Just when you thought that this pandemic might soon be over, scientists have found the  BA.2 virus, another subvariant of the Omicron variant , which could well be a little more contagious and, this is the bad part, more virulent, perhaps in the range of the Delta variant.  Plus, vaccinations are not as effective, even though a booster helps to prevent a person from death even if infected.  Current tests seem not to work as well, and it is possible that this is something new and not directly related to Omicron.  It's too early to tell if all that is true, but be aware. Early signs hint that this  B.2, named the Stealth Subvariant, might be behind the sudden jump of new cases in Denmark.    Early this month  Denmark  decided that the risk of dying from COVID-19 had dropped to a safe level so even while new cases remained a concern, they removed all restrictions to return to normality.  No need for indoor masks, ignore vaccine passports and open up nightclubs.  Not smart: Yesterday,

From  Worldometer  (new  COVID-19 deaths yesterday):            DAY    USA    WORLD      Brazil      India      South Africa June     9     1093     4732         1185        246       82 July    22      1205     7128         1293      1120     572 Aug    12      1504     6556        1242        835     130 Sept     9      1208      6222       1136       1168       82 Oct     21      1225      6849         571        703       85 Nov    25       2304    12025        620        518      118 Dec     30       3880    14748       1224       299      465 Jan      14        4142    15512         1151        189       712 Feb      3       4005    14265       1209       107      398 Mar     2        1989     9490        1726       110      194 April   6         906     11787         4211       631       37 May    4         853    13667        3025      3786      59   June   1         287    10637         2346      3205      95  July   7          251      8440        1595         817     411 Aug

  I'm not a winter fan of anything.  I don't like cold weather, my skiing is limited to the bunny hill and I once sprained both ankles while attempting to skate.   When I was in college I got close to the  1960 Squaw Valley Winter Olympics .  There were 665 athletes from 30 countries and 27 events.  The Soviet Union won with 21 medals, the USA placing second with 10. Watch the  Disney produced highlights  about an hour and a half long.  Bing Crosby, Janet Leigh, Tony Curtis and future president Richard Nixon. I was on sabbatical at the Tokyo University of A&T in February of 1998 when the  games were held in Nagano .  I breezed by that city on the bullet train to Niigata, but didn't stop off to get a flavor of those Olympics.  There were 2,176 athletes from 72 countries and 68 events.  Germany won 29 medals, with the USA placing #5, earning 13 medals.   Watch the  entire opening ceremony .  If you enjoyed that, here is the  closing ceremony. For the  Beijing Winter Olymp