December 31, 2020
Usually the end of a year can be bittersweet, but I think that most of us can agree that there is very little sweetness in the passing of 2020.
That being said, we continue to be honored by the wide range of contributions that come to NDQ each week and the trust that our contributors have in us when they send us their work. As we have done for the last few years, we’re going to close submission to poetry and non-fiction tonight at midnight to give our poetry and non-fiction editors a chance to catch up and to have some much deserved rest. Our tireless fiction editor will continue to read your work.
“I feel like someone at war, it’s chaotic all the time.”
“Nurses do this because it’s their life’s work. But many are reaching their breaking point.”
“People’s lives are on the line,” she said. “We’re taking more patients, we’re working more shifts, sometimes 24 hours at a time. But we can’t give 100% to everyone.”
California surge and stay-at-home order
California continues to face a widespread surge of the novel coronavirus. In fact, officials recently told The Los Angeles Times that Southern California has 0% capacity in its intensive care unit beds, causing widespread concern about how health officials will care for sick patients.
►South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has tested positive for COVID-19, days after his wife, Peggy, was confirmed infected. Both tested negative eight days ago before attending a White House party. Gov. McMaster, 73, has mild symptoms with a cough and slight fatigue and will isolate for 10 days and be monitored for additional symptoms.
►Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, gave two thumbs-up after being vaccinated Tuesday. I want to encourage everyone who has the opportunity to get vaccinated so that we can have a veil of protection over this country that will end this pandemic, Fauci said.
SAN FRANCISCO – These are scenes from a battlefield. Full intensive care units. Doctors and nurses working for hours without sleep. Waves of patients dying.
Across California, a post-Thanksgiving COVID-19 spike is ravaging cities and counties that once had been models for how to keep coronavirus cases low. To date, the state has logged 1.9 million cases and 22,000 deaths, with new records seemingly set daily. I feel like someone at war; it s chaotic all the time, said Erin McIntosh, 38, a mother of four who works as a rapid response nurse at Riverside Community Hospital southeast of Los Angeles. She said the National Guard is scheduled to help with care soon.