As Covid 19 put the nation on hold, it put on-sale dates on hold as well. Credible Threat, the new Ali Reynolds book, was due in stores first in March then in April. Eventually it was moved to June 2. Moving that book’s pub date caused a change in the due date for the next Joanna Brady book as well. Missing and Endangered is now due out on February 16 of 2021. Bookstores in your area may not yet be able to welcome in-house customers, but they can do sales with curbside pickup. Bookstores have been terribly hard-hit by the lockdowns, so please call or send your on-line orders. I don’t want to live in a world without bookstores, and neither do you.
Bookmarks are available. They’re a slightly different format since my publisher did them in advance of the Tucson Festival of Books which was, of course, cancelled. Self-addressed, stamped envelopes requesting autographed bookmarks should be sent to:
J.A. Jance
P.O. Box 766
Bellevue, WA 98009.
As I’ve said before, this is my newsletter. It’s primarily to let people know about books, but it’s also a way of letting my readers meet the woman behind the words. So today I’d like to talk about Memorial Day and about remembering my son-in-law, Jon Jance. (Yes, he was my son-in-law, but he took my daughter’s name when they married.)
First and foremost, Jon was a great guy. He served two tours of duty with the Marine Corps during Desert Storm. After leaving the Corps, he went back home to Tucson. For a while he did house painting for a living, but what he really wanted was a career in electronics. One way of achieving that goal was to join the Coast Guard where he would be given the exact kind of training he wanted. He was stationed in California waiting for the next opening in the school when two things happened to him. For one, he reconnected with my daughter, Jeanne T., then shortly after they started dating, Jon was diagnosed with malignant melanoma and given a five-year survival timeline. Knowing that, he tried to break up with Jeanne T., but she told him he was too late and together they embarked on a nine-year battle with the Big C. They got engaged and got married in one of the loveliest weddings I have ever attended. It was when the minister introduced the newly married couple as Mr. and Mrs. Jon Jance that we first learned about Jon’s changing his name to hers.
After being told they would never have kids due to Jon’s early treatment with Interferon, they decided their kids would be golden retrievers. With Kensie and Angel in tow, they bought a small house in Redmond and got on with their lives. Other than having melanoma, Jon was a healthy young man, and he signed up for every cancer-fighting protocol that came along. He was patient number six in Dr. Yee’s pioneering T-cell protocol, a form of treatment that is now giving hope to melanoma patients when they otherwise would have had a death sentence.
Dr. Yee’s treatment provided Jon two years of fairly good quality of life. It also gave us our grandson, Colt, who was nine months old when we lost his father. Jon was active-duty Coast Guard until three months before his death, and he’s buried at the Coast Guard’s Douglas A. Munro Cemetery in Cle Elum, Washington. For the past thirteen years Colt and Jeanne T. have faithfully trekked over the mountains to the Memorial Day celebration where they’ve been able to meet with some of the Vietnam Vets who delivered the 21-gun salute during Jon’s graveside ceremony. One especially, a guy named Steve, always seeks Colt out just to visit.
When Colt hit fourth grade and could sign up for band, he opted for trumpet and asked the music teacher if he could learn Amazing Grace so he could play it for his dad on Memorial Day. The teacher told Jeanne T. that in forty years of teaching band no one had ever asked him for that before, but he certainly delivered. That year, as Jeanne T. and Colt were driving their dogs to Doggie Day Care, the DJs on their favorite radio station asked what people were doing in honor of Memorial Day. With his mom at the wheel, Colt is the vehicle’s communications officer. As such, he dialed the station’s number and told them that he’d be going to the cemetery to play Amazing Grace for his dad. The DJs quickly went to an unscheduled commercial break. They asked if he would come in and play Amazing Grace for them to broadcast live. He did, and they did. It was very much a beginning trumpet player’s rendition of the song, but there wasn’t a dry eye in the house or from anyone who heard it.
Now it’s four years later. Colt is in the 8th grade. He’s also been in jazz band where he plays both trumpet and euphonium. Shortly before the lockdown, he played in the Lake Washington School District’s Honor’s Band concert. Now, of course, the year’s last concert is off the calendar as is Colt’s 8th grade graduation. I’ve asked him to record Amazing Grace: Colt’s Trumpet Solo.
This week I learned that the Boy Scouts are now being forbidden to plant flags at our nation’s armed services cemeteries this year due to Covid 19. When I mentioned that to Jeanne T., her somewhat acerbic reply was: “How come? They’re already dead!” The annual official ceremony has, of course, been cancelled. “Non-essential travel” is still banned in Washington State, but Jeanne T. and Colt will be going to Cle Elum anyway. If Amazing Grace gets played there this year, it will be because Colt Jance is there honoring his father and all those other Coasties as well–guys and gals who went to their graves knowing that freedom isn’t free.
And if Jeanne T. and Colt get packed off to jail for their trouble, believe me, I’ll be standing ready to post their bail!
One further note. My husband is eighty-years old with underlying conditions. I’m no spring chicken at 75. We’re smart enough to know that we need to limit our social interactions and be responsible for our own health and well being. We started doing so long before the lockdown was ordered, and we’ll probably continue to take precautions long after it is lifted. And there are plenty of others in our demographic who should and most likely will continue to do the same. As my sainted mother, Evie Busk, would say: “Whoever you are you know who you are!” But I’m offended by the mass-hysteria that insists we need to destroy the world in order to save it.
In other words, I’m tired of the lockdown-everything mentality which is playing such havoc with all aspects of life. We did what we were supposed to when asked to do so. We stayed home. We flattened the curve, but now lockdown partisans are busy moving the goalposts for easing restrictions first from increasing testing availability to creating a vaccine to now to having a total cure. Enough already! How about inserting a little common sense into the process? If putting a loved one in a nursing home is going to be an automatic death sentence, then let’s fix that, because I’m pretty sure we can.
And then let’s all get back to being free—free to attend church or to have our hair cut or to go bowling. All those folks in all those un-flagged graves died so we could do just that. It’s time.
I have no doubt that there are a few of my readers out there who will strongly disagree with me on all this, and that’s certainly their right. We all have a right to state our opinions—and disagreeing without being disagreeable is always a good idea. But for those of you who have now, based on what I’ve just written, decided it’s time to write me off and never read another of my books, I’d like to close with a poem from Ted Malone’s Scrapbook, something I learned in 1962
Knowing you, darling’s been slightly swell—
A little of heaven, a little of hell,
A piece of paradise that didn’t jell,
So goodbye, you lug, it’s been slightly swell.
PS: Click here for: A Credible Threat Chat on YouTube.
I would just love to send a pat on the back to your grandson for being the true American hero that he is. I would love to thank you for your honesty in all your messages whether anyone agrees or disagrees. Our freedom has been fought and paid for. Going to church shouldn’t mean being arrested. Taking your child to the park shouldn’t be grounds for punishment. Going to work sure as hell shouldn’t be a second thought for men, women, teenagers that are trying to survive. To feed their kids and cover the roof above them. Time to stand up, salute our protectors and all first responders and go back to life. Common sense dictates what you know you personally need. Listen to it. Go forth!
Thank you for that informative post. I enjoy knowing more about your family’s story. Jeanne T , Jon and Colt continue to amaze me. Colt is an amazing young man. Obviously strong people in your family. I agree that we must reopen our world somehow. I will also take responsibility for my own safety . Common sense tells us how to do this. I see Colt in my mind, showing respect to his dad and the others buried around him. You raised a warrior while raising Jeanne T. If anyone stops reading your books and posts that will be their loss. For me, Credible Threat is pre-ordered and I look forward to reading the book soon.
I would have loved to listen to Colt’s rendition of Amazing Grace. Unfortunatelt, it is marked private. I will be placing flags on graves Monday.
Dear Carla, thank you for letting me know that the video wasn’t public. Please try again, the I.T. Gal has fixed it.
Colt’s rendition of Amazing Grace is live now. Thanks to your I.T.Gal.
Please try playing the link again. My IT gal has been on the job!
What a beautiful story about Jon! As a music teacher, my heart was so touched by his desire to learn Amazing Grace! I tried to play the link but it wouldn’t play. An error said it was private. My husband was Coast Guard also! We too are home social distancing especially since he has COPD and 72. Here, in Arizona, things have re opened but people are not wearing masks much now and hundreds have swarmed up here in the mountains leaving me a bit concerned. Anyway, many blessings to you both!!!
We too are in Arizona and it appears the gates to and from California opened up and everyone escaped to Arizona! I hope you and your family stay safe and healthy.
Dear JA Jance, I’m still following your blog with great love in my heart for you and your beautiful family! I was so touched by the story of Colt playing Amazing Grace. God bless his precious soul! We need more champions with the “Lion heart” like his (and yours) 🙂 I agree with your assessment: that we need to get the country opened up again and be brave enough to get out there and “live our lives” May God bless you and yours. After watching your YouTube video about Credible Threat I plan to go buy a copy! (sounds very interesting) Yours truly in love-of-reading, Suzann Wimer, Westminster, CO
We went to the Coast Guard Museum in Washington last fall. It was truly worth seeing. We live inland so we had no idea what they did. I’m so sorry for your loss. I can’t wait for the next book to come out. I will get it on my kindle so I can read it the day it comes out. I, too, am trying to social distance. No deaths in our community, but people aren’t really taking it very seriously. I went to Lewiston yesterday and few were wearing masks. I hope it doesn’t flair it’s ugly head here.
I never tire of hearing about Jon. Colt continues to Amaze. If the trip to Cle Elum isn’t ‘essential travel’, then NOTHING is.
Best to you and Bill.
Why exactly is planting flags at veteran’s graves banned? First of all, you are outside which has a much lower chance of transmission. Second of all, you can easily do it with standard social distancing in place. Finally, I promise you the dead are not going to get any deader. I just do not understand the paranoia and control that has taken place in the name of safety. If I was in the area and your grandson was going to play Amazing Grace at the cemetery, I would be glad to go and listen. I am sure it would be a moving ceremony. On a side note I thought I was going crazy thinking that your books were coming out at different times. Glad to know I wasn’t going crazy and the dates had simply been changed.
Thanks for being! Thanks to you daughter and son in law for taking the chance and being given the treasure of their son – who honors all of you. Awesome young man.
I also feel like you and at same age, I think we all know how to take care of ourselves and others. Never give away your personal control. Best of everything to all.
Wonderful reading this morning! Jeanne was raised by strong parents and in turn is raising a strong son.
I’m glad we’re moving this country to reopening. Does that mean I’m going out and grab a stranger and kiss them? Hell, no! Common sense prevails. I go into the grocery stores with a list, stay 6′ distant most times (can’t when passing a browser) and get out. Usually completed in under 10 minutes. I take walks and work in my yard without masks. My dental hygienist is very concerned about wearing masks all day and breathing in carbon dioxide! I’m grateful for being healthy.
I’m looking forward to reading your new books!
Wonderful story. We here in South Dakota have not been suffering the trials others have been subjected to. Sure glad I settled here. We drove 50 miles the other evening for our first sit down meal since leaving AZ.
Stay healthy.
bill johnston
What a wonderful tribute to Colt’s Dad. An amazing young man who will make great contributions to the world I’m sure.
Looking forward to your book and hoping it gets out sooner than later. I think I’ve re-read almost all of your books during this lockdown season. Love them all.
Colt is a terrific kid. So handsome and respectful in this suit!
Colt’s rendition of Amazing Grace was beautiful! Thank you for sharing.
I also enjoyed you talking about your new book Credible Threat. Thank you for that also!
Have a Blessed Memorial Day!
I agree with all you said about Covid 19 and the country’s reaction to it. I agree that the shut down was necessary to flatten the curve, but the curve was flattened and now it’s time to get on with life. Possibly with a few more alterations, but let’s get on with it. As for Colt’s Amazing Grace, it’s absolutely beautiful. Please give him a hug from me, a stranger. My father was in the Coast Guard during WWII and is buried in Tacoma National Cemetery. Also, the Skagit Valley Herald published a photo this morning of flags marking veterans’ graves in Mt. Vernon. (Page A3)
I loved Colt’s rendition of “Amazing Grace.” What an absolutely wonderful tribute to his dad. Thanks for sharing it. I wish I had been able to play the trombone that well when I was in 8th. grade.
I agree with you totally! Also such a moving story. You are so inspiring. Thank you. Looking forward to the books!
I didn’t know the graves wouldn’t get flagged. Well, I know now what I’m doing tomorrow for my father and those around him. I’ve got several of the small flags to put out. I’ll wear my mask in case there’s anyone walking around!
and I might bookmark Cole’s video on my phone and play it while I’m there.
thank you for sharing.
I just watched and listened to Colt. Amazing tribute to his dad, Jon. Thank you for sharing this with us. In a world where our youth are too often shown negatively Colt shines bright. I feel he is a great example of our future. Jeanne T is doing a wonderful job raising their son.
I love your books and all of your characters. I really don’t like to even call them ” characters “. I think of them as “friends”. I have often thought, and said, “Most of my friends are fictional.” In your You Tube video about Credible Threat I could see you also regard them as not only friends, but family.
I also agree with your assessment of the Covid situation. We cannot continue to destroy our country with the cure! Open the country and get back to work.
( just watched Colt’s video. He is one talented young man. You (and his Mom, too) must be so proud of him..
Thank you for your weekly dose of sanity. I agree with you 150% that we need to get back to living. My mother-in-law (little Pat) is such a social butterfly and is suffering from loneliness and boredom. At 95 she is still as feisty as ever ? I look forward to reading your new books. I think I have reread all your others at least twice! Blessings to you and Bill.
Connie Miser
as always a very heartwarming story. you may have touched some political nerves. I am not sure what to believe in this divided country. we need to open, to do that we need to follow expert scientists’ advise. in absence of that its heater skelter. and don’t worry, wether I agree or disagree, I will NEVER reading your books or following your blog. I am same as as you and our generation may have been raised differently. Gos bless you and your family.
I love reading your Blogs…look for them every week! It is wonderful to get a glimpse into the private life of one of my favorite authors. What an inspiring story about Jon, Jeanne and Colt; so nice to hear that young people are also true heroes in this day and age. Also, I agree thoroughly about the lockdown. My boss is 82 years old; he never closed our office nor quit working a single day. Granted there are only 4 of us in this office spaced widely apart; but yes, it is TIME to open the doors; get businesses flourishing again and give us back our freedom. Thank you for stating your beliefs and reminding us all that having a difference of opinion is not an attack on another human being; but rather our right to freedom of speech. Bravo!
I am one who disagrees with you but I will never stop reading your books. That would be petty and I am the only one that would suffer.
There is always a common ground, which we all have to start looking for. That’s when healing will start.
This is my first time reading your blog and I’m impressed with your openness. I’ve come to know & love your daughter and grandson. Colt’s performance of Amazing Grace was God-inspired. Brought tears to my eyes and put a lump in my throat. You go Colt. Jeanne T, I will be praying for a safe trip to Cle Elum & it goes with many thanks & much respect to Jon. He would be proud of both of you.
Your blog today was wonderful to read and involves so many topics to respond to. 1st and foremost is Colt’s playing of Amazing Grace. The story of him asking his music teacher to teach him to play it was so moving. I had tears in my eyes as I read Colt’s desire. He played beautifully and was so handsome in his suit. He is truly a wonderful young man and definitely has a heart of the gold and love for a father he unfortunately does not remember in the living form. I am sure Jeanne T. keeps Jon’s memory alive for Colt.
Next, I agree it is time to open our country back up. People need to take precautions and not be stupid. I, like you and Bill was already practicing social distancing before everything was closed down. I too have medical issues that include pulmonary problems so I will not be going anywhere.
I am so glad my parents exposed me to reading at a very young age. I was riding my bicycle to the library (times were different and safer back then) when I was in the 3rd grade and I have never stopped reading. I always said that books were my friends and I have traveled the world without leaving home. My copy of Credible Threat has been on preorder so I am anxiously waiting for my delivery. Also, on that subject, I do have a tablet for reading
e-books, but there is just something different about holding a book in your hands, turning each page with anticipation that I don’t get with an electronic device. Plus, my book shelves would not look the same with a stack of flash drives instead of a true books lined up in order of author and publication.
I pray you, Bill and your family stays safe and well.
Thank for yet another uplifting blog, thank you for sharing Colt’s video, thank you for the gift of hearing your reassuring voice and seeing your video.
We fans will have another chance to remotely see and hear you courtesy of the Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale AZ on June 2nd thru Facebook. For us non-facebookers, you’re scheduled to be on YouTube starting 6/3 —
http://www.Wiyoutube.com/channel/UCTbRuLNmD8EhT4WrGGMVW-w
Looking fwd to it and thank you again for all your writings!
Hi to Bill and stay safe, Annie
PS (With their permission) Poisoned Pen’s email is sales@poisonedpen.com
ph: 888 560 9919
I thank you for sharing your amazing family. I agree we need to work on getting our world back to as close to normal as we can safely do so but not to rush headlong into wild chaos which I am seeing in my state of Texas. I will be responsible for my own actions and safety which would be simpler if by wearing a mask and social distancing protected me. Unfortunately, that’s not the way this virus works and I need to depend on others to help protect me by wearing a mask and social distancing. I’m not seeing that level of caring/concern here. Even our Lt. Governor thinks seniors are expendable. I’m younger than you and just retired at end of 2019, I will do whatever it takes to survive this pandemic. As one of my favorite authors, I will continue reading your books and this column. And, yes, credible Threat is preordered.
I thank you for sharing your amazing family. I agree we need to work on getting our world back to as close to normal as we can safely do so but not to rush headlong into wild chaos which I am seeing in my state of Texas. I will be responsible for my own actions and safety which would be simpler if by wearing a mask and social distancing protected me. Unfortunately, that’s not the way this virus works and I need to depend on others to help protect me by wearing a mask and social distancing. I’m not seeing that level of caring/concern here. Even our Lt. Governor thinks seniors are expendable. I’m younger than you and just retired at end of 2019, I will do whatever it takes to survive this pandemic. As one of my favorite authors, I will continue reading your books and this blog. And, yes, credible Threat is preordered.
Bravo to your Jeanne and Colt for going forward to honor Jon and all his fellow servicemen. I’m sure it will be the most beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace ever! It baffles me that they will not allow the flags. It’s not like those placing them would be joined at the hips. I do believe Common Sense has been totally abandoned by some people. On that note, I agree with everything you said 100%.
Thank you for another wonderful blog. I swear, I am always in tears by the end of most of them. Happy and touched tears of course.
God bless you and Bill — be safe! (And I hope you don’t have to bail Jeanne and Colt out of jail.)
Litigation! I am afraid that the cemeteries think that if one single scout gets ill that they will be held accountable for the illness. It may also be a crowd thing mandate, just like not allowing funerals. Some of those veteran’s cemeteries have way too many graves for 5 or 10 scouts to put in tribute flags.
No matter how we think about politics, ever, including in this pandemic, we have to remember that people like Jon gave us the right to be able to have that difference of opinion. Taking responsibility for yourself is paramount.
If my eyes could do it, certainly I would by buying dead tree books. That print is way too small for me. So e books it is.
Colt is such a sweetheart and as my dad used to say, he has a head that is used for more than an ornament!
Loved your blog and we are going to the cemetery to put flags on our relatives who fought in the Civil War, WW1 & 2 and Vietnam. Love this special day of remembering. I would love to hear Colt play “Amazing Grace”. When in Norway we sang that song while in a German bunker. God bless you and your family!
Thank you for this blog, and all your writing.
I’m with you on the Covid madness. We live in Alaska, but were down in Oregon when the shut down started. We delayed our trip north when Canada closed down the border. After determining that AK residents returning home was considered “essential travel” and that we would be allowed to stop at motels during the transit, we made the trip last week. At the border we had to show our masks, and were warned that we could not go into any store (or face up to a $1 million fine). At the Yukon/BC border we were given a map of the only authorized route and told we had to be out of YT within 24 hours. It was interesting that at every stop we were the only ones in masks and gloves. Once we got to AK, we had to go into quarantine for 14 days. My reward to myself – reading Sins of the the Fathers!!! We have 4 days and a wakeup before it is complete…
Enough of the madness. At the end of April our governor started opening up AK… restricting some capacity-driven things, but giving everyone hope. Today Alaska is opening up… going into phase 3 and 4 recovery simultaneously!!! He recognized that we are smart enough to know what is best for ourselves. We keep our distance because we want to, not because we are told to do it.
By the way, I thought of you and celebrated your May 8th “break out” as we passed at highway speeds through Bellvue. The pandemic made our trip a whole lot easier as there was no traffic jams in either Portland or Seattle. And we were the only car at the border crossing at Sumas… something we have never before seen.
Thank you for sharing your life and family with us! And, who cares what anyone thinks!
I am with you all the way. I have certainly learned who I want in my fox hole in case of an emergency, and it isn’t very many. Common sense went the way of the dodo bird. I can’t imagine how proud you are of Colt and how proud his dad would be. I will donate toward the bail for them if necessary. I am 77 and my life hasn’t changed all that much. I stay in my little corner of God’s Little Acre with all my critters and don’t venture out much anyway. Used to be just to go to the grocery store and book store. Now it is just the grocery store. I order all of your amazing books from Amazon. I have a love/hate relationship with your books. I love that they are so damn good I read them almost in one sitting, and I hate that I don’t have more to read the next day. Hang in there and keep writing.
Thank you.
Thank you for bringing a year to my eye with Colt’s story and watching him play. Thank you for honoring our veterans and for sharing your personal family story of triumph and loss.
Thank you for you common-sense response to the virus restrictions. At age 61 with heart failure, I’m certainly not going anywhere for quite some time. But it’s time for restrictions to be lifted and for people to take some personal responsibility for keeping the threat level low.
Thank you for your sense of humor, your sense of fairness, and your ‘tell it like it is’ attitude. I truly appreciate you, as a person and an author.
Thank you for quality reading material.
Be blessed and have a lovely and thoughtful Memorial Day.
I always enjoy your blogs, altho I do have a bit too big backlog on those at the moment. Due to book spoilers in comments to the blogs.
Things are a bit different here where I am, in Sweden.
We have not had those total lockdowns as UK, US etc have had.
But to have a balance between health and …. well health etc.
There have been good sides to it. And bad sides.
Herd immunity has not been the goal. Even tho some have said that.
Those anti-lockdown protests in USA? Those gatherings have been, totally opposite from wise.
I hope that everyone that reads the blogs here, do understand that COVID-19 is not a hoax. Atleast the commenters so far understand that 🙂
Juanita Pratt, I usually read JAJ’s books in one go 🙂
I can not stop reading.
I hope all goes well with Colt and your daughter. I agree. It is time to move on.
You go girl! As usual you tell it like it is! And thanks for sharing Colts solo. Gave me goosebumps!
I hope you well and staying away from most of the worst , when we went into this lock down , self isolating mode it was with the idea to get in front of the virus. To give our government And medical experts time to learn ways to protect us to teach us ways to protect ourselves. Well as far as I can tell they didn’t to a damn thing but put 25 million people out of work reck our economy with no plans but to let it runs its course let the others die. We’ve been in lock down mode since the March 9 so we would not be part of the problem to let the hospitals catch up. So far the only thing not catching up is our government they are so by – Partisan it’s all being politically motivated … I am an angry woman who has medical problems Who won’t die of this. 100,000 death are not enough ? We need to learn to live with this virus, to learn to protect ourselves to learn what not to do , yes we can open the local stores but if we don’t feel safe and secure we won’t go in . I’d love to go to church but on line is ok for now . Our leaders are on vacation they have been on vacation for quite some time I don’t care if a person is republican or Democrat black or white green or blue we need to come together as AMERICANS to fight this . Not as them or us. I don’t usually talk politics in public but do we all have to die before we stop fighting in the streets over nothing bringing guns to a state house shouting at our police . Let the scientists speak even if you dont like what they say . But please don’t put unauthorized medications into your bodies… our first responders are our hero’s that includes many without uniforms we need to protect them as they have made us safe.. Our daughter is a medical PA she’s not in the icu but runs a clinic I pray every night for her safety and the safety of the others fighting to keep out families alive.
Stay healthy you and I have it easy we stay inside our cocoons and get to complain and worry and eat while others fight the fight. Be safe have a good week
While the frustration at SAH orders and lockdowns is understandable, now is not the time to return to life as usual. If you take NYC out of the statistics, it is apparent that everywhere else in the country, CV19 cases are increasing. The curve was flattened, more so in some areas than others, but this pandemic is far from over and its not going to be over until we have an effective vaccine, universally available and can manufacture and distribute it in sufficient quantity to vaccinate 360 million people in this country, or we get an administration in Washington that is committed to testing, contact tracing, and isolation of positive cases in a facility away from others who could be infected. Those are the measures that led to successful suppression of the outbreaks in China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Norway, New Zealand, and Taiwan. If you want life as usual then look at Brazil where they are digging mass graves by the tens of thousands, or Sweden, where 3.5% of the population has been infected, with 4000 deaths and counting in a population of 9.4 million. They are on schedule to kill 400000 of their population if things continue at the current rate, and their economy is just as dead as anywhere that instituted SAH orders. This data and its ramifications are freely available to anyone with a functioning computer and brain.
400 000 dead in Sweden? That would mean that the Infection Fatality Rate, would be 4%. Counted if all of the 10 million Swedes would get the infection.
If 3,5% of Swedes have been infected, that would mean around 350000 people.
If goods don’t flow in and out of the country, that will affect the economy.
The current death rate in Sweden is 12% by today’s numbers – 4000 dead/34000 total cases. If you extrapolate those numbers and use a herd immunity goal of 70% of the population (optimistic with this disease), and use the current death rate it actually figures out to 800,000 dead. I was being conservative because the actual overall death rate worldwide is about 6.2%. Those are truly horrifying numbers no matter which way one calculates. In this day and age, what public health agency would find that number of deaths acceptable? The worst part is that there are a lot of countries where those numbers may be close to what occurs. Those are near apocalyptic numbers, just for the disease alone, not figuring additional problems with food supply and shortages, because the plague distrupts normal daily activities. And that does not take into account other catastrophes such as hurricanes and massive fires as have occurred in the American West and Australia. Consider the consequences of trying to deal with the plague and massive evacuations or fighting wildfires at the same time.
The 3.5% infection rate I quoted earlier is based on a quote from the Swedish public health ministry and is probably an estimate.
bg
All people are sadly not tested for Covid-19.
There is NO herd immunity goal. Even tho the Swedish Ambassador said that, while visiting FOX. I had to actually google to see if it was the real ambassador and not some homemade expert.
Regarding food, only problem here was the hoarders of toilet paper and pasta, for the first week or two.
I do not know what % death rate there is, if everybody would get tested.
But Covid-19 is a serious threat.
Sadly there are conspiracy theories.
A lot of those downplay covid-19 or even say it is fake.
I wish you all a safe and good summer.
Soon, in a week, we can read JAJ’s latest book. 🙂
I am not surprised by some of the late comments. They all pertain to Covaid19. My, how our focused has changed. Here Ms. Jance told a heart warming story but a side comment seems to have taken more importance. Whatever will be will be. Be nice and happy. Most important be prudent.
I look forward to reading your blog every week. It’s like visiting with an old friend. I have found that I love even more your YouTube chats. You truly have a way to bring the characters to life. And yes, I would like to think of them as family.