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You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 Coronavirus / COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Tuesday / Wednesday, Jan. 18-19

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Tuesday / Wednesday, Jan. 18-19

by Anne Laurie|  January 19, 20226:06 am| 56 Comments

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

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Took me less than a minute to order four free rapid antigen COVID tests right from the post office. Zero cost, not even shipping. You should too. https://t.co/M6HqO71hgf

— zeddy (@Zeddary) January 18, 2022


I’ve ordered mine — you should, too!

Some enterprising journalist should track which Senators, members of Congress, & governors are telling their constituents how to order COVID tests, & seeing if Repubs are refusing to publicize something easy, free, in demand, & that can help prevent illness & death.

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) January 19, 2022

The number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the US has started to fall, from a peak 7-day moving average of over 808,000 per day on January 13 to just over 670,000 yesterday. pic.twitter.com/sVS4VTZmBs

— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) January 18, 2022

The daily Covid death toll in the US has declined slightly to 1,670 deaths per day, after rising last week. pic.twitter.com/TEGJdUanI2

— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) January 18, 2022

The latest "Nowcast" from @CDCgov suggests Omicron has pretty much swept the table. https://t.co/BAwPhsyPwW pic.twitter.com/WJkXYiHfs6

— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) January 18, 2022

======

A look at "confirmed" Covid deaths versus models estimating mortality at several times the recorded number of pandemic deaths pic.twitter.com/ydxJ1iuXoJ

— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 18, 2022

China reports fewest daily local confirmed COVID-19 cases in two weeks https://t.co/eBLLL9KBjg pic.twitter.com/P6uIVA7vh7

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 19, 2022

#BREAKING: Hong Kong to eradicate all hamsters for sales. City authorities stop the import of such rodents after 11 were tested positive for COVID-19 in a pet shop in Causeway Bay. All animals from that pet shop will be “disposed of,” as well as all hamsters for sale in the city.

— Ezra Cheung (@ezracheungtoto) January 18, 2022


Afraid the hamster(s) have already escaped that habitrail…

An estimated 2,000 animals will be culled after being tested for COVID-19. The decision is made after health officials reported two more human infections related to the pet store in Causeway Bay, where the owner was diagnosed with Delta infection earlier.

— Ezra Cheung (@ezracheungtoto) January 18, 2022

South Korea: Daily cases back above 4,000 amid omicron woes https://t.co/E1T2Xw4i9U

— Crawford Kilian (@Crof) January 18, 2022

Tokyo and a dozen other areas will be placed under new restrictions for COVID-19 effective Friday, allowing local leaders to shorten hours for eateries, as a surge in omicron cases threatens to paralyze society. https://t.co/JSgufk8nXw

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 19, 2022

Vietnam detects first Omicron cases in the community -state media https://t.co/UvjW6cPGRH pic.twitter.com/3emcfI9lM8

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 19, 2022

In actuality, Israel makes an excellent case for vaccination, including boosters:

1. Despite skyrocketing covid cases, deaths remain almost flat
2. Among those over 60, severe cases are overwhelmingly among the unvaccinated, with the boosted doing better than those with 2 doses pic.twitter.com/jo6xqqpkaK

— Yair Rosenberg (@Yair_Rosenberg) January 19, 2022

Russia reported 33,899 new Covid-19 infections, the most in six weeks, as Omicron becomes the dominant strain of the virus in Moscowhttps://t.co/XyE0DkyZTd

— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) January 19, 2022

Russia is shortening the required isolation period for people infected with COVID-19 from 14 days to seven. https://t.co/c0paY7Q56H

— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) January 18, 2022

Germany surpasses 100,000 daily COVID-19 cases for first time https://t.co/zuAO6hFP7H pic.twitter.com/UWhDkvs6Zc

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 19, 2022

Police in Germany are investigating thousands of cases of suspected forgery of COVID-19 vaccine certificates. German news agency dpa reports that numbers rose sharply last month, after new restrictions largely lock unvaccinated people out of public life. https://t.co/n0AVVsTari

— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) January 19, 2022

More than 900 Covid deaths recorded in England and Wales in first week of January https://t.co/k0CvNOtIAP

— Guardian World (@guardianworld) January 18, 2022

Britain reports 438 new COVID-19 deaths, highest since February https://t.co/iRVA5gQadu pic.twitter.com/5y060dcTqz

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 19, 2022

UK PM Boris Johnson expected to ease England's Covid restrictions https://t.co/hiIXi3YiRK

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 19, 2022

Brazil reports record daily COVID-19 infections as Omicron spreads https://t.co/Z0YCTVuf9K pic.twitter.com/iIg9w0sYuV

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 19, 2022

======

Caution: Pfizer's new oral Covid drug—Paxlovid—interacts w/ many heart meds. The antiviral received emergency-use approval in December for patients at high risk of severe illness. People w/ hypertension, Afib & other heart issues should know the risks https://t.co/XFCcEsq5Ti

— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 18, 2022

It's been a bit of a mystery here how decisions about updating Covid vaccines will be made. I can shed some light: @US_FDA plans to be part of an international effort to coordinate the updating of vaccine strains. https://t.co/SqJCkNsgvv

— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) January 18, 2022

WHO says there's no evidence healthy children or teens need Covid boosters. Chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said while there seems to be some waning of vaccine immunity against #OmicronVariant, more research is required to ascertain who needs boosters https://t.co/3Ge1utXcqY pic.twitter.com/41Z2vJ2mte

— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 18, 2022

======

The Omicron surge hasn't peaked nationwide, which means additional stress on understaffed hospitals in the grip of a highly contagious virus https://t.co/eoW3D98j6a

— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) January 19, 2022

Oh, and since FL officials have been crowing about NY's high case rate — while discouraging testing to suppress their own numbers — worth noting that even so FL now > NY 2/ pic.twitter.com/3Me0RVhSed

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) January 18, 2022

Oklahoma City hospitals are short of staff and overwhelmed, with no ICU or inpatient beds available as the Omicron variant causes a surge of Covid-19 patients, according to an open letter from leaders of the city's four major health care systems https://t.co/rYnYQyZRE4

— CNN (@CNN) January 18, 2022

Arkansas inmates sue over Covid treatment with horse dewormer https://t.co/iBRicEE08l

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 18, 2022

These people didn't want to be vaccinated long before mandates and passports were even a thing. https://t.co/9AOG1CUsSd

— AdotSad (@AdotSad) January 19, 2022

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Reader Interactions

56Comments

  1. 1.

    NeenerNeener

    January 19, 2022 at 6:10 am

    Monroe County, NY:

    There were 447 new laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of 1/18. There were 790 new positive home tests reported as of 1/18.

    Deaths up to 1644 now. There is no breakdown on vaccinated versus unvaccinated for new deaths.

    179 cases are hospitalized; 66% are not vaccinated.
    33 cases are in the ICU, 25 of those are also intubated.79% of those in the ICU are unvaccinated.

  2. 2.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    January 19, 2022 at 6:13 am

    One ICU doctor’s experience with a COVID patient. (Twitter thread.)

    Link to accompanying Post story.

  3. 3.

    raven

    January 19, 2022 at 6:16 am

    I had two left and I wasn’t feeling great so I took one and came up negative. I’m sure people can’t wait to chime in and tell me they don’t work but what the hell!

  4. 4.

    NotMax

    January 19, 2022 at 6:24 am

    FYI.

    Record numbers of Covid-19 infections have been reported in the Middle East and North Africa this week. Official figures show more than 570,000 new cases during the last seven days – indicating that the Omicron variant is now spreading rapidly in the region. Source

  5. 5.

    Cermet

    January 19, 2022 at 6:29 am

    @Steeplejack (phone):  Always tragic – why I never desire that end for anyone. Sad, if vaxxed the story would have been vastly different but freedum.

  6. 6.

    Cermet

    January 19, 2022 at 6:35 am

    @raven: Smart move; better to check! I remember my Lyme disease test was negative and I was really sick and had the bullseye rash so of course got treated; tests aren’t perfect and the body doesn’t produce enough antibodies for most Lyme tests until days after the infection (They don’t mention that.)

  7. 7.

    NotMax

    January 19, 2022 at 6:38 am

    Slovenia now is country number 69 to report a cumulative total in excess of 500k cases.

  8. 8.

    Steeplejack

    January 19, 2022 at 6:40 am

    Iconic fashion editor André Leon Talley is dead at 73.

    His death, after a series of health struggles, was confirmed by his friend Darren Walker, the president of the Ford Foundation.

    “André Leon Talley was a singular force in an industry that he had to fight to be recognized in,” Mr. Walker said, calling him a “creative genius” and noting his ability to craft a persona for himself out of “a deep academic understanding of fashion and design.”

    Called “The Only One” by The New Yorker by virtue of his being the rare Black editor at the top of a field that was notoriously white and notoriously elitist, Mr. Talley—6 feet 6 inches tall—was an unmistakable figure everywhere he went. Given to drama in his personal style (he favored capes, gloves and regal headpieces), his pronouncements (“My eyes are starving for beauty”) and the work he adored, he cultivated an air of hauteur, though his friends knew him for his subcutaneous sentimentality.

    He was, said the actress and talk show host Whoopi Goldberg in the 2018 documentary The Gospel According to André, “so many things he was not supposed to be.”

    He was the receptionist at Interview magazine under Andy Warhol; the Paris bureau chief of Women’s Wear Daily under John Fairchild; the creative director and editor at large of Vogue under Anna Wintour. He helped dress Michelle Obama when she was first lady, was an adviser and a friend to the designer Oscar de la Renta, and became a mentor to the supermodel Naomi Campbell. He cast Ms. Campbell as Scarlett O’Hara in a shoot for Vanity Fair that reimagined Gone with the Wind with Black protagonists long before fashion woke up to its own racism.

  9. 9.

    Steeplejack

    January 19, 2022 at 6:53 am

    @Steeplejack:

    ETA: No apparent link to COVID. Just using this as the current open thread.

  10. 10.

    YY_Sima Qian

    January 19, 2022 at 6:58 am

    On 1/16 China reported 55 new domestic confirmed (2 previously asymptomatic) & 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases.

    Shaanxi Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. 111 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There are currently 738 active domestic confirmed cases in the province.

    • Xi’an did not report any new domestic positive cases. 111 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 735 active confirmed cases in the city. 1 sub-district remains at High Risk. 4 sub-districts have been re-designated to Low Risk. 5 sub-districts remain at Medium Risk.
    • In the rest of the province there currently are 3 active domestic confirmed cases in the rest of the province (1 each at Yan’an, Xianyang & Weinan).

    At Yuncheng in Shanxi Province there currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case, a person arrived from Xi’an in Shaanxi.

    Guangdong Province reported 7 new domestic confirmed & 1 new domestic asymptomatic cases. There currently are 43 active domestic confirmed & 4 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.

    • Shenzhen report 1 new domestic confirmed case, a custodian of quarantine hotels for international flight crews, found via regular daily screening. There currently are 17 active domestic confirmed (1 Omicron) & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city, all but 1 in the same transmission chain. 1 residential compound & 3 residential buildings are currently at Medium Risk.
    • Zhuhai reported 6 new domestic confirmed cases, all at Nanping Township, all traced close contact already under centralized quarantine. There currently are 23 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases (all presumed Omicron) in the city, all part of the same transmission chain. 3 residential buildings are currently at Medium Risk. 
    • Zhongshan did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 2 active domestic confirmed cases (both presumed Omicron) in the city, part of the same transmission chain as the cases in Zhuhai. 1 residential building is currently at Medium Risk.
    • Meizhou did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case (Omicron) in the city, a traced close contact of domestic positive cases at Zhuhai.
    • Guangzhou reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case, a traced close contact already under centralized quarantine since 1/14. There currently is 2 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city, both custodians responsible for cleaning international flights at the airport, both have been living inside of the “closed loop” during their rotation.
    • At Dongguan there currently are 10 active domestic confirmed cases remaining, a secondary outbreak seeded by travels returning from Xi’an in Shaanxi.

    At Guangxi “Autonomous” Region there currently are 12 active domestic confirmed (11 at Dongxing in Fangchenggang & 1 at Ningming County in Chongzuo) & 1 active domestic asymptomatic (at Chongzuo) cases in the province.

    Tianjin Municipality reported 14 new domestic confirmed cases (2 previously asymptomatic, 12 mild & 2 moderate, 13 at Jinnan District), all from persons already under centralized quarantine. There currently are 326 active domestic confirmed & 12 active domestic asymptomatic cases (all presumed Omicron) in the city (306 at Jinnan District, 12 at Qingxi District, 6 at Hexi District & 1 each at Hongqiao & Dongli Districts). 7 residential compounds have been elevated to High Risk & 10 to Medium Risk. 12 residential compounds are currently at High Risk. 23 residential compounds & 3 villages are currently at Medium Risk.

    Beijing Municipality reported 1 new domestic confirmed (Omicron) & 1 new domestic asymptomatic (Delta) cases, a traced close contact of the domestic confirmed case reported on 1/15 & 1 found via mandatory screening from inter-regional travel. There currently are 3 active domestic confirmed (all Omicron) & 1 active domestic asymptomatic (Delta) cases in the city, suspected to be seeded by international post.

    Dalian in Liaoning Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 3 active domestic asymptomatic cases (all Omicron) in the city, part of the transmission chain from Tianjin.

    At Shanghai Municipality 1 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. There currently are 2 active domestic confirmed & 20 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 1 shop is currently at Medium Risk.

    At Jiangsu Province there currently are 1 active domestic confirmed (at Nanjing) & 2 active domestic asymptomatic cases (both at Wuxi) in the province.

    At Zhejiang Province 8 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 97 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases (at Hangzhou) in the province. A factory & a village at Jinhua remain at Medium Risk.

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

    Henan Province reported 33 new domestic confirmed cases. 2 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 358 active domestic confirmed cases in the province.

    • Zhengzhou reported 1 new domestic confirmed case, from persons already under centralized quarantine. There are 144 active domestic confirmed cases (all mild or moderate) in the city. 13 residential compounds & 2 residential buildings are currently at Medium Risk.
    • Xuchang reported 3 new domestic confirmed cases, all from persons under centralized quarantine. There are 361 active domestic confirmed cases in the city, all at Yuzhou. Yuzhou has completed the 11th round of mass screening, all results negative (the 1st time no cases have been found in the community), & is commencing the 12th round today. 1 township, 1 sub-district, 4 villages, 3 residential compounds, 1 community, 1 residential building & a school are currently at High Risk. All of Yuzhou is currently at Medium Risk (except for the High Risk areas there).
    • Anyang reported 29 new domestic confirmed cases (all at Tangyin County), all from persons under home or centralized quarantine. There are 433 active domestic cases in the city (all presumed Omicron, 409 in Tangyin County, 19 at Wenfeng District, 2 each at Neihuang & Hua Counties, & 1 at Anyang County). 1 township & 1 school at Tangyin County are currently at High Risk. All of Tangyin County (except High Risk areas) is currently at Medium Risk, as are 1 district, 1 village, 1 residential compound & 1 residential building elsewhere in the city.
    • In the rest of the province 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 20 active domestic confirmed cases (10 at Luoyang, 5 at Zhoukou, 3 at Xinyang & 2 at Shangqiu). The Medium Risk community & Medium Risk village at Luoyang have been re-designated to Low Risk.

    At Yunnan Province there currently are 7 active domestic confirmed (2 at Dehong Prefecture & 5 at Kunming) & 3 active domestic asymptomatic (1 at Dehong Prefecture & 2 at Sipsongpanna Prefecture) cases in the province.

    Imported Cases

    On 1/16, China reported 32 new imported confirmed cases (2 previously asymptomatic), 35 imported asymptomatic cases, 5 imported suspect cases:

    • Shanghai Municipality – 15 confirmed cases, 2 Chinese nationals returning from the US & 1 each from Columbia (via Frankfurt), Papua New Guinea (via Australia), Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Côte d’Ivoire (via Paris CdG), Namibia (via Frankfurt), Finland, Hungary (via Frankfurt), Germany, a French national coming from France, a Hungarian national coming from Hungary (via Frankfurt), & a Japanese national coming from Japan; 5 suspect cases, no information released
    • Beijing Municipality – 5 confirmed cases, 2 Chinese nationals returning from Germany, an Austrian national coming from Germany, an Uzbek national coming from Uzbekistan, & a Guatemalan national coming from Turkey; 1 asymptomatic case, no information released
    • Qingdao in Shandong Province – 4 confirmed cases, 3 Chinese crew members off a cargo ship w/ last port of call in South Korea, & a South Korean national coming from South Korea
    • Guangxi “Autonomous” Region (location not specified) – 2 confirmed & 4 asymptomatic cases, no information released
    • Chengdu in Sichuan Province – 2 confirmed cases (both previously asymptomatic), 1 Chinese nationals each returning from Canada & Niger
    • Guangzhou in Guangdong Province – 1 confirmed cases, a Chinese national returning from the US; 3 asymptomatic cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Australia, the Sudan & the US
    • Foshan in Guangdong Province – 1 confirmed case, coming from Saudi Arabia, off a flight that landed at Guangzhou
    • Shenzhen in Guangdong Province – 1 asymptomatic cases, a Chinese national returning from Singapore
    • Xiamen in Fujian Province – 1 confirmed case, no information released
    • Putian in Fujian Province – 1 asymptomatic case, no information released
    • Yunnan Province (location not specified) – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from Myanmar; 11 asymptomatic cases, 9 Chinese nationals returning from Laos & 3 from Myanmar; all via land border crossings
    • Kunming in Yunnan Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Thailand
    • Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province – 9 asymptomatic cases, 3 coming from Ecuador, 2 from Iraq & 1 each from Egypt, Tanzania, the UK & the US

    Overall in China, 163 confirmed cases recovered (42 imported), 26 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (25 imported) & 4 were reclassified as confirmed cases (2 imported), & 2,556 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 3,454 active confirmed cases in the country (1,275 imported), 15 in serious condition (all domestic), 767 active asymptomatic cases (717 imported), 11 suspect cases (all imported). 57,290 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.

    As of 1/16, 2,947.136M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 5.025M doses in the past 24 hrs.

    On 1/17, Hong Kong reported 16 new positive cases (12 are suspected to be Omicron), 9 imported & 7 domestic (5 are traced close contacts & 2 w/o sources of infection identified, yet).

    On 1/17, Taiwan reported 54 new positive cases, 44 imported (10 from the US, 6 from the Philippines, 3 from the UAE, 18 yet to be published) & 10 domestic (1 w/o source of infection identified, yet).

  11. 11.

    debbie

    January 19, 2022 at 7:10 am

    @Steeplejack (phone):

    ?  Fuck these people who don’t take this seriously.

  12. 12.

    debbie

    January 19, 2022 at 7:11 am

    @raven:

    Good thing you weren’t on Twitter last night. “I worry the tests won’t work because it’s so cold outside.”

  13. 13.

    raven

    January 19, 2022 at 7:13 am

    @debbie: I worried my double mask wouldn’t work at the National Championship Superspreader but not enough not to go!

  14. 14.

    Mousebumples

    January 19, 2022 at 7:15 am

    @raven: only future testing suggestion I have for you (and others) is to do a throat + nasal swab with Omicron so highly prevalent.

    No official CDC recommendations as such, but the epidemiologists i follow on Twitter say that’s more likely to give you a positive test (**if you have covid) as Omicron is more in the chest than sinuses, I guess

    And if your symptoms continue, i think they recommend retesting in a few days? I can’t remember current guidelines this early in the am, but like 5 days after a known or expected exposure, maybe?

  15. 15.

    Steeplejack

    January 19, 2022 at 7:17 am

    I’ve got a dilemma coming up. My birthday is next week, and my brother has texted me about having a (small) party. I realize that, not really by design, my primary COVID strategy so far has been isolation, and I have to admit that the Sighthound Hall mob is probably my main point of exposure: two kids in elementary school, my brother’s husband working as a teacher in a D.C. school. They’re all vaxed and boosted to whatever the current standard is (dunno if kids are getting boosters), but my brother and the BIL caught mild breakthrough cases back in the fall.

    I realize that Omicron is “mild,” but as a geezer I’m at the bad end of the demographic distribution. It may be true that “everyone’s going to get it,” but I’d prefer to put off that day as long as possible, like maybe until I have a good shot at a hospital bed if I need it, rather than a gurney in the hall somewhere.

    I told my brother maybe we can do something the following weekend, but I’m not even sure about that. But at the same time I’m wondering if I’m being too timorous. The problem is that nothing is clear until after the fact. Either “Boy, we really overreacted to that Omicron thing” or “Well, Uncle Steep had a good life—we’ll miss him!” Or just “I caught a mild case like everybody else.”
    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  16. 16.

    OzarkHillbilly

    January 19, 2022 at 7:21 am

    Hey Soprano, in light of the overflowing OKC hospitals, how are the hospitals in Springfield/Joplin?

  17. 17.

    debbie

    January 19, 2022 at 7:26 am

    @Steeplejack:

    I passed on meeting two lifelong friends for lunch for my birthday  (between Thanksgiving and Christmas). I miss them both loads, but it’s just not worth getting sick.

  18. 18.

    Suzanne

    January 19, 2022 at 7:28 am

    @Steeplejack:  You have just described the exact process of every decision I make right now. I have been electing to go with some limited fun, but I don’t know if that’s rational. It is probably magical thinking. I have had a mildly sore throat for a few days, but that is also very normal for me when the air is very dry and cold, as it is right now. No other symptoms. I am sure that, were you to get it, it would be mild. But I also understand not wanting to fuck around.

  19. 19.

    frosty

    January 19, 2022 at 7:31 am

    @Steeplejack:  Skip the party this year. Your reasoning is solid. Omicron is still rampant; a friend who’s more cautious than me got it at the end of December. I’m with you on “everybody gets it”. Thanks , I’ll wait my turn, you all go ahead.

  20. 20.

    sab

    January 19, 2022 at 7:35 am

    @Steeplejack: That is sad.

    His Aunt Georgia was my mom’s mother’s helper when she was a teenager and I was a toddler. We still remember her fondly. My first big personal loss when she left me to go home to college.

  21. 21.

    Mousebumples

    January 19, 2022 at 7:37 am

    @Steeplejack: is it warm enough where you are to meet outside (eg at a park or in a backyard) for a stretch? Might be an in between sort of get together option then?

  22. 22.

    frosty

    January 19, 2022 at 7:39 am

    @Suzanne: I’m with you on calibrating limited fun. I’ve been playing guitar with a friend all last year and we even did an open mic in December. I haven’t even jammed with him since.

    It’s not stopping us from our upcoming Snowbird Road Trip though. We’ve made it the last two years, but February in Florida with Omicron???

  23. 23.

    WereBear

    January 19, 2022 at 7:40 am

    @Mousebumples: That’s good advice, thanks!

  24. 24.

    Jay

    January 19, 2022 at 7:42 am

    @Steeplejack: 

    Maybe, outdoors.

    Saw some old friends last week. We all had pho, ( take out), parked in the annex lot behind the Amoury, took up 8 parking spots in an empty lot, ate in our lawnchairs, well distanced, chatted while listening to tunes on the car stereo’s.

  25. 25.

    WereBear

    January 19, 2022 at 7:43 am

    @Steeplejack: Hey, it’s YOUR birthday. Postpone it for a bit longer, even. So you can enjoy it, right?

    If they want a get together, let them get together and then you can call in :)

    I have passed up more social invitations, even from people who are careful, simply because there were too many ways this can go wrong…

  26. 26.

    Steeplejack

    January 19, 2022 at 7:45 am

    @Mousebumples:

    We’re in NoVA, currently in the icy grip of actual winter weather (currently 32°, threat of light snow tomorrow morning). It’s not important enough to me to go to extreme measures just to “get together.” I can wait to see them. My current strategy is to see how things look after Omicron supposedly peaks in the next week or two.

  27. 27.

    Suzanne

    January 19, 2022 at 7:45 am

    @frosty: I have been going to yoga classes. Indoors yes, but masked, and the room has a giant HEPA filter that goes across the ceiling, and it is very hot and steamy in there. That has really been the extent of my fun during this insanity. I’m sure it isn’t risk-free, but it has been so good for managing the hamster wheel of anxiety that this pandemic has brought to my mind. And my body feels much better after long days of WFH. So I don’t think there are absolute right answers, we’re all doing the best we can.

  28. 28.

    raven

    January 19, 2022 at 7:46 am

    @Mousebumples: Yea, I ran the swab in my throat a bit but probably not enough. I have one more left here and the gov’s on the way.

  29. 29.

    New Deal democrat

    January 19, 2022 at 7:48 am

    Internationally, cases are declining in all of the earliest hard hit countries – South Africa, the U.K., Ireland, Israel, and Canada- except for Portugal and Denmark, where they are still rising, but much more slowly. In South Africa, 4 weeks after the peak, cases are down 80% to the level they were at 2.5 weeks before the peak. In the U.K. they are down 45% from peak to the level they were at 12 days before the peak. Deaths are still rising in all of those countries except for South Africa, where they have plateaued.

    Nationwide in the US, after the post-MLK data dump, cases are still slightly below their level from last week, and are below their daily peak in all 4 Census regions. CA is now decreasing, which is a big factor in the West’s plateau. Deaths continue to increase slowly.

    Now here is a really interesting data point: 2 States where cases are still increasing at a significant rate are HI and VT, two of the most vaccinated States in the country (vs. PR, where cases are solidly in decline). HI was hit early; VT is the only Northeastern State still increasing.

    Meanwhile, the invaluable Charles Gaba reports that:
    https://acasignups.net/22/01/17/weekly-update-month-omicron-its-still-whole-new-ballgamebut-theres-already-hints-revert
    “Case rates have gone from being 2.1x higher in the least-vaccinated counties to being 2.1x higher in the most-vaccinated counties”
     
    And “The case rate ratio is a very different picture under Omicron. For the first month of Omicron, case rates are 1.9x higher in the bluest decile than the reddest.”

    In both cases, the rates are not so high as one week ago.

    This is of a piece with Portugal, with 90% fully vaccinated, but a severe and still rising Omicron outbreak.

    Meanwhile, a number of US States with low vaccination rates, but which were hit hard by Delta – including MI, IA, SD, MO, MT, ID, FL, AR, AL, KY, LA, MS, and WV – appear to be peaking or have already peaked; and at levels generally somewhat lower than most of the States that were less hard hit by Delta.

    If this holds up, it would mean that recent infection by Delta is protective against Omicron – in fact, more protective than at least un-boosted vaccination.

    Since the US is never going to get to 90% vaccination, the second best scenario is that the unvaccinated develop enough resistance to ameliorate future outbreaks. The data above is evidence in favor of that scenario.

  30. 30.

    New Deal democrat

    January 19, 2022 at 7:59 am

    @frosty: “

     

    @frosty:

    “February in Florida with Omicron???”

    If your friend is named Colonel Mustard or Miss Scarlet, for all that is holy DON’T GO!!!

  31. 31.

    YY_Sima Qian

    January 19, 2022 at 8:03 am

    Beijing just reported a new cluster of 5 cases, all cold chain logistics workers at a warehouse, found via regular weekly screening, 3 of whom started developing symptoms from 1/16, 1/17 & 1/18, respectively. The test results show mutations associated w/ the Delta Variant.

    The 3 clusters found in Beijing in recent days are located in Haidian District in NW of the city, Chaoyang District in the eastern part of the city, & Fangshan/Fengtai Districts in the SW suburbs (the cold chain warehouse is in Fangshan District). These clusters may well be separate introductions.

  32. 32.

    Soprano2

    January 19, 2022 at 8:13 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Not great, Mercy is almost 80% full and Cox is similar. Cases are the highest they’ve ever been – the 7-day count per 100,000 is over 1,000, which is much higher than any previous wave. Of course, we have counties down here where the vax rate is around 25%, so that contributes to it a lot. I don’t know if they’re getting patients from OK, but it wouldn’t surprise me

    ETA – our local public school closed down for the whole rest of the week due to staff and student absences. IMHO they shouldn’t have come back from Christmas break for 2 more weeks.

  33. 33.

    Cameron

    January 19, 2022 at 8:15 am

    @NotMax: Jesus.  The country only has a population of about 2 million.

  34. 34.

    OzarkHillbilly

    January 19, 2022 at 8:46 am

    @Soprano2: ​Don’t know where our hospitals are on the occupancy scale up here, but they’re still letting me in for PT.

  35. 35.

    WereBear

    January 19, 2022 at 9:18 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Glad to hear you can get medical care.

  36. 36.

    laura

    January 19, 2022 at 9:20 am

    Sending out well wishes for Amir Khalid.

  37. 37.

    Sloane Ranger

    January 19, 2022 at 9:27 am

    So, BoJo has announced the ending of all COVID restrictions, including masking, w.e.f. next Thursday. This was met with hysterical cheering from the Tory backbenches, especially the bit about masks. Why conservatives are so upset about wearing a simple piece of cloth when meeting others I will probably never understand. The media were expecting the mask mandate to remain, so this came out of the blue. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if the decision to end the mask mandate was a purely political one by BoJo to try to shore up his position, given that more and more Tories are calling for him to step down and we had a Tory backbencher defecting to Labour today. The sad part is Labour are supporting BoJo’s announcement. I usually support Keir Starmer’s decisions when Tony Jay etc. criticise him but here, I think he has made a mistake and should have put some distance between Labour and the government. I am particularly worried about the ending of the mask mandate. I live in an area where we are well below the national average in regard to vaccinations, with only 73.2% having had 2 jabs and 57.4% boosted and I know that, not only will the majority throw away their masks but, they will use the ending of restrictions as an excuse as to why they no longer need to be vaccinated.

    Anyway, Tuesday, we had 94,432 new cases. This is a decrease of 38.9% in the rolling 7-day average. New cases by nation,

    England – 84,987 (up 10,738)

    Northern Ireland – 4081 (up 786)

    Scotland – 3507 (up 597)

    Wales – 1857 (down 2118).

    Deaths – There were 438 deaths within 28 days of a positive test yesterday. This is an increase of 14.7% in the rolling 7-day average. 400 deaths were in England, 6 in Northern Ireland, 31 in Scotland and 1 in Wales.

    Tests – 1,363,401 tests took place on Monday, 17th. The rolling 7-day average is down 22.5%.

    Hospitalisations – There were 19,450 people in hospital and 713 on ventilators on Monday, 17th. The 7- day average for hospital admissions was down 2.9% as of 14th January.

    Vaccinations – As of Monday, 17th, 52,133,611 people had received 1 shot of a vaccine, 47,989,635 had had 2 and 36,546,583 had had a 3rd shot/booster. In percentage terms this means that, 90.7% of all UK residents aged 12+ have had 1 shot, 83.4% had had 2 shots and 63.6% had had a 3rd shot/booster.

  38. 38.

    Matt McIrvin

    January 19, 2022 at 9:33 am

    @New Deal democrat: When watching for very recent peaks, we need to watch out for the distorting effect of the long MLK Day weekend on weekly averages. MA’s averages look to have been artificially depressed by that at the beginning of this week.

  39. 39.

    Scout211

    January 19, 2022 at 9:35 am

    California is sending 21 million N95  masks to schools.

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

    Nearly 21 million high-quality N95 masks have gone out to county boards of education across California over the past 10 days and millions more kid-sized KN95 masks could be arriving as early as the end of this week, according to the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

    Cal OES has partnered with the state’s Department of Education for the distribution and so far 51 of the state’s 58 counties have made the requests.

    So 7 counties decided they don’t need any high quality masks for students and staff? It’s cute that the article added “so far.”

  40. 40.

    Matt McIrvin

    January 19, 2022 at 9:38 am

    @raven: It’s not so much that they don’t work, it’s that they’re pretty good at detecting whether you’re shedding enough virus to be contagious… but, especially with Omicron, and especially if you’re vaccinated so your immune system is primed to fight, you might start feeling symptoms before that point, when the rapid tests will still come up negative. Which is why they sometimes tell you to take a second test a few days later.

  41. 41.

    Matt McIrvin

    January 19, 2022 at 9:46 am

    @New Deal democrat: …Looking at it county-by-county, if I had to guess, I’d say those low-vaccination red areas have actually not peaked yet, and what we’re seeing is not some extra protective effect of Delta infection over vaccination, it’s just the same pattern as with previous waves: urban blue areas get hit first, rural areas later.

    Antivaxxers are trying very hard to convey the lie that Omicron is only dangerous to vaccinated people, so it’s important to check twice with any seemingly paradoxical effects.

  42. 42.

    New Deal democrat

    January 19, 2022 at 10:06 am

    @Matt McIrvin:

    “it’s just the same pattern as with previous waves: urban blue areas get hit first, rural areas later.”

    I considered that. If cases in rural areas were still increasing sharply, I would agree. But they appear to be peaking, so I rejected that idea. We’ll see in about a week.

  43. 43.

    Barbara

    January 19, 2022 at 11:37 am

    @Steeplejack: Don’t do it.  Pick some other day — maybe the Vernal Equinox if that works out or whatever other day and have a party for everyone who has missed a birthday celebration over the last year.

  44. 44.

    smith

    January 19, 2022 at 11:49 am

    @New Deal democrat: I don’t think either urban-rural or high vax – low vax comparisons can account for the current trends across states. The ten states with the highest population-adjusted number of cases right now are RI, WI, VT, UT, HI, NC, DE, AR, AZ. I can’t see any clear pattern of urban vs rural in that list. At the county level, the CDC shows that both urban and rural counties show a very recent  downturn in cases, but that could be an artifact of the MLK holiday.

    The rates of vaccination (% of the whole population with 2 doses) in this group range from 52% to 78.6%. Currently the median % for 2-dose vaxxed in the 50 states plus DC is right about 60%. Four of these states are below the median, 6 are above. There might be a county-level effect of vax rate, but I don’t have easy access to that data.

    My own opinion is that we’re in a transitional period vis a vis the omicron surge, causing a lot of wobbliness in trend lines, and we’ll have to wait for the dust to settle before searching out any pattern among the states.

  45. 45.

    Matt McIrvin

    January 19, 2022 at 12:03 pm

    @smith: There’s also just the fact that if you get COVID and you don’t get sick enough to seek medical attention, whether that case shows up in stats at all depends on your willingness to get tested and report a positive result, which probably varies a lot by region.

  46. 46.

    Bill Arnold

    January 19, 2022 at 12:12 pm

    Semi-technical review of the current (as of today) state of rapid tests (in the US) for SARS-CoV-2 infection.
    Antigen Tests: Real World Data (Katelyn Jetelina, 2022/01/18)

    Bottom line: Use antigen tests. Use antigen tests. Use antigen tests. Do so wisely.
    Be aware of false negatives in the early stages of infection, and know that it can take several days after symptoms for the virus to take hold in your nose. Once you reach the tipping point, rapid tests are a reliable way to detect and monitor your infection.
    Trust your positive test during the Omicron wave.
    If at all possible, do not leave isolation without testing (I don’t care what the CDC says). If you can’t access tests, assume you are contagious for 10 days, and act accordingly.

    TL;DR Rapid tests have a very low false positive rate; assume infected if positive result. False negative rate is higher, and significant if there is rampant community spread. Multiple tests (spaced a bit; like 1/2 day + though she doesn’t say) will reduce the effective false negative rate.

  47. 47.

    WaterGirl

    January 19, 2022 at 12:15 pm

    @laura: Every day now the first thing I do on the covid thread is search for Amir’s name, hoping that he has left a comment.

  48. 48.

    Mike in Pasadena

    January 19, 2022 at 12:53 pm

    Although I hope I never have to use them, I ordered the 4 free tests from covidtests dot gov. My neice living in Arizona received a note from me asking her to order some. Word may be suppressed in red states.  Kidding. Sort of. (But did send her a text re ordering tests. She and partner have two under five girls so they are very concerned.)

  49. 49.

    StringOnAStick

    January 19, 2022 at 2:28 pm

    I read in the local news source this morning that the infections in this county (Deschutes, central Oregon) are 1 in 15 testing as positive.  The crowds in town over the MLK weekend and at the  ski area were large enough that it suddenly seems quiet here.

    Some good news: the planned ReAwaken America rally that was to be held a the county fairgrounds indoors in April has been moved to Salem after the Xtian nutjobs running this Gen Flynn-associated shitshow refused to require masks, as it said in the contract they signed.  Even better?  They are refusing to refund ticket prices ($250 at the top, $100 middle, maybe a few gratis tickets if you proved your need in person), or honor them at the new venue.  I wonder how many times they can pull this grift?

  50. 50.

    StringOnAStick

    January 19, 2022 at 2:29 pm

    @WaterGirl: I keep hoping to see he’s posted too.  My concern is growing every day.

  51. 51.

    WaterGirl

    January 19, 2022 at 2:41 pm

    @Steeplejack: Easy answer, Steep.  Just tell him that you would love to have a party and you’ll take him up on his kind offer as soon as you feel that your party wouldn’t put anyone at risk.

  52. 52.

    WaterGirl

    January 19, 2022 at 2:43 pm

    @StringOnAStick: Me, too.  It felt like about 10 days, and that was concerting, but when I realized yesterday that it had been 2 weeks I crossed the line into worrying.

    Come on Amir, whatever’s going on, fight hard and come back to us.

  53. 53.

    laura

    January 19, 2022 at 3:19 pm

    @WaterGirl: So dear, so missed, so very far away.

  54. 54.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    January 19, 2022 at 3:31 pm

    Thanks to everyone who commented on my dilemma. Just writing about it helped me to focus my thoughts, and your comments helped me resolve to skip a birthday celebration until things become (much) clearer than they are now.

  55. 55.

    dopey-o

    January 19, 2022 at 4:30 pm

    @Steeplejack: I told my brother maybe we can do something the following weekend, but I’m not even sure about that. But at the same time I’m wondering if I’m being too timorous. The problem is that nothing is clear until after the fact. Either “Boy, we really overreacted to that Omicron thing” or “Well, Uncle Steep had a good life—we’ll miss him!” Or just “I caught a mild case like everybody else.”

    You may want to postpone your bout of Omicron until such time when you can have 2 ICU nurses at your beck and call. Much better outcomes when the staff isn’t stretched thin and over worked.

    That might be April.

  56. 56.

    IdahoGoatGirl

    January 19, 2022 at 6:55 pm

    I know this is late in the day but I have been thinking of Amir a lot and wondering how we might be able to find someone local to him that knows something. I found this facebook page that I thought might be his, but I am not sure. Is there anyone out there that knows the language that might be able to contact someone from this friends list to find out if this is our Amir and if so, how he is doing?https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100061260014166

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