COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Tuesday/Wednesday, Jan. 19-20

16Comments

1. 1.

   NotMax

   January 20, 2021 at 5:45 am

   Number of countries reporting total cases of 500,000 or more now up to 33.

   U.S. ~24.499k
   India ~10,591k
   Brazil ~8576k
   Russia ~3634k
   U.K. ~3472k
   France ~2968k
   Italy ~2401k
   Turkey ~2400k
   Spain ~2371k
   Germany ~2072k
   Colombia ~1939k
   Argentina ~1820k
   Mexico ~1668k
   Poland ~1451k
   South Africa ~1357k
   Iran ~1342k
   Ukraine ~1187k
   Peru ~1073k
   Netherlands ~928k
   Indonesia ~927k
   Czechia ~909k
   Canada ~722k
   Romania ~698k
   Belgium ~681k
   Chile ~677k
   Iraq ~610k
   Israel ~571k
   Portugal ~567k
   Sweden ~533k
   Bangladesh ~529k
   Pakistan ~525k
   Philippines ~506k
   Switzerland ~502k
   .

2. 2.

   NeenerNeener

   January 20, 2021 at 5:51 am

   Monroe County, NY yesterday:
   308 new cases, back at mid-November levels. 778 hospitalized, 172 in the ICU, up from 148 yesterday. 802 deaths since last year. 33% of hospital beds available, 22% of ICU beds available. 6.4% positivity.

3. 3.

   Martin

   January 20, 2021 at 5:52 am

   @NotMax: America First.

   He was true to his promise.

4. 4.

   Mary G

   January 20, 2021 at 5:57 am

   Pretty bad day in Orange County – new cases 3,995, new record number of deaths – 110, smashing last week’s record of 82, which smashed the record in August of 52. ICU availability still at 0%, though regular hospital occupancy dropped. Percent of positive tests dropped from 19.5% to 16.7%. The massive vaccination operation in the Disneyland parking lot had to be closed because of Santa Ana winds. They have changed the system so your second appointment is automatically set at your first. Hope for better days. We also desperately need rain. I

5. 5.

   mrmoshpotato

   January 20, 2021 at 5:59 am

   @Martin: USA!?  USA!?

6. 6.

   NotMax

   January 20, 2021 at 6:01 am

   FYI (emphasis added).

   Maui Memorial Medical Center says it had to postpone thousands of vaccine appointments for three weeks because of a drop in supply. There’s an urgency to get as many shots in arms as possible that’s why Maui Memorial says it was a huge disappointment to postpone thousands of appointments for the first dose.

   Maui Memorial Medical Center had been giving 700 vaccinations per day. Now that’s been reduced to 100 to 200 per day and only for those who are getting their 2nd shot.

   Anyone who had an appointment for a first dose has been postponed and it’s not known when it can be rescheduled.
   [snip]
   Maui Health says this impacts roughly 5,000 kupuna[*] and frontline workers who got first dose appointments and are now postponed. Source

   *Seniors, specifically in this case those 75 and over (the age tier currently being scheduled).

7. 7.

   YY_Sima Qian

   January 20, 2021 at 6:03 am

   On 1/19 China reported 88 new domestic confirmed, 43 new domestic asymptomatic cases.
    
   Liaoning Province did not report any new domestic positive cases:

   • At Dalian, 1 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There are currently 4 domestic confirmed cases & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 1 community was re-designated as Low Risk. There are 2 communities currently at Medium Risk in the city.
   • At Shenyang, 1 domestic confirmed case recovered & 1 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. There are currently 9 domestic domestic confirmed cases in the city. The last 1 building and 1 residential compound at Medium Risk in the city were re-designated as Low Risk.

    
   Beijing Municipality reported 7 new domestic confirmed cases, 6 at the same community in Tiangongyuan Sub-District of Daxing District, where the recent cluster was detected, and the other is at Shunyi District. It is not clear from the case summaries whether they are traced close contacts under quarantine, or found from mass screening. 2 cases had developed symptoms on 1/18, but they were transferred to hospital by negative pressure ambulance, rather than visiting fever clinics. 5 communities in Tiangongyuan Sub-District have gone into total lock down, with residents confined to their homes, while other residential compounds and villages in the sub-districts are under restricted access managements (only registered residents are allowed to enter, or exit with pass). 1 village at Shunyi District was re-designated as Low Risk. There are currently 1 community (at Daxing District) and 4 villages (at Shunyi District) at Medium Risk.
    
   Hebei Province:
   Hebei Provincial Health Commission reported 19 new domestic confirmed (4 previously asymptomatic) & 5 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases was released from isolation. There are currently 818 domestic confirmed cases (8 critical, 23 serious, 664 moderate and 123 mild) & 168 domestic asymptomatic cases in the province:

   • Xingtai reported 6 new domestic positive cases, all at Nangong District. 3 are traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine, and 3 are found from mass screening, but have been under home quarantine. There are currently 56 domestic confirmed & 9 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. Nangong District remain at High Risk, 1 residential compound at Longyao County remain at Medium Risk.
   • Gu’an County in Langfang reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case, a traced close contact already under centralized quarantine. There are 1 domestic confirmed & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases there. 1 residential compound remain at Medium Risk.
   • Shijiazhuang reported 13 new domestic confirmed cases (4 previously asymptomatic) & 4 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 1 confirmed case recovered & 1 asymptomatic case was released from isolation. 9 of the confirmed cases at Gaocheng District (2 previously asymptomatic already under isolation, 2 traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine, 4 from mass screening already under home or centralized quarantines, and 1 from fever clinic already under home quarantine), including 6 at the epicenter township; 1 at Xinle District (previously asymptomatic); 1 at Zhengding Country (previously asymptomatic); 2 at Chang’an District (both from mass screening, neither had been under quarantine). No information for the asymptomatic cases. Currently, there are 761 confirmed cases & 158 asymptomatic cases. 3 residential compounds and 2 villages were elevated to Medium Risk. There are 31 residential compounds, 7 villages & 1 residential building at Medium Risk in the city. There are 2 districts at High Risk.

   
   Heilongjiang Province:
   Heilongjiang Province reported 16 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic) & 31 new domestic asymptomatic cases, all are F1 or F2 close contacts of previously reported positive cases. There are currently 192 domestic confirmed (including 2 critical and 10 serious) & 305 domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.:

   • Suihua reported 16 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic) & 22 new domestic asymptomatic cases. Wangkui County reported 16 confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic) & 20 asymptomatic cases, Anda reported 2 asymptomatic cases. All cases are traced F1 or F2 close contacts already under centralized quarantine. There are currently 181 domestic confirmed & 255 domestic asymptomatic cases there. The entire Wangkui County has been elevated to High Risk. The neighboring Qinggang County has also gone into total lock down for 1 week to start, with residents confined to homes, despite having few cases.
   • Harbin reported 4 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 2 at Hulan District and 2 at Limin Development Zone. There are currently 5 domestic confirmed & 19 domestic asymptomatic cases there. 4 residential building units are a Medium Risk.
   • Qiqihar reported 5 new domestic asymptomatic cases, all at the Medium Risk village in Ang’angxi District. The new asymptomatic case is a traced close contact already under centralized quarantine since 1/12. There are 1 domestic confirmed & 25 domestic asymptomatic cases there. 1 village remains at Medium Risk.
   • Yichun did not report any new domestic positive cases. There are 2 domestic asymptomatic cases there.
   • Daqing did not report any new domestic positive cases. There are 1 domestic confirmed & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases there. 1 residential building unit remain at Medium Risk.
   • Mudanjiang did not report any new domestic positive cases, there are 4 domestic asymptomatic cases there.
   • At Heihe, 1 domestic confirmed case from the recent outbreak recovered, with 4 domestic confirmed cases remaining. 1 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. 1 residential compound was re-designated as Low Risk, and 1 building remains at Medium Risk.

    
   Jilin Province
   Jilin Province reported 46 new domestic confirmed cases (34 previously asymptomatic) & 7 domestic asymptomatic cases, there are currently 129 confirmed (3 critical, 11 serious, 85 moderate and 30 mild) & 61 asymptomatic cases there.:

   • Songyuan did not report any new domestic positive cases. There are 4 domestic asymptomatic cases there.
   • Tonghua reported 36 new domestic confirmed (26 previously asymptomatic) & 7 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 9 of the 17 new positive cases are traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine, the other 8 are from mass screening. There are currently 94 domestic confirmed & 46 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. The entire Dongchang District, which comprises the urban part of the city, has been elevated to High Risk. 1 residential compound at the High Tech. Dev. Zone remain at Medium Risk.
   • Changchun reported 10 new domestic confirmed cases (8 previously asymptomatic) cases. Both of the new positive cases are at Gongzhuling, and both are traced close contacts of reported positive cases already under centralized quarantine since 1/13.  There are currently 35 domestic confirmed & 11 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 1 township & 3 residential compounds are at Medium Risk.

    
   On 1/19, China reported 15 new imported confirmed cases, 15 imported asymptomatic cases:

   • Shanghai Municipality – 4 confirmed cases, 2 Chinese nationals returning from Italy (via Switzerland) and 1 each returning from Canada and the UAE
   • Guangzhou in Guangdong Province – 3 confirmed cases, all Chinese nationals returning from Zambia (via Kigali); 2 asymptomatic case, 1 Chinese national each returning from Uganda and Nigeria (both via Kigali)
   • Foshan in Guangdong Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from the US, off a flight that landed Guangzhou; 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Kenya, off a flight that landed Guangzhou
   • Jieyang in Guangdong Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Japan, off a flight that landed Guangzhou
   • Zhaoqing in Guangdong Province –  1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Malaysia, off a flight that landed Guangzhou
   • Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province – 2 confirmed cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from the US & Spain; 2 asymptomatic cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Egypt and Brazil
   • Chengdu in Sichuan Province – 2 confirmed case, 1 Chinese national each returning from Myanmar and Russia; the case from Russia landed at Hohhot in Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region on 12/25, passed through the 2 weeks of centralized quarantine and tested negative on RT-PCR multiple times, upon release from quarantine on 1/9 he flew to Chengdu on the same day, and entered into home quarantine on 1/10, he tested positive at the end of the home quarantine period
   • Xi’an in Shaanxi Province – 2 confirmed cases , 1 Chinese national each returning from Japan and Canada; 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Azerbaijan
   • Tianjin Municipality – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from the US; 2 asymptomatic cases, 1 is a Chinese crew menber of a cargo ship with last port of call at Singapore, no information on the other case
   • Taiyuan in Shanxi Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from Poland, off a flight diverted from Beijing
   • Zhengzhou in Henan Province – 1 asymptomatic case, no information released
   • Xiamen in Fujian Province – 1 confirmed & 1 asymptomatic cases, both Chinese nationals returning from the US
   • Fuzhou in Fujian Province – 4 asymptomatic cases, all Chinese nationals returning from Indonesia

    
   Overall in China, 17 confirmed cases recovered, 11 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation and 39 were reclassified as confirmed cases, and 2,102 individuals were released from quarantine, 2 suspect cases were ruled out as COV ID-19. Currently, there are 1,473 active confirmed cases in the country (276 imported), 62 are in critical/serious condition (1 imported), 819 asymptomatic cases (266 imported). 34,966 traced contacts are currently under quarantine.
   
   On 1/20, Hong Kong reported 77 new cases, all domestic (37 of whom do not have sources of infection identified).

8. 8.

   Martin

   January 20, 2021 at 6:05 am

   Orange County still at 0% ICU capacity. 3rd straight week.

   Disneyland vaccinations were cancelled today due to high winds (gusts to 60MPH). I believe also cancelled for tomorrow.

   One part of the county has discontinued use of the Moderna vaccine due to a rash of reactions, some requiring hospitalization. They believe it’s localized to one lot, not the vaccine overall. Disneyland is using Moderna due to the difficulty of deploying the Pfizer one in a setting like that.

   Our highest daily deaths in 2020 was something like 25. It was 110 yesterday. We really fucked up from Thanksgiving out.

9. 9.

   Martin

   January 20, 2021 at 6:06 am

   @Mary G: Heh. I could be accused of plagiarism in this thread.

10. 10.

    Martin

    January 20, 2021 at 6:15 am

    More reporting that the South Africa variant may be partially resistant to the vaccine – or at least some of them. Not conclusive yet, but troubling.

    The other worry is that many viruses will develop resistant mutations over time. The slower the vaccination rate, the more likely they are to develop. This variant could be a fluke, or it could indicate that Covid can mutate rapidly.

11. 11.

    Chyron HR

    January 20, 2021 at 6:40 am

    Dr. Tony Fauci urges Americans to get vaccinated

    Oh, well, in that case I’ll get right on it.

12. 12.

    Amir Khalid

    January 20, 2021 at 7:01 am

    Malaysia’s daily Covid-19 numbers. Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reports 4,008 new cases today in his media statement, the second-highest daily total, for a cumulative reported total of 169,379 cases. Dr Noor Hisham also reports 11 new deaths today, for a total of 630 deaths — 0.37% of the cumulative reported total, 0.49% of resolved cases.

    41,087 active and contagious cases are currently in hospital; 246 are in ICU, 96 of them on respirators. Meanwhile, 2,374 patients recovered and were discharged, for a total of 127,662 patients recovered – 75.4% of the cumulative reported total.

    16 new clusters were reported today: Bestari Rantau and Jalan Abdul Aziz building site in Selangor; Jalan KKIP Selatan and Kampung Balibata in Sabah; Jalan Digital building site in Johor and Terengganu; Tampoi Lima, Jalan Seroja, and Jalan Niaga in Johor; Persiaran Tasek and Batu Enam in Perak; Jalan Usaha and Bukit Sebukor building site in Melaka; Sungai Ibor in Negeri Sembilan; Jalan Sejahtera in KL; and Bukit Gelugor and Sawmill Luit in Pahang.

    4,003 new cases today are local infections. Selangor has 1,390 local cases: 522 in older clusters, 72 in Bestari Rantau and Jalan Abdul Aziz building site clusters, 464 close-contact screenings, and 329 other screenings. KL has 509 local cases: 137 in older clusters, 15 in Jalan Sejahtera cluster, 213 close-contact screenings, and 144 other screenings. Johor has 470 cases: 136 in older clusters, 62 in Jalan Digital building site, Tampoi Lima, Jalan Seroja, and Jalan Niaga clusters, 180 close-contact screenings, and 92 other screenings. Sabah has 406 cases: 10 in older clusters, 10 in Jalan KKIP Selatan and Kampung Balibata clusters, 264 close-contact screenings, and 122 other screenings. Sarawak has 203 cases: 141 in existing clusters, and 62 other screenings.

    Negeri Sembilan has 176 cases: 78 in older clusters, four in Sungai Ibor cluster, 52 close-contact screenings, and 42 other screenings. Perak has 170 cases: eight in older clusters, four in Persiaran Tasek and Batu Enam clusters, 97 close-contact screenings, and 50 other screenings. Kedah has 142 cases: 16 in existing clusters, 72 close-contact screenings, and 54 other screenings. Melaka has 132 cases: 19 in older clusters, 10 in Jalan Usaha and Bukit Sebukor building site clusters, 86 close-contact screenings, and 17 other screenings. Penang has 124 cases: 38 in existing clusters, 53 close-contact screenings, and 33 other screenings. Kelantan has 121 cases: 19 in existing clusters, 84 close-contact screenings, and 18 other screenings.

    Terengganu has 81 cases: 17 in existing clusters, 44 close-contact screenings, and 20 other screenings. Pahang has 52 cases: 13 in older clusters, 15 in Bukit Gelugor and Sawmill Luit clusters, 21 close-contact screenings, and three other screenings. Putrajaya has 23 cases: 14 close-contact screenings, and nine other screenings. Perlis has three cases, all close-contact screenings. And Labuan has one case in an existing cluster.

    Five new cases are imported. Four were reported in KL, and one in Selangor.

    The 11 deaths today are a 70-year-old woman in Sabh with diabetes and hypertension; a 77-year-old man in Sabah with gout and a swollen prostate; a 42-year-old man in Sarawak with diabetes, hypertension, and chronic liver disease; a 60-year-old man in Selangor with diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and stroke; a 68-year-old man in Selangor with hyperyension and hearty disease; an 81-year-old man in Selamgor with diabetes, hypertension, psoriasis, stroke, chronic kidney disease; a 54-year-old man in Selangor, DOA with no listed co-morbidities; a 90-year-old woman in Sabah with diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, and hyperparathyroidism; a 69-year-old woman in Johor with diabetes and chronic kidney disease; a 69-year-old non-Malaysian woman in Johor with diabetes and hypertension; and a 72-year-old non-Malaysian woman in Johor with diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.

13. 13.

    Jeffery

    January 20, 2021 at 7:43 am

    I have managed to dodge covid for the last years. I am anxious to get the vaccine. From what I can tell here in Philadelphia it will be a while until that happens. My hope is the Biden can get the rollout organized from the trump chaos in a timely fashion. As of 12:01 today the GOP will be clutching their pearls wonder why covid vaccine distribution hasn’t been fully implemented.

14. 14.

    Sloane Ranger

    January 20, 2021 at 8:08 am

    Happy Inauguration Day cousins!

    Yesterday in the UK, we had 33,355 new cases. This is about 4200 fewer than the day before and a reduction of 22.3% in the rolling 7-day average. New cases by nation,

    England – 30,371 (down @4000)

    Northern Ireland – 713 (up @70)

    Scotland – 1165 (down @260)

    Wales – 1106 (down @330).

    Deaths – There were 1610 deaths within 28 days of a positive test yesterday. This is a 19.8% increase in the rolling 7-day average. Deaths by nation – 1507 in England, 24 in Northern Ireland, 71 in Scotland and 8 in Wales.

    Testing – 556,689 tests were processed on Monday, 18 January out of a capacity of 816,386. This is an increase in the rolling 7-day average of 0.6%.

    Hospitalisations – As of Sunday, 17th January there were 37,946 people in hospital and 3916 were on ventilators on Monday, 18th. The rolling 7-day average for hospital admissions is up 3.6%.

    Vaccinations – As of Monday, 18th 4,266,577 people had received their 1st dose of a vaccine and 456,866 had received a 2nd dose. Looking at the graphs, it appears that the roll out of the vaccine is slowing rather than accelerating. This is worrying.

    No other real news.

15. 15.

    YY_Sima Qian

    January 20, 2021 at 8:48 am

    Beijing Municipal CDC announced yesterday that the 2 cases reported at Daxing District on 1/17 are infected by the B.1.1.7 variant. Since the only reported B.1.1.7 patients in China had been imported cases found at Shanghai and Guangzhou, Beijing authorities believe this cluster is seeded by some sort of foreign import, although the vector remains unknown. Daxing District has one of the Beijing’s 2 international airports, although the Tiangongyuan Sub-District is not near the airport.

    This explains why the community with the cluster was so quickly elevated to High Risk today, and why communities went into total lock down. Chinese government will want to snuff out any outbreak with the more contagious variants. The regime’s imperative is to ensure there is no major outbreak in the capital, and that there are not smoldering outbreaks that can be fanned by the massive Chinese New Year migration.

    The Chinese New Year will probably subdued this year. All public celebrations and traditional fairs are cancelled. Governments at all levels are exhorting people to stay put. Most places in China are requiring that anyone who travel outside of the province to get tested by RT-PCR, and home quarantine for 2 weeks. Government workers are forbidden from traveling altogether. Kindergarten to upper middle schools are asking children who traveled over the holiday to stay away from school for 2 weeks. All of which will serve as deterrent and reduce travel. Universities have ended fall semester early at the beginning and middle of the month, to spread some of the holiday travel. ~ 3 billion trips are typically taken during a normal Chinese New Year, so even if all of these measures reduce the number of trips to the hundreds of millions, it would still be more than enough to spread the virus (especially the more contagious variants) from a few isolated outbreaks all over the country.

16. 16.

    YY_Sima Qian

    January 20, 2021 at 9:04 am

    Beijing Municipal Health Commission just shared that all 7 confirmed cases reported yesterday, and the 4 positive cases reported on 1/17 & 1/18, are of the same cluster comprised of family, friends and colleagues. The case at Shunyi District actually experienced soreness on 1/11, but sought to self-medicate. 3 of the cases are judges at some kind of event (social media rumor claims some kind of cat show).

    I sure hope the vector is not infected cats from the UK! (Semi-joking.)