on a cruise ship.  Caroline and I had left the Celebrity Edge for the Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas in January.  On January 11 , China reported the first coronavirus ( COVID-19 ) fatality.  On January 23, Chinese authorities closed off the metropolis of Wuhan, reporting 17 deaths and 570 cases.  On January 31, the Trump administration suspended entry from any foreign traveler who had traveled to China in the past 14 days.  On this date, 213 deaths had been reported and about 9,800 people were reported infected.  On February 5th, crew and guests on the cruise ship Diamond Princess were quarantined in a Japanese port.  On February 21, the number of worldwide cases topped 75,000. After spending much of January on cruise ships with a very large ...