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It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

“But what about the lurkers?”

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it is not glory.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

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We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 / COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Friday/Saturday, Jan. 1-2 2021

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Friday/Saturday, Jan. 1-2 2021

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Sure, people *say* russian roulette is dangerous — but I’ve pulled the trigger three times already, and nothing happened!

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Unfortunately:

… More than 9,000 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 have yet to been added to the official tally of confirmed cases, the National Public Health Emergency Team said. A day earlier it had estimated the number of positive tests still pending registration at just 4,000.

Ireland has gone from having the lowest infection rate in the European Union just two weeks ago to having the fastest rate of deterioration, after shops and large parts of the hospitality sector were allowed to reopen for most of December.

A very large volume of positive tests since Christmas has led to a delay in positive swabs being formally confirmed as new individual cases. Ireland formally reported a daily record 1,754 confirmed cases on Friday, surpassing 1,500 daily cases for the fourth day in a row.

From a long, illustrated thread:

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Reader Interactions

40Comments

  1. 1.

    YY_Sima Qian

    On 1/1 China reported 8 new domestic confirmed and 3 new domestic asymptomatic cases.

    Dalian in Liaoning Province reported 4 new domestic confirmed cases (all moderate). Both confirmed cases are in moderate condition. None of the cases appear to traced close contacts, but are from residential compounds under lock down, and so have not left home since 12/22 or 12/25. They all had initially tested positive on 12/29, and were confirmed upon re-test, before finally being reported on 1/1. My impression is that Dalian has been less effective with contact tracing, less prompt and less comprehensive with information sharing, than other places in China. There are currently 47 domestic confirmed cases and 30 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. There are 13 communities, 2 residential compounds and a village at Medium Risk in the city.

    Shenyang in Liaoning Province reported 3 new domestic confirmed cases (all moderate). 1 of the new confirmed cases is a traced close contact, having been under quarantine since 12/28, the other cases had developed symptoms and were discovered at fever clinics on 12/31 (though 1 had first visited a fever clinic on 12/26 but had tested negative at the time). Both of the latter are had visited the same hospital as the index imported case on the same dates, so it is surprising that the aThere are currently 19 domestic confirmed and 2 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 1 residential compound was designated as Medium Risk. There are 1 community, 1 office building and 9 residential compounds at Medium Risk.

    Heihe in Heilongjiang Province reported 3 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 1 is a traced close contact, and the other 2 (a couple) were discovered from community mass screening. There are 3 domestic confirmed and 6 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 2 residential compounds are at Medium Risk.

    At Mudanjiang in Heilongjiang Province, 3 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (at Suifenhe).

    Beijing Municipality reported 1 new domestic confirmed cases (moderate), at Shunyi District. The case is a traced close contact, who has been under centralized quarantine since 12/26. 1 village at Shunyi District was designated as Medium Risk. There are 5 villages and 1 hotel are at Medium Risk in the city. 

     

    On 12/31, China reported 14 new imported confirmed cases, 18 imported asymptomatic cases, 1 imported suspect case:

    • Shanghai Municipality – 4 confirmed cases, 2 Chinese nationals returning from Israel, 1 from Columbia (via Paris CdG), and a Serbian national coming from Germany; 1 suspect case, no information released
    • Tianjin Municipality – 3 confirmed cases, 2 Chinese nationals returning from Guinea (via Paris CdG) and France; 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Guinea (via Paris CdG)
    • Guangzhou in Guangdong Province – 2 confirmed cases (1 previous asymptomatic), a Chinese national returning from Nigeria (via Kigali) and a foreign crew member off an oil tanker from Peru; 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Rwanda
    • Shenzhen in Guangdong Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from the US; 5 asymptomatic case, 4 Chinese nationals returning from South Africa and 1 from Lesotho
    • Xiamen in Fujian Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from the US; 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Italy
    • Fuzhou in Fujian Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Indonesia
    • Qingdao in Shandong Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from the UK
    • Xi’an in Shaanxi Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from Spain (via Lisbon), off a flight diverted from Beijing; 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Uzbekistan, off a flight diverted from Beijing
    • Shenyang in Liaoning Province – 1 confirmed case, no information released
    • Dalian in Liaoning Province – 1 asymptomatic case, no information released
    • Changsha in Hunan Province – 3 asymptomatic cases, no information released
    • Zhengzhou in Henan Province – 2 asymptomatic case, no information released
    • Chengdu in Sichuan Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Algeria
    • Yunnan Province (city not specified) – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Myanmar, via land border crossing

    Overall in China, 1 cases deteriorated to severe condition, 9 confirmed cases recovered, 18 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation and 2 was reclassified as confirmed cases, and 413 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 383 active confirmed cases in the country (272 imported), 10 are in serious condition (3 imported), 280 asymptomatic cases (229 imported). 14,311 traced contacts are currently under quarantine.

    On 1/1, Hong Kong reported 35 new cases, 1 imported and 34 domestic (10 of whom do not have source of infection identified). Another 40+ cases are preliminarily positive, awaiting retesting.

  2. 2.

    OzarkHillbilly

    My healthcare brother and his healthcare wife have both tested positive for Covid.

    Happy new year.

  4. 4.

    sab

    @OzarkHillbilly: I am so sorry. I hope they have mild cases.

    I wish I could convince my dad’s nurses’s aide to get the vaccine. Her kids want her to, the nursing home wants her to, I want her to, but she refuses. 60% of Ohio nursing home staff agree with her. Thank you Operation Warpspeed for your excellent PR efforts//.

    Dad  (age 96) got his first shot three days ago and no bad reaction at all. His arm isn’t even sore.

  5. 5.

    Steeplejack

    Thank you, Anne Laurie, for your tireless work in putting out these updates, and thank you, @YY_Sima Qian and Amir Khalid, for adding your reports to the mix.

  10. 10.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Hundreds of thousands more US Covid deaths possible amid vaccine chaos

    More than 10,000 people died in the US in the last three days of 2020 alone, to bring the national death toll close to 350,000 so far, including the worst 24-hour toll of the whole pandemic when more than 3,700 people died last Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

    So vaccines are the big hope for fighting the outbreak. But experts are warning that hundreds of thousands more deaths are possible if the inoculation process doesn’t get quickly and solidly on track.

    “Basically, the federal government is botching the vaccine rollout,” said Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University’s school of public health. “They thought their job ends when the vaccine arrives in the states, and there’s really no well-delineated plan.” He added: “What America is suffering through is the consequence of incompetence in federal leadership – the entire pandemic has been marred by a group of people, not just Donald Trump – who don’t understand how things work and can’t get something to work effectively.”
    ……………………………….
    If the rollout continues at the current pace, Jha said, it could take “many, many months and years” to fulfill vaccination goals for the nation.

    And if this delay continues for months, it could cause the US to lose “several hundred thousand more people”, he warned.
    …………………………….
    “The vaccine looks like it can reduce the risk of … symptomatic Covid,” said Bruce Y Lee, professor at CUNY graduate school of public health and health policy in New York. But he warned: “Every week, two week, three-week delay, while the cases are pushing up further, is costing lives – and especially if we’re talking about healthcare professionals.”

    Misery hasn’t even begun.

  12. 12.

    Raven

    I have read that 40% of health care workers here are declining which may be why the added 65 and up to the 1st tier. I have an appt for Jan 12.

  13. 13.

    Raven

    ATLANTA — Georgia’s top public health official, Dr. Kathleen Toomey, explained Thursday the reason the state is moving forward with expanding access to the COVID-19 vaccine was because there are doses “literally sitting in freezers” in parts of the state, with rural healthcare workers reluctant to take them.

    The Department of Public Health commissioner said at a press conference that while there are hundreds of healthcare workers on the waiting list to get vaccinated in metro Atlanta, “in many parts of rural Georgia, both in the north and the south, there’s vaccine available and literally sitting in freezers.”

  14. 14.

    NeenerNeener

    Monroe County, NY yesterday: the Christmas cases have begun:

    802 new cases, 9.5% positivity, 919 hospitalized, 149 in ICU

  15. 15.

    OzarkHillbilly

    I’m looking at the numbers on the Misery dashboard and something doesn’t add up. Looking at the hospitalization numbers, the number of patients in the hospital and the number in ICU both plateaued around 11/20 and have more or less remained there ever since. But if I go to the Counties page where the deaths to date (5,540) are graphed, deaths peaked on 11/23 with 63 deaths and have since steadily dropped down to 8 deaths on 12/30.

    ????????????????????????

  16. 16.

    Steeplejack

    @Raven:

    My brother said that a lot of D.C. firefighters (clients of his HMO) are declining the vaccine.
    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  17. 17.

    Chris T.

    @JPL: There’s that old joke that ends with the guy asking why God didn’t save him, and St Peter replying: You idiot, He sent you two boats and a helicopter. Apparently we now have to update it with You idiot, He sent you a vaccine.

  20. 20.

    Raven

    My friends has a BIL who is a retired nurse and he says if you go inside the hospitals are empty.

  22. 22.

    Amir Khalid

    Malaysia’s daily Covid-19 numbers. Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reports 2,295 new cases today, for a cumulative reported total of 117,373 cases. Dr Noor Hisham also reports nine new deaths today, for a total of 483 deaths — 0.41% of the cumulative reported total, 0.51% of resolved cases.

    22,398 active and contagious cases are currently in hospital; 125 are in ICU, 51 of them on respirators. Meanwhile, a whopping 3,321 patients recovered and were discharged, more than the new cases reported today, for a total of 94,492 patients recovered — 80.5% of the cumulative reported total.

    Nine new clusters were reported today: Harum and Dewani in Johor, Casuarina building site and Renggam in Selangor, Batu Lapan in Sabah, Jalan BBN in Negeri Sembilan, Belukar in Kelantan, Kolam Permai in Terengganu and Selangor, and Mador in Sarawak.

    2,286 new cases today are local infections. Selangor has 636 local cases: 224 in older clusters, 60 in Renggam and Casuarina building site clusters, 212 close-contact screenings, and 140 other screenings. Johor has 580 cases: 200 in older clusters, 231 in Dewani and Harum clusters, 76 close-contact screenings, and 73 other screenings. Penang has 288 cases: 82 in existing clusters, 13 close-contact screenings, and 193 other screenings. Sabah has 259 cases: 11 in older clusters, four in Renngam and Casuarina building site cluster, 212 close-contact screenings, and 140 other screenings. KL has 150 local cases: 10 in existing clusters, 69 close-contact screenings, and 71 other screenings. Negeri Sembilan has 131 cases: 70 in older clusters, 16 in Jalan BBN cluster, 32 close-contact screenings, and 13 other screenings.

    Melaka has 95 cases: 88 in existing clusters, six close-contact screenings, and one other screening. Kedah has 47 cases: 37 in existing clusters, seven close-contact screenings, and three other screenings. Pahang has 29 cases: 21 in existing clusters, seven close-contact screenings, and one other screening. Kelantan has 26 cases: 10 in older clusters, seven in Belukar cluster, six close-contact screenings, and three other screenings. Terengganu has 16 cases: three in Kolam Permai cluster, 12 close-contact screenings, and one other screening. Perak has 11 local cases: three in existing clusters, three close-contact screenings, and five other screenings. Putrajaya has 12 cases: nine close-contact screenings, and three other screenings.

    Sarawak has five cases: four in Mador cluster, and one other screening. And Labuan has one case, a close-contact screening.

    Once again, only Perlis reported no new local cases today.

    Nine new cases are imported. Six were reported in KL, two in Selangor, and one in Perak.

    The nine deaths today are a 73-year-old man in Selangor with diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, benign prosttic hyperplasia, cataracts, and glaucoma; a 67-year-old woman in KL with hypertension, cancer, and dyslipidaemia; a 41-year-old woman in KL with dabetes and obesity; an 82-year-old man in Perak with chronic obstructive airway disease, dementia, and hearing problems; a 65-year-old woman in Sabah with dibetes and hypertension; a 76-year-old man in Selangor with diabetes, hypertension, and stroke; a 66-year-old man in Selangor with tuberculosis; a 72-year-old man in Negeri Sembilan with diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidaemia; and a 72-year-old man in Kelantan with diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, chronic obstructive airway disease, and peripheral vascular disease.

  23. 23.

    Mary G

    @OzarkHillbilly: Oh no, they were so close to the vaccine. Add me to the jackals who hope their cases are short and mild.

    Mexico isn’t the only place facing oxygen shortages:

     

    (LA Times) In L.A. County, where hospitals have gotten so backed up that patients have had to wait outside in ambulances for up to eight hours, hope for some respite finally arrived Friday: The Army Corps of Engineers was planning to send specialized crews to the region to update oxygen-delivery systems at a handful of aging hospitals.

    Days earlier, several hospitals declared internal disasters and temporarily turned away all ambulance traffic because their internal oxygen systems began to buckle beneath the high demand of air flow needed by patients whose lungs had been ravaged by the coronavirus.

  24. 24.

    Steeplejack

    @Raven, @OzarkHillbilly:

    I could see the firefighters (as a group) being sort of police-adjacent, i.e., mostly white, right-leaning, don’t think the virus is a big deal, or don’t want to look like a wuss if they do.

  25. 25.

    raven

    “Following the expert guidance of Dr. Toomey, the CDC, and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, Georgia will move to expand Phase 1a vaccination criteria within the next two weeks to include the elderly, law enforcement officers, firefighters and first responders – provided the state continues to receive adequate vaccine supplies,” Kemp said. “We will continue to monitor the administration efforts of our public health workers and partners in the private sector, and the supply chain of both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines to ensure eligible Georgians are vaccinated without delay.”
    More:COVID-19 cases increasing in Georgia
    “Different areas of the state are completing Phase 1a at different times based on the number of healthcare workers and LTCF residents and staff they have to vaccinate,” Toomey said. “This expansion of 1a eligible vaccination criteria will allow vaccine to be administered as quickly as possible to our most at-risk populations in terms of exposure, transmission and severity. It also gives healthcare providers and public health staff time to plan and work with local communities across the state to ensure safe and efficient deployment of limited vaccine supplies.”

  26. 26.

    Platonicspoof

    I clicked through to the LA Times article, and I don’t think the article is done very well.

    The article cites “A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 29% of healthcare workers were “vaccine hesitant,” . . . . ” without providing a link to it. I believe they are referring to a

    KFF survey here that has the 29% number in figure 4. Figure 4 actually shows healthcare workers (a month ago) to be within a percentage point of being the least “vaccine hesitant”.

    Whatever the actual number or which group, the LA T article is missing the context of whether the trend is going up or down. It looks like the KFF survey is a new one, so LA T should have said so, and then used, e.g., Pew surveys going back to May, which show confidence in vaccines increasing.

    It’s important to hear stories about the healthcare workers concerns, but I think a major newspaper could do better when so much depends on public confidence.

    Of course, it was free to me, so I got what I paid for.

  28. 28.

    Amir Khalid

    Ministry of Health has tweeted that vaccinations in Malaysia begin next month. The first group to be vaccinated will be frontline healthcare workers.

  29. 29.

    Ohio Mom

    Ozark Hillbilly:
    My county here in southwest Ohio has the same pattern. Cases and transmission rate peaking before Thanksgiving. Right now tne trandmission rate is the lowest it’s been in months, like Thanksgiving and its travel and big dinners never happened. I agree, weird.

    The numbers are from the covidactnow.org site. Every morning, first thing I check the weather, Anne Laurie’s post and covidactnow. Then I get up and have coffee and wonder why my mood is so fragile.

  30. 30.

    opiejeanne

    @Raven: The Seattle Times had an article that said the state is incapable of tracking everyone to vaccinate them in the proper order, so they are going to send out forms to be filled out and they just hope we don’t cheat.

    We’re on the honor system for the vaccination line.

    Meanwhile, it took Evergreen Health (our medical group) nearly a week to vaccinate 3000 health care workers, and they just received another 2000 doses a couple of days ago. I really don’t understand why they took so long to use the first 3000 doses.

  32. 32.

    opiejeanne

    @Steeplejack: We had two whole firehouses quarantined in February, after they answered emergency calls at the nursing home in Kirkland, WA. I would think those guys would take it seriously, but I really don’t know.

    I haven’t yet seen an article about health care workers refusing the vaccine in Washington, but maybe they’ll run that story today.

  33. 33.

    EntroPi

    @OzarkHillbilly: my Christmas present was a text from my ex that my daughter tested positive. Luckily, asymptomatic, for all that means for long term consequences.
    Since hers was the third case over break, her high school is now requiring everyone to get tested before they’re allowed back. Luckily, RI is starting to be on the ball about testing.

  34. 34.

    Mai Naem mobile

    We just crossed the 9000 death mark from COVID in Arizona. The death number  for the regular day reporting  has been around 150/daily. There’s a pattern to reporting where Sunday and Saturday are low and Tuesday is high because of the lag from Sat and Sun. Anyhow, to keep it in perspective, Arizona has a regular annual death rate of around 50,000.

  36. 36.

    WaterGirl

    @Raven: I think that health care providers should be required to publicly post the vaccination status of the entire staff.  I think we have a right to know whether everyone has been vaccinated or not.

    I would find a different dentist if he and everyone on staff were not vaccinated.

  39. 39.

    eachother

    Wishing everyone here good health and please be careful. A quick and full recovery if you have illness.
    I got Covid in January last. It was weird in its entirety. I had Covid toe which there was then no knowledge about. Plus other shit that made me doubt my ability to care for myself. It was thought to be respiratory then. Mine was cardio-vascular. Skin and blood vessels. Way deformed a toe. Now a peace sign looking V on appropriately, my radical left foot.

  40. 40.

    J R in WV

    @Raven:

    My friends has a BIL who is a retired nurse and he says if you go inside the hospitals are empty.

    Our family doc’s office suite is in the office tower next to one of the two major hospitals in town. People are not allowed into the hospital proper at all, and must have an appointment with a doctor to enter the office tower. They call the doctor’s office to verify your appointment.

    So retired nurse BIL can’t know that. Not really. Our family doc has lost 9 patients as of our last appointment with him to Covid. Is looking pretty grim himself.

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