There’s seemingly a disconnect between two of the findings in the latest COVID-19 report from the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization. One was that more than a third of those surveyed said they felt the pandemic was in the rear-view mirror of their own lives; the other was that infections were up along with other related health concerns.

The other explanation is that people now accept these higher health risks as to be expected of “normal” life. That is a distressing possibility.