Thumbs up, thumbs down
Thumbs down to yet another apparent downside to COVID-19. As the director of infection prevention at Yale New Haven Health explained,
“When people get COVID, it makes their blood more easily clot, and so it does precipitate heart attacks that can precipitate strokes.” So even after surviving bouts with COVID-19, patients apparently face an increased risk of strokes and heart attacks. If there’s good news here, it’s that the risk appears to decline after about a month, according to health experts.
Thumbs down to abusing retail staff. In an incident that went viral on the social media app TikTok, a Connecticut man apparently verbally
abused and threw a drink at the staff at a local smoothie shop, upping the ante by calling one staff member an “immigrant” and then trying to force his way into an employee-only area. The man was arrested and charged with criminal trespass and breach of peace. Regardless of the situation, there is nothing that justifies treating people in this manner. Unfortunately, as stories of unruly passengers on airplanes demonstrate, such behavior is all too common. We’re all stressed out, but this needs to stop. Thumbs down to some of Connecticut’s breweries closing in recent weeks after struggles to survive the pandemic. Craft breweries were a rising
success story in different parts of the state before the pandemic began almost two years ago. The latest closures include Bristol’s Better Half Brewing, 30 Mile Brewing Company in Old Saybrook and Shebeen Brewing Company in Wolcott. One of the challenges was that in order to re-open after the lockdown, breweries needed to serve food. The mug halffull side is that new breweries are slated to open in months to come.
Thumbs down to a lack of scrutiny for problem gambling. Ads for legal sports betting are all but unavoidable in Connecticut these days, especially in the midst of the NFL playoffs. And while the CT Mirror reports there is ample data on the amount of money being gambled in Connecticut and how much is making its way into state coffers, there is less reliable information on people facing financial ruin because they lost everything with a few clicks on their phone. This was always the worry with making gambling more convenient. Yes, there’d be a tax windfall, but the dangers have been clear from the start. Problem gambling must be a focus of the Legislature this session.
Thumbs down to the cancellation of this week’s UConn-South Carolina women’s basketball game. Though both coaches agreed it was the
right move, it’s still a disappointment for fans. Given the need to reschedule conference games due to COVID-19 delays, national powers South Carolina and UConn will not play their game this week, which would have been their second meeting of the year. South Carolina won the first meeting, and UConn has been battling injuries all year. Still, it’s good for the game when the best teams face each other on the court, and it’s too bad it won’t happen as scheduled this week. Someday, COVID will be a thing of the past.