The Senate strikes a deal to provide $10 billion for Covid funding after Democrats dropped a last-minute attempt to include global vaccination funds in the bill https://t.co/TIx1NGSmsI via @bpolitics @Alexruoff
— Erik Wasson (@elwasson) April 4, 2022
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration‘s expert advisers will discuss the timing of additional COVID-19 vaccine boosters and the people eligible for the extra shots in a meeting later this week, the health agency said on Monday.
The independent advisers will also discuss at the April 6 meeting the FDA’s role in how future versions of COVID vaccines are created to help fight new variants.
It could be similar to the current process of selecting the composition of the seasonal flu shot, where regulators pick the strain to use for the coming year’s vaccines, FDA staff said in briefing documents ahead of the meeting…
“The greatest concern many of us have is the acceptability of continuing boosters,” Schaffner said.
The FDA’s staff said on Monday that new variants are often more infectious, transmissible and distinct from earlier virus strains.
“The accumulating data suggest that the composition of vaccines may need to be updated at some point to ensure the high level of efficacy demonstrated in the early vaccine clinical trials,” FDA staff said in briefing documents ahead of the April 6 meeting.
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China's population is not fully vaccinated, has only been exposed to the now-extinct 2019 Wuhan strain of #SARSCoV2 and got a vax that is useless against #Omicron .
So this is very worrying. pic.twitter.com/pTvPwLLuSa— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) April 4, 2022
Washington Post reporter:
"The city, which is grappling with a record number of daily Covid cases, has become the biggest — and potentially costliest — example of China's insistence on adhering to its strict elimination strategy" | Analysis https://t.co/YZtNBLB7cG
— CNN (@CNN) April 4, 2022
Thousands of healthcare workers arrive in Shanghai to carry out mass COVID testing of the city’s 26 million residents. Some residents were awoken before dawn by hammering on their front doors to be swabbed for the virus https://t.co/9NPtB1zix5 pic.twitter.com/JTgrAwqXXw
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 4, 2022
… [M]ismanagement of lockdowns and other restrictions have led to growing discontent and confusion across the city. Social media posts expressing anger, desperation and frustration have flooded the Chinese internet. Residents have been unable to get help for life-threatening situations through official channels. Patients could not secure their regular medical assistance. Infected parents have been separated from their toddlers. And residents locked indoors scrambled to find essential supplies.
Many have wondered why infected residents must go to isolation centers instead of isolating at home. Ms. Sun’s instructions offered little hope that Covid policies in the city would relax anytime soon. Instead she called for officials to do a better job meeting residents’ basic needs even under lockdowns.
“It is an arduous task and huge challenge to combat the Omicron variant while maintaining the normal operation of core functions in a megacity,” she said.
With Shanghai being a critical economic and industrial hub, Ms. Sun stressed the strict implementation for factory bubbles for key industries, a “closed loop” system that is similar to the one used during the recent Olympic Games, to ensure their normal operations and the stability of supply and industrial chain.
Shanghai’s health commission on Sunday reported 8,226 confirmed new cases, of which 7,788 were asymptomatic. The city has seen a tenfold increase in daily new cases, from just 758 cases two weeks ago. Over 30,000 cases were identified in the last month.
On Sunday, the city stepped up its testing efforts by ordering all citizens to conduct their own rapid tests before the city carried out another round of mass P.C.R. testing the next day…
Hungry residents in Shanghai break out of their compound to go food shopping. I'm seeing more and more chaotic and disorderly videos like this every day. pic.twitter.com/EvCcyK6U2d
— Cameron Wilson ??? (@CameronWEF) April 3, 2022
Shanghai is traumatising itself. https://t.co/qhAtsJYQzY
— Drew Thompson 唐安竹 (@TangAnZhu) April 5, 2022
Smart #pandemic governance: #Bangladesh ??takes advantage of a lull in new #COVID19 cases to #vaccinate 12 million people in 3 days, using #vaccines donated by the USA?? to #COVAX . @gavi https://t.co/KfeoINDwDF
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) April 4, 2022
Hello Canada! I know that many of us have moved into the what pandemic? phase of the pandemic. Less testing. Fewer (if any) precautions.
Unfortunately for us, pandemics aren’t impacted by whether people care about them or not. https://t.co/LYAIqU4P8g
— Dr. Angela Rasmussen (@angie_rasmussen) April 4, 2022
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In the lab: New study is uncovering why #LongCovid causes pain. Some people w/ LongCovid have various forms of pain. Mt. Sinai study in NYC. Team found infection leaves a gene expression signature in the dorsal root ganglia even after the virus clears https://t.co/URaBPswQu7
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) April 4, 2022
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… Since the pandemic started, experts have warned of a mental health crisis facing American children. That is now playing out at schools in the form of increased childhood depression, anxiety, panic attacks, eating disorders, fights and thoughts of suicide at alarming levels, according to interviews with teachers, administrators, education officials and mental health experts.
In low-income areas, where adverse childhood experiences were high before the pandemic, the crisis is even more acute and compounded by a shortage of school staff and mental health professionals.
Luna-Herrera, who teaches in a high poverty area of the Mojave Desert, is among a small but growing number of California teachers to take a course called Youth Mental Health First Aid. It teaches adults how to spot warning signs of mental health risks and substance abuse in children, and how to prevent a tragedy.
The California Department of Education funds the program for any school district requesting it, and the pandemic has accelerated moves to make such courses a requirement. The training program is operated by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing and available in every state.
“I don’t want to read about another teenager where there were warning signs and we looked the other way,” said Sen. Anthony Portantino, author of a bill that would require all California middle and high schools to train at least 75% of employees in behavioral health. “Teachers and school staff are on the front lines of a crisis, and need to be trained to spot students who are suffering.”…
the cynicism and irresponsibility of people who rode the horse paste train for subscribers and clout only to quietly abandon it when it turned out to be total bullshit is really breathtaking https://t.co/QRYi5Z21mE pic.twitter.com/3Auf35BRmS
— ryan cooper (@ryanlcooper) April 4, 2022
On The Road – Elma – A Mr. Frog
OzarkHillbilly
I ordered more free tests from the USPS just to have them on hand. What took over a month to arrive the first time, only took 3 days this time and it was 5 tests instead of 2.
Where does Joe Biden go to get his apology?
New Deal democrat
There was a gigantic data dump from KY yesterday, reporting 199,000 cases and 2166 deaths, which threw the national averages way off (214,000 cases and 2739 deaths!). Omitting KY’s numbers, the US had 25,300 cases (the lowest since the middle of last July, and lower than all but 3.5 months in the past two years) and 574 deaths (also the lowest in two years except for 3 months).
Cases are rising in AK, AZ, CT, HI, IL, ME, MD, MA, NE, NJ, OR, PA, PR, RI, SD, VT, and WI. In NY, and the Northeast as a whole, cases are still rising, but the rate of increase has slowed considerably in the past week. NY is probably within a week of peaking.
In Europe only Germany and Malta are still rising. France has peaked during the past week, and the U.K. is now declining. Canada also appears to have peaked after only 2 weeks.
The CDC has updated its variant prevalence data, showing that BA.2 makes up 72 % of all US cases, 75% on the West Coast, and 84% in the Northeast. Any national increase due to BA.2 is probably going to peak in about 2 weeks. I still see deaths declining to 200, or possibly even 100, within the next month.
Guac
@OzarkHillbilly: My free USPS tests arrived very quickly for the 2nd order too. I also discovered that if I buy rapid tests, my insurance requires that I send them the original receipt, the original bar codes (cut them off the boxes), and a 2 page form… all snail-mailed to their office.
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
It’s almost as if it’s more difficult to get something started than to keep it going.
NeenerNeener
Monroe County, NY:
205 new cases.
Deaths at 1815 now, up 4 from last week.
Vaccinations now at 71.8%.
I ordered a 2nd batch of free tests over the weekend; maybe these will take less than 2 months to be delivered.
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s Ministry of Health reported 10,002 new Covid-19 cases yesterday in its media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 4,256,469 cases. It also reported 28 deaths for an adjusted cumulative total of 35,127 deaths – 0.83% of the cumulative reported total, 0.86% of resolved cases.
Malaysia’s nationwide Rt stands at 0.86.
105 confirmed cases and 133 suspected cases are in ICU; of these patients, 55 confirmed cases and 85 suspected cases are on ventilators. Meanwhile, 23,302 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 4,041,723 patients recovered – 95.0% of the cumulative reported total.
No new clusters were reported yesterday, and the cumulative total remains at 6,940 clusters. 173 clusters are currently active; 6,767 clusters are now inactive.
9,904 new cases reported yesterday were local infections. 98 new cases were imported.
The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) administered 22,081 doses of vaccine on 4th April: 2,630 first doses, 8,155 second doses, and 11,296 booster doses. The cumulative total is 69,016,063 doses administered: 27,532,626 first doses, 25,832,699 second doses, and 15,862,983 booster doses. 84.3% of the population have received their first dose, 79.1% their second dose, and 48.6% their booster dose.
Ohio Mom
I guess that’s the work around for free tests for people who have family members on Medicare, just have grandpa and grandma order lots of tests for themselves. 8 tests a month is pretty generous.
Maybe oldsters could supplement their measly Social Security selling extra test kits on tne side.
On a completely different note, any word on vaccinations for the under fives? Asking for a neice with a two year old.
germy
@NeenerNeener:
I ordered on a Saturday, it arrived Tuesday morning.
Soprano2
@New Deal democrat: I think those data dumps are going to become more common as more states quit having daily reporting of Covid numbers. Ours here are still looking good; the 7 day average of cases is 12, the number in the hospital is 16, which is lower than the lowest number in 2021. Boy we got there the hard way though – it’s still showing 54.05% fully vaxxed but that # hasn’t been updated since Friday. There were only 2 Covid deaths in March, which is the lowest monthly death toll since July 2020.
New Deal democrat
@Soprano2: “those data dumps are going to become more common as more states quit having daily reporting of Covid numbers”
I agree. I noticed that, going through individual States’ numbers. More and more are going to periodic reporting. The worst offender is, as you might expect, Florida, which is now reporting *less* than once a week (deliberately I suspect), which means its 7 day average is meaningless as well.
MattF
Got booster #2 (Pfizer) at CVS yesterday. Arm was a bit sore, took Tylenol before bed, now OK.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Yes, moving people around who are infected sounds like a great way to spread Omicron. It seems like Chines are treating Omicron like Alpha.
Suzanne
@Ohio Mom:
ERRRRRGH NO KIDDING.
The radio silence on this issue makes me crazy.
I took SuzMom for her second booster on Friday afternoon and my Doodlebug still hadn’t even had the first shot.
I cannot help but feel that this is yet another instance of Boomers who drive public policy pulling up the ladder behind them.
Ohio Mom
@Suzanne: As I understand it, Pfizer’s attempt at an under-five vaccine fizzled because the dose was too small. They were afraid that a larger dose would have side effects that would scare people off.
A while back I heard Moderna’s version was being submitted for approval but I haven’t heard anything since.
Sloane Ranger
Monday in the UK we had 143,382 new cases reported. This number includes cases that occurred over the weekend as the Dashboard is no longer updated on Saturdays and Sundays. The rolling 7-day average is down 22.4%. New cases by nation,
England – 122,027
Northern Ireland – 2688
Scotland – 17,182
Wales – 1485.
Deaths – There were 210 deaths within 28 days of a positive test reported over the weekend and on Monday. The rolling 7-day average is up by 11.1%. 152 deaths were in England, 13 in Northern Ireland, 38 in Scotland and 7 in Wales.
Testing – 497,415 tests took place on Monday. The rolling 7-day average is down 14.2%.
Hospitalisation – There were 19,903 people in hospital and 352 on ventilators on Friday, 1 April. The 7-day average for hospital admissions was up 9.9.% as of 29 March.
Vaccinations – As of 3rd April, 91.9% of all UK residents aged 12+ had had 1 shot; 86% had had 2, and 67.65 had had a 3rd shot/booster.
Bruce K in ATH-GR
Greece: the Tuesday numbers are out, reported by Kathimerini – 18,988 new cases, up from 18,425 Monday but down significantly from the 29,072 new cases reported last Tuesday, March 29. 70 deaths reported in connection with the coronavirus. 358 ICU patients currently intubated, down from 365 yesterday.
Unvaccinated health care workers have been suspended from their jobs, and that will continue.
The validity of standard vaccination certificates has been extended from seven to nine months, while the validity of recovery certificates has been extended from three to six months. This brings them in line with EU recommendations. Boosted vaccination certificates remain valid without expiration dates.
The government is apparently not considering lifting indoor mask mandates at this time, citing the facts that most summer tourist activity takes place out-of-doors, and the benefit of masking far outweighs the inconvenience. Requirements for businesses to inspect vaccination/test certificates before allowing customers to enter may be phased out in May.
YY_Sima Qian
On 4/4 Mainland China reported 1,173 new domestic confirmed (100 previously asymptomatic), 15,239 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 0 domestic suspect cases.
Guangdong Province reported 3 new domestic confirmed & 1 new domestic asymptomatic cases.
Guangxi “Autonomous” Region reported 2 new domestic confirmed (both at Baise) cases. 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 13 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 19 active domestic confirmed (8 at Fangchenggang, 7 at Qinzhou, 2 at Baise & 1 each at Guilin & Yulin) & 233 active domestic asymptomatic cases (95 at Fangchenggang, 39 at Baise, 18 at Chongzuo, 63 at Qinzhou, 2 at Liuzhou, 8 at Guilin, 4 at Nanning, 3 at Beihai, & 1 at Guigang) in the province. 3 sites at Qinzhou are currently at Medium Risk.
Hunan Province reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic (at Hengyang) case, a person arriving from Shanghai on 3/28 & under centralized quarantine since. 8 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 36 active domestic confirmed & 11 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. 9 sites at Huaihua are currently at Medium Risk, as are 10 sites at Changsha & 1 village at Hengyang.
Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region 1 new domestic confirmed & 1 new domestic asymptomatic cases, both at Tongliao, both traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered & 2 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 6 active domestic confirmed (1 at Hohhot, 1 at Chifeng & 4 at Tongliao) & 18 active domestic asymptomatic (9 each at Hohhot & Tongliao) cases in the province. 1 residential compound at Chifeng is currently at Medium Risk.
Tianjin Municipality reported 2 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic) & 4 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 4 of the 5 new positive cases are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine & 1 via voluntary testing. 31 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 22 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. There currently are 132 active domestic confirmed & 142 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 6 sites are currently at High Risk. 4 sites are currently at Medium Risk.
Shandong Province reported 14 new domestic confirmed (3 previously asymptomatic) & 17 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 30 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 90 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 395 active domestic confirmed cases & 1,781 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.
Shanxi Province reported 4 new domestic confirmed (3 mild & 1 moderate, 1 each at Taiyuan, Jinzhong, Yuncheng & Linfen) & 2 new domestic asymptomatic (both at Taiyuan) cases. 2 of the cases at Taiyuan are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine & 1 arrived from Tianjin on 4/1. The cases at Yuncheng & Linfen are recent arrivals from elsewhere & under home quarantine. The case at Jinzhong is a traced close contact under centralized quarantine. There currently are 14 active domestic confirmed (5 each Xinzhou & Taiyuan, & 1 each at Datong, Jinzhong, Linfen & Yuncheng) & 4 active domestic asymptomatic (1 at Changzhi & 3 at Taiyuan) cases remaining.
Hebei Province reported 6 new domestic confirmed (3 previously asymptomatic) & 106 domestic asymptomatic cases. 19 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 141 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 165 active domestic confirmed & 1,972 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 3 new domestic confirmed (all mild) & 54 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 46 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 179 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 236 active domestic confirmed & 1,256 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 17 new domestic confirmed (all mild) & 10 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 17 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 16 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 198 active domestic confirmed & 215 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Jilin Province reported 792 new domestic confirmed (74 previously asymptomatic, 781 mild & 6 moderate & 5 serious) & 1,680 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 1,466 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 703 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 reported 8 new domestic confirmed (7 mild & 1 moderate) & 1 new domestic asymptomatic case, 1 eat fever clinic, 7 are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine & 1 returned from Shanghai on 3/31. All areas of the city are now at Low Risk.
Shanghai Municipality reported 268 new domestic confirmed (4 previously asymptomatic) & 13,086 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 12,606 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. 21 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 542 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 2,641 active domestic confirmed & 65,958 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 13 sites are currently at Medium Risk.
At Shaanxi Province 9 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 37 active domestic confirmed & 3 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. 1 residential compound at Tongchuan remains at Medium Risk.
Hubei Province reported 16 new domestic asymptomatic cases (12 at Suizhou, 1 at Ezhou, & 3 at Wuhan). 2 of the cases at Wuhan are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine & 1 arrived from area w/ active outbreak on 4/1 & under centralized quarantine. The case at Ezhou is a recent arrival from elsewhere on 4/3, passing through. The cases at Suizhou are all traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 68 active domestic asymptomatic (36 at Suizhou, 10 at Huangshi, 5 at & Xiaogan, 7 at Wuhan, 3 each at Ezhou & Huanggang, 2 at Jinzhou, & 1 each at Xianning & Xiangyang) cases in the province.
Jiangsu Province reported 7 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic) & 70 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 5 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 24 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 69 active domestic confirmed & 496 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 & 48 new domestic asymptomatic. 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 28 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 21 active confirmed & 518 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Zhejiang Province reported 17 new domestic confirmed (6 previously asymptomatic) & 25 new domestic asymptomatic case. 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 asymptomatic cases. 14 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 27 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 32 active domestic confirmed & 164 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Fujian Province reported 7 new domestic confirmed (3 previously asymptomatic) & 9 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 71 domestic confirmed case recovered & 61 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 749 active domestic confirmed & 1,766 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.
Xinjiang “Autonomous” Region reported 1 new domestic confirmed & 8 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 4 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 3 active domestic confirmed & 56 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the region.
Hainan Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed (at Danzhou) & 1 new domestic asymptomatic (at Haikou) cases, a traced close contact under centralized quarantine & 1 via community screening. There currently are 26 active domestic confirmed (9 at Haikou, 8 at Sanya, 5 at Qionghai, 2 at Danzhou & 1 each at Lingshui County & Wanning) & 43 active domestic asymptomatic cases (35 at Sanya, 4 at Haikou, & 1 each Qionghai, Chengmai, Wanning & Qiongzhong).
Guizhou Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed (at Xingyi in Qianxinan Prefecture) & 1 new domestic asymptomatic (at Puding County in Anshun) cases, both traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. 1 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. There currently are 5 active domestic confirmed (2 at Guiyang & 3 at Xingyi in Qianxinan Prefecture) & 3 active domestic asymptomatic (1 each at Puding County in Anshun, Xingyi in Qianxinan Prefecture & Liupanshui) cases in the city.
Jiangxi Province reported 2 new domestic confirmed (both mild) & 39 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 8 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 61 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. There currently are 25 active domestic confirmed & 262 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 31 new domestic asymptomatic cases (22 at Zhoukou, 8 at Yongcheng, & 1 at Zhengzhou). 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. The case at Zhengzhou is a traced close contact under centralized quarantine. There currently are 102 active domestic confirmed & 191 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. 2 sites at Zhoukou, as well as 3 at Luohe, are currently at Medium Risk.
Chongqing Municipality reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case, a traced close contact under centralized quarantine. There currently are 6 active domestic confirmed & 8 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 3 dormitory buildings are currently at Medium Risk.
Sichuan Province reported 12 new domestic confirmed (5 previously asymptomatic, all mild, 10 at Chengdu & 2 at Leshan) & 9 new domestic asymptomatic (4 each at Chengdu & Leshan, & 1 at Suining) cases. 4 of the new confirmed cases at Chengdu were previously asymptomatic, 9 of 10 new positive cases are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine & 1 is a recent arrived from elsewhere on 4/3. 2 of the cases at Leshan are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine & 2 via screening of residents under lock down. Both of the cases at Ziyang & Liangshan are recent arrivals from elsewhere & under quarantine. 3 residential compounds at Leshan are currently at Medium Risk.
Qinghai Province reported 2 new domestic confirmed cases (both mild, both at Xining), both traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. There currently are 11 active domestic confirmed cases in the province.
Yunnan Province reported 2 new domestic confirmed & 14 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 4 domestic confirmed case recovered & 15 new domestic asymptomatic were released from isolation. There currently are 33 active domestic confirmed & 173 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 4/4, Mainland China reported 62 new imported confirmed cases (21 previously asymptomatic, 2 in Guangdong), 116 imported asymptomatic cases, 0 imported suspect cases:
Overall in Mainland China, 1,899 confirmed cases recovered (90 imported), 1,795 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (133 imported) & 121 were reclassified as confirmed cases (21 imported), & 26,683 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 25,060 active confirmed cases in the country (591 imported), 63 in serious condition (all domestic), 97,803 active asymptomatic cases (1,026 imported), 17 suspect cases (all imported). 387,696 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
As of 4/4, 3,281.604M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 2.335M doses in the past 24 hrs.
On 4/5, Hong Kong reported 3,254 new positive cases, 16 imported & 3,238 domestic (1,642 via RT-PCR & 1,596 from rapid antigen tests), 81 deaths (13 fully vaccinated, including 1 boosted) + 6 backlogged deaths.
On 4/5, Taiwan reported 281 new positive cases, 65 imported & 216 domestic.
VeniceRiley
Wife went to Halifax and caught covid. Triple vaccinated Astra Zeneca. Symptomatic with fever and aches and isolating at the air bnb by herself. Omicron2 will put you right on your ass. Stay safe out there!
NeenerNeener
@germy: so mine are late again, then.
YY_Sima Qian
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Other cities in China are doing the same thing they have always done, from the Wuhan Variant through to Alpha, Delta & Omicron (including BA.2): isolating all positive cases, quarantining all F1 & F2 close contacts, frequent mass screenings at different levels of administrative divisions. They are managing to contain, suppress & eliminate Omicron BA.2 clusters & outbreaks, w/ far less resources than Shanghai. However, Shanghai let its outbreak develop to an excessive level before locking down, & now the prevalence is much higher than even Changchun or Jilin City in Jilin Province. Therefore, when you go on a bus to centralized quarantine w/ 50 other close contacts, there is a non-negligible chance at least 1 passenger is infected. When you waiting in line for mass screening, there is a non-negligible chance that a someone in line is infected. Furthermore, most people in China are still wearing surgical masks when in-doors, rather than KN95. At most other cities w/ outbreaks, that chance is negligible.
I am somewhat surprised at a the logistical failures for Shanghai’s lock down, as the city is the richest & most developed in the country, & w/ the reputation of being the best run during normal times. I think part of it is hubris of the local authorities. The city managed to contain & eliminate all previous outbreaks (including Omicron BA.1) using a relatively light touch (remember the single coffee shop designated as Medium Risk in one of the previous Omicron outbreaks), not accounting for the extremely high percentage of asymptomatic & very mild cases w/ the sub-variant of Omicron BA.2 in the city. When Shenzhen in Guangdong reached high double digits in daily incidence, it entered a 1 week city-wide snap lock down, & it is not completely re-open. Neighboring Dongguan did the same, & daily incidence is now in the single digits. Shanghai refused to enter city-wide lock down even as daily incidence reached low quadruple digits.
We are seeing logistical issues that we did not witness during Hubei Province’s lock down in Spring 2020, or in Xi’an’s much criticized effort in Jan. 2022. Of course, Wuhan only had ~ 9M residents in late Jan. 2020, as substantial portion of the population left the city to return home for Spring Festival, & those who remained in the city & province had already stocked up for the holiday feasts. Xi’an in Shaanxi Province has ~ 16M, while Shanghai has ~ 26M (& I am not even sure if that figure captures all of the migrants). The case load is an order of magnitude higher than in Wuhan, & 2 orders of magnitude higher than Xi’an, likewise for the close contacts that have to quarantine.
As I mentioned before, in Shanghai’s context it makes sense to allow at least F2 close contacts to quarantine at home, & asymptomatic cases to isolate at home, as well, if living arrangements allows for it. However, if Shanghai changes the policy, then people in the rest of China will demand the same policy change, too, & it may affect their ability to contain/suppress/eliminate Omicron BA.2 outbreaks (often seeded by travelers or truck drivers coming from Shanghai).
It is worth noting that official statistics suggests that the Shanghai outbreak is far less virulent than Hong Kong, & that hospitals in city are not fighting a flood of serious/critical COVID cases. The city still has not yet official registered a COVID death. (Shanghai, as well as 8 other provinces/municipalities have added Paxlovid to the list of drugs covered by the public health insurance. More will join them.) While there has been reporting of deaths at a single private elderly care hospital, though how many (if any) is due to COVID is unclear. There aren’t even rumors of the Shanghai authorities refusing to ascribing deaths to COVID. In any case, though there are plenty of horror stories of terrible & overcrowded conditions in the hastily established temporary hospitals housing asymptomatic/mild cases, there have not been horror stories of overcrowded ICUs & doctors having to do triage (unlike Wuhan in Spring 2020).
I am not sure what is causing the difference in outcomes. Perhaps Shanghai had done a better job vaccinating the most vulnerable population before this wave hit. Or the specific strain prevalent in Shanghai is even milder than the other Omicrons. Or the picture will be quite different if Shanghai just let COVID rip.
smith
@Suzanne: If there is any slow-walking of finalizing vaccine approval for under-5s it’s much more likely to be by the drug companies who have undoubtedly noticed that parents aren’t getting their 5 to 11-year-olds vaccinated.