Covid Chaos: A Scientist Has Figured Out Why Zoom Calls Feel So Exhausting

Here’s a fresh round-up of Covid insanity . . .

1.  A scientist at Stanford University has a new theory about why Zoom calls feel so EXHAUSTING.  Basically, it’s because they’re too intimate, so they’re triggering the parts of our brain that make us want to either FIGHT or MATE.  And that’s stressful.

Quote, “On Zoom, behavior ordinarily reserved for close relationships, such as long stretches of direct eye gaze and faces seen close up, has suddenly become the way we interact with casual acquaintances, coworkers, and even strangers.”

2.  There’s a video going around from a grocery store in Cape Town, South Africa where an employee tells a woman to put on a mask . . . so the woman reaches up her dress, pulls off her thong, and puts it over her face.

3.  A new study ranked indoor activities by how risky they are for spreading Covid.  Going to the theater, opera, or museum with limited attendance, and everyone wearing masks, leads to the lowest spread.  Going to an office or school without a mask was the riskiest thing in the study.

4.  Wenatchee High School’s band is making national news for the wrong reason. They’re having everyone practice inside their own closed tents to stay Covid-safe.

5.  Some U.S. diplomats say they were required to get RECTAL Covid tests when they arrived in China this week.  China is denying it . . . but the U.S. State Department says China told them it was a mistake.

6.  61% of people say they’re less close with their friends than they were before the pandemic.  And 18% of people say they’ve lost close friends over the past year.

7.  Weddings and party centers can open again in New York on March 15th, and the state has set rules for them . . . like everyone gets a “dance zone” that’s six feet from other people.

8.  Here are the updated stats on CONFIRMED Covid cases as of last night . . .

New daily cases in the U.S.:  77,377, with 2,414 new deaths.

Total cases in the U.S.:  29 million . . . with more than 520,000 deaths . . . and more than 19.4 million who’ve now recovered.

Total cases worldwide:  113.5 million . . . with more than 2.5 million deaths . . . and more than 89.1 million people who’ve beaten the virus globally.