Here’s hoping this is the beginning of a new wave! Boston got hit hard, and early, and Tufts is one of the premier medical centers in this very competitive area. The pandemic is nowhere near over, but with luck & caution we might be bending the curve…
*Not* good news:
Experts say recent changes could hurt the United States' ability to see the beginning of a new COVID-19 wave. Those changes include how Americans are getting tests and a decision by federal officials to reduce the number of labs hunting for variants. https://t.co/XSAO4M6fY9
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 25, 2022
U.S. Covid funding has run out just as an #omicron subvariant is spreading across Europe & Asia. The White House is now pressing Congress for more Covid money https://t.co/CWjn52y9BW pic.twitter.com/Z5qBbISxlM
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) March 24, 2022
Note from a pediatrician:
PSA: Please test for COVID if you are having gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or abdominal pain. I am seeing a huge increase in these symptoms (sometimes without any upper respiratory symptoms). ??Spread the word?.
— Risa Hoshino, MD (@risahoshinoMD) March 24, 2022
Lots of coronavirus victims, and some doctors, chipping in to agree! Suspect it’s particularly important to be aware of this with children…
Found in December: A CDC coronavirus surveillance program at airports detected the 1st known case of the highly contagious #omicron subvariant BA.2 in December. The surveillance program tests travelers arriving from abroad https://t.co/zSFhktZskR
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) March 25, 2022
======
Glass half full!
China COVID cases fall, govt inspecting Shanghai, other outbreaks https://t.co/IRezRWi14M pic.twitter.com/UcofaEMut1
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 25, 2022
Glass half empty!
A surge of Covid cases across China, driven by the Omicron variant, is straining hospitals and prompting lockdowns of neighborhoods in Shanghai, where many residents are expressing dismay over China’s zero-tolerance approach to the virus.https://t.co/9zYdRFBPnU
— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 25, 2022
'Perfect storm:' Europe's dramatic rise in #coronavirus cases is occurring just as an #omicron subvariant has become prevalent and governments ditched masks & distancing recommendations https://t.co/Af7gVK3SLI
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) March 24, 2022
A scathing review has been released evaluating the "failures" of the policies that guided Sweden's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. https://t.co/zUCdXDlr1W
— ABC News (@ABC) March 25, 2022
… Into Year Three of the pandemic, new research shows there is no longer any question of whether Covid has spread widely in Africa. It has.
Studies that tested blood samples for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the official name for the virus that causes Covid, show that about two-thirds of the population in most sub-Saharan countries do indeed have those antibodies. Since only 14 percent of the population has received any kind of Covid vaccination, the antibodies are overwhelmingly from infection.
A new W.H.O.-led analysis, not yet peer-reviewed, synthesized surveys from across the continent and found that 65 percent of Africans had been infected by the third quarter of 2021, higher than the rate in many parts of the world. Just 4 percent of Africans had been vaccinated when these data were gathered.
So the virus is in Africa. Is it killing fewer people?…
Dr. Salim Abdool Karim, who is on the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Covid task force and who was part of the research team tracking excess deaths in South Africa, believes the death toll continentwide is probably consistent with that of his country. There is simply no reason that Gambians or Ethiopians would be less vulnerable to Covid than South Africans, he said.
But he also said it was clear that large numbers of people were not turning up in the hospital with respiratory distress. The young population is clearly a key factor, he said, while some older people who die of strokes and other Covid-induced causes are not being identified as coronavirus deaths. Many are not making it to the hospital at all, and their deaths are not registered. But others are not falling ill at rates seen elsewhere, and that’s a mystery that needs unraveling…
Some organizations working on the Covid vaccination effort say the lower rates of illness and death should be driving a rethinking of policy. John Johnson, vaccination adviser for Doctors Without Borders, said that vaccinating 70 percent of Africans made sense a year ago when it seemed like vaccines might provide long-term immunity and make it possible to end Covid-19 transmission. But now that it’s clear that protection wanes, collective immunity no longer looks achievable. And so an immunization strategy that focuses on protecting just the most vulnerable would arguably be a better use of resources in a place such as Sierra Leone…
Other experts cautioned that the virus remained an unpredictable foe and that scaling back efforts to vaccinate sub-Saharan Africans could yet lead to tragedy.
“We can’t get complacent and assume Africa can’t go the way of India,” Dr. Jha said.
A new variant as infectious as Omicron but more lethal than Delta could yet emerge, he warned, leaving Africans vulnerable unless vaccination rates increased significantly.
“We should really avoid the hubris that all Africa is safe,” he said.
======
A booster dose of vaccine against COVID-19 continues to provide robust protection against hospitalisation for older people nearly four months after getting the third dose, new data from the UK's Health Security Agency on Thursday showed. https://t.co/pVrDJgBpOE
— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) March 25, 2022
… Unvaccinated people who recover from an omicron coronavirus variant infection are left with paltry levels of neutralizing antibodies against omicron. They also have almost no neutralizing antibodies against any of five other coronavirus variants, including delta. People who were vaccinated before getting an omicron infection, however, have strong protection against all five variants, and they have some of the highest levels of neutralizing antibodies against omicron.
That’s all according to a new study surveying neutralizing antibody profiles in people who have all recovered from an omicron infection, with or without pre-existing immunity. The study was published Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine by a team of Austrian researchers. The researchers were led by virologist Janine Kimpel of the Medical University of Innsbruck.
Overall, the findings highlight that omicron is “an extremely potent immune-escape variant that shows little cross-reactivity with the earlier variants,” the authors conclude. As such, unvaccinated people who recovered from an omicron infection might not have protection from other variants. “For full protection, vaccination is warranted,” they conclude…
======
The United States has expelled migrants more than 1.7 million times without a chance to seek asylum since COVID-19 struck. @AP finds infection rates plunging among migrants crossing border from Mexico as decision nears on pandemic-related asylum limits. https://t.co/JjDSs3yhFY
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 25, 2022
Stay cautious, New Yorkers…
Manhattan Borough President:
On The Road – JanieM – Maine #4
New Deal democrat
US cases declined to a new Omicron low of 29,300. This is 2500 lower than one week ago. Deaths also declined to a new low of 833, a 2/3’s decline from their Omicron peak. Cases were down 2/3’s from their peak 6.5 weeks ago, so the decline in deaths is much more attenuated than that in cases.
The best US region is the Midwest, with cases essentially flat at 6 infections per 100,000, followed by the South, declining slightly to 8.5 cases, and both the Northeast, now rising, and the West, declining, and both at 10.5.
KY has the worst outbreak, rising sharply to 58.5 cases per 100,000, followed by AK at 28, and VT at 22. Every other State is below 20. The bottom 10 States are between 1.5 (NE) and 4.5 (WY).
Checking on Europe’s BA.2 outbreak, the UK has been flat for the past week (excluding its data dump 4 days ago), Greece is declining slightly, Germany is declining sharply, Italy has stopped rising in the past few days and appears to be at peak now, while France is still rising considerably. I see no reason to change my view that BA.2 waves, where they occur, typically only are lasting 3 weeks before they peak. Their amplitudes are varied, but even in those with the worst rises, a 100% increase has been about the peak, and a 50% rise seems to be closer to the middle of the range.
I suspect the US will have an increase to about 40,000-45,000 cases per day in the next few weeks, followed by an equally quick decline. That NJ and NY have only increased from roughly 10 to 12 cases per 100,000 in the past 10 days is encouraging in that regard.
Tony Jay
UK figures for yesterday.
98, 204 new cases (up 8487 on this time last week)
16, 975 hospitalised cases (up 2600 from last week)
165 Covid deaths (up 27 on this time last week)
So the trend is up, and this is with all protections being dumped and people being put off testing by difficulties in supply and the whole pointlessness of actually recording a positive test in an environment where employers are encouraged to treat it as just like any other bug.
Also, on Tuesday night (the 2 year anniversary of the first Lockdown announcement) my 9 year old tested positive, and this morning my girlfriend did the same. Both for the first time, both of them feel like crap.
Once again, thank you Sasha Flobalobalov for singlehandedly defeating Covid and making all of your anti-vax backbenchers so happy the supply of Partygate leaks suddenly dried up.
Baud
@Tony Jay:
That sucks. Hope they recover quickly.
NotMax
FYI.
New Deal democrat
About that “perfect storm” in Europe as tweeted by Delthia Ricks: In mid-December as Omicron first hit, the EU averaged 244,000 cases. At its BA.1 peak in late January, there were 1,270,000 cases. This declined to 450,000 three weeks ago, then rose to 660,000 three days ago, and is now 635,000, probably post-BA.2 peak.
Tony Jay
@Baud:
Yeah, me too.
It just grates that two years of being super careful (my girlfriend works in a special school with tons of vulnerable kids) are being tossed down the u-bend because Fatfuck needed to get a swathe of his nuttiest MPs and donor caste back onside, and the oh so independent British Media just… let him.
NeenerNeener
Monroe County, NY:
211 new cases. Ugh.
Raven
“Experts worry”. Duh
NotMax
The shifting phantom of normalcy.
YY_Sima Qian
On 3/24 Mainland China reported 1,301 new domestic confirmed (121 previously asymptomatic), 3,489 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 3 domestic suspect cases.
Guangdong Province reported 4 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic) & 7 new domestic asymptomatic cases.
Guangxi “Autonomous” Region reported 17 new domestic asymptomatic cases (12 at Fangchenggang, 2 each at Guigang & Qinzhou, & 1 at Chongzuo). 3 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 5 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 61 active domestic confirmed (34 at Fangchenggang, 3 each at Baise & Nanning, 19 at Qinzhou, & 1 each at Chongzuo & Guilin) & 253 active domestic asymptomatic cases (79 at Fangchenggang, 6 at Baise, 70 at Chongzuo, 83 at Qinzhou, 5 at Liuzhou, 4 at Beihai, 3 at Guilin, 2 at Guigang, & 1 at Nanning) in the province. 1 zone at Fangchenggang are currently at Medium Risk. 5 sites at Qinzhou are currently at Medium Risk.
Hunan Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed case, at Changsha, a traced close contact under centralized quarantine. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks. 2 zones at Huaihua are currently at Medium Risk, as are 4 sites at Changsha & 1 zone at Shaoyang.
Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 10 active domestic confirmed & 30 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Tianjin Municipality reported 25 new domestic confirmed (3 previously asymptomatic, 23 mild & 2 moderate) & 42 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 61 are traced close contacts already under quarantine & 3 via screening of residents in areas under movement control. 36 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 3 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 369 active domestic confirmed & 158 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 7 sites are currently at High Risk. 11 sites are currently at Medium Risk.
Shandong Province reported 13 new domestic confirmed (3 previously asymptomatic) & 140 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 9 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 18 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 839 active domestic confirmed cases & 2,387 active asymptomatic cases in the province. As not all of the administrative divisions in the province provide data on recoveries, I cannot track the count of active cases in all of the administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
At Shanxi Province 6 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case remaining in the province (at Jinzhong).
Hebei Province reported 24 new domestic confirmed & 288 domestic asymptomatic cases. 11 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 10 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 344 active domestic confirmed & 2,952 active asymptomatic case in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Liaoning Province reported 9 new domestic confirmed (3 previously asymptomatic) & 180 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 6 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 2 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 458 active domestic confirmed & 1,093 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Heilongjiang Province reported 23 new domestic confirmed (37 mild & 6 moderate) & 13 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 6 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 232 active domestic confirmed & 241 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Jilin Province reported 1,110 new domestic confirmed (91 previously asymptomatic, 1,099 mild & 11 moderate) & 900 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 349 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 102 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. As the province does not consistently break down recoveries by confirmed & asymptomatic cases or by jurisdictions, I can no longer track the count of active case counts in the different jurisdictions.
Beijing Municipality did not report any new domestic positive cases. 1 village & 1 community are currently at Medium Risk.
Shanghai Municipality reported 29 new domestic confirmed, 1,580 new domestic asymptomatic cases & 3 new domestic suspect cases, 1,467 of the new domestic positive cases are traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine, & the rest from screening of persons deemed at risk of exposure. 25 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 200 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. There currently are 199 active domestic confirmed & 6,550 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 18 sites are currently at Medium Risk.
Shaanxi Province reported 3 new domestic confirmed (all mild) cases. 34 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 280 active domestic confirmed & 2 active asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Hubei Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 2 active domestic confirmed (both moderate, 1 each at Wuhan & Shiyan) & 2 active domestic asymptomatic (at Xianning) cases in the province..
Jiangsu Province reported 25 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 4 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 10 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 65 active domestic confirmed & 403 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. As not all of the jurisdictions in the province track recoveries, I cannot track the count of active cases in all of the administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Anhui Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed (mild, at Wuhu) & 24 new domestic asymptomatic (19 at Tongling, 2 each at Hefei & Wuhu, & 1 at Anqing) cases. 16 of the cases at Tongling are tracked close contacts already under centralized quarantine & 3 via screening of residents in areas under movement control, the cases at Wuhu are a family of 3 arriving from elsewhere. 1 of the cases at Hefei recently arriving from elsewhere on 3/23, & the other is an ambulance driver found via regular screening. The case at Anqing is a traced close contact of domestic positive cases elsewhere. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered & 4 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 7 active confirmed (2 at Ma’anshan, 1 at Wuhu, & 4 at Tongling) & 122 active domestic asymptomatic (30 at Ma’anshan, 8 at Haozhou, 4 at Suzhou, 69 at Tongling, 3 each at Anqing & Hefei, 2 each at Wuhu & Bengbu, & 1 at Chuzhou) cases in the province. 3 sites at Ma’anshan & 4 at Tongling are currently at Medium Risk.
Zhejiang Province reported 3 new domestic confirmed (all previously asymptomatic) & 1 new domestic asymptomatic cases. As the province does not break down recoveries by imported versus domestic cases, I cannot track the count of active domestic cases in the province.
Gansu Province reported 4 new domestic confirmed & 29 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 18 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 6 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 177 active domestic confirmed & 291 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Fujian Province reported 17 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic) & 153 new domestic asymptomatic cases. There currently are 1,078 active domestic confirmed & 1,019 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
At Xining in Qinghai Province 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case in the city.
Guizhou Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed case, at Qiandongnan Prefecture, a person returning from Shanghai on 3/16, head tested negative on 3/17, 3/19 & 3/21. There currently are 9 active domestic confirmed (8 at Zunyi & 1 at Qiandongnan Prefecture) & 3 active domestic asymptomatic (all at Zunyi) cases in the city.
Jiangxi Province reported 23 new domestic confirmed (15 previously asymptomatic, 9 mild & 3 moderate) & 61 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 4 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. There currently are 43 active domestic confirmed & 266 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Henan Province reported 10 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic, 4 at Zhoukou, 3 at Luohe, 2 at Jiaozuo & 1 at Kaifeng) & 12 new domestic asymptomatic cases (5 each at Jiaozuo & Zhoukou & 1 each at Anyang & Luohe). All of the new domestic positive cases reported by Zhoukou, Jiaozuo & Anyang are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. The cluster at Luohe is a person traveling frequently to Zhoukou, as well as close contacts. The new domestic positive case reported by Kaifeng recently arrived from Changchun in Jilin. There currently are 42 active domestic confirmed & 30 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks. 7 sites at Puyang, as well as 2 at Zhoukou & 13 at Jiaozuo, are currently at Medium Risk.
Chongqing Municipality did not report any new domestic positive cases. 4 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 1 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. There currently is 50 active domestic confirmed & 14 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 3 dormitory buildings are currently at Medium Risk.
Sichuan Province did not report any new domestic positive cases.
Yunnan Province reported 3 new domestic confirmed & 15 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 3 domestic confirmed case recovered & 23 new domestic asymptomatic were released from isolation. There currently are 67 active domestic confirmed & 373 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining in the province. As the province does not break down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Imported Cases
On 3/24, Mainland China reported 65 new imported confirmed cases (11 previously asymptomatic, 3 in Guangdong), 133 imported asymptomatic cases, 2 imported suspect cases:
Overall in Mainland China, 725 confirmed cases recovered (183 imported), 507 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (165 imported) & 132 were reclassified as confirmed cases (11 imported), & 21,923 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 26,892 active confirmed cases in the country (1,182 imported), 50 in serious condition (1 imported), 27,046 active asymptomatic cases (1,455 imported), 16 suspect cases (13 imported). 371,757 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
As of 3/24, 3,243.599M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 4.429M doses in the past 24 hrs.
On 3/25, Hong Kong reported 10,405 new positive cases, 4 imported & 10,401 domestic (4,574 via RT-PCR & 5,827 from rapid antigen tests), 162 deaths + 30 backlogged deaths.
On 3/25, Taiwan reported 136 new positive cases, 122 imported & 14 domestic.
danielx
Dammit. Daughter unit has been undergoing bouts of cramps and diarrhea with no apparent cause. Covid as a proximate cause never occurred to me. Good to have a stash of test kits.
Baud
@danielx:
Let us know!
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s Ministry of Health reported 24,316 new Covid-19 cases yesterday in its media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 4,079,242 cases. It also reported 64 deaths for an adjusted cumulative total of 34,664 deaths – 0.85% of the cumulative reported total, 0.90% of resolved cases.
Malaysia’s nationwide Rt stands at 0.91.
139 confirmed cases are in ICU, 90 of them on ventilators. Meanwhile, 25,512 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 3,796,975 patients recovered – 93.1% of the cumulative reported total.
Four new clusters were reported yesterday, for a cumulative total of 6,922 clusters. 251 clusters are currently active; 6,671 clusters are now inactive.
24,019 new cases reported yesterday were local infections. 297 new cases were imported.
The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) administered 27,812 doses of vaccine on 24th March: 5,900 first doses, 1,680 second doses, and 20,232 booster doses. The cumulative total is 68,607,824 doses administered: 27,449,858 first doses, 25,794,167 second doses, and 15,574,997 booster doses. 84.1% of the population have received their first dose, 79.0% their second dose, and 47.7% their booster dose.
Soprano2
I’m starting to think the Democrats in Congress who deep sixed the Covid money because it took unused money that was going to the states really fucked up. They should have gritted their teeth and done it, but I understand why they didn’t because I bet most of them are running for re-election this fall, and didn’t want to be attacked for taking money away from their constituents.
smith
A few days ago someone here was wondering about how we can have any certainty about what’s going on when some state officials (*cough*DeSantis*cough*) are not only continuing to suppress covid data, but are ratcheting up the shenanigans. I recently stumbled across a striking example of this: If you go to the CDC page where they let you compare trends between states and regions, you’ll see a highly improbable trend for deaths in FL, where they’ve supposedly plummeted smoothly and rapidly over the last few weeks to reach what seems to be about the lowest rate in the nation (You’ll have to remove the data for NY to see this clearly, as the death numbers from early in the pandemic there dwarf the other curves).
You can compare this to the trends for FL deaths at 91-divoc (based on Johns Hopkins’ data) and the NYT, which I think is based on a variety of sources. Those both show a pattern of a much slower and halting decline in deaths in FL, with the current rate per 100k the 19th highest among states.
I am assuming that CDC posts the official counts reported to them by state agencies, and Johns Hopkins and NYT rely on a number of other sources as well, and that the different graphs reflect the differences between fake political numbers and more nearly accurate ones compiled from additional sources to the official ones.
There was another thing that struck me in looking at these graphs: Throughout the pandemic, the pattern has been for death trends to look much more “raggedy” than those for cases. Deaths typically show a lot of ups and downs, short reversals, and usually slower descent from peaks. The CDC death numbers from FL, especially since the start of the delta wave, show smooth, rapid ups and downs. Seeing them on the same graph as those from other large states, such as TX and CA makes it very clear that something quite different is going on in FL.
I’d be tempted to to just shrug and say, what can you expect from FL?, except that these fake numbers infect CDC’s national compilations, upon which CDC bases national policy. And since FL’s a high population state it has a large impact on that policy, to the detriment of the rest of the country.
Cameron
Not just the guv – looks like the vast majority of Floridians in my neck of the woods have decided COVID is gone. Went to an indoor meeting the other day: of about 20 present, only one other person and I were masked. Stopped by the pharmacy to see if I could score some of those nice N95’s, figuring I’d get my allotted 3 and leave content. Cashier gave me a bag with 20 of them, since nobody seems to want them. 2022 continues to be very strange down here.
WaterGirl
@Tony Jay: Sorry to hear about your 9-year-old and your girlfriend. Hoping you have managed to avoid it. Wishing for a quick recovery for all.
Asparagus Aspersions
@Tony Jay: Really sorry to hear that. What a kick in the teeth after two years of diligence. I hope they’re on the mend soon.
Here in France, the reality of Covid cases shooting up is colliding with the upcoming presidential elections. The first round is in two weeks, and the Health Minister is insisting that dropping the mask mandate for indoor spaces, and the vaccine pass for restaurants, etc, has nothing to do with the electoral timelines, and everything to do with public health. Uh-huh. If you drained all the oceans, you would still not have enough salt with which to take that statement.
YY_Sima Qian
@Tony Jay: So sorry to hear about your daughter’s & girlfriend’s infections! Hope they recover quickly.
Tony Jay
@YY_Sima Qian:
Son, he’s got long hair and is ridiculously pretty, but he’s definitely got a winkle 8-)
Thanks, though. Fingers crossed they’ll get through it without any lingering side-effects.
Matt McIrvin
@New Deal democrat: Exponential growth always looks slow then fast. Right now, R values in much of Massachusetts are back above 1, cases are increasing, but overall rates are still very low by Omicron wave standards so few are taking it very seriously. But, just anecdotally, it sure seems like a lot of people I know have kids who just caught COVID at school. Statewide, it’s still young adults/older teens with the highest rates but I see the average rates in the younger age brackets creeping up. I have no doubt that the lifting of school mask mandates is contributing.
YY_Sima Qian
@Tony Jay: :-D