Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

“That’s what the insurrection act is for!”

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

Bad news for Ron DeSantis is great news for America.

“Squeaker” McCarthy

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

As long as McCarthy is Speaker, the House will never be in order.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Take your GOP plan out of the witness protection program.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Chutkan laughs. Lauro sits back down.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Trump’s legal defense is going to be a dumpster fire inside a clown car on a derailing train.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Bark louder, little dog.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 Coronavirus / COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Tuesday/Wednesday, Dec. 15-16

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Tuesday/Wednesday, Dec. 15-16

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33Comments

  1. 1.

    WereBear

    I’ve been hearing of increased vaccine acceptance with Biden administration approving it.

    Which makes sense. And reduces the apparent numbers of “it’s got a chip in it!” and “Mark of the Beast” people.

  2. 2.

    Frankensteinbeck

    Who is coordinating the rollout now?  I heard that it had been left to the military and was thinking that if the White House has decided they don’t give a damn anymore, that will keep it at “not a clusterfuck” levels until Biden takes charge.  It would even open the way that Biden may be quietly influencing the process.  I don’t actually know if that’s true, is the thing.

  3. 3.

    NeenerNeener

    Monroe County, NY yesterday:
    620 new cases, 725 people in the hospital, 141 one of them in the ICU. Average % of total hospital beds available is 25%, average % of available ICU beds is 41%.

  4. 4.

    YY_Sima Qian

    Yesterday, China reported 0 new domestic confirmed and 5 new domestic asymptomatic cases.
     
    Mudanjiang in Heilongjiang Province reported 1 asymptomatic cases, at Suifenhe, a traced close contact already under quarantine. There are currently 10 confirmed (8 at Suifenhe and 2 at Dongning) and 3 asymptomatic cases (all at Suifenhe) in Mudanjiang. 2 residential compounds and an office building at Suifenhe, and 1 sub-district at Dongning, remain designated as Medium Risk.
     
    Dalian in Liaoning Province reported 4 new asymptomatic cases, all are cold chain logistics workers at the port facilities there, discovered during regular screening. They all work at the same company. Epidemiological investigation is underway.
     
    Chengdu in Sichuan Province did not report any new positive cases. There are currently 11 confirmed (1 serious, 8 moderate and 2 mild) and 1 asymptomatic cases there. 1,178 contacts are under quarantine. 2 villages and 3 residential compounds are designated as Medium Risk.
     
    The cargo pilot case and his travel history has prompted epidemiological investigations at 3 jurisdictions in Sichuan Province. As of 7 PM on 12/15, Chengdu has traced 54 F1 close contacts, 53 swabbed, and 45 results obtained so far are negative; 164 F2 close contacts, 124 swabbed, 61 results obtained so far are negative, 1,146 regular contacts, 826 results obtained so far are negative; 173 environmental samples collected, 142 results obtained so far are negative. Mianyang has traced 50 F1 close contacts, 6 F2 close contacts, 112 regular contacts, 5,099 individuals at risk of exposure, and 196 environmental samples collected, all results negative. Meishan (rest stop between Chengdu and Mianyang) has not identified any F1 or F2 close contacts, has traced 1,009 regular contacts and at risk individuals, 992 swabbed, 60 environmental samples collected, all results so far are negative. The residential compound where the pilot lives in Chengdu is under lock down, and all residents will be tested.
     
    Turfan in Xinjiang “Autonomous” Region did not report any new positive cases. There are currently 4 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 1 residential compound, the one with active cases, has been designated as Medium Risk.
     
    At Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region, 1 confirmed case recovered. There are 21 confirmed and 2 asymptomatic cases in the city. 30 close contacts were released from quarantine, 126 close contacts remain under quarantine. 5 sub-districts remain at Medium Risk.
     
    There are new reports every day about packaging of frozen imported produced testing positive, increasing with the worsening pandemic in most meat producers around the world. Yesterday, however, outer packaging for one batch of domestically produced frozen chicken legs tested positive. The manufacturer is at Chuzhou in Anhui Province. 2,712 individuals at the meat processing plant have been tested, 2.313 results received so far are negative. 273 environmental samples have been collected, all negative. The plant is being disinfected.
     
    Yesterday, China reported 12 new imported confirmed cases, 4 imported asymptomatic cases, and 1 imported suspect case:
     

    • Shanghai Municipality – 3 confirmed cases, 2 Chinese nationals returning from the UK and 1 from Russia
    • Guangzhou in Guangdong Province – 2 confirmed cases, both Chinese nationals returning from Bangladesh; 1 asymptomatic case, a foreign national coming from Iran
    • Zhuhai in Guangdong Province – 1 confirmed case, a Mainland Chinese resident returning from Hong Kong
    • Kunming in Yunnan Province – 1 confirmed case, a Peruvian national coming from the US
    • Yunnan Province (location not specified) – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from Myanmar
    • Beijing Municipality – 1 confirmed and 1 asymptomatic cases, both Chinese nationals returning from Italy (via Copenhagen)
    • Tianjin Municipality – 1 confirmed case (previously asymptomatic), a Chinese national returning from Spain
    • Xiamen in Fujian Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese student returning from the US, the case had tested negative on RT-PCR multiple times, but tested positive on antibodies multiple times, finally tested positive on RT-PCR on 12/14
    • Yantai in Shandong Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese returning from Singapore; the case had landed at Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province on 11/27, passed through the 14 day centralized quarantine and tested negative on RT-PCR twice, he then flew from Hangzhou to Yantai on 12/12 was transferred directly to centralized quarantine, he tested negative on 12/13 but positive on 12/14
    • Rizhao in Shandong Province – 1 suspect case, a Chinese national returning from Indonesia; the case had landed at Kunming in Yunnan Province on 11/27, passed through the 14 day centralized quarantine and tested negative on RT-PCR 3 times, he flew from Kunming to Qingdao in Shandong Province on 12/12, where he stayed overnight, he was transferred to Rizhao on 12/13 and entered centralized quarantine, where he tested negative on RT-PCR but positive for antibodies, as of 12/15 he is still negative for RT-PCR but doctors have diagnosed him as a suspect case
    • Taiyuan in Shanxi Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Poland, off a flight diverted from Beijing


    I am definitely seeing an increase in the number of confirmed cases (with clinical diagnosis and presumably infectious) that have > 14 days of incubation. Most of them are till being caught via screening during additional quarantine and follow up at final destination, after centralized quarantine at point of entry, but allowing people to take mass transportation from point of entry to final destination remains a risk, though we have not yet seem domestic cases infected by such imported cases during transit.

    Yesterday, Hong Kong reported 82 new cases, 3 imported and 79 local (35 of whom without clear sources of infection).

  5. 5.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    Greece: on Tuesday, 1240 new infections, 98 dead. The number of intubated ICU patients is still high. On the bright side, looking at the Worldometer.info charts, the seven-day average of new cases is declining pretty steeply (although not as steeply as it shot up starting in late October to its peak on November 18), and the three-day average spikes and valleys are both dropping.

    Kathimerini reports that the first tranche of vaccines, due to be administered in late December or in January, will have 300,000 doses for 150,000 people (Greece’s population is 10.3 million, so that covers about one percent of the population so far). They’re spooling up a process for electronic sign-ups, though it hasn’t gone live yet.

    Oh, and personal anecdote with regard to testing: my family had reason to get COVID tests yesterday morning, and results for all of them were back from the lab by close-of-business the same day. (They all tested negative.)

  6. 6.

    Chris T.

    Or, to put what Centrism Fan Acct tweeted differently …

    Sure Pres. Donald Trump (& his party) completely abdicated any sort of leadership role, spread disinformation & actively hindered any sort of response, which almost certainly led to 100s of 1000s of death, but the important thing is that we do not blame him for ‘creating’ it.

    we shouldn’t blame Trump and the Repubs for creating SARS-CoV-2.  We should instead blame them for killing as many Americans as possible with SARS-CoV-2.

  7. 7.

    Amir Khalid

    Malaysia’s daily Covid-19 numbers. Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reports 1,295 new cases today at his media briefing, for a cumulative reported total of 87,913 cases. Dr Noor Hisham also reports seven new deaths today, for a total of 429 deaths — 0.49% of the cumulative reported total, 0.59% of resolved cases.

    Malaysia’s nationwide R0 is still holding at between 0.9 and 1.1, Dr Noor Hisham reports.

    14,751 active and contagious cases are currently in hospital; 113 are in ICU, 53 of them on respirators. Meanwhile, 1,052 patients recovered and were discharged, for a total of 72,733 patients recovered — 82.7% of the cumulative reported total.

    Eight new clusters were reported today: Bukit Punai in Sabah; Puncak Galaksi in Selangor; Laut building site, Matahari, building site, and Permai building site in KL; Cahaya Mahsuri in Johor; Seri Tasik in Perak; and Inten in Pahang.

    1,285 new cases today are local infections. Selangor has the most cases, 477: 273 in older clusters, four in Puncak Galaksi cluster, 79 close-contact screenings, and 121 other screenings. Sabah has 268 cases: 52 in older clusters, five in Bukit Punai cluster, 105 close-contact screenings, and 106 other screenings. KL has 228 cases: 182 in older clusters; 54 in Bina Permai building site, Matahari building site, and Laut building site clusters; 23 close-contact screenings; and 23 other screenings. Johor has 104 cases: 61 cases in older clusters, six in Cahaya Mahsuri cluster, 22 close-contact screenings, and 15 other screenings.

    Penang has 69 cases: 51 in existing clusters, 13 close-contact screenings, and five other screenings. Negeri Sembilan has 60 cases: 53 in existing clusters, two close-contact screenings, and five other screenings. Perak has 35 cases: 25 in older clusters, one in Seri Tasik cluster, four close-contact screenings, and five other screenings. Melaka has 14 cases: 13 in existing clusters, and one close-contact screening. Pahang has 13 cases: four in older clusters, four in Inten cluster, two close-contact screenings, and three other screenings. Kedah has nine cases: five in existing clusters, two close-contact screenings, and two other screenings.

    Putrajaya has four cases: two in existing clusters, one close-contact screening, and one other screening. Kelantan has one case, found in other screening. And Terengganu has one case, in an existing cluster.

    Sarawak and Perlis reported no new local cases today.

    10 new cases are imported. Four were reported in Selangor, four in KL, one in Johor, and one in Labuan. They are arrivals from Egypt (three), the UK (two), Nepal (two), Indonesia, Singapore, and the Philippines.

    The seven deaths today are a 66-year-old man in Selangor with diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, and cataracts; a 52-year-old woman in Sabah with diabetes and hypertension; a 52-year-old woman in Kelantan with diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidaemia; a 77-year-old man in Sabah with hypertension and stroke; a 58-year-old non-Malaysian man in Sabah; a 76-year-old non-Malaysian man in Sabah with hypertension and heart disease; and a 57-year-old non-Malaysian man in Sabah.

  8. 8.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    @Chris T.: we shouldn’t blame Trump and the Repubs for creating SARS-CoV-2.  We should instead blame them for killing as many Americans as possible with SARS-CoV-2.

    I blame Trump for eighty percent of the American deaths due to COVID-19. Maybe ninety percent. Only because I’m not sure how bad it would have been even with competent leadership (gauging from Greece’s bad second-wave spike).

  9. 9.

    Amir Khalid

    @Bruce K in ATH-GR:

    Whom do we blame for the willful recklessness, the refusal to heed expert advice, that has helped kill so many? Trump and his party encouraged it, of course, but how much of it did they create?

  10. 10.

    TS (the original)

    Australia had 3 new cases today – outside of quarantine. One is an airport driver and probably caught from pilots who he takes between the airport and quarantine hotels. The other 2 however, are yet to have a known source.

    It seems you can never be sure covid-19 is gone in the community.

    NSW records two new cases of COVID-19 on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, 10 venues on alert

    The source of the infections is under investigation, but so far no links to other known cases have been identified.

  11. 11.

    WereBear

    @Amir Khalid:

    Whom do we blame for the willful recklessness, the refusal to heed expert advice, that has helped kill so many? Trump and his party encouraged it, of course, but how much of it did they create?

     
    I blame Reagan. Heck, I can blame Goldwater. THAT was the loss that led to the win.

    So what if every aspect of reality had to be hammered into compliance for the most treasured of Right Wing tenets to be true? They can do that. Half of them made their money taking advantage of those blessed blessed marketing principles that convinces people giving them money will fix all their problems.

    Ramp that up!

  13. 13.

    Doug

    “I’m sure they have enough good physicians at the White House to give them advice about that.”

    That’s is some bespoke, artisanal shade right there.

  14. 14.

    Aleta

    Tom Cruise reportedly yelled at the crew on the set of M: I 7 in Britain [for breaking COVID protocols] after he saw two crew members standing too close together in front of a computer screen. A recording of Cruise, who is also a producer on the film

    It felt good to hear the yelling.   (But did a little bit of A Few Good Men slip in?  Can’t hurt though… )

  16. 16.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @WereBear:

    So what if every aspect of reality had to be hammered into compliance for the most treasured of Right Wing tenets to be true?

    That tenet being that white people are naturally superior.  The dynamics of the Republican Party’s fact-denial and all the insanity come down to the dynamic you just described.  If any ‘white people’ spokesman says it, then fuck the rest of you, they will make everyone treat it as true no matter what disasters it causes.

    EDIT – @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Causing injury or death via negligence is also a crime.

    Unfortunately, causing injury or death via government policy is specifically and emphatically not a crime.

  18. 18.

    Aleta

    I blame the Trump-Pence administration for using the power of their office to talk against the life-protecting protocols Dem state governors were trying to implement, and personally attacking governors.    Has the government of any other country attacked one of its provincial governments for trying  to protect people?  That would seem insane.   Barr and the DOJ even backed  a lawsuit challenging Gov. Mills’ Covid orders. (They lost.)

    On April 3, 2020, the Governor required campground and RV parks to close and also compelled “any person, resident or non-resident, traveling into Maine” to “immediately self-quarantine for 14 days” unless that person was engaged in “essential services.

    On April 29, the Governor issued another Executive Order, which incorporates a “Restarting Plan.” The Restarting Plan provides that the State’s “Campgrounds/RV parks” will be “[o]pen to Maine residents only on May 22” and “[o]pen to out-of-state residents who have completed quarantine guidelines on June 1.

    The United States Constitution requires government to protect the privileges and immunities of all citizens in our nation,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. “These privileges and immunities include the right of Americans to travel freely anywhere in our country, and state governments cannot limit the right of out-of-state Americans to travel to their state unless doing so is substantially related to protecting the public safety. The Department of Justice … will continue to be especially vigilant of any infringement on the right to travel that unduly harms the ability of Americans to earn a living and support their families.

    Said the government that failed (actively refused?)  to protect its citizens.

  19. 19.

    Sloane Ranger

    Yesterday in the UK we had 18,450 new cases. This is about 1800 fewer than Monday. The rolling 7-day average shows an increase of 28.7%. Cases by home nation,

    England – 16,504 (down @1300)

    Northern Ireland – 486 (up @70)

    Scotland -845 (up @100)

    Wales – 615 (down @600).

    Deaths – there were 506 deaths yesterday, 467 in England, 6 in Northern Ireland, 24 in Scotland and 9 in Wales.

    Testing – 275,772 tests were processed on Monday, 14 December out of a capacity of 552,810. The rolling 7-day average shows an increase of 5.5.%.

    Hospitalisations – 17,329 people were in hospital on Sunday, 13 December and 1288 were on ventilators on Monday, 14th. The rolling 7-day average for hospital admissions is up by 14.7%.

    General – The devolved administrations are meeting to review the Christmas relaxations of restrictions. The current line seems to be that they won’t be changing their minds but will add warnings of the “you can, but you really shouldn’t” type.

    In more personal news, a friend just phoned to say she is showing symptoms and to ask how to get a test. As she is in her eighties, I told her to contact the NHS 111 number immediately and follow their advice. Also, I spoke to my uncle and his wife yesterday, one of their daughters and her husband came round to deliver their Christmas presents and they invited them in. My uncle’s wife is recovering from chemo and the daughter works in a school  for Goodness sake! I told them to be more careful.

    On the other hand, I am waiting for the central heating repair guy to arrive, so maybe I can’t talk.

  20. 20.

    JMG

    My son started experiencing severe abdominal pain last night and was admitted for appendicitis, with surgery that took place early this am. It says it all about 2020 that I am far more worried about the time he had to spend in a Brooklyn hospital than about the actual emergency surgery itself.

  21. 21.

    Robert Sneddon

    Scotland — First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirms a further 689 people have tested positive for Covid-19 since yesterday. That is 5.9% of the total number of tests carried out. 38 deaths have been recorded with Covid in the last 24 hours.

     

    Those numbers are trending down which seems to be good news but we’ve got Xmas coming up which is less good news. I’d guess that the “relaxations” on family get-togethers, travel and such over the Xmas period announced by governments of the four home nations are simply bowing to the inevitable. Any hard restrictions imposed on gatherings would be roundly ignored or circumvented so they said “go ahead” lathered with lots and lots of “be sensible and take precautions” which, this far into the pandemic, are going to be ignored generally due to My Eyes Glaze Over syndrome (MEGO).

     

    In other news over 137,000 vaccinations have been carried out in the UK over the past week, mostly of care home workers, NHS front-line staff and vaccinators themselves. A good start and evidence that the logistics problems inherent in the Pfizer vaccine’s temperature control requirements are being dealt with, mostly. No disaster stories of wasted vaccines and general distribution screwups have hit the headlines, anyway. We’re still waiting for validation of the Moderna vaccine test results here in the UK, nothing has been announced yet.

  22. 22.

    sab

    @Sloane Ranger: My stepson tested positive last week, with mild symptoms. His fiancee has slightly worse symptoms but still mild. He just got retested. Still positive, but his employer wants him back to work by Friday if he doesn’t have a fever even if he still tests positive. Crazy.

  23. 23.

    CarolDuhart2

    Good news.  I had a telemedicine appointment with my doctor, and I will get the vaccine as soon as the hospital gets their supply.  Very high risk here.

  25. 25.

    Joe Falco

    @sab:

    He just got retested. Still positive, but his employer wants him back to work by Friday if he doesn’t have a fever even if he still tests positive.

    This is exactly what McConnell and the rest of the seditious bastards have been holding up further aid for: legal immunity for employers to be willfully negligent and further harm employees to maintain profits.

  26. 26.

    Helen

    @sab: I’ve heard similar stories from friends and relatives that have to work onsite. There really isn’t any tolerance for quarantine due to exposure only.

  27. 27.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @sab:

    My stepson tested positive last week, with mild symptoms. His fiancee has slightly worse symptoms but still mild. He just got retested. Still positive, but his employer wants him back to work by Friday if he doesn’t have a fever even if he still tests positive. Crazy.

    That is nuts! Stress and exhaustion weaken immune systems. How is this not against OSHA rules?!!

  29. 29.

    Cameron

    @Frankensteinbeck: Using the military makes sense to me.  I suppose they could have gone with DHS, but those guys would be too busy jailing children to have time for much vaccine distribution.

  32. 32.

    Kent

    @Bruce K in ATH-GR:I blame Trump for eighty percent of the American deaths due to COVID-19. Maybe ninety percent. Only because I’m not sure how bad it would have been even with competent leadership (gauging from Greece’s bad second-wave spike).

    I figure with competent leadership we could have done at least as well as Canada or Germany.  So those would be my metrics to measure excess “Trump Deaths.”

    I don’t think we would have achieved New Zealand or China level numbers with a Dem president because no other big messy western democracies came close to those numbers either.  But Germany or Canada numbers would have been reachable.

  33. 33.

    Robert Sneddon

    @Kent: Germany isn’t doing too well right now with COVID-19 case numbers and deaths rising sharply. Chancellor Merkel is imposing a hard lockdown on the nation over Xmas in the hopes of reversing the trend.

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