Survivors of COVID-19, including people who were infected months ago and are still experiencing severe symptoms, organized rallies in cities across the U.S. on Saturday to encourage people to get vaccinated and wear a mask. https://t.co/quij3YhSDH
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 7, 2021
The seven-day average for new daily COVID-19 infections has surpassed 100,000 in the U.S., returning to levels not seen since the winter surge. Health officials fear that hospitalizations and deaths will continue to soar if more don’t get the vaccine. https://t.co/DYj1dZs5c1
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 7, 2021
New hospital admissions in the US due to COVID-19 are up a further +40.0% from a week ago, to roughly half their previous peak pic.twitter.com/9y0URg9pws
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) August 7, 2021
The White House is in the early stages of determining whether to use federal regulatory power, or the threat of withholding funds from entities like nursing homes, as added ways to get private entities to require vaccines, a spokeswoman said https://t.co/Jir6GNR9xI
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 6, 2021
We’re still making it up as we go along…
An untold number of Americans have managed to get COVID-19 booster shots even though the U.S. government hasn’t approved them. They’re doing so by taking advantage of the nation’s vaccine surplus and loose tracking of those who have been fully vaccinated. https://t.co/WwyLo0qOTQ
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 7, 2021
FDA vows to speed extra vaccine doses for people w/ weak immune systems. Worried about vulnerable people as #DeltaVariant surges, federal officials are making plans for a 3rd shot. This means people w/ weak immunity can legally get an extra dose https://t.co/IvMFjxkeFh pic.twitter.com/JVOHuHD793
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) August 7, 2021
The US reported +750 new coronavirus deaths yesterday, its highest number since May 14, bringing the total to 632,641. The 7-day moving average rose to 486 deaths per day. pic.twitter.com/O1yKCDySvB
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) August 7, 2021
======
China reports 96 new COVID-19 cases vs 107 the day before https://t.co/EvrMzWGXIp pic.twitter.com/HlczulTEgW
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 8, 2021
India reports 39,070 new coronavirus cases in last 24 hours https://t.co/PJkg7NK55z pic.twitter.com/sW1lg6iGQY
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 8, 2021
India’s brutal second wave powered by the #DeltaVariant offers a warning to the world amid a virus surge. With @gerryshih https://t.co/5TdjuPGOTB
— Niha Masih (@NihaMasih) August 5, 2021
Organisers report 26 new Games-related COVID-19 cases https://t.co/IbhTnZrv4d pic.twitter.com/8NXLGxui2Q
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 8, 2021
Covid in Sydney: Communities feel under siege as troops deployed https://t.co/whwXcS9g83
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) August 7, 2021
… These poorer and ethnically diverse suburbs in Sydney’s west and south west are home to about two million residents. Many are considered essential workers in food, health and other industries.
The soldiers arrive almost a month after police deployed an extra 100 officers to the area to enforce lockdown rules…
As Sydney scrambles to contain a Delta outbreak that has grown to more than 4,000 active cases and 27 deaths, these suburbs have been put under harsher restrictions than elsewhere.
A citywide lockdown will last until at least 28 August. But unlike other Sydneysiders, these residents have been told to wear masks even outdoors. They cannot travel more than 5km (three miles) when leaving home for essential reasons, less than the 10km afforded to others. There are also stricter limits on who can work…
Arwa Abousamra, an author and Arabic interpreter, also lives in south-west Sydney, where a large portion of people have Middle Eastern, Vietnamese and Chinese heritage. She says she and many in the community have felt on edge…
“Police presence [has] caused a lot of angst among members of the community who come from those parts of the world where the police would have been an extension or an arm of the regime they were escaping,” Ms Abousamra says.
Dr Omar Khorshid, the president of the Australian Medical Association, argues restrictions should be the same across Sydney.
“Simple rules that apply to everyone have a much better chance of working than focused complex rules,” he tweeted…
After a south-west Sydney man in his 60s died in his home last week, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said: “It is a terrible situation [when households] are not coming forward when one of their number is ill.”
Mr Hazzard added that some families were worried about household income if they became exposed to the virus and could not work. The federal government has recently increased support payments for people in lockdown.
But Dr Jamal Rifi, a GP in south-west Sydney, says economic disadvantage remains a key factor. “People need to go to work every morning to earn a living. They don’t have the luxury of staying and working from home.”
Australia’s vaccination rates are among the lowest of nations in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Less than 20% of the population is fully vaccinated….
Despite a sluggish start, the European Union's COVID-19 vaccination drive has caught up to that of the United States, where the slowdown of the country's once-vaunted campaign has contributed to the virus's deadly comeback. https://t.co/B0ON13TEqt
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 8, 2021
Thousands are marching in Paris and other French cities for a fourth week to protest the country's COVID-19 health pass. The demonstrations come after France’s Constitutional Council upheld most of a law that expands places where health passes are needed. https://t.co/8Pm6ndcr1C
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 7, 2021
Quarantine-free travel to France resumes as UK rules change https://t.co/t4DRY048i1
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) August 8, 2021
Brazil reports 43,033 COVID cases, 990 deaths in 24 hours https://t.co/YNzhzNrXzF pic.twitter.com/BzhWFqgmVi
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 8, 2021
======
One dose of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine may be enough for folks who've had Covid. That question—about mRNA dosage after infection—has been asked by millions of people globally. Now a small study finds that past SARSCoV2 infection means only 1 shot is needed https://t.co/3cQzf4Jg9I
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) August 7, 2021
Heart inflammation, a possible side effect of some covid-19 vaccines, is six times more likely to occur after a coronavirus infection than after a jab, finds a preliminary study https://t.co/fW2QSdMucG
— New Scientist (@newscientist) August 8, 2021
NEW: The first real-world test of the J&J vaccine's efficacy against Delta suggests the vaccine is highly effective in preventing severe illness and death from the variant, and people who got it won't need a boosterhttps://t.co/eFIw4Ya6k6
— Apoorva Mandavilli (@apoorva_nyc) August 6, 2021
Pharmacists and farm supply store owners are fighting off "true believers" in ivermectin who think a de-worming paste normally fed to horses is superior to vaccination. They're getting the information from right wing media and Facebook https://t.co/IXA1KbNDoT
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) August 7, 2021
======
Pulled data and talked to government officials, organizations in Texas and outside groups to be able to put this to bed:
No, the surge in coronavirus cases is not because of hundreds of thousands of migrants. https://t.co/Gjj5AWgLZb
— Philip Bump (@pbump) August 6, 2021
"As coronavirus rages again in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott resists statewide action, hamstrings local leaders" https://t.co/oDYTtKc5nX
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) August 7, 2021
"if he gets lucky enough to avoid tens of thousands of preventable deaths, it could be a model for others to follow" is fantastically irresponsible and dangerous framing. https://t.co/WzRvPyQ8PM
— NATION-STATE INSURGENCY MACHINE (@golikehellmachi) August 7, 2021
Florida reports a record high number of new Covid cases recording 22,783 new cases Friday, breaking its highest single-day case count since the pandemic began. Florida also broke its record for hospitalizations for a 5th day in w/ 12,864 patients admitted https://t.co/yntnnJDqpO
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) August 7, 2021
Marion, Arkansas public schools back in session for ~1 week, and today nearly 25% of students IN THE WHOLE DISTRICT are in quarantine (https://t.co/xgSKZ4pkvm).
This isn't done yet. We need masking, and we need everyone who can to get the vaccine.
This will be us, next.
— Andrew Pyle (@Momph21) August 6, 2021
Awesome! We get to enforce a mask mandate AND purge the police. Win win! https://t.co/uks3Be53Uf
— chris evans (@chris_notcapn) August 7, 2021
For pension purposes, death by covid is always job-related. For purposes of argument, it doesn’t exist:
— Radley Balko (@radleybalko) August 6, 2021
GOP Congressman, Ralph Norman of SC who’s suing Speaker Pelosi over his $500 fine for not wearing a mask has tested positive for COVID. pic.twitter.com/vlawBbQwGF
— Hoodlum ???? (@NotHoodlum) August 5, 2021
Lynyrd Skynyrd has pulled out of Monday's Pro Football Hall of Fame concert after guitarist Rickey Medlocke tested positive for COVID. https://t.co/jtrvUk1cNT
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 7, 2021
Wafer-thin silver lining: Some of this year’s participants say they’re vaccinated…
For a second year in a row, tens of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts are expected to attend the 10-day annual Sturgis motorcycle rally in South Dakota’s Black Hills pic.twitter.com/WB8BppjmJI
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 8, 2021
Ryan
On the one hand, Wingnut Capitalization, check! On the other in stead? They need better English teachers in Russia.
Mary G
Happy to see a third shot may be coming for me soon. From the FTFNYT story in the 7th tweet:
Bold mine. I’ve been on Rituxan ever since it was approved for RA, maybe 14 years or so, steroids since I was in my 20s, and I was on methotrexate for 23 years or so, but I had to go off in 2019, because it is a chemo drug that doesn’t completely clear your system, and I hit my lifetime max, or so my rheumatologists said. So I hit the triple!
rikyrah
Ms. Delta Rona doesn’t care and is having fun with the unvaccinated?
rikyrah
@Mary G:
Get that 3rd shot??
NeenerNeener
Monroe County, NY, from the NYS Dept of Health:
171 new cases on 8/7. 4.4% test positivity.
The Dept of Health #s for this week don’t match whatever was being published locally for Monroe County. The locally released numbers were higher.
I’ll need a third shot too, due to the medication I’m on.
Tony Jay
In a few years time, when the wrong logger levels the wrong stretch of primordial woodland and forces the wrong sub-species of ground-hen to look for refuge in the wrong restaurant district and we get an outbreak of infectious ‘bird-flu’ that makes Covid-19 look like a mild summer flutter, we can look forward to rational, liberal-leaning majorities acting quickly to protect themselves with the best protections modern science can provide, while the irrational, right-leaning minority casts aside even the appearance of common sense and moves straight to stuffing their faces into chicken’s arseholes and mandating that every Primary contest consists solely of a bubbling cauldron of infected A&E bedding, 20 large ladles and a countdown clock.
2024: Let the Winnowing Commence!
Spanky
“Demon Sperm Doctor’s Covid Cure”
Has anyone trademarked that yet? ‘Cause I smell money!
YY_Sima Qian
On 8/7 China reported 81 new domestic confirmed cases & 5 new domestic asymptomatic cases.
Yunnan Province reported 7 new domestic confirmed cases (4 mild & 3 moderate, all Chinese nationals). 4 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 57 domestic confirmed & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases there. 1 community at Ruili remains at High Risk. 3 site at Ruili & 1 village at Longchuan County remain at Medium Risk.
Jiangsu Province reported 38 new domestic confirmed cases. 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There are currently 534 domestic confirmed & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Anhui Province did not reported at new domestic positive cases. There currently are 2 domestic asymptomatic cases in the province, both traced to the outbreak in Nanjing.
Liaoning Province did not reported at new domestic positive cases. There currently are 5 domestic confirmed & 3 domestic asymptomatic cases in the province, all traced to the outbreak in Nanjing.
Guangdong Province did not reported at new domestic positive cases. There currently are 1 domestic confirmed & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases in the province, both traced to the outbreak in Nanjing.
Hunan Province reported 6 new domestic confirmed (2 previously asymptomatic) cases. There are currently are 73 domestic confirmed & 22 domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
20
Sichuan Province did not reported at new domestic positive cases. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered at Chengdu. There currently are 7 domestic confirmed & 2 domestic asymptomatic cases in the province, all traced to the outbreaks in Nanjing & Zhangjiajie.
Henan Province reported 24 new domestic confirmed (21 previously asymptomatic) & 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases. There are currently 49 domestic confirmed & 87 domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Hubei Province reported 6 new domestic confirmed & 3 new domestic asymptomatic cases. There currently are 37 domestic confirmed & 41 domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
At Chongqing Municipality there are currently 2 domestic confirmed & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases, 2 had traveled to Xi’an in Shaanxi Province & 1 connected to the construction site cluster at Wuhan.
At Beijing Municipality there currently are 8 domestic confirmed & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city, all connected to the outbreak at Zhangjiajie in late Jul. 2 residential compounds remain at Medium Risk.
At Yantai in Shandong Province reported 1 new domestic suspect case. There currently are 11 domestic confirmed, 3 domestic asymptomatic & 1 domestic suspect cases in the city, all likely traced to the outbreak in Nanjing. 3 sites remain at Medium Risk.
At Yinchuan in Ningxia “Autonomous” Region there currently is 1 domestic confirmed case in the city, a person who had traveled from Changde in Hunan Province on 7/28, & a traced close contact w/ the boat cruise super-spreading event there.
At Hulun Buir in Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region there currently is 1 new domestic confirmed case (at Hailar), who had stayed at the same floor in same hotel at the same time as the confirmed case reported by Yinchuan. 1 residential compound has been elevated to Medium Risk.
At Haikou in Hainan Province there currently are 2 domestic confirmed cases in the city, a person who had crossed paths w/ the party from Huai’an in Jiangsu Province on company outing at Jingzhou high speed rail station & a worker at the airport. The two are unlikely to be connected. 1 township & an industrial park have been elevated to Medium Risk. 3 sites are currently at Medium Risk.
At Xiamen in Fujian Province there currently are 4 domestic confirmed & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city, all of whom are close contacts of the imported confirmed case (cargo flight crew) reported on 7/30. 2 residential compounds remain at Medium Risk.
At Shanghai Municipality there currently is 1 domestic asymptomatic case, an airport ground staff & unlikely to be connected to other domestic outbreaks. 1 residential compound remains at Medium Risk.
Imported Cases
On 8/7, China reported 15 new imported confirmed cases, 25 imported asymptomatic cases, 3 imported suspect cases:
Overall in China, 33 confirmed cases recovered, 22 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation & 24 were reclassified as confirmed cases, and 2,150 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 1,507 active confirmed cases in the country (714 imported), 44 in serious condition (13 imported), 555 asymptomatic cases (390 imported), 2 suspect case (both imported). 46,014 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
As of 8/7, 1,770.304M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 12.524M doses in the past 24 hrs.
On 8/8, Hong Kong reported 2 new positive cases, both imported (from Japan & the US)
Mousebumples
Re extra shots for the immunosuppressed, I’m happy to hear that! My MIL is a kidney transplant recipient, and we’ve really cut down on seeing her in person since COVID hit. Always outside, socially distanced, etc.
I’m curious if they’ll end up recommending extra doses for pregnant women – whether to help mom or try up provide some antibodies for the growing baby. (eg when i was pregnant a few years back, i need a DTaP booster (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis – aka Boostrix), and I got my flu shot super early (like the first weekend in August) to try to get some antibodies to my little girl before she was born a few weeks later.
My current coworkers who are pregnant got the vaccine while pregnant since it wasn’t approved for use until that point. But it’ll be interesting to see how treatment recommendations evolve.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
“But I don’t wanna take no shot and shouldn’t have to. Mah cherished freedoms as a ‘Murkan, and two and a half centuries of coddling mah asshole personal’ty type!!!”
(flag/eagle/truck/Oakley/cap/face mullet avatar)
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reports 18,688 new Covid-19 cases today in his media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 1,262,540 cases. He also reports 360 new deaths today, for a cumulative total of 10,749 deaths — 0.85% of the cumulative reported total, 1.04% of resolved cases.
As of yesterday, Malaysia’s nationwide Rt was at 1.08.
There are currently 225,393 active and contagious cases; 1,095 are in ICU, 571 of them on ventilators. Meanwhile, 17,055 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 1,026,398 patients recovered – 81.30% of the cumulative reported total.
39 new clusters were reported today, for a cumulative total of 3,938 clusters. 1,213 clusters are currently active; 2,725 clusters are now inactive.
18,678 new cases today are local infections. Selangor reports 6,585 cases: 271 in clusters, 3,903 close-contact screenings, and 2,391 other screenings. Kuala Lumpur reports 1,877 local cases: 273 in clusters, 804 close-contact screenings and 800 other screenings. Kedah reports 1,610 cases: 101 in clusters, 994 close-contact screenings, and 515 other screenings. Sabah reports 1,379 cases: 172 in clusters, 752 close-contact screenings, and 455 other screenings. Johor reports 1,307 local cases: 295 in clusters, 749 close-contact screenings, and 263 other screenings. Negeri Sembilan reports 1,140 cases: 40 in clusters, 684 close-contact screenings, and 416 other screenings.
Kelantan reports 870 cases: 167 in clusters, 516 close-contact screenings, and 187 other screenings. Perak reports 861 cases: 207 in clusters, 317 close-contact screenings, and 337 other screenings.
Penang reports 694 cases: 58 in clusters, 211 close-contact screenings, and 425 other screenings. Pahang reports 602 cases: 80 in clusters, 387 close-contact screenings, and 135 other screenings.
Terengganu reports 598 cases: 79 in clusters, 392 close-contact screenings, and 127 other screenings. Sarawak reports 578 local cases: 109 in clusters, 268 close-contact screenings, and 201 other screenings. Melaka reports 526 cases: 81 in clusters, 315 close-contact screenings, and 130 other screenings.
Putrajaya reports 63 cases: 46 close-contact screenings and 17 other screenings. Perlis reports six cases, all found in other screenings. Labuan reports two cases: one close-contact screening and one other screening.
10 new cases today are imported: six in Kuala Lumpur, three in Sarawak, and one in Johor.
The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) administered 425,698 doses of vaccine on 7th August: 186,035 first doses and 239,663 second doses. As of midnight yesterday, the cumulative total is 24,033,988 doses administered: 15.5 million first doses and 8.5 million second doses. 26.0% of the population are now fully vaccinated.
La Nonna
In response to our own delta surge here, Italy has imposed green pass proof, usually a QR code on the phone or in a printout from the Ministero della Salute, to enter restaurants, cafes, gyms, stadiums, theaters, and other indoor gathering places. Children under 12 are still exempt, but masking mandates are still in effect for entering all of the above as well as any supermarket or shop. Many families are masking their children as well. We are still mostly staying home, out of caution, seeing only a few friends who are fully vaccinated and not social butterflies. I am perfectly okay with all of these measures.
raven
The University doesn’t start for another week but leases start August 1 so the place is jumping already. We’re have a big uptick in exposures in our circle. My wife and a bunch of her friends just had to have a birthday event for one of them and now they are all exposed (I assuming that means I am too even though I didn’t go). She’s going to get test today so we’ll see.
Tony Jay
Madam Tony Jay has been feeling rough as a butcher’s dog for a few days, so despite testing negative four times on the basic test she’s been in for a test at the local centre and is on the couch feeling majorly sorry for herself while she waits for results.
Fortunately I am an Olympic level looker-after so she’ll undergo comprehensive pampering throughout her entire ordeal.
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@raven: oh crap I’m sorry, if she tests negative please try to get her to retest in a few days. Of the four people I was with last weekend plus me. The two that got the rapid test on Tuesday tested negative. Then tested positive two days later (PCR tests). My husband is still negative which is a relief. Hoping you both are ok and don’t get it.
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@Tony Jay: you are a keeper! Hope she gets well soon and it’s just a summer cold(which sucks anyway, but better than the alternative )
raven
@EmbraceYourInnerCrone: She’s not getting the rapid but our friend did.
Geo Wilcox
@Tony Jay: I’ve seen this movie only it was a bat and a pig not a bird.
trnc
Of course, Saturday said “Hold my beer” with almost 24,000 new cases reported.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Tony Jay:
I’m told I’m terrible at sick tending. I don’t do “pay attention to me” very well, because when I’m sick I just want to be quietly left alone and assume that’s what everyone else wants.
Ken
Clue 1: Republicans are claiming it is.
Robert Sneddon
A butcher’s dog is sleek and well-fed, indeed somewhat roly-poly in conformation. I prefer the metaphor “rough as a badger’s arse” myself. I have indeed some first-hand knowledge of the anatomical entity in question thanks to a long-ago attempt to keep the owner of said arse out of a chicken coop late one night.
Ken
@Tony Jay: You reminded me of this classic. I hope the test comes out negative. I assume you’re both vaccinated?
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Tony Jay: worth keeping in mind they are plenty of other infectious diseases than Covid.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
That SF Sherrif’s Deputy Association tweet confuses me – I thought the solution to gun violence was bigger and louder guns? Can the Right get their messaging correct please.
Tony Jay
@Geo Wilcox:
Damned studio mandated rewrites will be the death of us all.
New Deal democrat
Today is a good news/bad news type of day.
First, the bad news:
-wtf is going on with Israel? It was held up as a paragon of vaccination progress, but has stalled out at 55%-60% of the total population vaccinated for the past 4 months. And Delta is raging: both infections and deaths were virtually *zero* 7 weeks ago. Now cases are up to 3300/day, and deaths up to 9 (worse than last autumn’s low of 7, although much better than the winter peak, when there were 65 deaths/day).
-I read yesterday that bad cases of Delta manifest much more quickly. People go from infected to dead much sooner than previously, on the order of 2.5 weeks. It really does seem to burn through the dry tinder fiercely.
But that means . . . Good news:
– If deaths are only 2.5 weeks behind cases, then the peak in deaths is going to be lower by more than 50% compared with a lag of 4 weeks like in previous waves. For example, if the US’s Delta wave were peaking now, that would translate into a peak in deaths of about 1000/day rather than 1750-2000/day.
-and there are a few tentative signs that Delta is peaking in the States earliest hit. Louisiana, Missouri, and Nevada show signs of slowing or even rolling over. Florida’s %age weekly increase wasn’t quite as bad as the previous week. Since these States led the surge by 2-3 weeks, it could be that we will see the peak of the Delta wave by the end of this month.
The big question still remains: after Delta burns through the dry tinder, then what? I really, really would like to know what % of the US population has actually been infected, rather than relying on only *confirmed* cases.
WereBear
Fundamentalist religion. Same as here.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Mary G: While I get that a lot of illness are treated with steroids, it’s hilarious all these jocks have put themselves in danger this way with their steroid abuse.
WereBear
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: The part I find hilarious is that jocks don’t seem to know it shrinks part of their equipment.
Tony Jay
Thanks all. Fingers crossed that it’s just a nasty cold, to which she is very prone. And if it is the Co-Co, well, we’re both double-jabbed and there’s a stables just up the road, so I’m pretty confident I can get my hands on as much equine worming powder as the market will support.
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
I’m almost never, ever sick, so I just base my technique on the old standby ‘Imagine Granny has got days to go and a huge estate to bequeath‘ and act accordingly.
@Robert Sneddon:
See, now, I used that wrongly, didn’t I? It’s ‘Fit as a butcher’s dog’, for the very reasons you offer.
‘Badgers arse’ it is!
rikyrah
@raven:
???????
rikyrah
@Tony Jay:
??????????
Peale
@WereBear: Yep. The ultra Orthodox Jews are not going to be vaccinated just because some non-ultra Orthodox Jew tells them they must. They will be getting their herd immunity using the tried and true method of letting the virus spread.
Fair Economist
@New Deal democrat: We might be looking at a near term peak, if school weren’t about to start. Unfortunately school is infamous for supercharging respiratory infections. The death cult demands in red states will make it even worse.
Spanky
Just came back from the grocery store, where the unmasked checkout lady said she had “a nasty sinus infection”. Maybe she did, but I was glad for my N95, and wiped everything down when I got home.
Be interested in hpw this goes.
Soprano2
If it’s a choice between people getting a 3rd shot or throwing vaccine away, I say let them have a booster shot if it isn’t hurting them.
That tweet from Marion, AR is why the job market is so tight right now. Think about it – who is at home taking care of those 700 kids who are quarantined? Mom, of course! How can both parents of school-aged kids work under those conditions? Most employers can’t accommodate an employee who has to be gone for 3-5 days at random, unpredictable times. I have no idea how single parents are supposed to navigate this situation. And their governor was dumb enough to sign a law that makes it illegal for a school to mandate face masks. They really did think this was over in May. ?????
evodevo
@WereBear:
Yep…fundies are the same, no matter what the religion..
Robert Sneddon
Scotland — 1,240 new cases of COVID-19 reported with no new reported deaths of someone who had tested positive (noting that Register Offices are now generally closed at weekends). Test positivity rate is 6.0%. Hospitalisations and ICU bed occupancy numbers again fell noticeably.
About 20,000 vaccinations were administered in Scotland yesterday (Saturday) with about 10% of those vaccinations being first doses. 74.6% of the adult population are now fully vaccinated with another 15.4% having received their initial dose of vaccine. There is as yet no information on vaccination rates for 16 and 17-year-olds but this has only just started here in Scotland.
Sloane Ranger
@Tony Jay: Sending good vibes to you and Madam TJ. Hope it is just a summer cold or something else unrelated, but, even if it’s the THING, you’re both double jabbed so it should be OK.
Betty
@Tony Jay: Best wishes to Madam Jay for a speedy recovery.
leafcolleen
Here in Chicago, I’m seeing mask usage going up. The number wearing masks in stores did go down – to maybe half? Now it is definitely back up.
(I’m in northwest corner of Chicago – right off the blue line).
Took the cta downtown last week for an office visit and everyone had their masks – including on the platform. Trains are still pretty empty.
kids (2 teens), husband and I are all vaxxed but we decided that we are pulling back on indoor things again.
We haven’t dined in a restaurant as a family since March of 2021. I went to a restaurant once this summer but no more for now.
My daughter got a job this summer working in a grocery store. She wears her mask.
so work for her, occasional trips to office for husband and me. Teens starting school in person but they will be masked.
My older daughter has one kid in her class that she knows isn’t vaxxed – because his mother is anti-vax. I hope she has changed her mind.
topclimber
@Peale: Do Israeli figures include Palestinians under their control? Or are they considered visitors, as per Florida’s stance, and so not worth counting?
Tony Jay
@Sloane Ranger:
She’s had one of the good vaccines (Pfizer, I think) so even of it is Plaguey McPlagueface she’ll outlive me.
Poor thing. She’s slumped on the couch like a used tissue just waiting to find out her sentence.
Sloane Ranger
Saturday in the UK we had 28,612 new cases. This is about 3000 down from Friday, but with Admin. Offices closed over the weekend and Wales not reporting on Saturdays (don’t know why), this is probably an undercount. Anyway, the rolling 7-day average is showing a decrease of 2.2%. New cases by nation,
England – 25,877 (down 2444)
Northern Ireland – 1349 (down 85)
Scotland – 1386 (up 136). See also Robert Sneddon above for update
Wales – Does not report on Saturdays.
Deaths – There were 103 deaths within 28 days of a positive test yesterday. This is an increase of 28.5% in the rolling 7-day average. 88 deaths were in England, 6 in Northern Ireland and 9 in Scotland.
Testing – Not updated at weekends.
Hospitalisations – Not updated at weekends.
Vaccinations – As of Friday, 6 August, 46,997,495 people had been given 1 shot of a vaccine and 39,210,356 had had both. This means that 88.9% of all adults in the UK have had 1 shot and 74.1% were fully vaccinated as of that date. No information yet about 16 and 17 year olds.
Tony Jay
@Betty:
I’ve got slow cooked Moroccan beef with potatoes smelling delicious in the oven to go with chilli-salted peppers and paprika wedges with a side of melted cheese ciabatta…. unfortunately she’s vegetarian, so that’s no help to her recovery. 8-)
Don’t hate me. I’m making her Quorn escalope to go with all the good stuff.
Bruce K in ATH-GR
The Greek fourth wave (delta wave) continues, with 2768 cases reported Saturday, 10 deaths. The numbers are acting strangely; in past waves, there’d be a spike, and then past the peak, a falloff, but this time the 7-day moving average has been almost flat for the past three weeks. The Rt reproduction number is listed at 1.05.
In other news, one of the major vaccination centers suffered a case of vandalism of a particularly ugly sort: the electrical cabling from the emergency electrical generators to the vaccine cold storage was cut. Luckily there wasn’t a power outage, though there’s now a constant risk of blackouts due to stress from the heat wave and the wildfires. Police are investigating the possibilities that it might have been copper thieves or anti-vaxxer sabotage.
Duke of Clay
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Quite true. The Duchess has been laid low this week with a sinus infection an incipient ear infection.
Another Scott
@Ken: +1
One of D-Squared’s 1 minute MBA (IIRC) rules is: Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.
Works in all kinds of situations.
Cheers,
Scott.
Sloane Ranger
@Tony Jay: OOH, my mouth is watering! All I’ve got is Penne Mozarella.
MontyTheClipArtMongoose
@New Deal democrat: refusing to vaccinate palestinians is not a good idea because a fence between gaza & israel is no defense for an airborne virus?
MontyTheClipArtMongoose
on news of skynrd declining to perform in canton due to a rona poz guitarist, i am
[laughing in neil young]
Cermet
The Florida rightwing (is there any other type, there?) radio jock – first name, no surprise: Dick – died yesterday; while he lived long enough to recant his previous statements about the vaccine being worthless, that he didn’t need it, and Fauci is evil etc. he still paid the ultimate price in order to own the Lib’s. I don’t take pleasure in anyone’s death and I am glad he changed his mind and told people (via hospital texting) to get vaccinated. Pity he decided, when there was still time, to denounce the vaccine.
CaseyL
Just Skyped with my Mom in Florida, who is a homebody anyway, so the past year and a half has given her an excellent excuse to do what she prefers. She’s fully vaxxed, and never stopped masking up when she goes out. I’m moderately but not hugely worried about her.
FWIW, she says DeSantis continues to be very popular with the only voters in Florida who matter: the RWNJs who dominate the state north of Orlando, and the Latinos who dominate South Florida. Broward County appears to be the only county where he isn’t popular, and Broward can’t swing the whole state. Alas.
Here in Washington state, all the hospitals are filling up again. I’m not surprised about Eastern Washington (MAGAtville), but that it’s happening in Western Washington is very worrisome. Quite a few of the big employers (Microsoft and Adobe among them) have pushed back their return-to-office date from September to January. No word on UW doing the same.
StringOnAStick
It seems like many/most people are not taking the Delta surge seriously at all, even people who should or at least did know better. Concerts are happening, indoor dining, etc. A neighbour who is a retired nurse and her daughter an ICU nurse married to an MD went ahead and held an outdoor wine tasting fund raiser yesterday, and NPR comedy show going back to a live audience. Can we not absorb the information anymore or is the media not brings a breathless as last winter making the risk seem less apparent?