Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

…and a burning sense of injustice to juice the soul.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

“Why isn’t this Snickers bar only a nickel?”

I’m just a talker, trying to find a channel!

I was promised a recession.

I also would like a pony to improve my balloon juice experience.

You cannot shame the shameless.

Donald Jessica Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

This blog will pay for itself.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

How can republicans represent us when they don’t trust women?

Good lord, these people are nuts.

The problem people have with Biden’s age is the color of the VPs skin.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

Republicans don’t trust women.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

When the time comes to make an endorsement, the pain of NYT editors will be palpable as they reluctantly whisper “Biden.”

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 / COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Friday / Saturday, July 30-31

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Friday / Saturday, July 30-31

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Newly reported COVID-19 cases in Olympic host city Tokyo surged to a record high of 4,058 on Saturday, the metropolitan government said, exceeding 4,000 for the first time and overshadowing the Games.

The new record comes a day after Japan decided to extend its state of emergency for Tokyo to the end of August and expand it to three prefectures near Tokyo and the western prefecture of Osaka in light of the recent spike in infections.

Amid intensifying concerns, Tokyo Olympics organisers said on Saturday they had revoked accreditation of a Games-related person or people for leaving the athletes’ village for sightseeing, a violation of measures imposed to hold the Olympics safely amid the pandemic.

The organisers did not disclose how many people had their accreditation revoked, if the person or people involved were athletes, or when the violation took place…

This is the first time accreditation has been revoked since the start of the Tokyo Olympics on July 23. Without it, one cannot enter any Olympic facilities…

Up to 20 people in Suffolk have tested positive for Covid-19 after attending the Latitude Festival, the county’s director of public health said.

The four-day festival at Henham Park, near Southwold, was the first major event to be held following the lifting of most Covid restrictions in England…

The music and arts festival, held over the weekend of 22-25 July, was part of the government event research programme (ERP)…

Ticket holders were told to bring either proof of a negative lateral flow test taken within 48 hours before arriving at the festival, or proof of full vaccination…

Stuart Keeble, director of public health at Suffolk County Council, said: “From our local data, we are picking up 14 or 20 cases but obviously these people who have gone to Latitude will be all over the country and that’s part of the event research programme to try to piece together the impact of it.”

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said it was too early for Latitude results to be fully collated.

It said the results would go into the next phased report of the research programme…

Other events that formed part of the ERP included the Euro 2020 semi-final and final at Wembley and the British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit, both held ahead of 19 July.

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Reader Interactions

65Comments

  1. 1.

    NeenerNeener

    Monroe County, NY stats from NYS Department of Health:

    New COVID cases: 69 new cases yesterday. Ugh.

  2. 2.

    A Ghost to Most

    The christian supremacists are starting to cheat on Jebus with the scientists. 1 million vax Thursday.

    “Oh, so now you move to the front of the [subway] car.” – J, MIB2

  3. 3.

    YY_Sima Qian

    On 7/30 China reported 30 new domestic confirmed & 12 new domestic asymptomatic cases.

    Yunnan Province did not reported any new domestic positive cases. 3 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 60 domestic confirmed & 2 domestic asymptomatic cases. 1 community at Ruili remains at High Risk. 1 village at Ruili & 1 village at Longchuan County remain at Medium Risk.

    Jiangsu Province

    • Nanjing reported 6 new domestic confirmed (5 mild & 1 moderate). 1 moderate case worsened to serious condition & 1 severe case improved to moderate. There currently are 190 domestic confirmed (87 mild, 95 moderate & 8 serious) & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. Of the 191 infected persons, 163 are at Jiangning District, 11 at Lishui District, 4 each at Jianye & Gulou Districts, 3 at Yuhuatai District, 2 each at Gaochun & Qinhuai Districts, & 1 each at Xuanwu & Qixia Districts. The Lukou Sub-District remains High Risk. 1 area, 1 residential compound & 1 village have been elevated to Medium Risk. 2 areas, 15 residential compounds, 6 buildings & 7 villages remain at Medium Risk.
    • Yangzhou reported 10 new domestic confirmed cases (2 mild & 10 moderate), all traced contacts & part of the poker parlor cluster. There currently are 16 domestic confirmed cases (5 mild & 11 moderate) in the city. 1 area & 1 residential compound have been elevated to Medium Risk.
    • Huai’an reported 2 new domestic confirmed cases (1 previously asymptomatic). There currently are 3 confirmed & 2 asymptomatic cases, 4 being employees of the same company that had gone to Zhangjiajie in Hunan Province for a company outing during 7/22 – 7/25, & 1 of their tour guides. 2 residential buildings & a village have been elevated to Medium Risk.
    • Suqian reported 1 new domestic confirmed case, a person who had came from Yangzhou on 7/27. There currently are 3 domestic confirmed cases (all moderate) there, 2 of whom are traced to the outbreak in Nanjing. 1 residential compound remains at Medium Risk.
    • Wuxi did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently is 1 domestic asymptomatic case in the city, a person involved in processing incoming visitors/returnees from overseas & not connected to the Delta Variant outbreak from Nanjing.

     

    Anhui Province

    • He County did not report any new domestic positive cases, there is 1 domestic asymptomatic case there, a person who returned from Nanjing.
    • Wuhu did not report any new domestic positive cases. There is 1 domestic asymptomatic case there, a person who had returned from Nanjing.

     

    Liaoning Province

    • Shenyang reported 1 new domestic confirmed case (previously asymptomatic). There currently are 4 domestic confirmed cases in the city, all traced to the outbreak in Nanjing. 1 residential building remains at Medium Risk.
    • Dalian did not report any new domestic confirmed cases. There currently are 1 domestic confirmed & 3 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city, all traced to transmission chain originating from the outbreak in Nanjing. 1 residential building remains at Medium Risk.

     

    Guangdong Province

    • Zhongshan in did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently is 1 domestic confirmed case in the city, a person had returned from Nanjing.
    • Zhuhai did not report any new domestic positive case. There currently is 1 domestic asymptomatic case there, a person who had flown back from Nanjing.

     

    Hunan Province

    • Changde reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case, a traced close contact of the domestic asymptomatic case reported on 7/28, having gone on the same boat cruise with that case (as well as the 3 confirmed cases reported by Chengdu in Sichuan Province on 7/27) on 7/24. There currently are 2 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
    • Xiangtan reported 1 new domestic confirmed case, a traced close contact, having gone on the same boat cruise at Changde that became a super-spreading event.
    • Changsha reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case, a close contact of the 2 domestic confirmed cases reported in Beijing, who had dinner w/ the party on 7/25. There currently are 1 domestic confirmed & 2 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city, 2 had ridden on the super-spreading boat cruise in Changde on 7/24 & a close contact of domestic confirmed cases in Beijing. 2 residential compounds & a residential building have been elevated to Medium Risk.
    • Yiyang reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case, a traced close contact of the domestic confirmed cases reported by Beijing, having stayed w/ the party for 2 days from 7/24 – 7/25. 1 residential compound has been elevated to Medium Risk.
    • Zhuzhou reported 8 new asymptomatic cases, 5 had ridden the same boat cruise in Changde on 7/24 as the positive cases reported by Changde & Chengdu & 3 are their close contacts. There currently are 10 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city, 7 had gone on the super spreading cruise & 3 are their close contacts. 4 residential compounds have been elevated to Medium Risk.
    • Zhangjiajie reported 4 new domestic confirmed case, all employees at the same local travel agency w/ domestic confirmed case reported on 7/29. There currently are 5 domestic confirmed cases in the city. 11 sub-districts have been elevated to Medium Risk.
    • Xiangxi Prefecture reported 1 new domestic confirmed case, a traced close contact of the party from Huai’an in Jiangsu Province on company outing, w/ the reported positive cases. 1 village & 1 residential compound has been elevated to Medium Risk.


    Sichuan Province

    • Mianyang did not report any new domestic positive cases. There is currently 1 domestic confirmed case there. 1 factory remains at Medium Risk.
    • Luzhou reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case. There currently are 1 domestic confirmed & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city, both had traveled to Shanghai, but w/ viral genomic sequence highly identical to the outbreak in Nanjing.
    • Yibin did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently is 1 domestic confirmed case (moderate) in the city, a traced close contact of the case reported by Luzhou,  who had also returned from Shanghai on the same flight. 1 residential compound remains at Medium Risk.
    • Chengdu did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 5 domestic confirmed & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city, all traced to the secondary outbreak at Zhangjiajie in Hunan Province. A residential building has been elevated to Medium Risk. 2 residential compounds & a residential building are at Medium Risk.

     

    Chongqing Municipality reported 2 new domestic confirmed cases, both had traveled to Xi’an in Shaanxi Province from 7/21 – 7/24. They were identified when 1 of the cases visited a fever clinic. Neither have travel history to any of the places w/ outbreaks, or established contact w/ known positive cases.

    Beijing Municipality reported 1 new domestic confirmed case (mild), the spouse of the domestic confirmed case reported on 7/28, & who had also traveled to Zhangjiajie in Hunan Province during 7/20 – 7/25. There currently are 2 domestic confirmed cases (both mild) in the city.

    Xiamen in Fujian Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed & 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases, all of whom are family members of the imported confirmed case (cargo flight crew) reported below, all having been under home quarantine together. These cases are unrelated to the Delta Variant outbreak originating from Nanjing. 1 residential compound has been elevated to Medium Risk.

    Zhengzhou in Henan Province reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case this morning (to be included in tomorrow’s data dump) & several new domestic suspect cases (preliminarily positive, awaiting confirmation). The cases do not appear to be connected to other outbreaks, yet. 1 community has already been elevated to High Risk & 3 residential compounds to Medium Risk. The party secretaries for the Municipal Health Commission & #6 hospital have been relieved. There must be a significant nosocomial outbreak there. The city has commenced mass screening of all residents, and residents are strongly discouraged from leave if, & can only do so w/ negative RT-PCR report within 48’hrs. Zhengzhou & norther part of Henan Province are still recovering from major flooding caused by a “once in a millennium torrential rain”. The city’s authorities appear to be keen to avoid Nanjing’s mistake.

    Imported Cases

    On 7/30, China reported 25 new imported confirmed cases, 7 imported asymptomatic cases, 1 imported suspect case:

    • Yunnan Province (locations not specified) – 9 confirmed cases, all Chinese nationals returning from Myanmar via land border crossings
    • Shanghai Municipality – 8 confirmed cases, 3 Chinese nationals returning from the DRC (via Addis Ababa), 2 from Thailand & 1 each from Senegal (via Paris CdG), the UK (via Frankfurt) & Spain; 1 suspect case, no information released
    • Tianjin Municipality – 3 confirmed cases, a Chinese national returning from Spain, no information released yet for the other 2; 2 asymptomatic cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Zimbabwe (via Addis Ababa & Paris CdG) & Gambia (via Dakar & Paris CdG)
    • Xiamen in Fujian Province – 2 confirmed cases, a Chinese national returning from the US & a Taiwanese resident coming from Taiwan; the case returning from the US is a cargo flight crew, the case had flown to Europe, went through 14 days of centralized quarantine upon return, the flew to the US (should not have left the aircraft), & entered 3 day home quarantine after testing negative upon return, the case test positive at the end of the 3 day home quarantine period, as have 3 family members who lives w/ the case
    • Fuzhou in Fujian Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Indonesia 
    • Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province – 2 confirmed cases (1 previously asymptomatic), 1 each coming from Spain & Indonesia
    • Zhongshan in Guangdong Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from France, off a flight that landed at Guangzhou
    • Zhaoqing in Guangdong Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Malaysia, off a flight that landed at Guangzhou
    • Chengdu in Sichuan Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Thailand 
    • Zhengzhou in Henan Province – 1 asymptomatic case, no information released
    • Wuhan in Hubei Province – 1 asymptomatic case, coming from Pakistan

    Overall in China, 16 confirmed cases recovered, 12 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation & 3 were reclassified as confirmed cases, and 565 individuals were released  from quarantine. Currently, there are 971 active confirmed cases in the country (672 imported), 26 in serious condition (17 imported), 423 asymptomatic cases (390 imported), 2 suspect cases (all imported). 18,395 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.

    As of 7/30, 1,637.395M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 18.177M doses in the past 24 hrs.

    On 7/31, Hong Kong did not report any new positive cases.

  7. 7.

    Amir Khalid

    Malaysia’s Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reports 17,786 new Covid-19 cases today in his media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 1,113,272 cases. He also reports 165 new deaths today, for a cumulative total of 9,024 deaths — 0.81% of the cumulative reported total, 0.98% of resolved cases.

    There are currently 189,609 active and contagious cases; 1,062 are in ICU, 534 of them on ventilators. Meanwhile, 11,718 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 914,639 patients recovered – 82.16% of the cumulative reported total.

    28 new clusters were reported today, for a cumulative total of 3,679 clusters. 1,106 clusters are currently active; 2,573 clusters are now inactive.

    17,777 new cases today are local infections. Selangor reports 6,391 local cases: 262 in clusters, 3,776 close-contact screenings, and 2,353 other screenings. Kuala Lumpur reports 1,962 cases: 239 in clusters, 995 close-contact screenings, and 728 other screenings. Kedah reports 1,389 cases: 214 in clusters, 779 close-contact screenings, and 396 other screenings. Johor reports 1,144 cases: 284 in clusters, 561 close-contact screenings, and 299 other screenings. Sabah reports 1,035 cases: 191 in clusters, 497 close-contact screenings, and 347 other screenings.

    Negeri Sembilan reports 929 cases: 50 in clusters, 602 close-contact screenings, and 277 other screenings.

    Terengganu reports 883 cases: 291 in clusters, 458 close-contact screenings, and 134 other screenings.

    Perak reports 775 cases: 143 in clusters, 258 close-contact screenings, and 374 other screenings. Penang reports 713 cases: 97 in clusters, 278 close-contact screenings, and 338 other screenings.

    Melaka reports 697 cases: 221 in clusters, 316 close-contact screenings, and 160 other screenings. Pahang reports 653 cases: 103 in clusters, 432 close-contact screenings, and 118 other screenings.

    Kelantan reports 580 cases: 163 in clusters, 235 close-contact screenings, and 182 other screenings.

    Sarawak reports 485 cases: 54 in clusters, 257 close-contact screenings, and 174 other screenings.

    Putrajaya reports 116 cases: one in a cluster, 92 close-contact screenings, and 23 other screenings.

    Perlis reports 16 cases: two in clusters, 14 close-contact screenings, and two other screenings. Labuan reports nine cases: six close-contact screenings and three other screenings.

    Nine new cases today are imported, all in Selangor.

    The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) administered 512,097 doses of vaccine on 30th July: 315,737 first doses and 196,360 second doses. As of midnight yesterday, the cumulative total is 20,014,549 doses administered: 13,500,479 first doses and 6,514,070 second doses. 19.9% of the population are now fully vaccinated.

  8. 8.

    WereBear

    So, dentists are booked way ahead, and my dentist is further away than I’d like, but my attempts to get a cleaning appointment in the one place that is open within a month… was canceled by me when I asked about their COVID protocols.

    The silence that followed told me the receptionist didn’t even know what I meant. My explanation was met with, “Oh, that’s up to you.”

    NOT reassuring. I canceled. Back to my own dentist, for February. Sigh. And I don’t know what their standards will be, but I can assess then, I suppose. Because it might have changed by then.

  9. 9.

    NotMax

    The deluge of numbers has become more and more fuzzy.

    Reporting on gross total of vaccinations in X country without including which vaccine(s) have been administered where is not all that helpful for getting a grip on what’s happening and making sense of trend lines of infection and hospitalization/mortality thenceforward.

    Ditto, now, for U.S. daily numbers, as so many places no longer provide daily or timely data that the fluctuation of recent numbers is widely open to misinterpretation.

  10. 10.

    OzarkHillbilly

    My wife and I had to go to STL yesterday. Sat outside a Texas Roadhouse for about a half hour and watched the comings and goings in the jam packed parking lot. Can only conclude that the food there is just to die for.

    I weep for our species, may all the others live long and prosper.

  12. 12.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @WereBear:

    So I found a veterinary dental kit on Amazon, which is exactly like a human kit except, you know, for animals. You can keep the tartar somewhat at bay for yourself with the tools in it while you await your dentist.

  13. 13.

    JMG

    My son’s wedding in Brooklyn is a week from today. He has started to receive some cancellations from invitees who had already accepted. All were from out of towners, and I wonder if in their cases covid concerns (Brooklyn hardly the nation’s hotspot, even if cases are on the rise) are bundled up with longtime aversion and fear related to New York City  itself.

  14. 14.

    Emmyelle

    Looking forward to the headline:

    Adding to Dems 2022 fears: delta more effective than Biden in encouraging vaccination

  15. 15.

    New Deal democrat

    With Florida’s weekly data dump yesterday, deaths in the US are up about 75% from their recent trough, equivalent to where cases were only 19 days ago. I expect deaths to increase more dramatically from here on until Delta peaks – although it won’t be clear until Florida’s next weekly data dump.

    Scott Gottlieb says that the true transmission of Delta may be as high as 1 million per day. This would be in accord with the timeline in India, where Delta burned through the population in only 14 weeks, likely infecting more than 50% of the entire country, even though “officially” only 2% of the population were counted as new infections.

    The US is about 4 weeks into Delta. The next 2 1/2 months are going to be interesting. It will be the ultimate test of whether panic overcomes Fox and Facebook.

  18. 18.

    Cermet

    While glad to see an increase in “first time” vaccinations of late, the uptick is rather small (unless comparing to the last few weeks, and even then, not such a big jump.) Talk about Media hype but I guess that is driven by the Media’s desire to be relevant and maybe help create some buzz to encourage the hesitant that some of their number are getting it. That rate needs to continue to climb or else Fall is going to be ugly in the Red States (and similar to ‘common’ cold season due to Covid in Blue States.)

    Aside: interesting about Covid in the nose, not the lungs or other critical organs. And apparently, that is short lived (the virus, not the person ;) )

  19. 19.

    eclare

    @JMG:  I’m supposed to go to my cousin’s wedding in Mississippi in November.  Starting to think twice about that.  I’m vaxxed, and my relatives are, but who knows about his friends?

  22. 22.

    JMG

    @eclare: Ask him about it and protocols for the wedding. Josh and his fiancee have postponed their wedding twice, and gamed out how they’d do masked, semi-masked, partially vaxxed, all vaxxed ceremonies and receptions all winter long.

  25. 25.

    eclare

    @JMG:  I may ask his mother.  I’m not that close to him, and he gives off a whiff of “you ain’t the boss of me.”  He and his bride are going on a cruise for their honeymoon, which kind of tells me what I need to know about wedding precautions.  Sure, go on a floating petri dish in the middle of a pandemic.

  26. 26.

    germy

    The photo from this NYTimes article is just too much.  These people are dangerous idiots.

    just standing in the hospital room—one has no mask on, the other has her nose hanging out. ?? | They Spurned the Vaccine. Now They Want You to Know They Regret It. https://t.co/mhAHVQU25P

    — Imani Gandy (@AngryBlackLady) July 31, 2021

  27. 27.

    germy

    The federal eviction moratorium expires in 36 hours. House is about to go home for August.

    Delta variant is surging. I know not all of my colleagues get it, but take it from the formerly unhoused Congresswoman. We need to keep our people housed.

    We MUST extend the moratorium.

    — Cori Bush (@CoriBush) July 30, 2021

  28. 28.

    NotMax

    @germy

    Expect something like a 90 day extension will be rolled into a post office naming bill or some such thing.

  31. 31.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    @WereBear: It’s so frustrating, and it causes one to question the quality of their work when a doctor’s/dentist’s office doesn’t see the need.  We rejected several dermatologists this spring when it was clear they had no COVID protocol.

  32. 32.

    Spanky

    They Spurned the Vaccine. Now They Want You to Know They Regret It.

    @germy: I want them to know that I don’t care.

  34. 34.

    OzarkHillbilly

    ‘I was fearful for my safety’: St Louis health official speaks out on racist abuse

    A top public health official in a St Louis suburb has spoken out after he was targeted by racist abuse at a council meeting on re-introducing mask mandates to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

    “I’ve been to many council meetings where we’ve had tense conversations. Never has it spilled over into this anger, vitriol and directed abuse to the point where I was fearful for my own safety,” Dr Faisal Khan, acting director of public health for St Louis County, told the Guardian.

    “All we asked was for people to wear a mask indoors as they went about their business, whether they wanted to crowd a hundred people in a church or meeting space.”
    ………………………………
    “As I walked into the room, I saw hundreds of people were crammed in. Almost no one was wearing masks,” Khan said. “Some people had children in their laps. So my first thought, as a medical epidemiologist, was, ‘Dear God, this is a superspreader event.’”

  35. 35.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @germy: That’s a special kind of stupid not to wear a mask in a hospital. Most of these clowns must be in middle management to be sanctimoniously this dangerously dumb and arrogant.

  37. 37.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Cheryl from Maryland: We both have serious eye issues so our opthalmologist is very important to us.

    We went in this week for the first time since 2019. I’ve been afraid of what to expect because she is a serious big-time MAGAt.

    I guess regulations from the state plus the advanced age of her patients must have convinced her to trust the science because there were COVID protocols in place. Up till the moment she asked us to lower the mask below the nose anyway.

    Still don’t know if she’s vaccinated and didn’t ask.

  38. 38.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @germy: it’s called natural selection.  On the other hand the head line is trolling. Note Delta, while it is more infections, it’s a heck of lot less deadly that normal COVID. That is because seriously ill people normal stay home and don’t spread their disease, so the milder variants get spread around more.

  40. 40.

    YY_Sima Qian

    The WSJ article is pay walled, but I assume the Chinese expert referenced is Dr. Zhang Wenzhong based out of Shanghai. He has indeed emerged as a leading voice among heath care professionals in China since early in the pandemic. He was vocal from day 1 that “zero COVID” is unsustainable in the literal sense, and that both the authorities & populations need to be prepared for sporadic cases, clusters & outbreaks without panicking, for the short term. He has also been clear that humanity will need to be able to accommodate COVID-19, as it will become endemic, & the path toward “living w/ COVID-19” is mass vaccination w/ high efficacy vaccines, & strict NPIs keep each new outbreak suppressed & eradicated until then. Despite the incredible pace of vaccination in China l, it will still be months before > 80% of the population in China are fully vaccinated, & months more before higher efficacy booster shots are widely deployed.

    I have read Dr. Zhang’s comments that the WSJ article is likely referring to, the tweet is misleading at least. Nothing Dr. Zhang has said is particularly controversial in China.

    Having seen the Delta Variant rip through India & wreaking havoc across SE Asia, no one in China wants to “live w/ COVID” under the current circumstances. I am sure the CCP regime will continue to hold the entire governing bureaucracy responsible for lapses that lead to clusters & outbreaks, as well as containment and elimination of each new outbreak, until a change in strategy is assessed & enacted. That is the only way the vast majority of the bureaucrats at all levels of government remain motivated and alert in pandemic response, and their constant vigilance & attention to every detail is required (especially in face of the Delta Variant).

    If the bureaucracy senses that the pressure & scrutiny from Beijing are reduced, then rapid relaxation will follow (after being held taut for so long). Before you know it, multiple Nanjing type breaches will occur & China will quickly follow the footsteps of Vietnam.

  41. 41.

    Percysowner

    @germy: Actually it’s pro mask not anti vaccine. The article spells out why the CDC dropping the mask requirement for vaccinated people was a mistake. Basically don’t drop masking until enough people have been vaccinated to have true herd immunity, because if you don’t then the virus will evolve to resist the vaccine. If you keep the masking protocols we won’t get as many resistant variants because the masks will keep them from spreading.

  42. 42.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @WereBear: You have before & I thank you again for your kind words. I do this for my own benefit, too, so I can properly assess risk for myself, my family & my work colleagues, both in terms of infection (which remain infinitesimal) & getting caught up in lock down or quarantine (which is very real).

  44. 44.

    NotMax

    @Betty

    Brooklyn hasn’t been a part of New York City long enough yet to have become completely at ease with it.

    ;)

  45. 45.

    mrmoshpotato

    FTFNYT headline in Erica L. Green’s tweet: Florida’s governor gives parents final say on masks for children in school.

    DeathSantis to FL parents, “Keeping kids safe isn’t the government’s business.”

  46. 46.

    sab

    @WereBear: Their lack of protocols is probably why they had open appointments.

    I finally got back to my dentist and asked him how their year had been. He said okay, and that AIDS had got them serious about infection transmission years ago with a disease that was much less infectious, so masking and faceshields wasn’t that big a step.

  47. 47.

    mrmoshpotato

    Lollapalooza kicked off at Chicago’s Grant Park on Thursday. Organizers are expecting 110,000 people a day for the four-day music festival – the biggest event since the city reopened.

    Hello August 14 reinstated mask mandate!

  48. 48.

    Robert Sneddon

    Scotland — 1018 new cases of COVID-19 reported, 9 new reported death(s) of people who have tested positive. Test positivity is 4.9%. ICU bed occupancy is slightly up, total hospitalisation numbers slightly down.

    About 19,500 vaccinations were carried out in Scotland yesterday, about 12% or so first-dose. This brings the fully-vaccinated number up to 71.4 % of the 18+ population with another 19.3% having received a first dose. There’s a UK-wide effort being made to get pregnant women vaccinated now that the JCVI has made an official determination that it’s safe. Pregnant women were one group of adults who were hesitant to come forward for vaccination in the past since the authorities couldn’t definitively state it was safe earlier, usually punting to ‘talk to your doctor or care practitioner about this’ while not offering the medical staff any guidelines for that advice.

  49. 49.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    Note Delta, while it is more infections, it’s a heck of lot less deadly that normal COVID.

    I haven’t seen any evidence that’s the case–in fact most of what I’ve read says the reverse: if anything it’s worse than normal COVID.

    The reason there are fewer deaths in this wave (in the UK and US) is that COVID deaths mostly happen to old people and most old people are vaccinated now.

  50. 50.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    On the other hand the head line is trolling.

    Trolling headlines are going to be the death of us. You can take a true statement of the situation and easily compress it into a headline or tweet that is completely misleading.

    I’m still boiling mad over that NBC one that just said “with Delta, vaccinated people may be more infectious” and antivaxxers immediately ran with it as meaning “with Delta, vaccination makes you more infectious”.

  52. 52.

    WereBear

    @germy:

    We rejected several dermatologists this spring when it was clear they had no COVID protocol.

     
    Yes, it’s like finding out a scientist I am relying upon is a Flat-Earther. Okay, maybe they can just do what they have been trained to do, like all those nurses who won’t get vaccinated… but it says a lot about their abilities to make good calls, doesn’t it?

  53. 53.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @JMG:

    It could be concern about traveling anywhere, not just to New York, with COVID spiking.

  54. 54.

    Cermet

    @germy: Your missing that herd immunity is impossible if a significant number of people -especially in the world – cannot be vaccinated. It doesn’t mean vaccines are an issue but rather how contagious this is, relatively non-lethal and vaccinations require (for many) two visits and they all need refrigeration … just too many issues unlike small pox.

  55. 55.

    gwangung

    The news about COVID existing in the nose suggests to me that the development of anti-COVID nasal sprays still seems useful. The combo of nasal sprays/Vaccines/masks really WILL stop Covid in its tracks.

  56. 56.

    Sloane Ranger

    So, Friday in the UK we had 29,622 new cases. This is down from Thursday, when there were 31,117 cases so the rolling 7-day average is down by 36.1%. Friday’s cases by nation,

    England – 26,241 (down 1283)

    Northern Ireland – 1101 (down 370)

    Scotland – 1456 (up 58) (But see Robert Sneddon at #48)

    Wales – 824 (up 100).

    Deaths – There were 68 deaths within 28 days of a positive test yesterday. This is an increase in the rolling 7-day average of 25.1%. 55 deaths were in England, 3 in Northern Ireland, 6 in Scotland and 4 in Wales.

    Testing – 863,554 tests were conducted on Thursday, 29 July. This is a reduction in the rolling 7-day average of 14.3%. The PCR testing capacity estimated by labs on that date was 699,025.

    Hospitalisations – On Thursday, 29 July there were 5916 people in hospital and 869 people on ventilators. As of 26 July, the rolling 7-day average for hospital admissions was up by 18.9%.

    Vaccinations – As of Thursday, 29 July, 46,775,525 people had received 1 shot of a vaccine and 37,962,407 people had had both. This means that 88.45 of all adults in the UK have had 1 shot and 71.8% were fully vaccinated. Still no news on when the vaccines will be declared safe for the under 18’s.

  57. 57.

    J R in WV

    @YY_Sima Qian: ​

    I too am grateful for your nearly daily report on all the numbers from most all of China.

    I would enjoy even more some subjective reporting about your family’s lived experience coping with the evolving plagues, such as your discussion of your brief quarantine experience. While the statistics are important, they don’t tell us as much about what daily life is like for you all and for others you interact with.

    So glad you and your family are doing OK in spite of the evolving plagues! Take care and stay safe as much as you can!! If only our government (and TFG! Haha!) had been nearly as competent as the Chinese people have been.

  58. 58.

    Soprano2

    The Walmart requirements will help here some. The pickets are going to have so many places to picket that they’ll run out of people, because I’m sure others will follow Walmart.

    We all should stop obsessing so much about vaccinated people getting Covid. We don’t get upset when vaccinated people get the flu, and the press doesn’t breathlessly report every occurrence. Unvaccinated people are the problem; let’s concentrate on them.

    I personally know of a person who got vaccinated secretly; she only told her sister, who is a nurse,  who told me. Her husband doesn’t know she did it. I hope for more of this.

    If I have to start wearing a mask at work again, I’m allowed to be furious about it without being lectured. It shouldn’t be happening; that it is isn’t my fault, it’s the fault of the selfishly unvaccinated, and I’m allowed to be angry about that without hearing things I already know, like “It’s only a mask, what’s the big deal?” The “big deal” is that at this point, if most people were responsible citizens, IT WOULDN’T BE NECESSARY!

  59. 59.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Soprano2:

    The Walmart requirements will help here some. The pickets are going to have so many places to picket that they’ll run out of people, because I’m sure others will follow Walmart. 

    The assclowns won’t be able to assclown everywhere that they think needs assclowning.

  60. 60.

    JaneE

    Remember all those people saying that Covid-19 was just like the flu?  If you are vaccinated, that may well be the case.  I don’t recall anyone who had the flu saying it was something they would like to do again.  Most of the ones I knew said it was miserable.

    Getting vaccinated just means you have a much better chance of staying alive when/if you get it.  So why do people opt for not having a better chance of staying alive?

  61. 61.

    JaneE

    @Cheryl from Maryland: I just saw my dermatologist Wednesday.  She was wearing a 3 inch button advertising that she had been vaccinated.

    Everyone doctor I see has been vaccinated, are happy to tell you how happy they are to be vaccinated, and urged you to get vaccinated as soon as you could.  My primary doctor made a point of noticing that our records showed we had been vaccinated, and gave us an attaboy.

    I can’t imaging going to a doctor who wasn’t vaccinated.

  62. 62.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @gwangung: Thank you. I’ve been saying this so often for so long I feel like a broken record.

    It ought to be fairly obvious why COVID “hangs out in the nose” – specifically cilia, mucus, epithelial cells where blood flow (& therefore antibodies) rarely if ever reaches – waiting for the next shout or cough or sneeze out.

    By rights public health officials ought to be able to hand anyone who tests positive a spray bottle with stuff in it that kills the virus, tell them to use it 3-4x a day and come back in 3 days for a retest to see if they’ve washed the lurkers out, but nooooo…

  63. 63.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Soprano2: We don’t get upset when vaccinated people get the flu, and the press doesn’t breathlessly report every occurrence.

    And most of the reason why is that the seasonal flu consists of numerous strains; vaccine makers have to make scientific wild-arsed educated guesses months in advance of the flu season which strains will be prevalent so the vaccines can be prepared; and their guesses are generally from 40% to 70% correct, which leaves a lot of stuff going around that the vaccines formulated earlier don’t protect against. Ironically, the very high efficacy of COVID vaccines makes the rare “breakthrough” infections very highly newsworthy.

  64. 64.

    Robert Sneddon

    @Sloane Ranger: ​
      Note that the UK Government website updates with the previous day’s figures regarding COVID-19 at 16:00 BST. I think you’re sometimes getting your figures a little too early in the news cycle — the data for Friday for the entire UK is 26,144 new positive tests reported, 71 deaths, 200,000 vaccinations of which 17% were first-dose.

    The Scottish government’s update is published two hours earlier at 14:00 BST and I’m careful to always wait for those ‘fresh’ numbers to come out before I post the data here.

  65. 65.

    Richard

    This was discouraging. Most people where i live don’t wear masks and have not been vaccinated. We are beginning to see a trickle of tourists coming back and they wear masks. I want to say thank you to them.

    I don’t know what is wrong with so many of my neighbors. I don’t understand. Why do they still worship that trump ideology? What is the obstruction?

    I understand that they are dust bowl refugees and displaced peasants.

    Me too. I live in the same country. What has happened to my people?

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