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You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 Coronavirus / COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Friday / Saturday, Dec. 31 – Jan. 1

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Friday / Saturday, Dec. 31 – Jan. 1

by Anne Laurie|  January 1, 20225:37 am| 25 Comments

This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, Foreign Affairs

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New Year's Eve, usually celebrated globally with a free-spirited wildness, felt instead like deja vu, with the fast-spreading omicron variant again filling hospitals. Normally massive celebrations in New York City and Rio de Janeiro were much more muted. https://t.co/Y2IpTlHugV

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 1, 2022


The Rose Parade is going ahead despite a new surge of coronavirus infections. It will have dozens of floats, though Kaiser Permanente canceled plans to have 20 “front-line medical heroes” appear with its entry, dubbed “A Healthier Future.” https://t.co/tluFAw7jDC

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 1, 2022

… The parade and the afternoon Rose Bowl football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Utah Utes remained on track despite an explosion of COVID-19 infections in Los Angeles County, where daily new cases topped 27,000 on Friday.

The county Department of Public Health said it was the highest number of new cases…

The soaring infections had already prompted Kaiser Permanente to announce that its float, “A Healthier Future,” would not have 20 “front-line medical heroes” riding or walking alongside.

“We must prioritize the health and safety of our front-line medical staff and ensure we are able to treat patients during this recent surge of COVID-19 cases caused by the omicron variant,” the health care network said.

The parade normally draws thousands of fans along its 5.5-mile (8.8-kilometer) route. Many camp out on sidewalks overnight, staking out their spots as early as noon on New Year’s Eve. Pasadena authorities urged people to wear masks, upgrading to the N95 or KN95 types, and avoid mingling with anyone outside their own groups.

The Tournament of Roses Association said ticketholders for parade bleachers and the Rose Bowl game would be required to show proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours, and masks would be required for everyone age 2 and up…

The U.S. has broken its single-day virus case record for the second day in a row: 580,000 cases. The country has shattered its own record for new daily coronavirus cases — beating a milestone it already broke just the day before https://t.co/zBK4JcmWSU

— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) December 31, 2021

"Over the next three to four weeks, we're going to see the number of cases in this country rise so dramatically, we're going to have a hard time keeping daily life operating," Dr. Osterholm says. https://t.co/3iIwb3T1cH

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) December 31, 2021

Omicron may peak in the US by mid January, a team of Columbia Univ scientists are predicting. By Jan 9 there may be as many as 2.5M cases a week, though that number may go as high as 5.4M. New York City could see its record highs by next week https://t.co/wRauAUrxDP

— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 1, 2022

Still need to get your vaccine or booster? Here are 4 easy ways to find a shot near you. pic.twitter.com/okiEYKqShg

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) December 30, 2021

Biden inks $137 mln contract to boost supply of key material for COVID tests -source https://t.co/CdXP11caxN pic.twitter.com/PFK3dmwAEJ

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 30, 2021

"they may have to remain in a foreign country longer than originally planned, which will be at their own expense"https://t.co/UAugWrN4lI https://t.co/0hKEpGxDEZ pic.twitter.com/KcsOYHXFsn

— Alexander Tin (@Alexander_Tin) December 31, 2021

A combination of forces, all striking at the same time, have scrambled air travel globally for days. @tarbel and @PaulWisemanAP explain what mucked up flights for thousands this holiday season, and what to expect in the next few weeks. https://t.co/SRPuwGBn2m

— AP Business News (@APBusiness) December 30, 2021

======

Covid-19: WHO chief optimistic disease will be beaten in 2022 https://t.co/oPXDHvavsP

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) December 31, 2021

China ends 2021 with highest weekly COVID cases since taming original epidemic https://t.co/5Z5HIPStaP pic.twitter.com/vKeWnJOlg6

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 1, 2022

How has Xi'an tested more than 9 million people for COVID-19 since early December? Take a look inside a testing lab to find out how the city is managing such an epic mass testing project amid this recent resurgence #GLOBALink pic.twitter.com/axYqtUKamw

— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) December 31, 2021

China's Xian enters 10th day of COVID lockdown as cases persist https://t.co/qQDTx1aiBL pic.twitter.com/4A4H84t6x2

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 1, 2022

Xi'an: Cries for help and food in quarantined Chinese city https://t.co/CXm23QCSYq

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) December 31, 2021

… More than 13 million were ordered to stay at home last week as authorities sought to battle a Covid outbreak.

But compared to other lockdowns globally, locals cannot go out even for essential reasons like buying food.

The government is delivering supplies but many on social media say they are yet to receive them and are struggling.

The lockdown on the northern city of Xi’an is in its ninth day. The city’s outbreak is the worst China has seen in months amid its zero-Covid strategy…

State-owned newspaper Global Times said that in some places, food was being delivered to housing compounds’ entrances but there were not enough volunteers to deliver the supplies to residents’ doorsteps. There was also a citywide shortage of deliverymen as many drivers were under quarantine themselves.

Authorities had admitted on Wednesday that “low staff attendance and difficulties in logistics and distribution” had led to problems providing essential supplies to the city.

By Thursday however, the country’s commerce ministry told reporters that Xi’an’s residents had “sufficient” access to essential supplies, AFP news agency reported…

China’s adoption of a strict zero-Covid strategy saw the city closing bus stations, cancelling outward bound flights, and conducting millions of tests in Shaanxi province, where Xi’an is located.

Xi’an has logged more than 1300 virus cases since 9 December. The latest outbreak has thrown into doubt China’s ability to maintain its zero-Covid approach as it gears up to host the 2022 Winter Olympics in February.

China has termed Covid “the biggest threat” to the major international sporting event.

The country, where the virus was first recorded, has now confirmed more than 131,300 cases and 5,699 deaths, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organization.

India's daily COVID-19 cases rise by 22,775 https://t.co/La8ZJBLCpU pic.twitter.com/F1PagaoG59

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 1, 2022

Omicron: Third wave looms as India Covid cases spike https://t.co/6LtS6AWnVJ

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) December 31, 2021

Russia on Friday confirmed 20,638 Covid-19 infections and 912 deaths. Russia recorded more than 115,000 excess deaths during November 2021, according to official statistics published Thursday — a new record high since the start of the pandemic. https://t.co/DkrdWxMmEV

— Crawford Kilian (@Crof) December 31, 2021

"We must live our lives": Young people flock to the Serbian capital of Belgrade, which was hosting raucous New Year's Eve celebrations even as the omicron variant sweeps the continent. https://t.co/p9Oq4jbuql

— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) December 31, 2021

New figures from Britain’s official statistics body estimate that about 1 in 25 people in private households in England had COVID-19 in the week before Christmas, as the highly transmissible omicron variant spread rapidly across the country. https://t.co/Wz3g6XFSkx

— The Associated Press (@AP) December 31, 2021

Covid booster 88% effective against hospital treatment with Omicron https://t.co/k6TYujeTmJ

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) December 31, 2021

From a friend who works as a community pharmacist in southwestern Ontario pic.twitter.com/xcLla5ggxL

— David Juurlink (@DavidJuurlink) December 31, 2021

Mexico reports 143 new COVID-19 deaths, bringing total to 299,428 https://t.co/GPgNVPXPli pic.twitter.com/JLIac9FVUQ

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 1, 2022

======

Do at-home COVID-19 tests detect the omicron variant?

Yes, but U.S. health officials say early data suggests they may be less sensitive at picking it up. https://t.co/5BX4FTQXS3

— The Associated Press (@AP) December 31, 2021

No vaccines in history have been developed so fast, yet 23 different safe and effective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have already been approved for use around the world — and hundreds more are in development??@Nature?https://t.co/cKEMSjPNsW

— CEPI (@CEPIvaccines) December 30, 2021

Real-world data confirms the Pfizer vaccine is safe for kids ages 5-11. New US data based on nearly 9M doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's mRNA vax shows no major safety issues, according to researchers at the CDC https://t.co/ZgCC5gzAB0

— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 1, 2022

======

NEW: Hospitals worried about running out of PPE, then ventilators.

The new fear: running out of staff as omicron surges.

A close look at what we’re asking of exhausted health workers, entering their 3rd year of fighting the pandemic.

(No paywall.)https://t.co/jwKI0FTAY5

— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) December 30, 2021

Just a reminder that while Omicron does (thankfully) appear to be less severe, we are still losing around 1,200 Americans each day to Covid-19, the vast majority of them because they are unvaccinated. https://t.co/dWXEFXRSUw

— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) January 1, 2022

Remember "TX & FL have done nearly as well as CA while staying 'open' " narrative? Let's look:
CA deaths/100K=194
TX deaths/100K=262
FL deaths/100K=291
Dead Texans who'd be alive if TX matched CA death rate:19,741
Dead Floridians…:20,827
To me, "nearly as well" ≠ 40,000 lives.

— Bob Wachter (@Bob_Wachter) December 31, 2021

At least among my NYC patient population, there's an under-recognized contributing factor to the current Covid surge. A large number of patients told me they were waiting until "after the holidays" to get their boosters. Covid had other plans.

— Barry Bellovin (@DrBellovin) December 31, 2021

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Previous Post: « Late Night New Year’s Countdown
Next Post: Saturday Morning Open Thread: A New Year »

Reader Interactions

25Comments

  1. 1.

    Amir Khalid

    January 1, 2022 at 5:55 am

    Malaysia’s Ministry of Health reports 3,386 new Covid-19 cases today in its media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 2,761,472 cases. It also reports 25 deaths as of midnight, for an adjusted cumulative total of 31,487 deaths – 1.14% of the cumulative reported total, 1.16% of resolved cases.

    Based on cases reported yesterday, Malaysia’s nationwide Rt is at 0.98.

    202 confirmed cases are in ICU, 86 of them on ventilators. Meanwhile, 3,547 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 2,688,925 patients recovered – 97.4% of the cumulative reported total.

    Five new clusters were reported today, for a cumulative total of 6,133 clusters. 215 clusters are currently active; 5,918 clusters are now inactive.

    3,040 new cases today are local infections. 346 new cases today are imported.

    The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) administered 182,020 doses of vaccine on 31st December: 2,723 first doses, 4,477 second doses, and 174,820 booster doses. As of midnight, the cumulative total is 57,701,169 doses administered: 25,998,720 first doses, 25,614,795 second doses, and 6,287,197 booster doses. 79.6% of the population have received their first dose, 78.4% their second dose, and 19.3% their booster dose.

  2. 2.

    Baud

    January 1, 2022 at 6:03 am

    Covid booster 88% effective against hospital treatment with Omicron

    So now they’re taking vaccines to prevent hospital treatments. Jeez.

  3. 3.

    Baud

    January 1, 2022 at 6:04 am

    @Amir Khalid:

    Selamat tahun baru, Amir.

  4. 4.

    NeenerNeener

    January 1, 2022 at 6:22 am

    Monroe County, NY:

    There were 1,365 new cases reported yesterday, almost twice what it was last year on that date.
    Sometime before the 1st of Feb I have to double mask and go to Kohls to drop off an Amazon return. I’m not looking forward to it.

  5. 5.

    Amir Khalid

    January 1, 2022 at 6:36 am

    @Baud:

    Terima kasih. Semoga kita semua selamat melalui tahun baru 2022 ini.

  6. 6.

    YY_Sima Qian

    January 1, 2022 at 6:50 am

    On 12/31 China reported 175 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic) & 5 new domestic asymptomatic cases.

    Shaanxi Province reported 174 new domestic confirmed cases (all mild). 7 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There are currently 1,468 active domestic confirmed cases (including 11 serious & 2 critical) in the province.

    • Xi’an reported 174 new domestic confirmed cases (all mild). 138 are already home or centralized quarantine & 36 from mass screening. 7 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 1,444 active confirmed cases in the city. 1 university dormitory is currently at High Risk. 40 sub-districts & 18 communities are currently at Medium Risk.
    • Yan’an did not any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 11 active domestic confirmed cases in the city. 1 residential compound was elevated to Medium Risk. 2 residential buildings, 1 residential compound, 1 village & 1 company are currently at Medium Risk.
    • Xianyang did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 12 active domestic confirmed case in the city.
    • At Weinan there currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case in the city.

    Yuncheng in Shanxi Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed case (previously asymptomatic), a person arrived from Xi’an in Shaanxi.

    Guangdong Province reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case. 4 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 29 active domestic confirmed & 2 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.

    • At Dongguan 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 24 active domestic confirmed cases, a secondary cluster spilled over from Xi’an in Shaanxi. 1 residential building remains at Medium Risk.
    • At Guangzhou 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 1 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases, an airport worker & a person infected by an imported positive case.
    • Foshan reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case, a medical staff working at a designated hospital treating overseas arrivals w/ non-COVID illnesses. 2 patients the staff member had been attending testing positive for COVID-19 on 12/28, the staff member has been under centralized quarantine since 12/29.

    Guangxi “Autonomous” Region did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 19 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.

    • At Fangchenggang there currently are 19 active domestic confirmed cases in the city (all at Dongxing), a cluster seeded by a smuggling operation. 1 village is currently at High Risk. 1 village is currently at Medium Risk.
    • At Chongzuo there currently is 1 active domestic asymptomatic case, infected by an imported positive case that had bypassed border control.

    At Hulun Buir in Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region 16 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 48 active domestic confirmed cases remaining (46 at Manzhouli & 2 at New Barag Right Banner).

    At Heihe in Heilongjiang Province there currently is 1 active domestic asymptomatic case remaining.

    At Shanghai Municipality 1 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 2 active domestic confirmed & 3 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining. 

    Jiangsu Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 1 active domestic confirmed & 3 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.

    • At Nanjing there is 1 active domestic confirmed case, a Yangtze River boat pilot found via regular screening.
    • At Wuxi there currently are 3 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining.

    Zhejiang Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. 37 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 440 active domestic confirmed cases in the province (spread across Shaoxing, Ningbo & Hangzhou).

    At Suzhou in Anhui Province there currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case in the city, part of the transmission chain from Zhejiang. The Medium Risk village has been re-designated to Low Risk.

    At Chengdu in Sichuan Province there currently are 2 active domestic confirmed cases in the city, a quarantine hotel worker & an airport logistics worker.

    At Xiamen in Fujian Province there currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case remaining, a quarantine hotel worker.

    At Rizhao in Shandong Province the last 3 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation.

    At Chongqing Municipality there currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case remaining.

    Henan Province reported 4 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 19 active domestic confirmed & 6 active domestic asymptomatic cases.

    • At Zhengzhou 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 17 active domestic confirmed cases in the city.
    • At Zhengzhou there currently are 2 active confirmed & 2 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
    • Luoyang reported 4 new domestic asymptomatic cases, a family cluster found via screening of all persons returning from out of province. 1 member of the family returned from Chengdu in Sichuan on 12/18 by long distance bus service, passed through the same highway service area on 12/19 as the domestic positive cases reported by Zhoukou in Henan.

    Yunnan Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. 4 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 23 active domestic confirmed & 12 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.

    • At Kunming there currently 5 active domestic confirmed cases, a family cluster of 4 connected to outbreak elsewhere in China & the student who had traveled to Sipsongpanna Prefecture. 1 residential compound is currently at Medium Risk.
    • At Sipsongpanna Prefecture there currently are 2 domestic asymptomatic cases (at Jinghong), both tourists from Hunan Province.
    • At Dehong Prefecture 4 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 18 active domestic confirmed & 10 active domestic asymptomatic cases at the prefecture.

    Tongren in Guizhou Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed case (previously asymptomatic). There currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case in the city, a person who returned from Jinghong, Sipsongpanna Prefecture in Yunnan.

    Imported Cases    

    On 12/31, China reported 56 new imported confirmed cases (10 previously asymptomatic), 33 imported asymptomatic cases, 1 imported suspect case:

    • Shenzhen in Guangdong Province – 5 confirmed & 7 asymptomatic cases, 11 Chinese & 1 US nationals returning from the US
    • Foshan in Guangdong Province – 3 confirmed cases (1 previously asymptomatic), all coming from the US; 2 asymptomatic cases, 1 each coming from Iran & Saudi Arabia; all off flights that landed at Guangzhou 
    • Guangzhou in Guangdong Province – 2 confirmed cases (1 previously asymptomatic), 1 Chinese national each returning from Costa Rica (via Amsterdam Schiphol) & Mongolia (via Istanbul); 3 asymptomatic cases, 2 Chinese nationals returning from Myanmar & 1 from Timor Leste
    • Qingyuan in Guangdong Province – 1 confirmed case (previously asymptomatic), coming from Canada, off of a flight that landed at Guangzhou 
    • Shanghai Municipality – 10 confirmed cases, 5 Chinese nationals returning from Canada & 1 each from Brazil (via Zürich), the Netherlands, Spain, Serbia (via Zürich) & the UK (via Zürich); 1 suspect case, no information released
    • Tianjin Municipality – 9 confirmed cases (1 previously asymptomatic), 2 Chinese nationals returning from Poland & 1 each from Cape Verde (via Paris CdG), the DRC (via Paris CdG), Cuba (via Paris CdG), France & the US, no information released yet for the other 2; 4 asymptomatic cases, a Chinese national returning from Poland, no information released yet for the other 3
    • Guangxi “Autonomous” Region (location not specified) – 9 confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic) & 2 asymptomatic cases, no information released
    • Xiamen in Fujian Province – 4 confirmed cases, 2 Chinese nationals returning from the Netherlands & 1 each from Ireland (via Amsterdam Schiphol) & the US
    • Putian in Fujian Province – 2 asymptomatic cases, no information released
    • Changsha in Hunan Province – 4 confirmed (all previously asymptomatic) & 1 asymptomatic cases, no information released
    • Chengdu in Sichuan Province – 2 confirmed cases (both previously asymptomatic), 1 Chinese national each returning from Algeria & Cambodia; 3 asymptomatic cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Ethiopia, Russia & the UK (via Amsterdam Schiphol); the asymptomatic case from Ethiopia had arrived at Shanghai on 12/7, passed through the 14 days of centralized quarantine & tested negative multiple times, upon release from quarantine on 12/22 the case flew back to Chengdu & entered home quarantine, testing positive on 12/31; the asymptomatic case from the UK had arrived at Xiamen in Fujian on 12/2, passed through the 14 days of centralized quarantine & tested negative multiple times, upon release from quarantine on 12/16 the case flew back to Chengdu & entered home quarantine, testing positive on 12/31
    • Deyang in Sichuan Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Japan; the case had arrived at Guangzhou in Guangdong on 12/10, passed through the 14 days of centralized quarantine & tested negative multiple times, upon release from quarantine on 12/24 the case flew to Chengdu in Sichuan & was transferred to Deyang & re-entered centralized quarantine, testing positive on 12/31
    • Yunnan Province (location not specified) – 2 confirmed cases, both Chinese nationals returning from Myanmar; 4 asymptomatic cases, 2 Chinese national each returning from Laos & Myanmar; all via land border crossings
    • Beijing Municipality – 2 confirmed cases, both Ethiopian nationals coming from Ethiopia
    • Jinan in Shandong Province – 1 confirmed & 2 asymptomatic cases, both Chinese nationals returning from the UAE
    • Dalian in Liaoning Province – 1 confirmed case, no information released
    • Xi’an in Shaanxi Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from Canada, off a flight diverted from Beijing
    • Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province – 1 asymptomatic case, coming from the South Sudan
    • Yinchuan in Ningxia “Autonomous” Region – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Serbia (via Stockholm); the case had arrived at Xi’an in Shaanxi on 12/13, passed through the 14 days of centralized quarantine & tested negative 6 times, upon release from quarantine on 12/28 the case returned to Yinchuan by high speed rail & re-entered centralized quarantine, testing positive on 12/29 

    Overall in China, 59 confirmed cases recovered, 25 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (22 imported) & 11 were reclassified as confirmed cases (10 imported), & 5,351 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 2,886 active confirmed cases in the country (802 imported), 15 in serious condition (3 imported), 514 active asymptomatic cases (485 imported), 1 suspect case (imported). 43,874 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.

    As of 12/31, 2,835.332M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 11.914M doses in the past 24 hrs.

    Hong Kong reported 19 new positive cases on 12/31, 17 imported (from the Philippines, the US & the UK) & 2 domestic (both Omicron case in the community infected at a restaurant by a flight crew that broken home quarantine rules). On 1/1 the city reported 17 new positive cases, 16 imported (from Canada, the US, France, the Netherlands, the Philippines & Nepal) & 1 domestic (a ground crew at the airport).

  7. 7.

    NorthLeft12

    January 1, 2022 at 8:00 am

    Happy New Year Anne and Juicers everywhere. Had a NYE dinner with my children and grandchildren, and celebrated 2022 with the people of Newfoundland at 10:30 PM our time, midnight there.

    Going to hunker down all day, and will be driving to Pearson Airport tomorrow to see off my eldest daughter …… as long as there are still pilots to fly. She is headed back to England.

    My wife and I are applying to be volunteers for the vaccination clinics. Neither of us are medically trained, but we want to help however we can. I feel very optimistic about 2022.

  8. 8.

    Cermet

    January 1, 2022 at 8:03 am

    Well, no one can feel good about the vast numbers of dead nor the terrible toll in the physical (longer term) and mental health of so many people – nor the terrible losses so many families have endured.  But the fact remains, in the longer term the development of mRNA vaccines will save many millions of lives and not just from covid but for many cancers and other types of virus based illnesses in the future.

    Science rules

  9. 9.

    Ohio Mom

    January 1, 2022 at 8:19 am

    Every morning I check the weather, the local Covid stats (at covidactnow.org), and this post.

    I am here to report that southwest Ohio’s numbers are higher than they have ever been — shot up over the last day.

    Looks like the covidactnow chart will need to be reconfigured to accommodate our ever increasing numbers.

  10. 10.

    rikyrah

    January 1, 2022 at 8:22 am

    Waiting for boosters to be approved for 12-16 so that Peanut can get hers????

  11. 11.

    Mary G

    January 1, 2022 at 8:57 am

    Orange County has no new numbers because they took the day off for the holiday. Many people just seem to want this to be over. My housemates and a number of their extended family are going up to Big Bear Lake Sunday so some of the littles can see snow for the first time. Her mom, who’s been the tough cop thru the pandemic, and her husband had breakthrough cases in Guatemala last week that consisted solely of loss of taste and smell for a few days, and now is much less strict. I am firing the Levoit air cleaner up and staying in my room or outside with the plants.

  12. 12.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 1, 2022 at 8:59 am

    free-spirited wildness

    Oh AP!  You party animals!

  13. 13.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 1, 2022 at 9:07 am

    Found out yesterday that my 4-year-old nephew has COVID.  My brother-in-law was going to take him for a PCR test, but we have no word on that yet. ?

  14. 14.

    Ken

    January 1, 2022 at 9:10 am

    The Rubio comment, and similar ones I’ve seen, make me think there’s one semi-good thing about Republican denialism — they can’t easily pivot to blaming Biden for the increase in COVID deaths, when for over a year they’ve been saying the disease isn’t that bad and we mustn’t do anything that would disrupt people’s lives.

  15. 15.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 1, 2022 at 9:18 am

    Party like it’s 2019: Serbia hosts raucous New Year’s Eve | AP News

    And die like we’re still in the midst of a global pandemic in 2022.

  16. 16.

    Yutsano

    January 1, 2022 at 9:40 am

    @Ken: ​PFFT! This is sarcasm right? Of course they will pivot to blaming the high death toll on Biden. Hell Lil’ Marco could do it in his very next tweet and no one in the media would call him out on it. Wingnuts do this all the time because they suffer zero consequences for lying on both ends.

  17. 17.

    YY_Sima Qian

    January 1, 2022 at 10:36 am

    The logistical challenge of managing the strictest possible lock downs, where residents are confined to their homes is daunting. When 2 member of each family can leave the residential compound every 2 days to obtain daily necessities, then supplies only need to reach the grocery store/supermarket/convenience store level. When residents are confined to their residences, now supplies need to be delivered to every door step, which is a couple of levels further on. Neighborhood committees & community workers have to figure out the logistics or getting supplies to residential compounds, & residential compound management have to figure out the distribution to each apartment.  Problems can quickly arise if the local community office & residential compound management are not capable or responsible. We have seen such issues every time the strictest lock down has been imposed.

    When Wuhan was locked down at end of Jan. 2020, residents were fortunate in the sense that every family had stocked up for the Chinese New Year holiday, so there were generally enough supplies to bridge period of confusion & trial & error, while authorities at all levels worked out the logistical kinks. During the outbreaks at Hebei & Manchuria in Jan. 2021, people there (especially in the rural areas that were the epicenters of outbreaks) tend to stock up on meat & pickled vegetables ahead of winter to last the whole winter. Xi’an’s urban residents probably had not received much warning before getting locked down, & the grassroots levels workers may not have anticipated the quick escalation to strictly stay at home.

    Given the intense scrutiny domestically & internationally on Xi’an, I believe the issues will be resolved quickly.

  18. 18.

    Drkld

    January 1, 2022 at 10:45 am

    I think the Columbia University team will forced to alter their model predictions upwards given that, by my calculations, the number of positives last week were 2.1 million plus. My assumption was we would be at 500k/day by middle of next week; so yay US for being overachievers. Given that no one in my area of MO is masking up I expect business closures to begin next week. Never in my wildest nightmares did I, as a scientist, expect people to actively resist the survival instinct that should lead them to vaccinations.

  19. 19.

    Miss Bianca

    January 1, 2022 at 11:06 am

    @rikyrah: Peanut is 12?!

    ETA: Good morning! Happy New Year!

  20. 20.

    YY_Sima Qian

    January 1, 2022 at 11:13 am

    Case summaries out of Xi’an indicate that many of the new cases found from centralized quarantine were placed under quarantine due to positive case(s) in the same “living space” or “work space”, as opposed to traceable close contact. To me, this suggests that the outbreak had entered factories & universities (at least 1 university campus has been identified & designated as a High Risk area). When 1 or more persons test positive, everyone in the dormitory building/floor & everyone in the same production area on the same shift may have been sent to centralized quarantine, as close contacts are highly likely in such environments.

  21. 21.

    Princess

    January 1, 2022 at 11:19 am

    @YY_Sima Qian: and of course, all the people who are delivering and all the police who are monitoring and enforcing need to leave their homes and will be in contact with each other. It is hard to see a China avoiding omicron altogether.

  22. 22.

    YY_Sima Qian

    January 1, 2022 at 11:41 am

    @Princess: It is still Delta at Xi’an. We have already seen Omicron transmission in quarantine hotels at Hong Kong. I expect that to be a major issue at quarantine hotels in Mainland China, too. Super spreading at mass screening sites may also prove much more of an issue w/ Omicron. We have already seen a couple of such super spreading events w/ Delta outbreaks at Yangzhou in Jiangsu & Zhangjiajie in Hunan in Jul. 2021. As I said before, Omicron may finally prove to be the variant that makes China’s “Dynamic Zero COVID” strategy untenable, as Delta had done to other countries hitherto pursuing “Zero COVID” strategies ( Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam), but I hope not.

  23. 23.

    kmax

    January 1, 2022 at 12:01 pm

    this may be flying under the radar but the State of Missouri has cancelled the  Covid state of emergency as of midnight…

    Guess it is under control somewhere.

  24. 24.

    Drkld

    January 1, 2022 at 12:52 pm

    @kmax: I can’t speak for every county but I can’t seem to find anywhere it is under control here in MO. I have yet to hear whether my institution will extend its mask mandate through spring semester, but I guess I can hope for a rational administrative decision…..

  25. 25.

    Soprano2

    January 1, 2022 at 1:59 pm

    Just saw that stupid “73% of Covid cases in the U.S. are Omicron” citation in another news story with nary a word about “confidence intervals”; it was cited as the truth. It was damaging.

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