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         Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Try not to infect him
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    Santa Claus is coming to town. Try not to infect him.
    By Maura Judkis

    The pandemic has made Santa Claus a public health hazard.
    Against the explicit advice of the health officials, he visits
    homes and malls that put him in contact with many people.

    That long beard probably renders any mask porous and
    ineffective.  His workshop is full of elves making toys in close
    quarters.  Though spry, he is elderly, putting him at personal
    risk of developing a severe case (8 out of 10
    coronavirus-related deaths in the United States have been adults
    ages 65 and older).  His body mass index has been described as
    "a bowl full of jelly" (researchers have found an association
    between a BMI over 40 and higher covid-19 death rates,
    particularly among men).

    "Santa's safe," Mitch Allen has been telling families. Allen, a
    Santa Claus performer and owner of HireSanta.com, a Santa
    staffing agency, explains that St.  Nick has been "quarantining
    at the North Pole."

    Okay. But with coronavirus cases and deaths persisting at
    jaw-dropping levels, children who want to convey their Christmas
    wishes directly (who can rely on the mail these days, anyway?),
    but donCÇÖt want to kill Santa or be infected by him, will have to
    do so through a plexiglass divider, or an inflatable plastic
    bubble, or a computer screen.
    [...]

    Read the full article here:

    https://tinyurl.com/yy9msjav

    or

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/santa-covid-christmas/
    2020/12/08/2d6a4e68-25e5-11eb-a688-5298ad5d580a_story.html [wraps]



    FIDOGAZETTE  Vol 14 No 38    Page  2         December 09, 2020


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