Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

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

“But what about the lurkers?”

Republicans do not pay their debts.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

Optimism opens the door to great things.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

John Fetterman: Too Manly for Pennsylvania.  Paid for by the Oz for Senator campaign.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

Eh, that’s media spin. biden’s health is fine and he’s doing a good job.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 Coronavirus / COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Monday/Tuesday, Dec. 28-29

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Monday/Tuesday, Dec. 28-29

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  1. 1.

    NotMax

    End of March, at the earliest, would likely be more realistic but it’s still a wise move, albeit painful businesswise.

    JTB Hawaii, one of Hawaii’s largest Japanese travel companies, extend its cancellations for tours at least until March, in another blow to Hawaii’s economy.

    In making the decision, JTB cited soaring caseloads in the U.S. Mainland and Japan.

    “Our Japan JTB Headquarters has decided to extend our Tour Operation Cancellation for ‘package and group’ tours till Feb. 28, 2021,” Tsuneo Ishida, JTB Hawaii Travel LLC’s president wrote in a letter to business partners.
    [snip]
    Before COVID, about 1.5 million Japanese visitors traveled to Hawaii annually, with many of them booking through tour operators like JTB. Source

    Vast majority of tour groups from Japan stay on Oahu. Neighbor island visits by them represent a mere trickle.

  2. 2.

    YY_Sima Qian

    On 12/28, China reported 15 new domestic confirmed and 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases.

    Dalian in Liaoning Province reported 2 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic) and 1 new domestic asymptomatic cases. The previously asymptomatic case was one among the cluster of cold chain logistics dock workers who were discovered via regular screening on 12/14, and have been under isolation since. The other case is custodian at a hospital who has tested negative during regular screening on 12/18 and 12/23, but was traced as a close contact and went into quarantine on 12/26, and tested positive on 12/27. No case summary released for the asymptomatic case. There are currently 35 domestic confirmed cases and 27 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. There are 9 communities, 2 residential compounds and a village at Medium Risk in the city.

    Shenyang in Liaoning Province reported 6 new domestic confirmed cases (1 previously asymptomatic) and 1 new domestic asymptomatic case. All of the new cases are connected to the imported case reported on 12/23: the previously asymptomatic case is the spouse of the imported case, 1 neighbor who visited for meals at the imported case’s residence, 2 medical staff at a clinic the imported case visited on 12/21, 1 individual who visited the same hospital at the same time as the imported case, and an elderly patient staying at another hospital (specific connection to the imported case was not shared). The 1st 5 cases have been under quarantine as trace close contacts sine 12/23, and the patient in the hospital has been under isolation since 12/23. The new asymptomatic case had visited the same hospital at the same time as the imported case, and has been under quarantine since 12/26.  In all, 6,255 individuals have been traced as contacts of various categories: 706 F1 close contacts under centralized quarantine (623 have tested negative 3 times and 83 twice), 1,833 F2 close contacts under centralized quarantine (all have tested negative so far), and 3,716 F3 close contacts under home quarantine (all have tested negative so far). 21,973 individuals at 5 residential compounds, 5 medical facilities and 3 schools connected to cases and close contacts have been tested, all negative. 4,120 environmental samples have been collected from these locations, all negative. There are currently 11 domestic confirmed and 2 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city, all connected to the imported case, illustrating the importance of effectively isolating infected cases, as well as thorough TTI as new cases are found. 3 residential compounds have been designated as Medium Risk. 1 community and 4 residential compounds are at Medium Risk.

    Beijing Municipality reported 7 new domestic confirmed cases (1 previously asymptomatic), all at Shunyi District, all trace close contacts of previously reported positive cases. However, all 7 cases had tested positive as soon as they entered quarantine. 5 cases work at an auto parts import company, and 2 work as drivers for ride hailing services. 2 villages in the Shunyi District has been re-designated as Medium Risk. Shunyi is the district where the Beijing Capital International Airport is located, and most of the recent cases in Shunyi either live or work in areas surrounding the airport. There are 2 villages and 1 hotel are at Medium Risk in the city. Beijing authorities have urged residents not to travel for New Year or Chinese New Year, the latter big deal since the last Chinese New Year was severely disrupted by COVID-19. Expect similar guidance to be issued across the country. Most universities in the country are ending the Fall semester early, with staggered dates for students to return homes.

    At Mudanjiang in Heilongjiang Province, 1 residential compound at Suifenhe has been re-designated as Low Risk. 1 office building at Suifenhe remains at Medium Risk.

    At Turfan in Xinjiang “Autonomous” Region, the 1 affected residential compound has been re-designated as Low Risk.

    Early in the morning of 12/29, Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province reported a new domestic asymptomatic case, a guard at a quarantine hotel. 137 contacts have been traced and quarantined, they authorities believe the case was infected by an imported case.

    There are no changes in other Chinese cities with recent/current outbreaks.

    On 12/28, China reported 12 new imported confirmed cases, 6 imported asymptomatic cases:

    • Shanghai Municipality – 4 confirmed cases, 2 Chinese nationals returning from Hungary (via Vienna), and 1 each returning from the US and Sri Lanka
    • Chengdu in Sichuan Province – 3 confirmed cases (2 previously asymptomatic), 2 Chinese nationals returning from Egypt and 1 from Ethiopia
    • Tianjin Municipality – 1 confirmed case (previously asymptomatic), a Chinese national returning from Guinea (via Paris CdG)
    • Hohhot in Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region – 1 confirmed cases, off a flight diverted from Beijing, no information released
    • Zhengzhou in Henan Province – 1 confirmed case (previously asymptomatic), no information released
    • Xiamen in Fujian Province – 1 confirmed case, a Malaysian national coming from Malaysia
    • Guangzhou in Guangdong Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from Uganda (via Kigali); 3 asymptomatic cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Bangladesh, Serbia (via Amsterdam Schipol) and Turkey (via Baghdad and Cairo)
    • Shenzhen in Guangdong Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from the US Beijing Municipality – 1 asymptomatic case, an Indonesian national who flew from Fujian in Fuzhou Province on 12/10 and tested positive in Beijing on 12/26, no information released on his assumed quarantine at Fuzhou, and not sure why the authorities are convinced that he is an imported case
    • Xi’an in Shaanxi Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Belgium, off a flight diverted from Beijing

     

    Overall in China, 18 confirmed cases recovered, 6 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation and 7 were reclassified as confirmed cases, 1 suspect was ruled out as COVID-19, and 547 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 348 active confirmed cases in the country (265 imported), 5 are in serious condition (3 imported), 262 asymptomatic cases (215 imported). 11,909 traced contacts are currently under quarantine.

    Yesterday, the China CDC finally released the results of nation wide seroprevalence survey conducted back in Apr. The survey was conducted from 34K individuals in Wuhan, selected cities in Hubei Province outside of Wuhan (the press release did not specify which cities), and select provinces outside of Hubei (Beijing, Shanghai, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Guangdong and Sichuan).  Seroprevalence in Wuhan was 4.43% (which translates to ~ 400K infected individuals, based on the estimated 9 million residents in the city during the lock down), 0.42% in Hubei ex-Wuhan, and only 2 samples among 12K outside of Hubei produced positive results. Not sure how false positives were addressed. Hopefully, we will see more details in a research paper. It goes to show how bad the outbreak was at Wuhan – its seroprevalence is on the same order of magnitude as some of other hard hit nations around the world in the 1st wave (such as Spain and Italy), though lower than the seroprevalence of the hardest hit regions in those countries (Greater Madrid, Lombardia, NYC, etc.). It also indicates the effectiveness of the cordon sanitaire around Wuhan and rest of Hubei, and how much worse it could have been for the rest of the country if actions were further delayed.

    On 12/29, Hong Kong reported 53 new cases, 3 imported and 50 domestic (14 of whom do not have source of infection identified).

  3. 3.

    OzarkHillbilly

    I finally talked to my buddy’s wife Sunday eve. He died at home, in his sleep. He had said he’d be damned if he was going to the hospital. He knew he wasn’t going to make it, we had discussed exactly that when his wife had been diagnosed. He lived well, left nothing on the table, and died as he chose.

    RIP Timoteo

  5. 5.

    NeenerNeener

    Monroe County, NY yesterday:

    491 new cases, 945 people hospitalized, 147 patients in the ICU.

    34% of the hospital beds are available on average and 30% of the ICU beds.

    8.4% positivity

    It turns out that two out of three of my siblings have a shellfish allergy, so no Moderna vaccine version for them. I don’t know if I have the same allergy or not because I hate all kinds of seafood, but it’s probably safe to assume that I do too.

  6. 6.

    Amir Khalid

    Malaysia’s daily Covid-19 numbers. Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reports 1,925 new cases today in his media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 108,615 cases. Dr Noor Hisham also reports two new deaths today, for a total of 457 deaths — 0.42% of the cumulative reported total, 0.52% of resolved cases.

    21,443 active and contagious cases are currently in hospital; 117 are in ICU, 55 of them on respirators. Meanwhile, 1,123 patients recovered and were discharged, for a total of 86,715 patients recovered — 79.8% of the cumulative reported total.

    Nine new clusters were reported today: Seri Lanang in Selangor; Jalan Chu, Awan Puteh building site, Integra Ikon, and Jalan Satang in KL; Tembok Mempaga in Pahang; Timbang Dayang and Teguli in Sabah; and Rambai in Melaka.

    1,915 new cases today are local infections. Selangor has 746 local cases: 196 in older clusters, 168 in Seri Lanang cluster, 261 close-contact screenings, and 121 other screenings. KL has 353 cases: 132 in older clusters; 83 in Jalan Chu, Awan Puteh building site, Integra Ikon, and Jalan Satang clusters; 98 close-contact screenings; and 40 other screenings. Pahang has 288 cases: 282 in Tembok Mempaga cluster, one close-contact screening, and five other screenings. Sabah has 230 cases: seven in older clusters, 14 in Timbang Dayang and Teguli clusters; 134 close-contact screenings; and 74 other screenings. Johor has 110 cases: 75 in existing clusters, 22 close-contact screenings, and 13 other screenings.

    Negeri Sembilan has 60 cases: 27 in existing clusters, 10 close-contact screenings, and 23 other screenings. Penang has 57 cases: 41 in existing clusters, and 16 close-contact screenings. Kelantan has 31 cases: 17 in existing clusters, eight close-contact screenings, and six other screenings. Perak has 17 cases: nine in existing clusters, six close-contact screenings, and two other screenings.

    Melaka has nine cases: three in older clusters, one in Rambai cluster, three close-contact screenings, and two other screenings. Kedah has eight cases: one in an existing cluster, four close-contact screenings, and three other screenings. Sarawak has three local cases, all found in other screening. Terengganu has two cases, both close-contact screenings. And Putrajaya has two cases, both in existing clusters.

    Labuan and Perlis reported no new local cases today.

    10 new cases are imported. Seven were reported in KL, and one each in Selangor, Sabah, and Sarawak.

    The two deaths today are a 65-year-old man in Putrajaya with diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, heart disease, and stroke; and a 68-year-old woman in Kelantan with hypertension. diabetes, and chronic kidney disease.

  10. 10.

    Barbara

    No doubt SD has a budget surplus after figuring out how to control outlays for nursing homes by killing a bunch of elderly people.

  16. 16.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers was fidelio

    In spite of all the other excitement we’ve had, the Tennessee Department of Health has some new numbers up. Whether they’re an accurate reflection of our situation I cannot say, between the long holiday weekend, lots of snow in the eastern part of the state, and the communication problems.
    • 3,713 new cases

    • 13,344 new tests

    • 22.96% positive test rate

    • 1,526 available hospital beds (state total of 11,504)

    • 224 available ICU beds (state total 2,601)

    The positive test rate really worries me. It’s been high all month but nearly 23% is  dreadful.

  19. 19.

    Anne Laurie

    @NeenerNeener: It turns out that two out of three of my siblings have a shellfish allergy, so no Moderna vaccine version for them. I don’t know if I have the same allergy or not because I hate all kinds of seafood, but it’s probably safe to assume that I do too.

    If the Moderna vaccine turns out to be the one available to you, warn the provider(s) that you are (very probably) allergic to shellfish, and insist on seeing there’s an epipen on hand.

    Given the rare but much-reported reactions, I’m assuming any pharmacies doing vaccinations are going to have epipens at every station, because they’re not nearly as scarce as the vaccine, and *nobody* wants to be featured in the nightly news for that!

  23. 23.

    mrmoshpotato

    Now Russia’s deputy prime minister Tatiana Golikova admitted that the official count of 55,265 is wrong and that in fact more than 186,000 (!) Russians died.

    Hmmm….. lying from the Kremlin…

  25. 25.

    mrmoshpotato

    Spain plans to collect and share with other European Union nations information about residents who refuse to get vaccinated for Covid-19, the country’s health minister said.

    Good.  Name and ban from your country.

  29. 29.

    J R in WV

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Wife and i feel much the same way as your friend, if we could get prescriptions it seems your chances would be better isolated at home than in a medical center. But who knows

    RIP, condolences for the  loss!

  30. 30.

    prostratedragon

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    My condolences on the loss of your friend.

    @J R in WV:  A thing to keep in mind is home hospice assistance if it’s available. Don’t know who qualifies, but if so, they’ll provide a hospital bed and meal tray, which help with personal care, and morphine if needed, among other medical supplies. I hope none of us needs this any time soon, but consider that it can be a big help.

  31. 31.

    Dog Mom

    @NeenerNeener:  Just a bit of info that I felt good about – I went for a regular followup visit to my GP (part of UofR/Strong practice).  She said she had not been expecting the vaccine till mid-January, but got her first shot last week and had to schedule the second at that time. She said no one is wasting time. Hopefully, distribution at all stages  continues without delay.

    As for a potential allergic reaction, I would expect that you should be able to be tested by a blood or skin test. Be proactive, ask your doctor.

  32. 32.

    NeenerNeener

    @Dog Mom: It’s nice to know that some people in the area are getting vaccinated! I’ll need to wait and see what my neurologist recommends as far as vaccines. I’ve been on assorted immune system suppressing drugs since 1997, and the last time I had a flu shot it kicked off a problem with my chronic condition, so I don’t think I’ll be getting vaccinated any time soon. If enough other people get vaccinated then I can keep my MRI appointment in March without risking death, though.

  33. 33.

    sab

    @OzarkHillbilly: I am so sorry for yoir friend and his wife. It is fortunate that they were able to have a timely discussion about to do about at home v. hospital.

    Husband and I just had that discussion and his choice was not what I would have expected, so I am glad we had the talk.

  34. 34.

    SW

    Production and deployment are two very different things.  Seems the bottleneck is going to be in deployment.

  35. 35.

    FlyingToaster

    @Dog Mom:

    As for a potential allergic reaction, I would expect that you should be able to be tested by a blood or skin test.

    They don’t know what triggers it yet.  So at this point, it’s “wait 20-30 minutes post-vax” to see.  Not an unreasonable wait.

    Many of those who’ve reacted so far already carry an epi-pen.  But others had no severe allergies.  Since they were all health-care workers, it was manageable.  The cause of the reaction is still a mystery.

  36. 36.

    Gvg

    @NeenerNeener: My sister the doctor has a severe shellfish allergy, and she got the first vaccine available. She had an epi pen in her pocket in case, but the hospital had them and was ready just in case (VA hospital). They made her stay extra time so they could watch for a reaction, but it was all planned and handled.
    The problem was it took like 2.5 hours in a socially distanced line, instead of in and out. They hadn’t worked out the process right that early. Gave her the creeps being around that many people for so long. I think that will be fixed quickly though. She had been told she would have to wait 2.5 more weeks but they got more doses quickly and called in the waiting list. Maybe the hospital thought fewer people would be able to come on short notice. All healthcare workers who really wanted those shots.

     

    @NeenerNeener:

  37. 37.

    matt the somewhat reasonable

    Republicans hate it when people show them up. In this case, minimal basic leadership and competence is all it takes.

  38. 38.

    Dog Mom

    @FlyingToaster:  I should have written more clearly  – I’ll blame lack of coffee. I intended the test for allergy to seafood/shellfish – which one might want to identify anyways.  I expect the wait around for reaction after the vaccine for many or maybe all people.

  39. 39.

    Evil_Paul

    With regards to the Bloomberg article: How the hell did the US justify blocking Iran from accessing the vaccine?  How is that not an act of war?  Or terrorism for that matter?

  40. 40.

    Zelma

    @Dog Mom:

    I have a shellfish allergy, but it’s just a digestive issue.  No breathing or other problems like a rash.  I wonder if that will be an issue.  At my age, I’m pretty high up on the list.  We’ll see.

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