Written by rjs, MarketWatch 666
The news posted last week for the coronavirus 2019-nCoV (aka SARS-CoV-2), which produces COVID-19 disease, has been surveyed and some important articles are summarized here. The articles are more or less organized with general virus news and anecdotes first, then stories from around the US, followed by an increased number of items from other countries around the globe. Growth of new US cases has picked up again after a Thanksgiving reporting slowdown. Elsewhere, new cases continue rising globally, with the global death rate accelerating. Economic news related to COVID-19 is found here.
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Summary:
This week included record highs for new US infections on 3 days: Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday; cycle highs for covid deaths on 3 days: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with the later two all time highs, and new records for Covid hospitalizations every day this week. I don’t know when people start dying because the hospitals can’t handle all of them but we sure must be getting close. (Of course, there are already anecdotes of such occurrences…)
Week over week comparisons of 7-day averages are pretty useless this week, since all the averages dropped over Thanksgiving as some of those who prepare the data obviously took the weekend off. But if we compare the 7-day average of new cases as of today to the 7-day average as of November 25th (the day before Thanksgiving), which should eliminate most of the noise, we have an 8.6% increase. Similarly, today’s 7-day covid death average is 29.7% higher than the 7-day average the day before Thanksgiving.
Covid is now the leading cause of US death. Heart disease, the leading cause of US deaths in 2019, was killing 1,795 Americans a day. Over the past week, Covid was killing an average of 2,222 Americans a day. On this week’s worst days, more Americans were dying of Covid than died on 9-11, and Covid will kill more Americans this month alone than died during the entire Vietnam War.
The chart below from WorldoMeter shows the daily number of new cases for the US, updated through 05 December.
New cases globally continued to increase. (See Johns Hopkins graph below.) The growth rate has visibly slowed since the rapid acceleration in October. However, the advance is relentless with new records set every week. The new record 690,523 new cases was hit on Thursday and the second highest total on record (678,401) followed on Friday.
Also, Johns Hopkins has a graph for global deaths (below) that shows a record 12,848 deaths on Tuesday and the third highest on record Thursday (12,518). Deaths globally were up about 10% week-over-week. It appears that the death rate has been accelerating since early November corresponding to the accelerating pattern for new cases in October.
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Calculated Risk tracks the daily testing rate and results. The 28 November graphic:
The count of testing has been quite eratic over the past couple of weeks, perhaps influenced by the holiday, while the percent positive has turned it’s slow downturn back up to a new high for the fall.
Of course, Steven Hansen summarizes and links the latest news related to the pandemic every day, 7 days a week, plus displays over a dozen important graphics updated at least daily. The most recent article at the time this is published: 05 December 2020 Coronavirus Charts and News: Delirium May Be Initial COVID-19 Symptom in Older Adults. Fauci Thinks The U.S. Will Not See Dramatic Changes In The Pandemic Until 3Q2021.
This article leads the daily newsletter from Global Economic Intersection every day. Newsletter subscription is free.
Here are the rest of the articles for the past week reviewed and summarized:
Music and aerosols: What the research reveals about the performing arts during a pandemic – The question of the conditions under which singers and musicians, especially in larger groups, can perform safely before live audiences has become a pressing problem under conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Music is essential to human life and culture, but there may be no alternative at present but to restrict access to it. Various scientists and researchers have now looked into the problem. A University of Colorado Boulder study began with an apparently unassuming, everyday event: On the evening of March 10, 2020, 61 of the 122 members of the Skagit Valley Chorale met for rehearsals at the Fellowship Hall of a church in Mount Vernon, Skagit County, Washington. At this early date in the pandemic, the Skagit Valley County Health Department had not issued widespread closure of large gatherings or public events. Though the director had emailed choral members and suggested that if they were ill they not attend, an individual who had developed cold-like symptoms three days earlier went to the rehearsal. Subsequently, that person (index case, or “patient zero”) was tested positive for COVID-19. At the time, there were no cases in Skagit Valley County. Necessary contact precautions were taken to include hand sanitization and avoiding handshakes. The rehearsal commenced at 6:30 pm and ended at 9 pm that evening. According to the University of Colorado Boulder study submitted to the journal Indoor Air on June 15, the heating had been turned up to 20 degrees Celsius, and no exterior doors were opened. It was not known if the furnace exchanged outside air. Over the next several days, several members of the chorale began experiencing flu-like symptoms. Among the 61 attendees, there were 53 cases in total, of which 33 were confirmed COVID-19 positive and 20 unconfirmed presumed infected cases. The secondary attack rate ranged from 53 to 87 percent.The authors of the University of Colorado study concluded it was unlikely that fomites or respiratory droplets could have accounted for such an attack rate. The singers had been interviewed and all insisted they had abided by strict contact precautions. Additionally, the index case could not have spent a considerable amount of time near that many people in the limited space of time. The poor air circulation and high respiratory aerosol emissions generated during singing were the main factors for one of the nation’s first super-spreader events. The study was a critical analysis that brought to light the crucial role of aerosol transmission for the transmission of SARS-COV-2 under certain conditions. […] They wrote in their third summation report that “wind instruments and singing produce aerosols, which vary by instrument as well as intensity. The produced aerosol amount is, on average, similar across all instruments types and singing with the exception of the oboe. Most aerosol is being expelled from the bell of the instruments and from the mouth of the performers. … It appears that if players wear surgical style masks with slits for mouthpiece AND bell covers, aerosol emission is reduced between 60 and 90 percent.”
Less COVID-19 transmission seen in countries with more intense testing — Lacking vaccines, countries have relied on multiple non-pharmaceutical interventions to control COVID-19 transmission. Despite the urging of the World Health Organization (WHO) in March to “test, test, and test,” policy makers disagree on on how much testing is optimal. A new study, by Ravindra Prasan Rannan-Eliya and coauthors from the Institute for Health Policy in Colombo, Sri Lanka, uses data from multiple online sources to quantify testing impact on COVID-19 transmissibility in 173 countries and territories (accounting for 99 percent of the world’s cases) between March and June 2020. The authors found that among interventions, testing intensity had the greatest influence: a tenfold increase in the ratio of tests to new cases reported reduced average COVID-19 transmission by 9 percent. The authors note that this helps explain why countries such as China, Australia, and New Zealand achieved near elimination of COVID-19 and why lockdowns and other interventions failed to slow spread of the virus in others, such as India and Peru. “Even the wealthiest countries, such as the US, UK, and Qatar, cannot expand testing and tracing fast enough to achieve epidemic control,” the authors conclude. “Early and continuous aggressive testing to keep incidence within capacity to test, trace and isolate may be the best implementation of flattening the curve.”
Rapid COVID-19 Tests Can Be Useful – But There Are Far Too Few To Put a Dent in the Pandemic – Since September, the Food and Drug Administration has approved seven COVID-19 tests that yield results in 30 minutes or less, offering hope for vast improvements in test access and efficiency throughout the U.S. Most of these are antigen tests that look for viral proteins and can be processed on portable machines or cards. The idea behind these rapid tests is to detect symptomatic, pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic infectious people before they can spread the coronavirus. But despite massive distribution of these tests by federal officials – including to date over 40 millionof 150 million rapid tests ordered from the medical company Abbott – COVID-19 transmission has been surging in every state since early November. This calls into question whether the current influx of rapid tests can actually slow the spread of COVID-19. In some targeted applications – and if people take other precautions including mask wearing and social distancing – rapid tests can be a valuable tool. But the current state of availability and accuracy of these tests greatly limit how effective they are at slowing the spread of the virus in communities. Rapid antigen tests are an attractive option because in addition to their speed, they are cheap and easy to produce and therefore more broadly available than the more commonly used gold-standard PCR tests in theory. But these attributes come with a trade-off: less diagnostic accuracy. This makes them an excellent candidate for use as a screening tool, though less useful for accurately diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 infection. One-time testing does not mean that a person can safely travel or mingle without precautions. And while no test is perfectly accurate, there are real questions about the performance of the new rapid tests. A few test manufacturers reported accuracy between 84.0% and 97.6% in individuals who are tested within five days after developing COVID-19 symptoms. There is, however, an apparent gap between the reported performance of these tests and what is achieved in the real world. Anecdotally, these tests seem to miss recent, mild and asymptomatic infections – in fact, rapid tests are authorized by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention only for use in symptomatic COVID-19 patients. And of course, people can still be infected soon after getting tested. For rapid tests to effectively limit spread of the coronavirus, experts suggest that they must beconducted with high frequency – you might miss some cases, but if everyone were getting tested all the time, you would catch a lot of cases too. But even frequent testing is not a panacea. It’s only one part of an approach that must also include social distancing, mask wearing and other precautions.
U.S. Covid Cases Found as Early as December 2019, Says Study – Testing has found Covid-19 infections in the U.S. in December 2019, according to a study, providing further evidence indicating the coronavirus was spreading globally weeks before the first cases were reported in China. The study published Monday identified 106 infections from 7,389 blood samples collected from donors in nine U.S. states between Dec. 13 and Jan. 17. The samples, collected by the American Red Cross, were sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for testing to detect if there were antibodies against the virus. “The findings of this report suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infections may have been present in the U.S. in December 2019, earlier than previously recognized,” the paper said. Reports of a mysterious pneumonia spreading in Wuhan, China, first emerged in late December 2019. After multiplying rapidly throughout the city in the following weeks, the disease spread across the globe, with the first U.S. case emerging on Jan. 19. The revelations in the paper by researchers from the CDC reinforce the growing understanding that the coronavirus was silently circulating worldwide earlier than known, and could re-ignite debate over the origins of the pandemic. It’s not the first evidence showing the virus could have existed or infected people outside China before 2020. A patient in France was found to have contracted the virus after being hospitalized with flu-like symptoms at the end of December, contradicting official statistics showing Covid-19 reached the country from people returning from Wuhan at the end of January. The CDC study indicated there were isolated infections in the western part of the U.S. in mid-December. Antibodies were also found in early January in other states before the virus was known to have been introduced to those places.
COVID-19 may have been spreading in the US at least a month before first case was reported, CDC study says The novel coronavirus may have been circulating in the United States undetected weeks before the first case was reported in 2020, a new government study suggests. Study authors came to the conclusion after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found evidence of coronavirus antibodies in blood collected in December 2019, according to the report published Monday in the Clinical Infections Journal. Researchers analyzed blood donations collected by the American Red Cross from residents in nine states between Dec. 13 and Jan. 17 and found evidence of antibodies in 106 out of 7,389 samples. Antibodies also were found in 67 blood donations in January from states that didn’t report a widespread outbreak at the time, such as Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. The first COVID-19 patient was diagnosed Jan. 20 in Washington state, according to the CDC website. However, researchers found antibodies in blood sampled as early as Dec. 13. “It’s possible that we had low level of prevalence earlier … and it’s not really surprising,” said Gigi Gronvall, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security who was unaffiliated with the study. Experts say the coronavirus could have been in the U.S. before the first case was recorded in January, but it’s also possible serological testing may have picked up a different strain or a different coronavirus altogether.
Evictions caused nearly 11,000 excess COVID-19 deaths in six months in the US – Researchers from major universities in the US have determined that the lifting of state and local eviction moratoriums earlier this year contributed to an increase in COVID-19 incidence and mortality throughout the country, leading to 433,700 excess infections and an estimated 10,700 excess deaths. The results are a damning indictment of the entire political structure in the US which has allowed thousands of evictions to proceed in states and cities across the country. Unable to guarantee safe housing for all, the demands of the capitalist system, which subordinates all aspects of life to profit making, have resulted in the unnecessary and cruel deaths of thousands of people, while at the same time prolonging and exacerbating the spread of COVID-19. The authors found before moratoriums were lifted, the incidence rate, that is the number of growing cases, and the mortality rate ratios were relatively constant, “suggesting little evidence of pre-existing trends in states that went on to lift their moratoriums.” However once states began allowing evictions to proceed, within ten weeks researchers calculated an increased incidence rate and a mortality rate 1.6 times higher compared to the previous weeks. Within 16 weeks states that had lifted their moratoriums saw an incidence rate 2.1 times higher while mortality jumped even more, 5.4 times higher, leading to thousands of deaths. The study focused on all the states that instituted a moratorium, beginning as early as March 13 and as late as April 30. Only 16 states and D.C. maintained an eviction moratorium for the entire duration of the study, while seven states, Arkansas, Georgia, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming, never implemented a state moratorium and thus were excluded from the study. By the time the study concluded, 27 states, with Republican and Democratic governors alike, had lifted their respective moratoriums, leaving the limited federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) eviction moratorium, which began on Sept. 4 and expires on Dec. 31, 2020, as the only safeguard for millions of people who could be facing eviction in the next month. November data from the US Census Bureau estimates that of the 11.5 million adults who live in rental housing, 1 in 6 did not pay rent in October. The authors are unequivocal in their findings: “Lifting eviction moratoriums was associated with increased COVID-19 incidence and mortality in US states, supporting the public health rationale for use of eviction moratoriums to prevent the spread of COVID-19.” The authors noted an increased rate of mortality and incidence over time which they suggest is due to the fact that displacement due to eviction can cause “crowding” as family members move in together or evicted tenants move into homeless shelters, leading to increased infection. The authors hypothesize the increased mortality rate is due to increased homelessness as the result of eviction.
US, UK Say First COVID Vaccinations Expected Before Christmas As New Cases Slow- Live Updates – More US government officials weighed in on the timing for COVID-19 vaccine rollout, which is expected to begin before the end of December, according to Surgeon General Jerome Adams and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease specialist. Across the US, 153,035 new infections and 1,175 deaths were reported on Saturday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. The US reported just over 150k new cases on Saturday, even as the number of currently hospitalized patients continued to climb. Over on the West Coast, as LA County enters day 3 of its 3 week lockdown, San Francisco has been moved to the most restrictive tier by California following a jump in coronavirus cases, prompting a slew of new measures across the city. “I don’t know how to be more clear – this is the most dangerous time we’ve faced during this pandemic,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed warned. The British government said it hopes to begin its vaccination program before Christmas so long as regulators approve all the shots in time, which regulators expect that they will. In Germany, where Angela Merkel has warned that recent improvements in COVID-19 numbers simply haven’t been enough, the premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, said cases aren’t falling quickly enough to warrant dropping restrictions for the Christmas holiday. Finally, China is revoking import applications from Chilean seafood producer Pesquera Isla Del Rey for one week after a nucleic acid test on the packaging of a batch of frozen crab turned up positive for COVID, according to the General Administration of Customs, who confirmed that in a statement on its website on Saturday. Here’s some more COVID news from overnight and Sunday morning:
- Iran’s daily fatalities from Covid-19 fell for a third day to 389, the lowest single-day death toll in four weeks. The number of daily new cases fell to 12,950 overnight from 13,402 yesterday. The country now has 47,875 deaths in 948,749 known infections (Source: Bloomberg).
- The Czech Republic will significantly ease its lockdown restrictions on Thursday after the spread of the coronavirus slowed in the past two weeks. The decision, approved at an extraordinary government meeting on Sunday, will allow shops and restaurants to reopen, although limits on the number of customers and opening hours will remain. The cabinet also agreed to scrap the nighttime curfew on Dec. 3 (Source: Bloomberg).
- Poland registered 11,483 new infections in the last 24 hours, the least since Oct. 26, taking the total number of cases in the country of 38 million to 985,075, the Health Ministry said on Sunday. It also reported 283 new deaths, with total Covid-19 fatalities exceeding 17,000. The government, which shut all schools and reduced traffic in shops earlier this month, allowed shopping malls and furniture stores to reopen as of Nov. 28 (Source: Bloomberg).
- The governor of Colorado, where an estimated one in 41 of the state’s 5.7 million residents carried the Covid-19 virus over the past week, has tested positive and is resting at home. Governor Polis, an early advocate of masks, issued a statement Saturday night saying his partner was also infected. Earlier in the week, the governor of neighboring Wyoming tested positive (Source: Bloomberg).
Pfizer Slashed Its Original Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout Target After Supply-Chain Obstacles – WSJ –When Pfizer Inc. said last month it expects to ship half the Covid-19 vaccines it had originally planned for this year, the decision highlighted the challenges drug makers face in rapidly building supply chains to meet the high demand.“Scaling up the raw material supply chain took longer than expected,” a company spokeswoman said. “And it’s important to highlight that the outcome of the clinical trial was somewhat later than the initial projection.” Pfizer still expects to roll out more than a billion doses in 2021 as originally planned. Pfizer and Germany-based partner BioNTech SEhad hoped to roll out 100 million vaccines world-wide by the end of this year, a plan that has now been reduced to 50 million. The U.K. on Wednesday granted emergency-use authorization for the vaccine, becoming the first Western country to start administering doses.The two-shot vaccine also is being reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S., where a similar authorization could come later this month and a rollout before the end of the year. The U.S. regulator also is considering a vaccine developed by Cambridge, Mass.-basedModerna Inc. that could begin shipping before Christmas.The doses are among an array of vaccines that have been developed this year as the coronavirus pandemic has raged across much of the world. Authorities estimate nearly 1.5 million people world-wide have died from the virus, including 273,836 in the U.S. as of Dec. 2.Pfizer had its 100-million dose goal in place until mid-November, when it became clear the supply-chain hurdles were too great for the end-of-the-year timeline. “Some early batches of the raw materials failed to meet the standards. We fixed it, but ran out of time to meet this year’s projected shipments.”Pfizer sources its raw materials from providers in the U.S. and Europe. Scaling up production of these components proved challenging last month as the company awaited the results of its trials, which came in to be 95% effective and well-tolerated in a 44,000-subject trial. Pfizer wouldn’t say where shortfalls over ingredients arose as it ramped up production. Vaccines typically contain materials from suppliers that can include antivirus agents, antiseptic liquids, sterile water and elements of the DNA of the virus itself that won’t cause serious symptoms but trigger the immune system to make antibodies. In a typical vaccination campaign, pharmaceutical companies would wait until their product is approved before buying raw materials, establishing manufacturing lines and setting up supply chains to ship a vaccine. Pfizer has never manufactured a vaccine with technology that uses mRNA, the molecular couriers that carry genetic instructions to cells in the human body, so it has had to scale up production capacity even as research was still under way.“For this one, everything happened simultaneously,” the person familiar with the Pfizer development said. “We started setting up the supply chain in March, while the vaccine was still being developed. That’s totally unprecedented.”
CDC panel says health workers, long-term care residents should get COVID-19 vaccine first – Health workers and residents of long-term care facilities should be at the front of the line to receive the first limited doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, a federal advisory panel formally recommended Tuesday. The specific recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) independent Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) were expected, as the committee has been broadly supportive of giving this demographic access to the vaccine first during recent meetings. The recommendations passed by a vote of 13-1. The recommendations for “phase 1a” will be sent to CDC Director Robert Redfield. If he approves, they will become official CDC guidance. States don’t necessarily have to follow the recommendations, but it gives them some guidance ahead of a Friday deadline to submit vaccination distribution plans to the federal government. States also have significant leeway to come up with their own definitions, and even create separate sub-prioritization groups. Committee members said that in determining initial vaccine allocation, they wrestled with questions of justice and expediency, and what they believe is the overall goal of a vaccine. Once the recommendations are adopted, it will mean other high priority groups, like people older than 65, essential workers and those with underlying medical conditions, will have to wait for the second phase, which ACIP has classified as 1b, or later. ACIP is planning to discuss those groups later this month. According to ACIP, there are about 3 million people living in long-term care facilities; about 21 million health care workers; about 53 million senior citizens; about 87 million essential workers; and more than 100 million people with underlying medical conditions. Residents and staff of long-term care facilities, especially nursing homes, accounted for 6 percent of all cases and 39 percent of all deaths in the U.S. ACIP members said they want to prioritize health providers to keep the health care system running, and most jurisdictions said they expect to be able to vaccinate every health worker within three weeks of receiving initial doses. Health providers also have a high rate of vaccine acceptance, and many acute health care facilities have the equipment and expertise to carry out large scale vaccination with a vaccine that requires ultra-cold storage. No vaccine has been authorized for distribution yet, but a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel is set to meet on Dec. 10 to discuss the one manufactured by Pfizer. The agency could issue an emergency authorization within days of the meeting. However, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn has tried to temper expectations even as COVID-19 cases spike nationwide. Nearly 2,000 people are dying every day, and the numbers are expected to increase in the coming weeks. A vaccine authorization normally takes months after an application has been submitted, not weeks. Pfizer filed its application with the agency on Nov. 20. “I want to set the appropriate expectations. I can tell you that I think we believe it should … be relatively quick afterward, but there could be issues that come up that we have to address,” Hahn said during an interview with ABC on Tuesday. “One thing we can’t do is promise something that isn’t deliverable because of an issue that comes up regarding safety or effectiveness,”
CDC Shortens Recommended COVID Quarantine To 7-10 Days; Cuomo Says 170k COVID Vaccine Doses Headed To NY –The WHO’s Mike Ryan is joining the parade of public health officials and world leaders who have warned that the battle against COVID-19 still isn’t even close to being over. “We are not going to have sufficient vaccinations in place to prevent a surge in cases for three to six months,” Ryan said. The CDC has finally issued the order to shorten the recommended 14-day quarantine period to a 7-10 day span. Officials are convinced that a shorter quarantine span will boost compliance while still minimizing risk, CDC officials said on a call with reporters. December to February is “going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation,” Redfield said at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event, citing the strains being placed on the country’s health-care system. To be clear: The CDC still recommends a 14-day quarantine for anyone who may have been exposed to the virus. Public health officials from NY to NJ to Illinois have reported some disappointing COVID-19 numbers on Wednesday. With hospitalizations in focus, New Jersey, the country’s most densely populated state, has reported that hospitalizations have risen 34% in the past two weeks, to 3,287, the most since mid-May. Over the last 24 hours, the state reported an increase of 6%. The state’s 71 acute-care medical centers typically have a total of 12,000 patients at this time of year, according to Kerry McKean Kelly, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Hospital Association. The Garden State usually has capacity for 18,000 acute-care patients and 2,000 in the ICU. Earlier this year, hospitals doubled ICU spaceand added hundreds of beds in field hospitals set up by FEMA. NJ currently has 599 patients in intensive care, with more than half on ventilators. Garden State hospitalizations have risen 34% in the past two weeks, to 3,287, the most since mid-May. During his briefing earlier, NY Gov Andrew Cuomo said the state’s first delivery of the Pfizer vaccine – expected to arrive Dec. 15 – will be enough for 170,000 residents. If approved by US regulators, the doses are expected on Dec. 15, he said in a tweet. Earlier, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said during an interview that his company has boxes of the vaccine already loaded into trucks and is ready to go as soon as the FDA hands down that emergency-use approval. Health-care workers in the most high-risk jobs, including nursing homes and emergency rooms. To be effective, experts say the vaccine must cover 75% to 85% of the population, Cuomo said. “That is a tremendously high percentage on every level.” Since two doses are needed per patient, Cuomo said the state will receive an additional 170,000 from Pfizer 21 days after the first. Meanwhile, in Illinois, one of the hardest hit states, new cases dropped to 9,757 from 12,542.
COVID-19 Has Claimed the Lives of 100,000 Long-Term Care Residents and Staff – This week marks a bleak milestone in the pandemic’s effect on residents and staff in long-term care facilities across the country. According to our latest analysis of state-reported data, COVID-19 has claimed the lives of more than 100,000 long-term care facility residents and staff as of the last week in November. This finding comes at a time when public health experts are predicting a surge in cases after holiday gatherings and increased time indoors due to winter weather, which will have ripple effects on hospitals and nursing homes, given the close relationship between community spread and cases in congregate care settings. As the nation braces for the fallout of the holiday, recent data on deaths in long-term care facilities highlight the ongoing disproportionate impact on this high-risk population. Since the start of the pandemic, 100,033 residents and staff at long-term care facilities have died from COVID-19 as of November 24, 2020, according to state reporting in 49 states plus DC (Figure 1). This is likely an undercount, given that five states have not updated their long-term care death values in over one week (HI, ME, MO, NE, and WV) and Alaska still does not provide data on deaths in these facilities. Figure 1 depicts the increase in long-term care deaths since the start of the pandemic. The increase reflects both an increase in deaths and an increase in the number of states reporting over time. Given the vast differences in state reporting between April and November, data in Figure 1 should be trended with caution. See Data Notes below for more details on this increase in deaths.
1 In 13 Of All US Nursing Home Residents Have Died Of COVID-19 -As of the last week of November, Covid-19 has claimed the lives of more than 100,000 people who live and work in long-term care facilities in the United States, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s latest analysis of state-reported data. The following chart depicts the growth in Covid-19 deaths among nursing home residents and staff in the U.S. since April. According tothe Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), 40% of the nation’s Covid-19 deaths have occurred in long-term care facilities. “While early action to prevent the spread of coronavirus in long-term care facilities led to strict protocols related to testing, personal protective equipment, and visitor restrictions,” KFF pointed out that “several of these measures have been reversed in recent months, and some long-term care facilities continue to report shortages of PPE and staff.” According to physician and public health expert Michael Barnett, 7.7% of the nation’s nursing home residents, or one in 13, have now died as a result of Covid-19. “Things have never really gotten better,” he tweeted. “Testing is a struggle, PPE and staff are daily challenges.”Soon after reaching the “bleak milestone” of 100,000 pandemic deaths in long-term care facilities, which happened on Tuesday, the U.S. on Thursday experienced a new record-high number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations, as Common Dreams reported earlier Friday. Millions of Americans have passed through airports in the past week, despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation against traveling for Thanksgiving. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, does not expect conditions to improve by Christmas and the New Year. As KFF explained, the predicted “surge in cases after holiday gatherings and increased time indoors due to winter weather… will have ripple effects on hospitals and nursing homes, given the close relationship between community spread and cases in congregate care settings.”
OSHA Let Employers Decide Whether to Report Health Care Worker Deaths. Many Didn’t — As Walter Veal cared for residents at the Ludeman Developmental Center in suburban Chicago, he took it on himself not just to bathe and feed the residents, which was part of the job, but also to cut their hair, run to the store to buy their favorite body wash and barbecue for them on holidays. Even after COVID-19 struck in mid-March and cases began spreading through the government-run facility, which serves nearly 350 adults with developmental disabilities, Walter was determined to go to work, his wife Carlene said.Staff members were struggling to acquire masks and other personal protective equipment at the time, many asking family members for donations and wearing rain ponchos sent by professional baseball teams. All Walter had was a pair of gloves, Carlene said.By mid-May, rumors of some sick residents and staffers had turned into 274 confirmed positive COVID tests, according to the Illinois Department of Human Services COVID tracking site. On May 16, Walter, 53, died of the virus. Three of his colleagues had already passed, according to interviews with Ludeman workers, the deceased employees’ families and union officials.State and federal laws say facilities like Ludeman are required to alert Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials about work-related employee deaths within eight hours. But facility officials did not deem the first staff death on April 13 work-related, so they did not report it. They made the same decision about the second and third deaths. And Walter’s. It’s a pattern that’s emerged across the nation, according to a KHN review of hundreds of worker deaths detailed by family members, colleagues and local, state and federal records. Workplace safety regulators have taken a lenient stance toward employers during the pandemic, giving them broad discretion to decide internally whether to report worker deaths. As a result, scores of deaths were not reported to occupational safety officials from the earliest days of the pandemic through late October.KHN examined more than 240 deaths of health care workers profiled for the Lost on the Frontlineproject and found that employers did not report more than one-third of them to a state or federal OSHA office, many based on internal decisions that the deaths were not work-related – conclusions that were not independently reviewed.
Oregon nurse placed on leave after showing ‘cavalier disregard’ for COVID-19 protocols in TikTok video – An oncology nurse in Oregon has been placed on administrative leave after posting a video on social media showing disregard for COVID-19 restrictions.In the video, uploaded Friday to TikTok, the nurse, identified by Salem Health hospital officials as Ashley Grames, says she doesn’t wear a mask in public outside of work, continues to travel and allows her children to have playdates. Grames’ original post, on her account @loveiskind05, has been taken down, but a “duet” recorded by another user includes the original footage. The video shows the nursemocking her coworkers’ response to her lack of COVID-19 precautions through a lip-dub of Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” The video sparked controversy and swift outcry in the community. Marion County has had among the highest number of cases in Oregon, and Salem Hospital has been on the Oregon Health Authority’s list of workplaces with the highest number of employee-related cases since May. According to the state’s latest weekly report, Salem Hospital has the highest employee-related count of any hospital in the state. Salem Health officials addressed the video on Facebook, calling it a “cavalier disregard for the seriousness of the pandemic.” They thanked community members who brought the video to their attention. “This one careless statement does not reflect the position of Salem Health or the hardworking and dedicated caregivers who work here,” officials said.
Virus Deaths Approach Spring Record Amid Changing U.S. Crisis – On April 15, the United States reached a grim nadir in the pandemic: 2,752 people across the country were reported to have died from Covid-19 that Wednesday, more than on any day before or since. For months, the record stood as a reminder of the pain the coronavirus was inflicting on the nation, and a warning of its deadly potential. But now, after seven desperate months trying to contain the virus, daily deaths are rising sharply and fast approaching that dreadful count again. How the virus kills in America, though, has changed in profound ways. Months of suffering have provided a horrific but valuable education: Doctors and nurses know better how to treat patients who contract the virus and how to prevent severe cases from ending in fatality, and a far smaller proportion of people who catch the virus are dying from it than were in the spring, experts say. Yet the sheer breadth of the current outbreak means that the cost in lives lost every day is still climbing. More than 170,000 Americans are now testing positive for the virus on an average day, straining hospitals across much of the country, including in many states that had seemed to avoid the worst of the pandemic. More than 1.1 million people tested positive in the past week alone. At the peak of the spring wave in April, about 31,000 new cases were announced each day, though that was a vast undercount because testing capacity was extremely limited. Still, the toll of the virus was an abstraction for many Americans because deaths were concentrated in a handful of states like New York, New Jersey and Louisiana. Now the deaths are scattered widely across the entire nation, and there is hardly a community that has not been affected. On Wednesday, when 2,300 deaths were reported nationwide – the highest toll since May – only three counties reported a toll of more than 20. Forty-four states have set weekly case records and 25 states have set weekly death records in November, as the nation’s death toll has surpassed 264,000 and officials worry that Thanksgiving gatherings may cause infections to spread still more widely in the coming days.
US breaks record for daily COVID-19 hospitalizations – More people were hospitalized for COVID-19 nationwide on Saturday than ever before during the months-long pandemic, with 91,635 patients currently admitted over the virus, data shows. The new high on Saturday comes after hospitalization numbers dipped the day before for the first time in 30 straight days, according to the COVID Tracking Project. “Hospitalizations have gone up every day since Oct 25 except for [Friday], and [Friday’s] decrease was probably related to holiday data reported on a one-day delay,” the group wrote on Twitter. In total, the US has reported have been more than 13.3 million cases, including more than 266,000 deaths, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. There have been at least 4 million cases so far in the month of November, more than double the previous record of 1.9 million cases set in October, the New York Times reported. Dr. Anthony Fauci on Sunday warned that these numbers will continue to skyrocket after millions of Americans traveled for the Thanksgiving holiday.“What we expect unfortunately as we go for the next few weeks into December is a surge superimposed into that surge that we’re already in,” the nation’s top infectious disease expert told NBC anchor Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press.”
COVID-19 cases explode at GM Fort Wayne as UAW abets cover-up – In recent weeks the General Motors Fort Wayne Assembly Plant in northeastern Indiana has seen a rash of COVID-19 cases. Despite the fact that multiple positive cases have been reported in single departments, the company and the United Auto Workers (UAW) are maintaining the threadbare lie that no transmission is taking place within the plant. The situation at Fort Wayne Assembly mirrors what is happening at other auto plants across the US Midwest and South, which are becoming vectors of COVID-19 transmission. Indiana has had 342,000 cases and 5,723 deaths through Monday, according to Johns Hopkins. Allen County, where the FWA plant is located, had 5,229 new cases between November 18 and 28 alone. Fort Wayne Assembly employs over 4,200 workers building the highly profitable GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado light trucks. It is touted by GM as one of its most productive plants, building more than 1,000 trucks a day which typically sell in the $30,000- $50,000 price range. Under pressure from Wall Street and with inventory levels for the Sierra down to 20 days, GM is attempting to maintain three full production shifts using temporary workers – who start at $16.67 an hour – to fill in for those out with COVID-19. Day after day, GM management issues new memos noting COVID-19 cases in the plant that begin with the saccharine claim, “The health and safety of our employees and everyone who enters our facilities is our top priority.” Inevitably, the list of new cases ends with the disclaimer “and all are unrelated to one another.” Management continues to brazenly assert, without challenge from the UAW, that all cases in the plant are being contracted outside of the facility.Management memos obtained by the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter document 50 cases in the plant between November 6 and November 23. Eleven cases were reported November 20 alone, indicating the rate of infection is increasing. The cases include four second shift trim employees and two third shift trim employees, a first shift and second shift chassis employee and others from various departments. All, of course, were “unrelated.”
41 people who attended New Orleans swingers convention have COVID-19 – More than 40 people have tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a New Orleans swingers convention, which local officials are now calling a “superspreader event.” According to The Washington Post, approximately 250 people participated in the event at a New Orleans hotel on Nov. 14. Just more than two weeks later, 41 attendees had contracted the infection. The outbreak was first reported by NOLA.com on Tuesday after Bob Hannaford, the organizer of the annual Naughty in N’awlins swingers gathering, published a blog post last week admitting organizational failures that likely contributed to the spread. “If I could go back in time, I would not produce this event again,” Hannaford wrote. “I wouldn’t do it again if I knew then what I know now. It weighs on me and it will continue to weigh on me until everyone is 100% better.” Hannaford noted that while most of the cases were “asymptomatic or very mild,” a “good friend” who attended the event was “hospitalized in serious condition,” although he has since been released. A spokesman for New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell (D) told the Post that the swingers event was a “very stark example of what can happen when you don’t obey the social distance guidelines.” The gathering was significantly smaller than the 2,000 that attended last year, and Hannaford wrote that event organizers consulted with city and state officials leading up to the event. Hannaford added that more than 50 percent of the attendees had tested positive for antibodies and “many of the rest got tested right before the event.” Attendees were also given wristbands, with one color indicating if the person had antibodies and the other if the person had recently tested negative. Hannaford said that attendees had to either test negative for the coronavirus or prove that they had antibodies, assuming that those carrying coronavirus antibodies were “not contagious.”
California sheriff tests positive for COVID-19 after refusing to enforce state restrictions – A California sheriff tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday after previously refusing to enforce state restrictions aimed at mitigating spread of the infectious disease. The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office announced on Wednesday that Sheriff Scott Jones received a positive coronavirus test the day prior after developing symptoms late last week. Jones started to have COVID-19 symptoms last Friday after he was exposed to an employee who later tested positive for the virus. “Sheriff Jones’ symptoms started last Friday and were mild, including a fever, congestion, light-headedness, and a headache,” the office said in a release. “He started feeling better Sunday morning, and today has almost no remaining symptoms.” The sheriff is following health official recommendations and self-isolating. His immediate family is waiting to get back their test results and will quarantine. Jones is one of “dozens of Sacramento Sheriff’s Office employees who … have contracted the virus,” the department said in a statement, without specifying how many and how the employees contracted the virus. Rodney Grassman, a spokesperson for the sheriff, told The Hill in a statement that Jones is “doing well and has almost no symptoms remaining.” He said he and the sheriff would not give interviews on the test result, saying, “the sheriff is an elected public official so he wanted to share the diagnosis with the public but at the same time this is a medical condition and thus a private matter for the sheriff and his family.” Jones’s positive test comes after the sheriff has declined to enforce several restrictions implemented by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). In November, he said his office would not enforce Newsom’s curfew against nonessential gatherings from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. or dispatch officers to address violations.
Ohio surpasses 5,000 COVID-19 inpatients in hospitals for first time (WJW) – During a press conference today, leaders announced that for the first time there are more than 5,000 COVID-19 inpatients across Ohio’s hospitals. “There are a lot of concerns about ICU capacity, more hospitals are voicing concerns about their ability to manage so many ICU patients,” Dr. Andy Thomas of the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center said during the press conference. “One of every 3 people on a ventilator has COVID. They’ll crowd out other people who need that care if the numbers continue to rise.” Before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, doctors were worried about the rise of hospitalizations in Ohio. And as seen in the chart below, those numbers only continue to rise. In the last 24 hours, 417 hospitalizations have been reported and 44 ICU admissions. During today’s press conference, Dr. Thomas recommended that anyone who did get together with family and friends during the Thanksgiving holiday should consider not seeing others for the next handful of days to help curb the spread of the virus.
As Hospitals Fill With COVID Patients, Medical Reinforcements Are Hard to Find -Hospitals in much of the country are trying to cope with unprecedented numbers of COVID-19 patients. As of Monday, 96,039 were hospitalized, an alarming record that far exceeds the two previous peaks in April and July of just under 60,000 inpatients. But beds and space aren’t the main concern. It’s the workforce. Hospitals are worried staffing levels won’t be able to keep up with demand as doctors, nurses and specialists such as respiratory therapists become exhausted or, worse, infected and sick themselves.The typical workaround for staffing shortages – hiring clinicians from out of town – isn’t the solution anymore, even though it helped ease the strain early in the pandemic, when the first surge of cases was concentrated in a handful of “hot spot” cities such as New York, Detroit, Seattle and New Orleans.Recruiting those temporary reinforcements was also easier in the spring because hospitals outside of the initial hot spots were seeing fewer patients than normal, which led to mass layoffs. That meant many nurses were able – and excited – to catch a flight to another city and help with treatment on the front lines.In many cases, hospitals competed for traveling nurses, and the payment rates for temporary nurses spiked. In April, Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, had toincrease the pay of some staff nurses, who were making less than newly arrived temporary nurses. In the spring, nurses who answered the call from beleaguered “hot spot” hospitals weren’t merely able to command higher pay. Some also spoke about how meaningful and gratifying the work felt, trying to save lives in a historic pandemic, or the importance of being present for family members who could not visit loved ones who were sick or dying. For a while, the COVID front remained relatively quiet in Knoxville. Then the fall surge hit. There have been record hospitalizations in Tennessee nearly every day, increasing by 60% in the past month.Health officials report that backup clinicians are becoming much harder to find. Tennessee has built its own field hospitals to handle patient overflows – one is inside the old Commercial Appeal newspaper offices in Memphis, and another occupies two unused floors in Nashville General Hospital. But if they were needed right now, the state would havetrouble finding the doctors and nurses to run them because hospitals are already struggling to staff the beds they have. As patient caseloads reach new highs, record numbers of hospital employees are themselves out sick with COVID-19 or temporarily forced to stop working because they have to quarantine after a possible exposure.“But here’s the kicker,” said Dr. Alex Jahangir, who chairs Nashville’s coronavirus task force. “They’re not getting infected in the hospitals. In fact, hospitals for the most part are fairly safe. They’re getting infected in the community.” Some states, like North Dakota, have already decided to allow COVID-positive nurses to keep working as long as they feel OK, a move that has generated backlash. The nursing shortage is so acute there that some traveling nurse positions posted pay of $8,000 a week. Some retired nurses and doctors were asked to consider returning to the workforce early in the pandemic, and at least 338 who were 65 or older have died of COVID-19.
1 In Every 800 North Dakota Residents Now Dead From Covid The North Dakota Department of Health confirmed 409 new cases and 27 additional deaths in the state on Monday, bringing the total death toll to 954 out of a population of roughly 762,000, or 0.97 in every 800 residents. Only two weeks ago – reporting the highest Covid-19 mortality rate in the world the week prior – North Dakota surpassed 769 deaths, joining a list now encompassing eight other states (New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Louisiana, Rhode Island, Mississippi and South Dakota) that have seen at least one Covid-19 death per every 1,000 residents. Around 79,661 people have tested positive for the virus in the state, resting North Dakota’s mortality rate at 1.5 deaths per 100,000 people, as of Tuesday. Nonetheless, after raking an average of over 1,000 new cases per day for a large portion of November, North Dakota has become the eighth deadliest state in the pandemic, according to data from Johns Hopkins. That being said, there are positive signs of at least temporary improvement in the state: the number of cases has decreased by 38% over the past two weeks compared to the two weeks prior, while deaths have dipped by 19% and hospitalizations are down 16%. However, this could be jeopardized by an anticipated boost in transmission nationwide due to the holiday season. North Dakota did not institute a mask mandate until November, when the state’s Republican Gov. Doug Burgum – who emphasized the importance of a “light touch” from the government throughout the pandemic – declared that the state’s “situation has changed.” White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx described the North Dakota’s Covid-19 protocols and mask usage as the worst she’d seen anywhere in the country when she visited the month prior. However, despite some opposition in the state, Carnegie Mellon University’s COVIDcast project, which tracks mask usage across the U.S., reports that nearly 90% of North Dakotans are now wearing masks. 25%. That’s how many North Dakotans reported knowing someone who died of Covid-19 in a poll commissioned by the North Dakota Newspaper Association just before the Thanksgiving holiday.
Anti-Mask Guv’s Grandmother Died in Nursing Home Ravaged by COVID On Monday, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem buried her grandmother, who was among 13 to die over a two-week period at a top-rated nursing home swept by COVID-19.The 98-year-old grandmother, Aldys Arnold, is said by Noem’s office to have tested negative for the virus, though no cause of death was given. The other 12 of the 13 deaths between Nov. 14 and Nov. 28 at the Estelline Nursing Home are described by the administrator, Mike Ward, as “COVID-related.”“All but one,” Ward told The Daily Beast.But one less is still a dozen COVID deaths in a short period in one small facility. The number makes clear the lunacy of Noem’s downplaying of the pandemic and her continued refusal to impose a statewide mask mandate.“I’ve always taken #COVID19 very seriously, but South Dakota trusted our citizens to exercise their personal responsibility to keep themselves and their loved-ones safe,” Noem tweeted back in July.But the report from the Estelline Nursing Home, in a town of the same name, made clear that South Dakotans are anything but safe. Ward confirmed that along with the deaths, all but two of the surviving 38 residents and at least 16 of the staff had tested positive.The two most recent deaths were on Saturday and helped raise the statewide daily total to 54, a record for South Dakota, which has fewer than 1 million people. Noem remained fixated on livelihoods rather than lives and chose to tweet that day about the importance of supporting small businesses by shopping.
December 1 COVID-19 Test Results; Record Hospitalizations — Note: The data was distorted over the holiday weekend.The US is now averaging over 1 million tests per day. Based on the experience of other countries, for adequate test-and-trace (and isolation) to reduce infections, the percent positive needs to be well under 5% (probably close to 1%), so the US still needs to increase the number of tests per day significantly (or take actions to push down the number of new infections). There were 1,065,594 test results reported over the last 24 hours.There were 176,751 positive tests.Almost 2,500 US deaths have been reported so far in December (one day!). See the graph on US Daily Deaths here. This data is from the COVID Tracking Project.The percent positive over the last 24 hours was 16.6% (red line is 7 day average). The percent positive is calculated by dividing positive results by the sum of negative and positive results (I don’t include pending).And check out COVID Exit Strategy to see how each state is doing. The second graph shows the 7 day average of positive tests reported and daily hospitalizations.The dashed line is the previous hospitalization maximum.Note that there were very few tests available in March and April, and many cases were missed, so the hospitalizations was higher relative to the 7-day average of positive tests in July. Record Hospitalizations (Almost 100,000)
California COVID-19 cases break daily record again – Los Angeles Times – L.A. County on Tuesday reported more than 7,500 new cases – the most in a single day, which the director of public health called “the worst day thus far” of the pandemic. The previous single-day high for all of L.A. County was recorded on Nov. 23, according to The Times’ independent tally, with 6,186 cases. “It will likely not remain the worst day of the pandemic in Los Angeles County. That will be tomorrow, and the next day and the next as cases, hospitalizations and deaths increase,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. With Tuesday’s tally of 7,532 cases, L.A. County is close to averaging 5,000 coronavirus cases a day over the last week – an astonishing quintupling of the figure from mid-October, when there were only about 1,000 cases a day. Even in the summertime surge, which had been the worst of the pandemic, L.A. County maxed out at about 3,300 cases a day. Hospitalizations have more than tripled since Halloween, when there were about 800 people hospitalized, and surged past 2,400 on Monday. It was the second-consecutive day that the high for hospitalizations in L.A. County has been broken, and a number that’s 9% higher that the peak from the summer wave. The unprecedented spread of infections in this third wave of the pandemic comes as local officials implemented some of the strictest coronavirus-related regulations the county has seen in months, and as state officials warn that even more drastic action, such as a version of a stay-at-home order implemented in the springtime, may be necessary before hospitals are overwhelmed with patients. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday said Southern California is forecast to run out of intensive care unit capacity by mid- to late December if current trends continued. By Christmas Eve, ICU beds are forecast to be at 107% of capacity across the region. While intensive care treatments have improved since the early days of the pandemic, all bets are off once ICUs are pushed beyond capacity. “If, all of a sudden, you have one nurse taking care of seven patients on ventilators like in New York, the mortality can be astronomical,” said Dr. George Rutherford, an epidemiologist and infectious disease expert at UC San Francisco. More alarming, the cases reported Tuesday don’t represent infections that occurred during Thanksgiving. Because of the virus’ incubation period of up to two weeks, transmission that occurred over the holiday will show up in confirmed lab tests by roughly mid-December. That influx could be accompanied by a jump in hospitalizations around Christmas and New Year’s Day, with a bump in deaths by mid-January.
Texas sees record 15,000 new virus cases, hospitalization high for 5th day in row – KVIA — Texas reported Tuesday a record 15,182 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total number of cases to 1,184,250, according to the state’s coronavirus dashboard.The state also reported 170 new Covid-19-related deaths, bringing the total number of deaths to 21,549. There are currently 9,047 Covid-19 patients in Texas hospitals, which marks a hospitalization high for the fifth day in a row. In El Paso, hospitalizations actually decreased to 875 patients on Tuesday, which marked the lowest level in over a month.
Michigan sets daily record for COVID-19 deaths -Michigan on Tuesday reported a record 190 deaths tied to COVID-19 and added 5,793 new cases. Of the Tuesday deaths, 30 were identified during a delayed records review, the state said. With the additional records, Tuesday surpassed the previous high for deaths of 164 reached on April 16, at the peak of the pandemic, a day that had no additional reviewed records added. The latest additions bring the state’s total of confirmed cases to 366,242 and deaths to 9,324 since the virus was first detected in Michigan in March, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Michigan has the fifth-highest number of cases and the fourth-highest number of deaths in the nation in the last seven days, according to the CDC’s COVID data tracker. It also has the seventh-highest hospitalization rate and sixth-highest number of COVID patients in the ICU, according to Becker’s Hospital Review. More than 20% of available inpatient beds are filled with COVID patients and state trends for hospitalizations for COVID continue to increase for the past six weeks, the state’s Chief Medical Executive Joneigh Khaldun said Tuesday. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer addressed the state Tuesday, telling residents “I’m not going to sugarcoat this, the next couple months are going to be hard.” “Too many people traveled for Thanksgiving and we will see our numbers increase, very likely because of it,” she said. “They’ll coincide with the next big holiday, Christmas. Too many people are considering traveling and I’m reiterating, please don’t.” The state’s health department last month ordered a temporary pause on in-person learning for high schools and colleges, suspension of in-person dining at restaurants and bars, and the closure of bowling alleys, movie theaters and casinos. Under the order, effective through Dec. 8, indoor residential gatherings are limited to two households at any one time. Child care centers, hair salons, retail shops and preschool through eighth-grade schools are still allowed to operate. Parks and outdoor recreation areas will continue to be open, and gatherings of up to 25 people can take place at funerals. Restaurants can offer take-out and outdoor dining, while gyms and pools can be open for individual exercise.
Illinois reports 238 COVID-19 deaths, the most in a single day since the pandemic began – Chicago Tribune -Illinois public health officials reported 238 coronavirus deaths Wednesday, the most in a single day since the pandemic began. The previous high was 191 deaths reported on May 13, during the height of the pandemic’s first wave. The Illinois Department of Public Health initially reported 192 deaths that day, but later revised that number.In all, the state has recorded 12,639 COVID-19 deaths since March. Illinois has averaged 116 fatalities per day over the past week, near the record high of 118 set in the spring and matched a week ago.The state health department said some of the numbers released Wednesday reflect a lag in reporting from the long holiday weekend.But Gov. J.B. Pritzker said that a delay in reporting, which is typical after weekends, doesn’t change the magnitude of the loss or the severity of the pandemic.“We’ll continue to watch these numbers closely in the coming days to have a better picture of our trajectory, but a life lost reported late after a holiday is still a life lost,” Pritzker said at his daily coronavirus news briefing.Officials also reported 9,757 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total number of known cases to 748,603 statewide.
Grim Day in U.S. as Covid-19 Deaths and Hospitalizations Set Records – The New York Times — The United States on Wednesday recorded its single-worst daily death toll since the pandemic began, and on a day when Covid-19 hospitalizations also hit an all-time high, the pace of loss showed no signs of slowing any time soon. Not since spring, during the pandemic’s first peak, were so many deaths reported. The high point then was 2,752 deaths on April 15. On Wednesday it was at least 2,760. Hospitalizations from the virus topped 100,000 – more than double the number at the beginning of November. That is a clear indicator of what the days ahead may look like, experts say. “If you tell me the hospitalizations are up this week, I’ll tell you that several weeks down the road, the deaths will be up,” said Dr. Jeremy Faust, an emergency medicine physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. For all the similarities to the spring pandemic peak, there are some profound differences. In April, the virus and the deaths were concentrated in New York and New England. Today, the pandemic’s toll is being felt across the country. Still more sobering: The April peak represented the worst moment of spring. It was followed by a decline in deaths as lockdowns were imposed and many Americans altered their behavior. And as staggering as it is, the death toll reported Wednesday appears likely only to worsen, experts say, as the delayed effects of Thanksgiving travel are felt. And many Americans are now weighing how to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s. “This is a much worse situation,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health. “Summer is not going to bail us out. Things are not shut down.” Still, interpreting daily death tolls can be tricky. The figure represents what health authorities report on any given day, not when people actually die. So while the total appeared to dip in the days after Thanksgiving, for example, that most likely meant those doing the tallying had time off, not that fewer people were dying.
US Coronavirus: Hospitals stretched beyond ‘reasonable limit’ as number of Covid-19 patients reaches 100,000 – CNN –The total number of coronavirus deaths reported in a day set a new record Wednesday and hospitalizations also reached an all-time high, and doctors and nurses across the US are trying to find creative ways to handle the surging number of patients.The numbers are grim. More than 100,200 patients were in US hospitals Wednesday, according to the COVID Tracking Project.There were more than 2,670 deaths reported Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University. Those totals have never been higher. The stress on frontline health care workers has never been greater.One county official in Wisconsin told CNN, “Our hospital ICUs and emergency rooms remain stretched beyond any reasonable limit and our healthcare workers as well as our patients need our help.” And the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that these next three months will be “the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation.” After they are authorized by the federal government, coronavirus vaccines should help blunt the pandemic, but experts think it won’t be until spring before a lot of Americans can get them. Right now, the situation in places like Dane County, Wisconsin, are dire. Dane County Executive Joe Parisi, who told CNN resources are alarmingly stretched thin, said medical facilities are nearing capacity and this was the worst of the pandemic. Dr. David Andes, who is a professor and chief of the Division of Infectious Disease within the Department of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin, said their hospitals are about 98% full. “Our numbers are pretty out of control right now,” he said.
US coronavirus hospitalizations surpass 100K for first time –U.S. coronavirus-related hospitalizations on Wednesday surpassed 100,000 for the first time as health officials fear the winter will bring even greater numbers.The COVID Tracking Project documented 100,226 current hospitalizations in the country as of Wednesday – almost a week after the holiday. The record-breaking number also came six days after the U.S. broke 90,000 hospitalizations for the first time on Thanksgiving. Out of the more than 100,000 hospitalized, 19,396 C OVID-19 patients are in the intensive care unit and 6,855 are on a ventilator.South Dakota, Nevada, Indiana, Montana and Nebraska recorded the highest number of patients per capita in hospital beds after the Midwest has endured a spike in COVID-19 cases, according to The Washington Post.The U.S. also documented the highest number of COVID-19 cases confirmed in a single day with 195,695 new cases, leading to The COVID Tracking Project’s total to reach more than 13.7 million cases. Wednesday’s new cases surpasses the seven-day average by almost 35,000 cases. The country recorded its highest amount of deaths in one day since May with 2,733 new deaths Wednesday. The U.S.’s total has reached more than 264,000 fatalities, according to The COVID Tracking Project’s count. The record-high of new cases and current hospitalizations comes on the same day that the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfieldpredicted the next three months will be “the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation.”The CDC forecasts that the U.S. could experience another 200,000 COVID-19 deaths in that time period. The agency had warned Americans not to travel for Thanksgiving and spend the day with people outside of their households a week prior to the holiday. But the days before and after Thanksgiving saw millions of people travel by plane, with Sunday seeing the highest number of passengers since March. Health officials have cautioned that the Thanksgiving gatherings across the country will likely contribute to higher cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the coming weeks.
Daily Deaths Hit Record as Virus Surge Continues Unabated – Coronavirus deaths are edging higher in the wake of a nationwide surge of new coronavirus cases and a record number of hospitalizations. The U.S. recorded 2,804 deaths Wednesday, the highest daily toll since the pandemic began, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University, and the second day in a row with more than 2,500 reported fatalities. Earlier Thursday, Johns Hopkins’ data showed 3,157 deaths reported Wednesday. That figure was revised down after an error in the number of deaths in Eureka County, Nev., was discovered. Reporting varies by state, and deaths recorded on a day may have happened on a different date. The Thanksgiving holiday was expected to disrupt Covid-19 data reported from counties and states across the country. In general, the reporting of data over the average weekend can cause spikes in reported numbers, as gaps and backlogs of cases are reported. But even with reporting gaps, the seven and 14 day averages, which smooth out irregularities in data, are trending upwards. The seven day average of new deaths in the U.S. nearly doubled to 1,603 on Wednesday from 828 on Nov. 1, reaching its highest level since May 11, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data from Johns Hopkins. Health experts project the number will continue to climb, as Thanksgiving gatherings are expected to accelerate the rampant spread of the virus that began earlier this fall. A recent report estimates the daily toll is likely to soar to more than 3,000 by mid-December. The uptick in fatalities comes as the number of people hospitalized with Covid-19 reached a record 100,000, according to the Covid Tracking Project. Illinois and Texas led the nation in fatalities, reporting more than 200 deaths each on Wednesday, Johns Hopkins’ data show. A number of other states–including Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Iowa and Kansas–all recorded their highest number of deaths since the pandemic began. New infections broke the 200,000 mark again on Wednesday with the nation’s most populous states, California and Texas, recording the most daily cases. The daily number of new cases have exceeded 100,000 for 30 days in a row, peaking at above 205,000 cases last Saturday. Nationwide, more than 13.9 million people have been infected with the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 273,836 have died, according to Johns Hopkins data. More than 64.5 million have been infected globally, and more than 1.49 million have died.
US reports 3,100 COVID-19 deaths in one day, surpassing previous record by 20 percent – The U.S. saw its highest single-day coronavirus death toll to date on Wednesday with 3,157. The number was 20 percent higher than the previous single-day high of 2,603 on April 15, and brings the total U.S. death toll to 273,799, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The record high came the same day new hospitalizations exceeded 100,000 for the first time ever and newly reported infections hit 200,000 for only the second time, according to the COVID Tracking Project. Of those hospitalized, 19,396 were intensive care patients, another new high. These numbers likely do not reflect the number of new infections spurred by Thanksgiving gatherings, The Wall Street Journal noted, since hospitalizations typically come within weeks of the corresponding infections. Meanwhile, numerous states that seemingly flattened their infection curves over the summer have seen surges in recent weeks, including Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York. California, another early epicenter of the virus, saw a single-day record of new infections Wednesday with 19,140. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) said Wednesday that the city will exhaust its hospital beds between now and Christmas if current infection rates do not drop. He added that daily infections within the city are three times the rate of early November. “The public health condition of our city is as dire as it was in March in the earliest days of this pandemic,” he said, according to CNN. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield warned Wednesday that the winter months would put extreme pressure on the health care system. Public health experts have repeatedly warned cold weather will likely cause infections to surge as people gather inside. “The reality is December and January and February are going to be rough times. I actually believe they’re going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation, largely because of the stress that’s going to be put on our health care system,” Redfield said.
Los Angeles residents ordered to stay home, avoid gatherings: ‘Cancel everything’ – Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) is calling on residents to stay home for all but essential activities as the city saw its worst coronavirus numbers since the first wave of the pandemic in spring. “My message couldn’t be simpler. It’s time to hunker down. It’s time to cancel everything. And if it isn’t essential, don’t do it,” Garcetti said in a briefing Wednesday afternoon. “Don’t meet up with others outside your household. Don’t host a gathering. Don’t attend a gathering,” he added. “And following our targeted safer at home order, if you’re able to stay home, stay home.” The city revised the order Wednesday to comport with Los Angeles County’s equivalent stay-at-home order, according to ABC7, a Los Angeles-area TV station. The city’s public golf courses, parks and beaches are still open and Angelenos remain free to buy food and seek medical care in person. Under the order, nearly all inessential social gatherings involving people from more than one household are banned, with exceptions for activities like religious services and protests. The county reported 5,987 new cases of the virus Wednesday, down from the record high of 7,593 the previous day. The county said Wednesday that 2,439 people are currently hospitalized.
U.S. tops 14 million Covid-19 cases, sets daily record for deaths, cases and hospitalizations – The United States logged 14 million Covid-19 cases Wednesday just hours after setting three grim records: the highest number of daily deaths, new infections and hospitalizations since the pandemic began.The U.S. reported 2,777 coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday alone, according to an NBC News tally. The country registered nearly 205,000 new cases of Covid-19 on the same day, a figure that comes just a month after the U.S. single-day record topped 100,000 cases for the first time.Meanwhile, more people than ever are hospitalized. The Covid Tracking Project reported that 100,000 people were hospitalized across the country. Much of the United States has seen a rise in cases over the last month. In the last two weeks that surge has been most acute in New Mexico, where the percentage of new cases has risen by 109 percent; Arizona, at 90 percent; and California, 75 percent, according to NBC News data.“Cases are rising, hospitalizations are increasing, deaths are increasing. We need to try to bend the curve, stop this exponential increase,” Dr. Henry Walke, the CDC’s Covid-19 incident manager, said during a briefing.Health experts are bracing for a possible surge in travel-related cases following Thanksgiving. Cases stemming from the holiday are likely to be apparent about a week to 10 days later.CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield had a dire prediction for the winter months. “I actually believe they’re going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation,” he said.Much like it did before Thanksgiving, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending people that cancel plans to travel for the December holidays.
Alabama adds nearly 4,000 COVID cases, breaks single day record following latest backlog – Alabama added a record 3,928 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, but the Alabama Department of Public Health reports 706 of those are old. But even without those old cases, the state added more than 3,000 cases overnight – a number that would have been a record for new cases in a day without a backlog. It’s the second consecutive day the state has included older cases in its daily update, something that happens when one of the many labs throughout the state is late in sharing its numbers with ADPH. Wednesday’s backlog includes confirmed cases from between Nov. 23 and Nov. 29. ADPH has a page on its coronavirus dashboard that shows 7-day average by infectious date, but it’s better used as a tool to examine the state’s history with the virus, not where the fight is today. Even without Wednesday’s backlog, Alabama is adding more cases now than it has at any time since the pandemic began. The state’s positivity rate is currently 35 percent – among the highest in the nation. And hospitals are filling up. On Tuesday, ADPH reported a record 1,785 coronavirus patients were being treated in Alabama hospitals. The state also reported 73 new virus deaths on Wednesday, around 20 of which we know to have occurred since the start of November, though that number is likely to go up. It sometimes takes weeks, or longer, for a date to be associated with a virus death. Wednesday’s batch of deaths also includes at least one from as far back as April. Jefferson County, the most populous county in the state and home to Birmingham, continues to add the most cases in Alabama. A record 688 new cases were reported there on Wednesday, though it’s unclear how many of those, if any, were due to the data backlog. Jefferson County’s 7-day average for new cases broke 400 for the first time Wednesday, and now stands at 403. No other county was close to the number of cases in Jefferson Wednesday, but three added over 200 cases. Tuscaloosa added 225; Etowah, home of Gadsden, added 213; and Madison, home of Huntsville, added 202. Bibb County, a small county just south of Birmingham, added 20 new deaths to its tally on Wednesday – that’s more than half of its total since the pandemic began. It’s unclear when those deaths actually occurred. Barbour County, in southeast Alabama, reported 18 deaths Wednesday – also more than half its total.
US coronavirus: Covid-19 hospitalizations set another daunting record at 100,667 – CNN – Thursday marked yet another bleak day of the pandemic, with the United States reporting a record high of 100,667 Covid-19 hospitalizations, according to the Covid Tracking Project. So far, each day this week has brought a new record. More than 2,800 Covid-19 deaths were reported Wednesday in the United States — the most the country has ever reported in a single day. As of Thursday evening, Johns Hopkins University has reported 203,304 new cases and 2,702 reported deaths for the day. This is the second highest daily report of new cases since the pandemic began. One-day death totals can draw from delayed reports across several days. Still, recently soaring daily rates of infections and hospitalizations has various expertspredicting the daily death count could regularly surpass 2,000 or 3,000, and perhaps approach 4,000. The country’s daily average of Covid-19 deaths across a week is 1,654 — above its summer high of around 1,130 but lower than the pandemic peak above 2,240 in late April. “By this time next week, we are going to be talking about 3,000 deaths a day — that’s 9/11 every single day,” Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at George Washington University, told CNN on Wednesday.
US virus deaths top 3,100 in a single day for the first time – The United States topped more than 3,100 confirmed coronavirus deaths reported in a single day on Dec. 2, a record high, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Thursday, 3,157 people died from the virus – that’s larger than the number of people who died on Sept. 1This comes as the country approaches more than 14 million confirmed coronavirus cases, and on Wednesday, COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S. exceeded 100,000, according to data from The COVID Tracking Project“The reality is December and January and February are going to be rough times. I actually believe they are going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation,” Dr. Robert Redfield, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday.Health authorities had warned that the numbers could fluctuate strongly before and after Thanksgiving, as they often do around holidays and weekends. Because of reporting delays, the figures often drop, then rise sharply a few days later as state and local health agencies catch up with the backlog.Still, deaths, hospitalizations and cases in the U.S. have been on a fairly steady rise for weeks, sometimes breaking records for days on end. Nationwide, the coronavirus is blamed for over 270,000 deaths.
North Carolina reports single-day record for new COVID-19 cases – North Carolina health officials announced a new single-day record for new COVID-19 cases Thursday, as well as another record for hospitalizations. The Department of Health and Human Services reported 5,637 new cases Thursday and 2,101 hospitalizations due to the coronavirus, both marking single-day records since the pandemic began. So far, 5,410 people have died in North Carolina due to COVID-19. The percentage of positive tests for Wednesday’s report was 10.1%. In total, North Carolina has 377,231 cases statewide. Earlier this week, Gov. Roy Cooper announced the state is preparing for its first shipment of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. Cooper said the state is expected to get around 84,000 dosages, with health care workers on the front lines getting vaccinated first. WCNC Charlotte’s Alex Shabad learned 85,000 dosages are expected to arrive the week of Dec. 14 with Moderna’s vaccine expected to arrive by Dec. 21. From there, the state will receive each vaccine weekly. Secretary of the NCDHHS, Dr. Mandy Cohen calls 5,000 record number of cases reported alarming. “I am very worried. I know this is a hard time to stay away from family friends but it’s the best way to take personal responsibility and show our care for them.””It may be possible that we need to go backward and everything is on the table. We can all do things right now to slow the spread of this virus. We have to.”State health officials announced Thursday that a new pilot program will offer free, rapid COVID-19 testing in all K-12 public schools in North Carolina. The announcement comes as health leaders scramble to find a way to contain the virus in schools. “The point of testing is early identification in people who may be positive so that we can more quickly put in those control measures to prevent spreads through the schools,” said Dr. Elizabeth Tilson.
Coronavirus in Pennsylvania: 11,406 record new cases, 386,837 total as of Dec. 3, 2020 (WHTM) – The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed as of 12:00 a.m., December 3, that there were 11,406 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 386,837. This is the highest daily increase of COVID-19 cases. There are 4,982 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19. Of that number, 1,048 patients are in the intensive care unit with COVID-19. Most of the patients hospitalized are ages 65 or older, and most of the deaths have occurred in patients 65 or older. More data is available here. The trend in the 14-day moving average of number of hospitalized patients per day has increased by nearly 3,500 since the end of September. Statewide percent positivity for the week of November 20 – November 26 stood at 11.7%. The most accurate daily data is available on the website, with archived data also available. The number of tests administered within the last 7 days between November 26 and December 2 is 381,784 with 47,602 positive cases. There were 67,067 test results reported to the department through 10 p.m., December 2. This is the highest number of test results reported to date. As of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, December 2, there were 187 new deaths reported for a total of 10,944 deaths attributed to COVID-19. County-specific information and a statewide map are available on the COVID-19 Data Dashboard.
New COVID Cases Set Record in Mass. With Spike Thursday – For a second consecutive day, Massachusetts health officials have announced a record number of new COVID-19 cases. The Department of Public Health on Thursday announced 6,477 new coronavirus cases, a single-day high since the start of the pandemic. The department noted that its announcement was delayed due to a single laboratory reporting 680 cases prior to Dec. 1. Even without those 680 cases, however, there were far more than the 4,613 new cases confirmed Wednesday, which broke the previous record. Massachusetts also reported 49 more coronavirus deaths. There have now been 10,637 confirmed deaths and 232,264 cases, according to the DPH. Another 237 deaths are considered probably linked to COVID-19. The percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive, on average, has increased to 5.29%, according to the report.The number of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 has increased to 1,324. Of that number, 261 were listed as being in intensive care units and 137 are intubated, according to DPH. Gov. Charlie Baker said Tuesday the first coronavirus vaccines could start arriving in Massachusetts as early as this month, but it will take time to achieve widespread distribution. The first doses will likely be reserved for frontline health care workers, people over the age of 65 or with underlying health conditions, and other essential workers. The state is preparing to submit its final plan for vaccine acceptance and distribution to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control on Friday.
Virus Updates: US Sets Another Daily Deaths Record; Texas Tightens Restrictions – The United States reported more than 205,000 coronavirus cases on Thursday, the most in a single day since the beginning of the pandemic, according to NBC News. The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Robert Redfield warned the next few months of the COVID-19 pandemic will be among “the most difficult in the public health history of this nation” while signing off on a CDC panel’s decision to vaccinate health workers and nursing homes first. The Pfizer vaccine could be approved by Dec. 10 or 11, Operation Warp Speed chief science adviser Moncef Slaoui said. Meanwhile, former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton said Thursday they would get vaccinated on camera to help build confidence in the U.S. that the treatment is safe. The U.S. has recorded more than 14 million coronavirus cases and 274,000 deaths during the pandemic, according to a tally by NBC News.The United States set another daily record for coronavirus-related deaths Thursday. Across the country, 2,802 people died from the virus, according to a tally by NBC News. The previous single-day record was recorded the day before on December 2nd, when the U.S. reported 2,777 deaths. This is the 3rd day in a row that the U.S. has reported more than 2,000 deaths in a day. Dec. 2 marked COVID-19’s deadliest day in the United States so far. The virus claimed at least 2,777 lives in a single day nationwide, with 100,000 people hospitalized and twice that many testing positive in a single…Read mor For at least the next week, many North Texas businesses are now subject immediately to greater restrictions after seven straight days where the percentage of COVID-19 patients in area hospitals has topped 15%, NBC DFW reports. That 7-day mark is the threshold at which Gov. Greg Abbott outlined in executive order GA-32 where counties in Texas’ 22 TSAs must rollback reopening restrictions to help alleviate the strain on the healthcare system. To that end, all non-essential businesses, such as restaurants, retail stores, office buildings, manufacturing facilities, gyms and exercise facilities, museums and libraries, must immediately reduce occupancy levels from 75% to 50%. Bars in those TSAs, defined as establishments whose sales are 51% or more derived from alcohol, must also immediately close. Licensed hospitals are required to discontinue elective surgeries.
States plan for vaccine distribution as daily US virus deaths top 3,100 –States drafted plans Thursday for who will go to the front of the line when the first doses of COVID-19 vaccine become available later this month, as U.S. deaths from the outbreak eclipsed 3,100 in a single day, obliterating the record set last spring. With initial supplies of the vaccine certain to be limited, governors and other state officials are weighing both health and economic concerns in deciding the order in which the shots will be dispensed.States face a Friday deadline to submit requests for doses of the Pfizer vaccine and specify where they should be shipped, and many appear to be heeding nonbinding guidelines adopted this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to put health care workers and nursing home patients first.But they’re also facing a multitude of decisions about other categories of residents – some specific to their states; some vital to their economies.Colorado’s draft plan, which is being revised, puts ski resort workers who share close quarters in the second phase of vaccine distribution, in recognition of the $6 billion industry’s linchpin role in the state’s economy.In Nevada, where officials have stressed the importance of bringing tourists back to the Las Vegas Strip, authorities initially put nursing home patients in the third phase, behind police officers, teachers, airport operators and retail workers. But they said Wednesday that they would revise that plan to conform to the CDC guidance.In Arkansas, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said health care and long-term care facility workers are the top priority, but the state was still refining who would be included in the next phase. A draft vaccination plan submitted to the CDC in October listed poultry workers along with other essential workers such as teachers, law enforcement and correctional employees in the so-called 1B category.Poultry is a major part of Arkansas’ economy, and nearly 6,000 poultry workers have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began, according to the state Health Department. “We know these workers have been the brunt of large outbreaks not only in our state, but also in other states,” said Dr. Jose Romero, the state’s health secretary and chairman of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Plans for the vaccine are being rolled out as the surging pandemic swamps U.S. hospitals and leaves nurses and other medical workers shorthanded and burned out. Nationwide, the coronavirus is blamed for more than 275,000 deaths and 14 million confirmed infections.The U.S. recorded 3,157 deaths on Wednesday alone, according to the tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. That’s more than the number of people killed on 9/11 and shattered the old mark of 2,603, set on April 15, when the New York metropolitan area was the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak.The number of Americans in the hospital with the coronavirus likewise hit an all-time high Wednesday at more than 100,000, according to the COVID Tracking Project. The figure has more than doubled over the past month. And new cases per day have begun topping 200,000, by Johns Hopkins’ count.
Immediate action is necessary to save hundreds of thousands of lives! – A tragedy of unprecedented proportions is unfolding in the United States. More than 13,000 people have died over the past week alone, including 2,918 yesterday, the highest daily death toll since the pandemic began. More than 218,000 people tested positive for the virus yesterday, another record. A staggering 283,000 people have died in the United States. At yesterday’s rate, 400,000 people will be dead by the end of this month, and more than 450,000 will be dead by the end of January. The milestone of half a million dead will be reached by the middle of February, without taking into account the expected surge in deaths. Centers for Disease Control Director Robert Redfield said this week that the coming months “are going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation.” In an extraordinary statement, President-elect Joe Biden said Wednesday, “I don’t want to scare anybody here, but understand the facts – we’re likely to lose another 250,000 people dead between now and January.” Biden made this statement with the implication that these deaths are inevitable, as though it were a cosmic event that simply cannot be stopped. He made no proposal for urgent actions to prevent the deaths of a quarter-million people. Indeed, he followed his comment with the declaration: “We no longer have to shut down.” These remarks echoed his statement from last month: “I’m not going to shut down the economy, period.” The president-elect knows full well that the vast majority of these deaths can be prevented by shutting down nonessential production and closing schools in the United States, with full compensation for lost wages. Dr. Michael Osterholm, the most eminent member of Biden’s COVID-19 task force, urgently called for a nationwide shutdown last month, a position that was immediately repudiated by the Biden transition team. Nearly a year into the pandemic, the effectiveness of public health measures is not in dispute. Every country that has closed businesses and schools has had a fall in cases and deaths. And every country that has eased restrictions has had an increase. Even now, if a national closure of nonessential production and schools was ordered, there is no doubt that it would save hundreds of thousands of lives. Yet the entire US political establishment refuses to take the most basic measures necessary to contain the pandemic. Instead of closing businesses and schools, the remaining restrictions are being eliminated, and schools, as in New York City, are being reopened. Instead of providing financial assistance to workers, Congress refuses to provide even the most basic aid for the unemployed.
Deadly COVID-19 outbreaks in two long-term care facilities could be linked to Washington state wedding, officials say – A Washington state wedding last month that hosted more than 300 people may now be linked to deadly coronavirus outbreaks at two long-term care facilities, officials said Friday. The Nov. 7 wedding at a private location near Ritzville, Wash., first gained attention when nearly 40 attendees from the neighboring Grant County had tested positive for COVID-19 within 10 days of the event. Washington state health guidelines at the time limited wedding ceremonies to 30 people. The Grant County Health District is now saying that staff at two long-term care facilities who attended the wedding, which has been labeled by officials as a “super-spreader” event, contracted the virus. According to ABC News, health officials said that the staff members worked while they were contagious, before they were aware that they were carrying the infection. It was unclear as of Friday how many cases could be traced back to these employees and the event. “They care for all residents so it will not be known which cases are tied to the staff,” Grant County Health District administrator Theresa Adkinson told ABC in an email.ABC noted that there have been 54 COVID-19 deaths in the county, including 29 associated with long-term care facilities. Adkinson added that the department plans to do a “deeper data analysis” once the recent infection surge is better under control.
Coronavirus: California’s record-setting case explosion continues – COVID-19 cases continued to skyrocket on Friday as California counties reported a new single-day record of 22,491 total cases. The state also recorded its highest seven-day case average of 17,819 and tallied 208 deaths, the most in one day since the end of July. An unprecedented, miserable stretch of the pandemic is showing no signs of slowing down as gatherings over the Thanksgiving holiday begin to show up in case counts. There have now been 19,797 COVID-related deaths in California and 1,308,736 cases, according to data compiled by this news organization.As the Bay Area continues to record worrisome case numbers, some major counties on Friday announced they would voluntarily adopt stronger restrictions on public gatherings. California will mandate many of those restrictions for regions where the number of occupied ICU beds surpasses 85% capacity. Together, the 10 counties comprising the Bay Area recorded 2,294 new cases and 23 new deaths. The total number of new cases in the region did recede between Thursday and Friday, with Alameda and Contra Costa counties reporting fewer cases. But Santa Clara County alone reported 844 new cases, topping its previous single-day record set on Nov. 30. It reported 8 new deaths on Friday, one fewer than the day before. San Mateo County, one of the jurisdictions that has not joined other counties in voluntarily implementing tougher restrictions, saw 177 new cases and 6 new deaths. On Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom pulled the plug on the previous county-based reopening blueprint, announcing the state will be split into five regions that could each receive fresh stay-at-home orders depending on their ICU bed capacity.
San Francisco mayor orders strict new lockdowns as pandemic spirals (Reuters) – The mayor of San Francisco on Friday ordered new lockdowns and business restrictions across the Bay Area in the face of the COVID-19 surge, as political leaders nationwide ramp up pressure on Americans to stay home until vaccines can be distributed. The new measures announced by Mayor London Breed, a first-term Democrat, apply across five Bay Area counties and are among the harshest of any major U.S. city, closing all personal services, outdoor dining and most public gatherings. “What we are seeing in our city, our region, our state and our country is a virus that is taking over,” Breed, 46, said in announcing the new clamp down. California Governor Gavin Newsom, also a Democrat, said on Thursday he would impose similar stay-at-home orders statewide, to take effect region-by-region as intensive care beds reach capacity. Breed said she was unwilling to wait for Newsom’s mandate to take effect in the Bay Area, adding: “If you’re not working to stay ahead of this virus you’re falling far, far behind and very quickly.” Starting at 10 p.m. this Sunday, San Francisco will close all outdoor dining, outdoor playgrounds, zoos and aquariums along with other measures, according to a statement on the mayor’s website. “Low contact retail such as pet grooming, electronics or shoe repair services, may only operate in a curbside drop-off context,” the statement read. “All other retail, including grocery stores must reduce capacity to 20%.”
Daily record: 30 new COVID-19 deaths, 1,400 new cases reported by the DHHR – West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources officials reported a record breaking 1,400 new COVID-19 cases in the Mountain State Saturday. It brings the total count to 53,572. DHHR officials also reported a new record of 30 additional COVID-19 related deaths in the state Saturday bringing the death count to 829. The patients were a 67-year old male from Tyler County, a 73-year old male from Cabell County, an 85-year old female from Putnam County, a 62-year old female from Kanawha County, a 65-year old male from Mercer County, an 85-year old female from Kanawha County, a 79-year old male from Mercer County, a 69-year old female from Mineral County, a 68-year old male from Berkeley County, an 84-year old male from Barbour County, a 54-year old male from Fayette County, a 36-year old male from Mingo County, a 51-year old male from Kanawha County, a 76-year old male from Mineral County, a 93-year old female from Mineral County, a 73-year old female from Berkeley County, an 88-year old female Putnam County, a 95-year old female from Kanawha County, a 74-year old female from Fayette County, a 76-year old male from Fayette County, an 84-year old male from Kanawha County, a 75-year old male from Kanawha County, an 80-year old male from Ohio County, an 85-year old female from Putnam County, a 61-year old male from Mineral County, an 84-year old male from Mineral County, an 82-year old female from Preston County, an 83-year old female from Preston County, a 47-year old male from Logan County, and a 63-year old female from Logan County. According to data from DHHR, 641 patients are currently hospitalized. 177 patients are in ICU, and 85 patients are on ventilators.
New Mexico shut down nearly everything to keep hospitals from being overwhelmed by covid-19. It wasn’t enough. The governor had been sounding the alarm for more than a month. But by mid-November, it was clear to Michelle Lujan Grisham that she would need to take extreme measures to head off the “most serious emergency that New Mexico has ever faced.”With covid-19 cases rising exponentially and hospital beds dwindling, she dragged her state back to the darkest days of spring, when restaurant dining was banned, nonessential businesses were closed and residents were ordered to stay inside unless absolutely necessary.She hoped it might be enough to avert catastrophe this winter.“New Mexico has crushed this virus before – twice,” she told her state’s 2 million citizens. “We’re going to do it again.”Three weeks later, victory remains a distant prospect. Instead, Lujan Grisham (D) is on the verge of acknowledging just how grim conditions have become: She will, she said in an interview, soon allow hospitals to move to “crisis standards,” a move that frees them to ration care depending on a patient’s likelihood of surviving. It is a step that she and other governors have avoided through nine months of battling the pandemic, and one that doctors dread.“That’s a physician’s nightmare,” said Jason Mitchell, chief medical officer at Presbyterian Healthcare Services, one of the state’s largest providers. “We want to save every life we can.”But given the severe strain on medical systems statewide and the lack of available ICU beds as covid hospitalizations near 1,000 statewide, Mitchell said there was likely no other choice.“We’re headed there very quickly,” he said. “There’s no more room at the inn.”The dire state of New Mexico’s covid fight reflects just how pernicious an opponent the coronavirus really is, and how it can outlast or outmaneuver even the most stalwart efforts to keep it in check.New Mexico has consistently won praise among public health experts for its aggressive approach to combating the virus. Lujan Grisham issued a stay-at-home order in March when there were fewer than 100 cases statewide, and she has gone as far as locking down entire cities to stem the spread. A study by Oxford University found that the state’s approach was among the most restrictive – and also the most successful, with New Mexico dodging the spring and summer surges that afflicted so many other states.But with pandemic fatigue growing and political resistance building – including from the White House – New Mexico has not escaped the outbreak raging nationwide this fall. And even though there is evidence that the governor’s November shutdown orders are helping to reduce case numbers, experts say there is only so much good they can do with a virus that zealously exploits any weakness.
US sets new single-day COVID case record as hospitals struggle- Al Jazeera The United States recorded a new single-day record for COVID-19 cases on Friday, as a countrywide surge in infections has forced several states to reimpose restrictions and pushed healthcare networks to the brink. The US recorded 227,885 new cases on Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University, and 2,011 total deaths linked to the novel coronavirus. To date, more than 14.5 million infections have been confirmed in the country, with more than 280,000 deaths. The latest surge, which comes as the US enters its colder months, has stressed the healthcare system in several states. Officials have warned that increased travelling and gathering during the Thanksgiving holiday on November 26 likely added to the spike.
US sets new daily coronavirus record with nearly 228,000 cases The United States set a record for daily coronavirus infections on Friday, recording nearly 228,000 new cases. According to data collected by Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. added 227,885 new cases on Friday, passing a previous high of 217,000 set on Thursday. The high mark comes just days after the U.S. surpassed 14 million coronavirus infections and set a new record for single-day coronavirus deaths with 2,879 fatalities. Another 2,607 deaths were reported Friday, and as of Saturday, the overall death toll in the U.S. had reached more than 279,000 since the start of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. set several records in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths this week as experts warn of a continued surge following Thanksgiving gatherings and related travel. The White House coronavirus task forced warned states that a further rise in cases after the holiday threatens to overwhelm the health care system and compromise patient care. “We are in a very dangerous place due to the current, extremely high COVID baseline and limited hospital capacity; a further post-Thanksgiving surge will compromise COVID patient care, as well as medical care overall,” the task force warned. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urged Americans not to travel for Christmas amid fears that gatherings could further spread the virus. The CDC issued similar guidance shortly before Thanksgiving, though travel rates the day before the holiday reached their highest levels since March. The recent surge in cases has prompted several states to impose new restrictions, including a new system in California unveiled by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) this week under which regions would fall under three-week stay-at-home orders if they have less than 15 percent ICU capacity.
US Coronavirus: The country hit a record 7-day average of new Covid-19 cases. And the impacts of Thanksgiving will only make things worse, experts warn – Hospitals across the US are being put under immense pressure as the nation continues to hit record levels of new Covid-19 cases. “We’re seeing day-by-day increasing numbers of patients with Covid-19, both those who are a little bit sick and those who are really sick,” said Dr. Megan Ranney, a CNN medical analyst and director of the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health at Brown University. “As that happens, our hospitals are filling up, and our workers are getting sick. Our floors are short on techs, on respiratory therapists, on nurses,” said Ranney, adding, “We are on the verge of being in a crisis state.” Rhode Island’s not alone. More than 101,200 Covid-19 patients were in US hospitals on Friday – a record high, according to the Covid Tracking Project. Hospital systems – and health care workers – are approaching their breaking points. “Everywhere we’re seeing a surge,” said Dr. Carlos del Rio, an infectious disease physician and executive associate dean of Emory University School of Medicine. “And the biggest problem when you have a surge is, it’s not the space, it’s not the stuff, it’s actually the staff. Staff are tired, sick and I’m worried we’re running out of staff to take care of patients.” Experts fear a potential surge of infections linked to Thanksgiving gatherings that will further stress hospitals and frontline health workers. Dr. Shirlee Xie, a hospitalist and associate director of hospital medicine for Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis, said health care workers are “suffocating” in their patients’ fear and in their colleagues’ exhaustion. “Every single day, thousands more people are getting this virus, and we know that means that in a few days, in a week, hundreds of people are going to be coming to the hospital and hundreds of people are going to die,” she told CNN’s Ana Cabrera, her voice breaking with emotion. “I think that sometimes when you hear statistics like that, you become numb to what those numbers mean,” Xie said. “But for us, the people that are taking care of these patients, every single number is somebody that we have to look at and say, ‘I’m sorry, there’s nothing more I can do for you.'”
State, local officials plead for vaccine distribution funds – Public health experts say state and local governments are underfunded and unprepared for what is expected to be the largest vaccination campaign in U.S. history. While the Trump administration has spent more than $10 billion supporting the development of COVID-19 vaccines, just $340 million has been allocated to agencies below the federal level to help with distribution efforts that will cost anywhere from $6 billion to $13.3 billion, according to various estimates. Health care workers, nursing home residents and other priority groups could be vaccinated as soon as this month, according to estimates by Trump officials. But the administration has not planned for the subsequent vaccination of hundreds of millions of Americans in the general population next year or how to pay for it. “We knew vaccines would be in development, so it’s not a surprise we would need to build up the deployment system. Now we could be weeks away from the first doses going out, and we really haven’t invested in any of that work,” said Adriane Casalotti, chief of government and public affairs at the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). “Things could have been done earlier without having to reach this level of emergency,” she added. “To not have put a single dime toward deployment of it is a real disservice.” The administration’s Operation Warp Speed plans to ship out 6.4 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine within 24 hours of receiving authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. Federal officials estimate shipments will begin in mid-December, with each state receiving a certain proportion based on its population. Health workers and nursing home residents are likely to be first in line, followed by other essential workers as well as teachers, the elderly and people with underlying health conditions. Members of the general public could begin receiving vaccinations by March, when monthly production is projected to reach as many as 150 million doses. Vaccinating the vast majority of Americans requires at least $8.4 billion in funding for state and local governments, according to estimates from NACCHO, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, and the Association of Immunization Managers. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield previously told Congress about $6 billion would be needed. Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress say they recognize the need for vaccine distribution funding, but negotiations over another COVID-19 relief bill have yet to lead to a deal despite months of sporadic talks. “I’m not getting a sense from Congress that there’s tremendous urgency on this,”
Sicily asks Cuba to send medics as Italy fights second Covid wave – Authorities in Sicily have asked Cuba’s government to send about 60 healthcare workers, including doctors and nurses, to the region as hospitals in the Italian island struggle with a shortage of medical personnel during the second coronavirus wave. The request was filed this week to the Italian embassy in Cuba and refers to intensive care specialists, nurses, anaesthetists, resuscitators, virologists and pneumologists, the Italian newspaper la Repubblica reported. Between March and April this year, Cuban medical teams landed in some of Italy’s worst-hit regions, including Lombardy and Piedmont, to replace overworked Italian professionals. Other medical brigades have fanned out across the world to fight Covid-19 in 20 other countries, from South Africa to Suriname. “The Cuban government has teams of doctors and nurses who are willing to travel to other countries to work, and we asked for their help’’, Renato Costa, Sicily’s Covid-19 emergency commissioner, told la Repubblica. “We know that in recent weeks other regions in Italy have asked Cuba for help, too. We just hope they will come to us first. I am in contact with the embassy, which has welcomed our request.” On 4 November, Rome designated Sicily as an “orange zone”, at high risk, mainly because of the lack of health facilities and beds in intensive care units. There were a further 48 deaths in Sicily on Tuesday; the highest daily toll since the beginning of the pandemic. The Covid second wave has exposed Italy’s shortage of intensive care staff. Many medics have chosen to leave the profession or take early retirement after the trauma experienced in the spring. Italy’s doctors’ federation said that 27 medics had lost their lives within the last 10 days, while 27,000 health workers had become infected over the past month.
76 German nuns positive for COVID in outbreak at convent – At least 76 Catholic nuns have tested positive for COVID-19 amid an outbreak at their convent in Germany, church officials said Tuesday. The Sisters of Saint Francis of the Martyr St. George in Thuine detected the first cases of the coronavirus last week, prompting local health authorities to place the entire monastery under quarantine. So far, the cases have been mild, said the convent’s Mother Superior. “We are grateful that so far nobody is in the hospital,” Sister Maria Cordis Reiker, told the Associated Press. The tests of a further 85 nuns have come back negative. Officials were still awaiting the results of 160 non-clerical employees of the monastery, including kitchen staffers and nurses working at its old age home. The nuns also run several schools, including a boys’ boarding school. Most Catholic nuns in Germany are elderly women, according to the AP, placing them more at risk of serious illness from the virus. Overall in Germany, 13,604 new cases of COVID-19 and 388 deaths were reported on Tuesday, according to the country’s national disease control center.
U.K. Clears Pfizer Covid Vaccine for First Shots Next Week — The U.K. became the first western country to approve a Covid-19 vaccine, with its regulator clearing Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE’s shot ahead of decisions in the U.S. and European Union. The emergency authorization clears the way for the deployment of a vaccine that Pfizer and its German partner have said is 95% effective in preventing illness. The shot will be available in Britain from next week. “This is going to be one of the biggest civilian projects in history,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock said in a radio interview, with 50 hospitals preparing to administer the vaccine and 800,000 doses ready to be delivered from Belgium. The U.K. had signaled it would move swiftly in approving a vaccine, and doctors across the country were put on standby for a possible rollout. For U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the rollout may offer some political respite after eight months of criticism over his pandemic strategy, as Britain’s death toll nears 60,000. “We can see the way out, and we can see that by the spring we are going to be through this,” Hancock said on Sky News.
EU criticises ‘hasty’ UK approval of COVID-19 vaccine (Reuters) – The European Union criticised Britain’s rapid approval of Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, saying its own procedure was more thorough, after Britain became the first western country to endorse a COVID-19 shot. The move to grant emergency authorisation to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has been seen by many as a political coup for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has led his country out of the EU and faced criticism for his handling of the pandemic. The decision was made under an ultra-fast, emergency approval process, which allowed the British drugs regulator to temporarily authorise the vaccine only 10 days after it began examining data from large-scale trials. In an unusually blunt statement, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which is in charge of approving COVID-19 vaccines for the EU, said its longer approval procedure was more appropriate as it was based on more evidence and required more checks than the emergency procedure chosen by Britain. The agency said on Tuesday it would decide by Dec. 29 whether to provisionally authorise the vaccine from U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc and its German partner BioNTech SE . A spokesman for the European Commission, the EU executive, said the EMA’s procedure was “the most effective regulatory mechanism to grant all EU citizens’ access to a safe and effective vaccine,” as it was based on more evidence. Pfizer UK Country Manager Ben Osborn said, “We have provided complete data packages, the unblinded data, to both regulators. I think what you’re seeing is just the difference in the underlying process and timelines, as opposed to any difference in data submission.”
Putin says doctors and teachers will get first COVID-19 vaccines in new immunization campaign – Russian president Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered a “large-scale” coronavirus immunization campaign, placing doctors and teachers first in line to receive the Russian-made vaccine. Russia’s vaccine, which has not yet gone through the studies to ensure its safety and effectiveness, was first announced in September. This allowed Russia to become the first country to register a coronavirus vaccine. Putin said his own daughter would be among the early recipients of the vaccine, according to The Associated Press. Russia touted its vaccine, called Sputnik V, and quickly gave it regulatory approval, though health experts criticized this move, noting that it had only been tested on about a dozen people at the time. The Russian leader said over 2 million doses of Sputnik V will be produced in the next few days. “This gives us the opportunity to start if not mass, but large-scale vaccination, and of course, as we agreed, first of all of the two risk groups – doctors and teachers,” said Putin. He appointed Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova to put together a campaign to allow mass vaccinations to begin by the end of next week. The shots will be voluntary and free, according to Golikova. Like Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccines, the vaccine will be administered in two shots. According to Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko, over 100,000 people in Russia have been given the shot already. Medical journal The Lancet reported that participants in the Russian vaccine trials developed antibodies without serious symptoms and said it had a “good safety profile,” though further testing was recommended. Putin’s announcement came just as the U.K. approved Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, becoming the first Western country to do so. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Russia has recorded over 2.3 million coronavirus cases and more than 41,000 deaths. The country recorded 589 coronavirus on deaths on Tuesday, the most it has reported since the pandemic began.
Putin orders Russia to begin mass COVID-19 vaccinations (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian authorities on Wednesday to begin mass voluntary vaccinations against COVID-19 next week as Russia recorded 589 new daily deaths from the coronavirus. Russia will have produced 2 million vaccine doses within the next few days, Putin said. Russia said last month that its Sputnik V jab was 92% effective at protecting people from COVID-19 according to interim results. “Let’s agree on this – you will not report to me next week, but you will start mass vaccination…let’s get to work already,” Putin told Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova. Golikova said large-scale vaccination could begin on a voluntary basis in December. The rise in infections has slowed since reaching a high on Nov. 27, with 25,345 new cases reported on Wednesday. Russia has resisted imposing lockdowns during the second wave of the virus, preferring targeted regional curbs.
Former French President dies after contracting COVID-19 -Former French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing has died at the age of 94 after contracting the coronavirus.Giscard was admitted to hospital in September with respiratory problems before being hospitalized again in November. He died at his home after suffering complications linked to the virus, according to Reuters. Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy paid tribute to Giscard saying he, “worked his whole life to reinforce relations between European nations.” Giscard lead France from 1974 to 1981 and was credited with modernising the country by allowing divorce by mutual consent and legalizing abortion, Reuters reported. He was the first president to be elected after Charles de Gaulle’s extended time in power.
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