November COVID Update - 10K Deaths in Wisconsin

 As of November 2021, Wisconsin is reporting over 10,000 deaths from the COVID pandemic. That is equivalent to the population of my hometown of Marinette. Minnesota is reporting 9600 and will reach the 10k milestone before the end of the year. Compared to States with larger populations, that may seem like a small number. California and Texas report over 74,000 deaths each. Wisconsin is also reporting 986K total cases. With an average of 3200 new cases per day, Wisconsin will reach one million cases within a week. Wisconsin and Minnesota are similar in size with populations of just under 6 million. That means that 1 in every 6 people you see has had COVID in the past 2 years.

Now, there is yet another strain of the virus that we have to worry about. As more people get sick and the vaccine loses its edge, it is unavoidable that we will see more strains appearing next year. They are using the Greek alphabet to name the mutations. The latest one is Omicron, which means they only have nine Greek letters left before they have to come up with a different naming convention. Every few months we hear about a new strain of the virus, which is more contagious than the last. Well, this isn't entirely true. There have been eight variations after the Delta strain that we never heard about. Mainly, because there wasn't a significant mutation like they found in the Omicron variant. They also skipped over Nu and Xi and went straight to Omicron.

The stock market has reflected the uncertainty by dropping by about 6% in the past month. One day the DOW drops by 600 points and the next it gains 300 points. The market is now back to where it was in September. My investments are down about 2.3% from the high point on November 8th, 2021. It's a little early to calculate year end results. The market could drop another 6% before the end of the year, if the latest virus strain takes hold and they decide to implement lockdowns. This might slow inflation but would be a major setback for the economy. Meanwhile, State governors have started using the National Guard to help alleviate staffing shortages at hospitals and care facilities. Hospitals across the country report that they’re at or near capacity, with intensive care and pediatric beds in short supply.