BREAKING: The FDA just authorized the United States’ second coronavirus vaccine, extending an additional lifeline during a pandemic that is killing thousands of Americans every day.https://t.co/ZfPzK9vfPs with @dvergano
— Stephanie M. Lee (@stephaniemlee) December 19, 2020
NEW: Boom. This is an unprecedented scientific feat that gives the United States two powerful tools to fight a pandemic that emerged almost exactly a year ago. @carolynyjohnson @lauriemcginley2 https://t.co/TMWZ2K0FXJ
— LenaSun (@bylenasun) December 19, 2020
Our daily update is published. States reported 2.1 million tests, 229k cases, and 2,751 deaths. There are a record 114,751 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/OxJ6NWeZ7T
— The COVID Tracking Project (@COVID19Tracking) December 19, 2020
Another record: More than a quarter-million new coronavirus infections were identified in the United States today.
Over the past month, about 5.9 million new infections have been identified. That's 1 out of every 56 people in the nation.https://t.co/74QzWYbn1p pic.twitter.com/U04wChzzLc
— Mike Baker (@ByMikeBaker) December 19, 2020
"Currently, we don't have the right kinds of messaging going out and we're not acting in a way that makes all of this clear… We need clear, absolute transparent messaging because each failure to be clear… results in more distrust" – @Laurie_Garrett w/ @NicolleDWallace pic.twitter.com/Uuy9fvpsNd
— Deadline White House (@DeadlineWH) December 18, 2020
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Covid: The countries worried they won't get the vaccine https://t.co/CZDQxnYjDz
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) December 19, 2020
Covid: Sweden reverses face mask guidelines https://t.co/xHBPq1UMZ8
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) December 18, 2020
Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 31,300 – RKI https://t.co/3ypeq52kGn pic.twitter.com/ZHogSshuUx
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 19, 2020
Swiss drugs regulator authorises Pfizer/Biontech COVID-19 vaccine https://t.co/QxyKIr3EK7 pic.twitter.com/otEwfcBsVE
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 19, 2020
Republic of Ireland eases rules to allow household mixing https://t.co/qaztMx3yqu
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) December 18, 2020
WHO investigators heading to China in early January to probe virus https://t.co/3dzjrrCVuA pic.twitter.com/AoVmuuQrVi
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 19, 2020
China says it will soon begin coronavirus inoculations for workers in health care, transport and border control. The vice minister of the National Health Commission says the government is prioritizing those most at risk. https://t.co/uH4DfRfC9y
— The Associated Press (@AP) December 19, 2020
S.Korea fears for COVID-19 patients amid sickbed shortage https://t.co/v2dMOIK3GI pic.twitter.com/1k87W87Y9o
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 19, 2020
BREAKING: India’s Health Ministry says coronavirus cases have crossed 10 million with 145,136 fatalities. https://t.co/58nHHxAana
— The Associated Press (@AP) December 19, 2020
Malaysia to receive first batch of Pfizer vaccine in February: report https://t.co/KflDc8uwFM pic.twitter.com/C5KR895P2v
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 19, 2020
Thailand reports jump in local coronavirus infections linked to shrimp market https://t.co/E543B74Pla pic.twitter.com/H07wNgjlzK
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 19, 2020
Asia Today: Sydney’s northern beaches will enter a lockdown similar to the one imposed during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March as a cluster of cases in the area increased to 41. https://t.co/eO2DP7otup
— The Associated Press (@AP) December 19, 2020
Coronavirus in South Africa: Unravelling the mystery https://t.co/JDxYONmUKY
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) December 19, 2020
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Chinese health officials have discussed rolling out vaccinations in two batches before Jan. 15 and Feb. 5. Authorities would then aim to offer these vaccines—by state-owned Sinopharm and private firm Sinovac Biotech—“formally to the market” in April.https://t.co/YkcDNbz9l8
— Jonathan Cheng (@JChengWSJ) December 19, 2020
Explainer: Where are we in the COVID-19 vaccine race? https://t.co/UlWrjuOwsz pic.twitter.com/lfNLHJufJC
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 19, 2020
As @HelenBranswell noted, Moderna's EUA referenced an animal study that found, "No vaccine-related adverse effects on female fertility, fetal development or postnatal development were reported in the study." https://t.co/Y4dLPMnO97
— Jeannie Baumann (@MedResJourno) December 19, 2020
ICYMI (I did): Bloomberg reported y'day that Moderna had to junk 400,000 doses of bulk vaccine because of a production "hiccup."
There will be lots of these. Vaccination is starting in record time, but it's going to take longer than we'd like. https://t.co/tLqpQhDx5C— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) December 18, 2020
This paper doesn't get enough attention. It shows Black/Latino/Indigenous folks aren't just dying from Covid at higher rates than whites but are also dying *younger*.
90% of white deaths in 65+
90% of Black deaths in 55+
89% of Indigenous deaths in 45+https://t.co/klmmxIPqik— Ed Yong (@edyong209) December 18, 2020
Promoters of the Russian Covid-19 vaccine, Sputnik 5, are using Twitter to needle and undermine the vaccine's rivals https://t.co/n3ydj062mq
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) December 18, 2020
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"Dr. Jeff Toll, who has admitting privileges at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, one of the first hospitals to stock the vaccine, recalled a patient asking: “If I donate $25,000 to Cedars, would that help me get in line?’” https://t.co/Gv8EYX9oNY
— Gideon Resnick (@GideonResnick) December 18, 2020
In some rural parts of the U.S., people want schools to do everything they can to stay open — everything except requiring students and teachers to wear masks, even as coronavirus sickens more and more people. https://t.co/j4SSwhreQH
— NPR (@NPR) December 19, 2020
How one city is building vaccine trust in Black and Latinx communities https://t.co/QQPnRDHzDn via @voxdotcom
— Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics (@bermaninstitute) December 18, 2020
California hospitals are battling to find beds to house patients amid fears the exploding coronavirus infection rate will exhaust resources and health care workers. Nearly 17, 000 people were hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infections. https://t.co/GtRu7d97tA
— The Associated Press (@AP) December 19, 2020
A California appeals court has blocked a judge’s order that allowed San Diego County restaurants to resume indoor and outdoor dining. The court order keeps Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home edict in full effect. https://t.co/Hz6NryXOTv
— The Associated Press (@AP) December 19, 2020
Tens of millions of people are expected to travel to family gatherings or winter vacations over Christmas. That's despite pleas by public health experts who fear the result could be another surge in coronavirus cases. https://t.co/4HJVznqe5g
— The Associated Press (@AP) December 18, 2020
United Airlines helps to contact passengers after a possible Covid-related death on a flight. The flight, United 591 from Orlando to Los Angeles, was diverted to New Orleans on Monday after a passenger had a medical emergency on board https://t.co/II2tl92rSa
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) December 18, 2020
YY_Sima Qian
Yesterday, China reported 3 new domestic confirmed and 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases.
Beijing Municipality reporter 2 new confirmed cases, both close contacts of the imported case from Hong Kong reported on 12/14., and both have been under quarantine since 12/16. There are 2 confirmed domestic cases in the city. So far, 43 close contacts have been traced and quarantined, and 109 environmental samples collected from the cases’ residences and work place. 21 samples from their residences have tested positive. The remaining 88, including all the samples from their work place, have tested negative. The hotel were all 3 cases stayed are designated as Medium Risk.
Dalian in Liaoning Province reported 1 new confirmed case, a traced close contact of one of the asymptomatic cold chain logistics workers reported in recent days. There are currently 1 domestic confirmed and 6 domestic asymptomatic cases there.
Mudanjiang in Heilongjiang Province reported 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases, both at Suifenhe, both are traced close contacts already under quarantine. There are currently 10 confirmed (8 at Suifenhe and 2 at Dongning), 7 asymptomatic cases (all at Suifenhe), and 1 suspect case (at Suifenhe) in Mudanjiang. 2 residential compounds and an office building at Suifenhe, and 1 sub-district at Dongning, remain designated as Medium Risk.
Chengdu in Sichuan Province did not report any new positive cases. 1 confirmed case recovered. There are currently 12 confirmed and 1 asymptomatic cases there. 1,070 contacts are under quarantine. 1 residential compound was re-designated as Medium Risk. In all, 2 villages and 4 residential compounds are designated as Medium Risk.
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 has been designated as Medium Risk.
Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region did not report any new positive cases. 2 confirmed cases recovered, and 1 asymptomatic case was released from isolation. Currently, there are 12 confirmed and 1 asymptomatic cases in the city. 12 close contacts were released from quarantine, 59 close contacts remain under quarantine. 3 sub-districts remain at Medium Risk.
Dongguan in Guangdong Province reported a positive case exported to South Korea. The case is a South Korean national who arrived at Shenzhen on 11/25, passed through 14 days of centralized quarantine and tested negative multiple times. Upon release from quarantine, he traveled to the neighboring Dongguan and worked for ~ 1 week. He then flew back to South Korea on 12/16, tested positive on arrival on 12/17, and reported to Dongguan authorities on 12/18. As of 12 AM on 12/19, 31 close contacts and 854 regular contacts have been traced. 539 individuals have been swabbed and 114 environmental samples collected. Of the 423 results obtained so far, all are negative. Whether this case was infected in China, in South Korea before coming to China, or a false positive, remains to be seen.
Yesterday, China reported 14 new imported confirmed cases, 14 imported asymptomatic cases and 1 new suspect case:
Overall in China, 1 serious case improved to moderate, 14 confirmed cases recovered, 11 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation, and 670 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 307 active confirmed cases in the country (264 imported), 7 are in serious condition (5 imported), 203 asymptomatic cases (182 imported), and 4 suspect cases. 6,739 individuals remain under quarantine.
Yesterday, Hong Kong reported 109 new cases, 7 imported (from India and Pakistan) and 102 local (42 of whom without clear sources of infection). There are another 70 cases who are preliminarily confirmed, awaiting retesting.
NeenerNeener
Monroe County, NY yesterday: not looking any better….
736 new cases, 746 people hospitalized, 132 patients in the ICU, 429 deaths total
Positivity rate at 8.9%
29% of the hospital beds are available on average and 34% of the ICU beds
Cermet
And let us not forget who and what country first did the genome mapping of covid enabling these vaccines to be created; the researcher, against noraml protocal, published it on the internet because it was the thing that had to be done regardless of the proffesional consequence they’d likely face. I beleieve it was Professor Zhang Yongzhen and his staff at the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center.
NotMax
Can you say “going nowhere,” Tulsi?
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s daily Covid-19 numbers. Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reports 1,153 new cases today in his media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 91,969 cases. Dr Noor Hisham also reports one new death today, for a total of 433 deaths — 0.47% of the cumulative reported total, 0.56% of resolved cases.
15,294 active and contagious cases are currently in hospital; 112 are in ICU, 56 of them on respirators. Meanwhile, 998 patients recovered and were discharged, for a total of 76,242 patients recovered — 82.9% of the cumulative reported total.
Five new clusters were reported today: Jalan Zuhrah building site in Selangor; Keris Residence and Brumas in Sabah; Jalan Timah in Johor; and Log Panji in Kelantan.
1,151 new cases today are local infections. Selangor has 401 cases: 130 in older clusters, 26 in Jalan Zuhrah building site cluster, 119 close-contact screenings, and 126 other screenings. KL has 279 cases: 207 in existing clusters, 35 close-contact screenings, and 37 other screenings. Sabah has 209 cases: 33 in older clusters, 44 in Keris Residence and Brumas clusters, 73 close-contact screenings, and 49 other screenings.
Perak has 82 cases: 79 in existing clusters, two close-contact screenings, and one other screening. Johor has 75 cases: seven in older clusters, 15 in Jalan Timah cluster, 38 close-contact screenings, and 15 other screenings. Penang has 30 cases: 12 in existing clusters, five close-contact screenings, and 13 other screenings. Labuan has 19 cases: 9 in existing clusters, seven close-contact screenings, and three other screenings. Negeri Sembilan has 18 cases: seven in existing clusters, five close-contact screenings, and six other screenings. Pahang has 16 cases: one in an existing cluster, 11 close-contact screenings, and four other screenings.
Kedah has 13 cases: 10 in existing clusters, two close-contact screenings, and one other screening. Kelantan has 10 cases: three in Long Panjicluster, five close-contact screenings, and two other screenings. Putrajaya has four cases: one in an existing cluster, two close-contact screenings, and one other screening. Melaka has three cases: two close-contact screenings, and one other screening. And Sarawak has two cases, found in other screening.
Terengganu and Perlis reported no new local cases today.
Two new cases are imported. Both were reported in KL.
The one death today is a 76-year-old woman in Penang with hypertension and dyslipidaemia.
p.a.
As if we need more warnings abt this disease, seeing a country like S Korea struggling when their initial response was well-done is still eye opening even this deep into the pandemic.
Mousebumples
Found this thread last night and it made me and my husband laugh aloud, so I thought I’d share it here since it’s Covid related. (and i wasn’t sure if it would be in AL’s morning update already!)
terben
In Australia, there were 35 new cases today. 12 cases were among quarantined passengers returning from overseas and 23 cases in NSW are related to the recent outbreak in the Northern Beaches area north of Sydney.
The NSW government has issued a stay at home order for the affected areas and some other states have shut their borders to visitors from NSW. The lockdown will last until midnight on the 23rd, so Festivus celebrations are postponed. This is unfortunate, as the ‘airing of grievances’ promises to be a highlight of an otherwise frustrating year.
Total cases since the start of December is 190 with no deaths.
The last Covid death in Australia was 19 days ago and there are currently 25 hospitalised cases.
Robert Sneddon
A story in the press suggests the UK may be about to clear the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine for use here within the next week or so. It’s a more conventional vaccine than the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines, based on a chimpanzee adenovirus so it’s easier and cheaper to produce and its temperature-related logistics and storage requirements are a lot less rigorous.
The UK government has ordered 100 million doses of this vaccine. How many are ready to ship once authorisation is given is another matter but the press reports suggest 20 million people could be inoculated by spring.
WaterGirl
@Amir Khalid: I see your smaller text and different font, also.
WaterGirl
@Amir Khalid: Just this first paragraph alone:
Has all this code in it, which is visible in text mode:
WaterGirl
Amir, this is what I got when I chose “paste and match style”. I suggest that you save in text mode only in your software and then paste it in. Or that you consider some other software – this amount of html code is ridiculous.
<a href=”http://covid-19.moh.gov.my/” rel=”nofollow ugc”><span style=”color: #000080″><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>Malaysia’s daily Covid-19 numbers</span></span></span></a><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>. Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reports </span></span><strong><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>1,</span></span></strong><strong><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”><b>15</b></span></span></strong><strong><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”><b>3</b></span></span></strong> <span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>new cases today </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>in</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”> his media </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>statement</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>, for a cumulative reported total of </span></span><strong><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”><b>91,969</b></span></span></strong> <span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>cases. Dr Noor Hisham also reports </span></span><strong><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”><b>one</b></span></span></strong> <span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>new death today, </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>for a</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”> total </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>of</span></span> <strong><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>4</span></span></strong><strong><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”><b>3</b></span></span></strong><strong><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”><b>3</b></span></span></strong> <span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>deaths — 0.4</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>7</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>% of the cumulative reported total, 0.5</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>6</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>% of resolved cases.</span></span>
<b></b>
<span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”><b>1</b></span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”><b>5,</b></span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”><b>294</b></span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”> active and contagious cases are currently in hospital; 1</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>12</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”> are in ICU, 5</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>6</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”> of them on respirators. Meanwhile, </span></span><strong><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”><b>998</b></span></span></strong><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”> patients recovered and were discharged, for a total of </span></span><strong><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>7</span></span></strong><strong><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”><b>6</b></span></span></strong><strong><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”><b>,</b></span></span></strong><strong><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”><b>24</b></span></span></strong><strong><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”><b>2</b></span></span></strong> <span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>patients recovered — 8</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>2.9</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>% of the cumulative reported total.</span></span>
<span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>Five</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”> new clusters were reported today: </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>Jalan Zuhrah</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”> building site in Selangor; </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>Keris Residence and Brumas</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”> in Sabah; </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>Jalan Timah</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”> in Johor; and </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>Log Panji in Kelantan</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>. </span></span>
<span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>1,</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>151</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”> new cases today are local infections. </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>Selangor has 401 cases: 130 in older clusters, 26 in Jalan Zuhrah </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>building site </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>cluster, 119 close-conta</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>c</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>t screenings, and 126 other screenings. KL has 279 cases: 207 in existing clusters, 35 close-conta</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>c</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>t screenings, and 37 other screenings. Sabah has 209 cases: 33 in older clusters, 44 in Keris Residence and Brumas clusters, 73 close-conta</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>c</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>t screenings, and 49 other screenings. </span></span>
<span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>Perak has 82 cases: </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>79 in existing clusters, </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>two</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”> close-conta</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>c</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>t screenings, and </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>one</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”> other screening. </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>Johor has 75 cases: seven </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>in </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>older</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”> clusters, 15 </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>in </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>Jalan Timah </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>cluster,</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”> 38 close-conta</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>c</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>t screenings, and 15 other screenings. </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>Penang has 30 cases: </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>12 in existing clusters, </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>five </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>close-conta</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>c</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>t screenings, and 13 other screenings. </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>Labuan has 19 cases: 9 </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>in existing clusters, </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>seven </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>close-conta</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>c</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>t screenings, and</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”> three </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>other screenings. </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>Negeri Sembilan has 18 cases: seven </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>in existing clusters, </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>five </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>close-conta</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>c</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>t screenings, and</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”> six </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>other screenings. </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>Pahang has 16 cases: one </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>in </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>an </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>existing cluste</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>r</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>, </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>11 </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>close-conta</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>c</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>t screenings, and</span></span> <span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>four </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>other screenings.</span></span>
<span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>Kedah has 13 cases: 10 </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>in existing clusters,</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”> two </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>close-conta</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>c</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>t screenings, and</span></span> <span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>one </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>other screening. </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”> Kelantan has 10 cases: three in</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”> Long Panji</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>cluster, five </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>close-conta</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>c</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>t screenings, and</span></span> <span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>two</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”> other screenings. </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>Putrajaya has four cases: one in an existing cluster, two </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>close-conta</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>c</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>t screenings, and</span></span> <span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>one </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>other screening. </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>Melaka has three cases: two </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>close-conta</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>c</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>t screenings, and</span></span> <span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>one </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>other screening. And Sarawak has two cases, found in other screening.</span></span>
<span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>Terengganu and</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”> Perlis reported no new local cases today.</span></span>
<span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>Two</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”> new cases are imported. </span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>Both were reported in KL</span></span><span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>.</span></span>
<span style=”font-family: Liberation Serif, serif”><span style=”font-size: medium”>The one death today is a 76-year-old woman in Penang with hypertension and dyslipidaemia.</span></span>
Suzanne
I am hoping that the couple-of-days-in-a-row of declining numbers here in PGH and Allegheny County means that we are finally on the down slope of this curve. Fingers crossed.
YY_Sima Qian
@Cermet:
Correct. He was named one of the 10 people who helped shape science in 2020 by Nature magazine. He definitely took a risk by going against policy and protocol and releasing the genomic sequence publicly, ahead of Wuhan Institute of Virology and China National CDC, when Chinese policy required confirmation across multiple labs to ensure sequencing of a novel virus is correct. As it was, I think the WIV and the China CDC released the official sequence shortly after, though possibly prompted (due to preemption) by the Shanghai institution. I had read in Chinese print media in Mar. that the Shanghai center was closed for “rectification” in Feb., and many people inside and outside of China feared the worst. “Rectification”, or 整顿 in Chinese, could mean anything from assessment and corrective actions to outright purge (although 肃清 is normally used for the latter). Based on the Nature article, it seems not to have been the case, and they were back to work by end of Jan. Then again, he most likely would not tell the whole story to foreign press, or any press.
Dr. Li Lanjuan also made the Nature list, having been instrumental in advising the establishment of the cordon sanitaire around and lock down within Wuhan. It was a momentous call at the time, and unprecedented in modern history. The decision, as well as the expansion of the cordon sanitaire and lock down to the entire Hubei Province days later, saved the rest of China from a tsunami of cases over Chinese New Year, and likely bought the rest of the world weeks of valuable time. Unfortunately, most of the countries outside of the Pacific Rim squandered that time.
Starfish
That is a lot of html tags
mrmoshpotato
@Mousebumples: I think it was QuiltingFool who posted it last night. (No worries reposting; it’s a good thread.)
I particularly enjoyed
Your memory cells say “you’ve got to be kidding me, THIS asshole again? Get the fuck out of here!”
mrmoshpotato
@WaterGirl: Hot diggity HTML tags dog!
Sloane Ranger
Yesterday in the UK we had 28,507 new cases. This is about 7000 cases less than Thursday but the figures there were inflated by the addition of the 11,000 Welsh cases that had not been previously reported due to a computer glitch. If compared with Wednesday’s count, it is an increase of 3,400. The UK is rapidly approaching 2 million cases since the start of the pandemic and the recalculated R number is now up to 1.1 to 1.2. The rolling 7-day average shows an increase of 40.9% in new cases. Yesterday’s new cases by home nation,
England – 24,542 (up @2000)
Northern Ireland – 510 (down @140)
Scotland – 744 (down @90)
Wales – 2801 (down substantially from Thursday for obvious reasons but up by @2300 from Wednesday).
Deaths – There were 489 deaths yesterday, 403 in England, 12 in Northern Ireland, 36 in Scotland and 38 in Wales.
Testing – 375,185 tests were processed on Thursday, 17 December out of a capacity of 584,280. This is an increase of 4% in the rolling 7-day average.
Hospitalisations – 18, 469 people were in hospital on Wednesday, 16 December and 1340 were on ventilators on the same date. The rolling 7-day average for hospital admissions is up 19%.
General – A new strain of the virus has been identified in London and the south-east. Government scientists believe that it is more infectious than the strain we are “used” to but, the good? news is that they don’t think it is any more fatal. There are chicken and egg debates about whether the surge in those areas has been caused by the new strain being more infectious or whether the virus had more opportunity to mutate because cases were already surging. Scientists are saying that there is no reason to believe that the vaccines will be less effective against this new strain. In any case, the Cabinet is meeting and BoJo and advisors will be holding a press conference at 4pm GMT. They are expected to announce the creation of a new Tier 4 with even higher restrictions for London and the south-east and, ironically, a roll back in Christmas relaxations.
Not the UK, but the Republic of Ireland is said to be considering a relaxation in their restrictions over the Christmas period.
Ked
Thanks again for all the continuing effort putting these together – it’s been a long year, and from initial theorycrafting through third-surge apathy, this has been my most valuable aggregator for Covid19 news.
I’m probably middle-of-the-pack for vaccine priority – one of the few upsides is that I may have some opportunity to choose which one I get. The mRNA flavors look good, and I’ve seen the raw numbers on them, but I haven’t seen anything yet for the conventional vaccine trials. Does anyone have any useful links in that direction?
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@p.a.: Yes, this. Did the virus do a 1918 and become a lot more virulent?
YY_Sima Qian
@Sloane Ranger:
More infectious means a higher R0/Rt and faster spread. Even at the same virulence, it would get out of control and overwhelm the health care system more quickly. If the story with the new strain is true, and the BoJo regime is not using it as an excuse to explain the surging cases following earlier relaxation, all the more reason not to relax restrictions in the coming days and weeks.
Mutations are random. It is true that more hosts getting infected offers more opportunities for mutation. However, in the global grand scheme of things, the current surge in England is a tiny portion of the global surge. One would think the US, Brazil and India would be even more fertile ground for SARS-CoV-2 mutations, based on the reported cases and extrapolated infections.
Ireland had substantially suppressed the fall/winter wave (~ 80% reduction from the peak in mid-Oct.) with strict lock down measures. However, cases are rising again following easing of measures a couple of weeks ago, with daily new case count doubling over the past week. Further relaxation leading up to Christmas will be… counterproductive. Yes, I understand the political and sociological constraints. Sigh…
I think a lot of people fail to appreciate that 1.4B Chinese people cancelled Chinese New Year (or had it cancelled for them, but they complied nevertheless) back in late Jan., with 1 day of notice, and hundreds of millions of people forewent their one opportunity to return home to see parents or children for the year. ~ 75% of the population went into lock down of varying severity. My uncles and aunts in Nanjing, a city with a handful of reported cases at the time and a few dozen reported domestic cases for the duration of pandemic to date, held fairly subdued gathering of the immediate families of the siblings over Chinese New Year’s Eve and Chinese New Year, and cancelled the customary visits to more distant relations in the city the following days. Shortly after, they no long had the choice to hold gatherings, as residential compounds and neighborhoods went into restricted access management.
I don’t understand why so many people are unwilling to skip one Thanksgiving or one Christmas gatherings, so they can have more for the years to come without tragic regret. Of course, when so many people refuse to wear masks, of course they would refuse to skip holidays!
prostratedragon
@WaterGirl: Marvelous. It’s why some switch to linux, for which plain tools are more readily available. But even without making such a big switch, there are some plain tools available. I like the vim editor. Its download page has versions for many operating systems –make that old Amiga productive!– and I know from experience that the Windows installer works very smoothly. Fire it up and press “F1” for help, tutorials, etc. It uses commands, but for most purposes the ones you need are few and easy to learn. Produces plain text that can be cut and pasted directly, like this comment.
Sloane Ranger
@YY_Sima Qian: Press briefing just ended. According to the government scientists/medical advisors this new strain is 70% more infectious but they confirm it does not seem to lead to more serious symptoms/fatalities.
According to one of the scientists, this mutation is home grown and one of several mutations that have arisen in other parts of the world. We may also have exported this new strain to the continent They have shared the genome with WHO.
London and the South East have been placed in the new Tier 4, as expected and this is basically the same restrictions as the November lockdown. No mixing of households for Christmas in England and areas in Tiers 1-3 may only meet together on Christmas Day.
In more worrying news, although they are proceeding on the basis that the mutation will not affect the effectiveness of the vaccines, they cannot say for certain. Research is continuing.
fun with duct tape
Here in Spain:
Catalonia is the only region of Spain that has not counted Covid deaths restrictively. For this reason, I pay little attention to what the national government and other regional governments report for regions outside Catalonia.
Catalonia as of Dec. 18 (https://dadescovid.cat):
1520 people currently hospitalized
329 currently in intensive care*
Rt = 1.51 Dec. 9 – Dec. 15
4.86% positive test rate Dec. 9 – Dec. 15
233 deaths Dec. 9 – Dec. 15
370,536 confirmed cases since March 1
16,577 total deaths (one out of every 466 people)**
Barcelona (city) stats as of Dec. 18 (https://dadescovid.cat):
219 people currently hospitalized
329 currently in intensive care*
Rt = 1.63 Dec. 9 – Dec. 15
4.71% positive test rate Dec. 9 – Dec. 15
53 deaths Dec. 9 – Dec. 15
83,436 confirmed cases since March 1
5,307 total deaths (one out of every 318 people)***
* The number of people in intensive care is sometimes reported as exceeding the number of people hospitalized. That does seem strange, but I assume that the category of “people hospitalized” does not include the additional category of “people in the ICU.”
** The population of Catalonia on January 1, 2020, was 7,727,029. https://www.idescat.cat/pub/?id=aec&n=245.
*** I use a population figure for Barcelona (city) of 1,686,845. The Spanish National Institute of Statistics gives a figure of 1,636,762, but that figure dates from January 1, 2019. https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Datos.htm?t=2861#!tabs-tabla (population of cities within the province of Barcelona). The figure of 1,686,845 dates mostly from 2020; it represents the total number of people entitled to services through the city Department of Health, which divides the city into the following four areas: Barcelona Dreta (407,550 people (2020)), Barcelona Esquerra (523,725 people (2020)), Barcelona Litoral Mar (315,915 people (2020)), and Barcelona Nord (439,655 people (2019)). http://salutintegralbcn.gencat.cat/ca/Arees_Integrals_de_Salut/.
Fair Economist
@Sloane Ranger: 70% more infectious! That’s catastrophic, if true. “Not more deadly” is quite bogus in that case – the death rate/case may be the same, but with much higher infectivity many more people will get it and so many more will die.
If it’s 70% more infectious in the sense of having a 70% higher R0, then we will have to do a true lockdown. We will need measures that would reduce R0 of the old strains below 0.6, and only lockdowns have done that. No controls is totally not an option because it will totally blow the doors off the health care system.
Wondering if maybe something like this underlies the recent CA problems…