Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It’s a doggy dog world.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

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

It’s the corruption, stupid.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

After roe, women are no longer free.

As long as McCarthy is Speaker, the House will never be in order.

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

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Consistently wrong since 2002

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

Innocent people don’t delay justice.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

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

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Tuesday / Wednesday, Sept. 28-29

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A total of 25 people were hospitalised due to COVID-19 during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, instead of the initially reported five, organisers said on Tuesday evening.

“The initial five we reported was the figure for overseas residents who were hospitalised,” explained Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto at a news conference.

“We released those figures to gauge how much of a burden people from overseas would put on the medical system,” he added…

During the Games, host city Tokyo saw the worst surge of cases to date. In late August, Japan saw a record high of 25,000 daily infections.

Cases within the “bubble” of over 50,000 Olympic-related visitors and participants remained low compared to national figures, however, with 863 positive cases confirmed over the course of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, according to broadcaster NHK.

Australia’s federal government will wind down emergency funding for people who lost work during COVID-19 shutdowns as vaccination rates increase across the country, putting pressure on state and territory leaders to keep their economies open.

The decision to cut off federal support when inoculation levels reach 80% means individual states and territories would have to foot the bill if they decide to go into lockdown in response to any fresh outbreaks of the coronavirus.

“(This) emergency payment needs to come to an end,” Frydenberg told Seven News on Wednesday. “If you look around the world … people are starting to get about their normal lives, learning to live with the virus in a COVID-safe way.”

Australia’s two biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, along with its capital Canberra, have been in lockdown for several weeks as the country grapples with a Delta variant-fuelled third wave of the virus…

I know official Russian pandemic statistics should be taken with a whole shaker of salt, but there seems to be a trend in the latest reporting:

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Create a permission structure…

… The surge in fundraising pleas and rhetorical blitzes on vaccine “freedom” have only intensified this summer across the Republican Party—whether it’s among the heavyweights in conservative media, top contenders in GOP primaries ahead of the 2022 midterms, or prominent Republicans on Capitol Hill and the party’s leader, Trump.

One Fox News insider succinctly described the anti-COVID-mandate segments and vaccine-resistant commentary as “great for ratings.” Another current Fox employee said the numbers clearly demonstrated that there are vanishingly fewer subjects these days that get “our viewers more excited or engaged than” those kinds of segments.

As for the campaign trail, four different longtime Republican strategists told The Daily Beast that they have encouraged various 2022 GOP candidates who they’re each advising to lean heavily into anti-COVID-mandate messaging, viewing it as perhaps the winning issue with the conservative and Trump base of voters.

This strategy, however, comes at a time when the publicly available data show COVID-19 deaths and infections have exploded—including in months after the vaccines became widely available in the United States—in many areas that broke heavily for Trump in the last presidential contest. Even with the breakthroughs in safe, effective vaccinations, the U.S. is rapidly approaching 700,000 recorded deaths from the virus, with large weekly body counts still piling up in the country…

Reader Interactions

36Comments

  2. 2.

    Ken

    One Fox News insider succinctly described the anti-COVID-mandate segments and vaccine-resistant commentary as “great for ratings.”

    Every now and then I wish I believed in eternal damnation.

  3. 3.

    NeenerNeener

    Monroe County, NY:

    Monroe County web site: 188 new cases yesterday. 3.9% test positivity.
    NYSDOH says 158 new cases. If I’m interpreting the 79,289 number correctly as total COVID cases in the county since March 2020 then almost 11% of Monroe County has caught COVID by now.

    And almost 12% of tiny Broome County, where I grew up, has caught it.

  4. 4.

    debbie

    I’m more than fine with them dying. They deserve it. What kind of jerk would punch out a nurse or doctor because they didn’t like the diagnosis?

  5. 5.

    Chief Oshkosh

    Weird report wrt to airlines and mandates this morning. Untied, the world’s largest disorganized airline, is firing 500-600 employees who refuse to get vaccinated. I’m both amazed and happy!

    American, OTOH, apparently has 4,200 pilots who are unvaccinated. WTF? Surely that can’t be true. Hell, I’m surprised that AA even has 4,200 pilots. Regardless, fuck ’em. There’s a shitpot of youngsters coming up through the ranks who will happily replace the unvaxxed.

    That said, the AA numbers make me wonder about Delta. They’ve been great about pandemic measures (IMO), but their vaccination coercion is based on money (unvaccinated employees have higher health insurance payments). Certainly the mid-tier and senior pilots can absorb those costs. I wonder if Delta is harboring a bunch of anti-vaxxer pilots?

  6. 6.

    Nicole

    I’m so happy Pfizer has submitted their data!  Now it’s just a waiting game.  Be thorough, FDA, but as quickly as possible, please.

  7. 7.

    Amir Khalid

    Malaysia’s Ministry of Health reports 12,434 new Covid-19 cases today in its media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 2,232,960 cases. It also reports 240 new deaths as of midnight, for a cumulative total of 25,935 deaths – 1.16% of the cumulative reported total, 1.26% of resolved cases.

    Based on cases reported yesterday, Malaysia’s nationwide Rt is at 0.88.

    871 confirmed cases are in ICU, 378 of them on ventilators. Meanwhile, 17,000 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 2,037,099 patients recovered – 91.2% of the cumulative reported total.

    15 new clusters were reported today, for a cumulative total of 5,462 clusters. 1,124 clusters are currently active; 4,338 clusters are now inactive.

    12,426 new cases today are local infections. Sarawak reports 2,967 local cases: 89 in clusters, 1,196 close-contact screenings, and 1,682 other screenings.

    Selangor reports 1,359 local cases: 82 in clusters, 824 close-contact screenings, and 453 other screenings. Johor reports 1,286 local cases: 172 in clusters, 610 close-contact screenings, and 504 other screenings. Kelantan reports 1,125 cases: 33 in clusters, 714 close-contact screenings, and 378 other screenings. Sabah reports 1,000 cases: 43 in clusters, 532 close-contact screenings, and 425 other screenings.

    Perak reports 971 cases: 12 in clusters, 553 close-contact screenings, and 406 other screenings.
    Penang reports 863 cases: 22 in clusters, 291 close-contact screenings, and 550 other screenings.

    Pahang reports 663 cases: 139 in clusters, 403 close-contact screenings, and 121 other screenings. Kedah reports 651 local cases: 411 close-contact screenings and 240 other screenings. Terengganu reports 612 cases: 17 in clusters, 468 close-contact screenings, and 127 other screenings.

    Melaka reports 375 cases: 49 in clusters, 51 close-contact screenings, and 275 other screenings.

    Kuala Lumpur reports 284 cases: 17 in clusters, 137 close-contact screenings, and 130 other screenings.

    Negeri Sembilan reports 168 local cases: 34 in clusters, 63 close-contact screenings, and 71 other screenings.

    Perlis reports 79 cases: 24 close-contact screenings and 55 other screenings. Putrajaya reports 18 cases: eight close-contact screenings and 10 other screenings. Labuan reports five cases: one in a cluster, three close-contact screenings, and one other screening.

    Eight new cases today are imported: three in Selangor, three in Johor, one in Kedah, and one in Negeri Sembilan.

    The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) administered 329,722 doses of vaccine on 28th September: 18,734 first doses and 160,988 second doses. As of midnight yesterday, the cumulative total is 43,028,919 doses administered: 23,178,045 first doses and 19,945,616 second doses. 71.0% of the population have received their first dose, while 61.1% are now fully vaccinated.

  8. 8.

    Starfish

    Last night, I sat through anti-vax word salad at the school board meeting. Do I get a sticker for surviving this?

  9. 9.

    Suzanne

    @Nicole: Seriously! Be really careful and thorough and deliberate….quickly!

    As for the hospital workers wearing duress alarms…. that’s been a thing for years in many of the facilities I’ve worked in. Even pre-pandemic, attacks on healthcare workers are a big problem. My former boss’s wife was attacked by a patient years ago, and it resulted in a lifelong TBI. We really, really need to make healthcare better and safer if we want to retain any workers.

  10. 10.

    New Deal democrat

    The Delta wave continues to recede in all 4 regions of the US, plus the nation as a whole. Only 3 States – AK, ND, and NE – are in uptrends. Even better, all 5 of the States that were in the vanguard of the wave – AR, FL,  LA, MO, and TX – are now in the bottom 25 jurisdictions for new cases. That’s potent evidence that Delta burns through the dry tinder and then recedes.

    But the raw number of cases, even though nearly 1/3rd down from peak, is still *much* higher than at any point during either the spring or summer 2020 waves. And the rate of decline has decelerated in the past week.

    We really need widespread vaccine mandates both for employment and schools, and these are going to have to come from (Blue) State and local governments. We are also going to need a vaccine mandate for interstate travel on planes, trains, and buses.

  11. 11.

    YY_Sima Qian

    On 9/28 China reported 11 new domestic confirmed cases & 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases.

    Fujian Province reporter 3 new domestic confirmed cases. 30 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 358 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases.

    • Putian did not report any new domestic positive cases. 19 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 149 active domestic confirmed (44 mild, 104 moderate & 1 critical) & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. Fengting Township (except for 7 villages at Low Risk, & 8 villages & 1 community at Medium Risk) remains at High Risk. 2 zones, 1 residential building, 1 community & 4 villages have been re-designated to Low Risk. 3 zones, 1 residential compound, 1 school, 1 community & 8 villages remain at Medium Risk.
    • Quanzhou did not report any domestic positive cases. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 16 active domestic confirmed cases (including 1 critical case being treated at Xiamen). 4 villages remain at Medium Risk.
    • Xiamen reported 3 new domestic confirmed case (all mild, 2 at Tong’an & 1 at Siming Districts), all traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine. 10 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 190 active domestic confirmed cases (38 mild, 136 moderate) in the city. Xinmin Township remains at High Risk. 1 zone, 5 villages, 2 communities & 3 residential compounds are currently at Medium Risk.
    • Zhangzhou did not report any new domestic positive cases. There have been 3 active domestic confirmed cases (all moderate) reported in the city, though they are actually being treated at Xiamen. 1 community remains at Medium Risk

    Heilongjiang Province reported 8 new domestic confirmed & 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases. There currently are 68 active domestic confirmed & 7 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.

    • Harbin reported 8 new domestic confirmed (5 mild & 3 moderate; 5 at Bayan County, 2 at Songbei District & 1 at Xiangfang District; 6 are traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine & 2 from mass screening) & 1 new domestic asymptomatic case (at Bayan County; a traced closed contact already under centralized quarantine). There currently are 67 active domestic confirmed (56 at Bayan County, 7 at Songbei District, 2 at Mulan County, & 1 each at Nan’gang & Xiangfang Districts) & 3 active domestic asymptomatic cases (both at Bayan County) in the city. The Xinglong Township in Bayan County is currently High Risk. 4 residential compounds & 1 village have been elevated to Medium Risk. 11 residential compounds & 1 village are currently at Medium Risk.
    • Suihua reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case (at Beilin District, a traced close contact already under centralized quarantine). The currently are 1 active domestic confirmed & 4 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city (all at Beilin District). 1 residential compound remains at Medium Risk.

    Yunnan Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 9 active domestic confirmed & 2 domestic asymptomatic cases remaining in the province, all at Ruili in Dehong Prefecture.

    At Hunan Province 2 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 2 active domestic confirmed cases remaining in the province, both at Zhangjiajie

    At Henan Province 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 7 active domestic confirmed cases remaining in the province, all at Shangqiu.

    At Shanghai Municipality the last domestic confirmed case recovered.

    Imported Cases

    On 9/28, China reported 14 new imported confirmed cases (3 previously asymptomatic), 17 imported asymptomatic cases:

    • Yunnan Province (locations not specified) – 8 confirmed cases, all Chinese nationals returning from Myanmar; 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Laos; via land border crossings
    • Shanghai Municipality – 2 confirmed cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Sri Lanka & Senegal (via Paris CdG)
    • Xiamen in Fujian Province – 2 confirmed cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Mexico (via LAX) & Romania (via Amsterdam Schiphol)
    • Guangzhou in Guangdong Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from Iran; 5 asymptomatic cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from the DRC, Kenya, Liberia, Kuwait & the UAE
    • Foshan in Guangdong Province – 2 asymptomatic cases, 1 each coming from the UK & the US, off flights that landed at Guangzhou
    • Jiangsu Province (location not specified) – 1 confirmed case, coming from the UK
    • Tianjin Municipality – 3 asymptomatic cases, 2 Chinese nationals returning from Zimbabwe & 1 from Gambia (all via Paris CdG)
    • Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province – 2 asymptomatic cases, 1 each coming from Jamaica & Spain
    • Guangxi “Autonomous” Region (location not specified) –  2 asymptomatic cases, no information released
    • Wuhan in Hubei Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Indonesia
    • Linyi in Shandong Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Ghana (via Nairobi); the case had contracted COVID-19 at Kenya in Jun. & had recovered, the case arrived at Shenzhen in Guangdong Province on 9/3, passed through the 21 days of centralized quarantine & tested negative 8 times, upon release from quarantine on 9/25 the case flew back to Linyi & re-entered centralized quarantine, tested negative on 9/26 & 9/27 but positive on 9/28; the case is probably shedding dead viral fragments

    Overall in China, 58 confirmed cases recovered (23 imported), 14 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (all imported) & none were reclassified as confirmed cases, & 644 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 949 active confirmed cases in the country (509 imported), 5 in serious condition (2 imported), 342 active asymptomatic cases (330 imported), 1 suspect case (imported). 26,905 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.

    As of 9/28, 2,206.054M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 2.86M doses in the past 24 hrs.

    On 9/29, Hong Kong reported 5 new positive cases, all imported (from Jordan, Japan & the Philippines; all had been fully vaccinated).

  12. 12.

    Soprano2

    In SWMO the cases are receding; the 7-day average of cases is 50, down from an average over 200 in July. There are 91 Covid cases in the hospital, down from a high of 271 in July. Deaths are way down, too; we had 75 Covid deaths in July, and 60 in August, but only 6 so far in September. So yeah, Delta does hit fast and burn through the unvaxxed fast, then it seems to burn out. I guess that’s good news of a sort. Also, Springfield finally crossed to over 50% vaccinated yesterday. Yay us, I guess….

    Meanwhile, our state AG was denied his request to make his stupid lawsuit against schools with mask mandates into a class action; he has to file them individually. I wish he’d just drop it, let local schools decide what’s best for their kids.

  13. 13.

    NotMax

    Following up on something above, the AP story.

    Nurses and hundreds of other staff members will soon begin wearing panic buttons at a Missouri hospital where assaults on workers tripled after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Cox Medical Center Branson is using grant money to add buttons to identification badges worn by up to 400 employees who work in the emergency room and inpatient hospital rooms. Pushing the button will immediately alert hospital security, launching a tracking system that will send help to the endangered worker. The hospital hopes to have the system operational by the end of the year.

    A similar program was successfully tested last year at CoxHealth’s Springfield hospital, spokeswoman Kaitlyn McConnell said Tuesday.
    [snip]
    Jackie Gatz, vice president of safety and preparedness for the Missouri Hospital Association, said the use of a button alert is among many steps hospitals are taking to protect workers. Security cameras are being added, and some security personnel are wearing body cameras. CoxHealth added security dogs late last year in Springfield. Source

  14. 14.

    Soprano2

    @NotMax: Yeah, Cox has security dogs now; they did a story about them in the local paper this summer. As someone else said above, attacks on healthcare workers aren’t new, but I do think they’re more frequent now with Covid deniers. Yay, us…?

  15. 15.

    Suzanne

    @NotMax: Yeah, I’ve had to design K-9 kennels for a hospital before.

    Healthcare workers are terrified. They were even before the pandemic, and I’m sure this has their freakout level through the roof.

  16. 16.

    pajaro

    I know I’m mostly a lurker here, but bear with me.

    I learned a day or so ago that my three and one-half year old granddaughter tested positive for covid.  she probably got it from a day care class she is in, although it could have been from one of the birthday parties in her neighborhood.  She’s been great about wearing a mask, but she would have taken it off if they served snacks, of course, and I don’t think they always wore masks outside at the parties.  Right now she has a cough and congestion, no fever, but it’s still early.  So far her older brother and parents are negative, and they are all quarantining.

    It’s an understatement that we and they have been careful.  the wife and I already have our boosters, my kids are fully vaxed, the grandkids are just great about wearing masks, and we are not in.a part of the country where the virus is running rampant.  But there is community transmission here (the local positivity rate is under 5%), as there is just about everywhere in our broken country.

    I know how good our odds are that she will be fine, but it’s so scary.  I also know most of you don’t know me, but I needed to get this off my chest, and I hope you don’t mind my writing.

  17. 17.

    sab

    @debbie: My dad got sued once because he diagnosed a cancer that she should have died of within months. When she didn’t die within months she sued him for scaring her. She did die four years later.

  18. 18.

    Betsy

    @New Deal democrat: What exactly does “burn through the dry tinder” mean?  I feel like if something is going to be pointed to as “potent evidence” for a phenomenon , then the phenomenon need to be described in more thrown metaphorical terms.

  19. 19.

    frosty

    @Betsy: Based on context, here’s my understanding of “burned through the dry tinder”

    Dry tinder = unvaccinated; Burned Through = made people sick until everyone has been infected

    I hate this phrase.

  20. 20.

    WaterGirl

    @pajaro: I am very sorry to hear that your granddaughter has Covid.  I can only imagine how you feel, but I feel like there’s a pit in my stomach just thinking about it.

    Thank you for sharing with us.  I hope you’ll keep us in the loop, and hoping of course for all good things for you and your family.

  22. 22.

    Scout211

    @pajaro:

    I’m so sorry for what your family is going through. It definitely scary, even if the odds are that your granddaughter will be fine. Our youngest grandchild just turned 4 and has been in daycare throughout the whole pandemic because her parents are essential workers. It’s a constant concern even more than the school-age grandkids who are required to wear masks all day.

    Lurkers are always welcome to de-lurk here.  Now you aren’t a lurker anymore.  Now you are an official commenter.  Welcome!

    Be sure to post an update on your little one.

  23. 23.

    Tenar Arha

    @pajaro: This is a good place to vent when you need to. I hope everything turns out okay, with no spread or breakthroughs for you & yours. Keep us in the loop if you are able. 

  24. 24.

    Robert Sneddon

    Scotland — 2,997 new cases reported today. The test positivity rate is 7.6%. There were 28 new deaths reported overnight. ICU bed occupancy numbers are 71, down two from yesterday while hospitalisations are 1,020, down seven.

    There were about 4,300 vaccinations carried out in Scotland yesterday (Tuesday) with about 40% of these being first vaccinations. 91.4% of 16+ adults are now vaccinated with their first dose and 84.3% are fully vaccinated. 71.2% of 16 and 17-year-olds have now received their first vaccination, up 0.3% from yesterday. 12.7% of 12-15 year olds have now received their first dose of vaccine.

  26. 26.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers was fidelio

    @pajaro: I’m so sorry. This is something that haunts the dreams of so many parents and grandparents I know. My best wishes to your granddaughter for a quick recovery without complications, and to you and her parents for strength and courage.

  28. 28.

    Miss Bianca

    @Starfish:  God, you should get *at least* a sticker. Or how about a mask emblazoned with, “It goes *over* your nose, you idiot”?

    I had to sit through one of those school board meetings myself a couple weeks ago. I feel your pain.

  29. 29.

    J R in WV

    @pajaro:

    I know I’m mostly a lurker here, but bear with me.

    We were all lurkers once, except for Cole, and maybe baud. Welcome. I hope for the best news for your grand-kid, how scary, and helpless feeling.

    Now that you’re not a lurker anymore, keep us posted on how grand-daughter does, we mostly do really care about each other.

  30. 30.

    leeleeFL

    @Ken: Screw that, I want immediate lightening bolt destruction!  These assholes are literally killing people!   They should be jailed for decades, and I hate jailing people. But I can make exceptions for these dirtbags!

  32. 32.

    scav

    @frosty: Burn through the dry tinder also generally means it’s a fast fire, whips through, clears out the underbrush, but doesn’t stay and kill the roots so it’s a quick recovery.  Fast also means it singes most trees but doesn’t kill them — may only scorch a lot of the foliage but doesn’t get into the trunks and burn and burn and burn for months. If you happen to be damp tinder, it’s generally the sort of fire you’d prefer.

    Even meaningful phrases & distinctions can be harmed by trite overuse.

  34. 34.

    Ruckus

    I don’t know if this has been brought up before but I asked the fellow giving me my booster shot at the VA yesterday what the difference was between a third shot and a booster and the response was, nothing. It is wording for the 2 groups of people, those immunocompromised and those over 65. The two groups may have age in common but they might not so I can see why they had to be grouped like this, it’s just that so much was made that they are different shots not that they are for different reasons and not everyone will be in both groups, even as they might be.

    BTW my second day after the third shot seems to be no issues, other than normally I can only sleep in two positions, on the side that I got the shot in and on my back. And at least for a while, on the side is a rather big NFW. The arm doesn’t hurt, unless of course I rest on it.

  35. 35.

    dopey-o

    @scav:

    @frosty: Burn through the dry tinder also generally means it’s a fast fire, whips through, clears out the underbrush, but doesn’t stay and kill the roots so it’s a quick recovery….

    Even meaningful phrases & distinctions can be harmed by trite overuse.

    Instead of “burned thru the tinder” how about

    “Skinned the rubes”? “Plugged the suckers”? “Fleeced the marks”?

  36. 36.

    emmyelle

    As a Diet Pepsi drinker who really can not stand Diet Coke, I resent the Coke vs Pepsi framing where Pepsi is the bad guy.

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