Apparently South Korea keeps good, honest records:
… South Korea leads the world in the daily average number of new cases, reporting more than 182,000 new infections a day and accounting for one in every four infections globally, according to a Reuters analysis.
New cases are rising in 20 out of more than 240 countries and territories tracked, including Taiwan, Thailand and Bhutan.
Shanghai is fighting China’s worst COVID-19 outbreak since the virus first emerged in Wuhan in late 2019, with almost 25,000 new local cases reported, although the city’s quarantine policy is criticized for separating children from parents and putting asymptomatic cases among those with symptoms…
Some European countries are now seeing a slower uptick in new cases, or even a decline, but the region is still reporting over 1 million cases about every two days, according to the Reuters tally.
In Germany, the seven-day average of new infections has fallen and is now at 59% of its previous peak in late March. New cases are also falling in the United Kingdom and Italy, while they are holding steady in France.
Overall, COVID-19 cases in the United States have dropped sharply after hitting record levels in January, but the resurgence of cases in parts of Asia and Europe has raised concerns that another wave could follow in the United States…
Roughly 64.8% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, although only 14.8% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose, according to figures from Our World in Data.
While cases have flared in Europe and Asia recently, the United States still has the highest total COVID infections since the start of the pandemic with 80.41 million, followed by India with 43.04 million and Brazil with 30.14 million…
About 6.5 million people have lost their lives to COVID since the pandemic began. The United States has reported the highest number of deaths, followed by Russia, Brazil and India.
Russia overtook Brazil to have the world’s second-highest death toll from COVID-19, data from Russia’s state statistics service and Reuters calculations showed on Thursday.
Still less than 30% of Americans have had a booster shot. Summary of all @CDCgov data for benefit vs every adverse Omicron outcome for all ages 18+ https://t.co/ivL3Th5YEv pic.twitter.com/jMCqjCPbf1
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) April 14, 2022
The outlier, ranked #65 of countries in the world@OurWorldInData pic.twitter.com/j34WV4sifS
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) April 14, 2022
=====
Covid is far from becoming endemic. For the foreseeable future there will be serious Covid outbreaks globally, according to WHO. The agency's director of emergencies says it's also wrong to think that if Covid suddenly became endemic all problems would end https://t.co/zd0VaPQ4C7 pic.twitter.com/fnOPo8UY1r
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) April 15, 2022
The head of the World Trade Organization told Reuters on Thursday that negotiations on an intellectual property deal for COVID-19 vaccines were ongoing between the four parties, saying they were seeking to agree on the proposal's final terms. https://t.co/MUJwW2d0La
— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) April 15, 2022
Growing defiance of COVID curbs in China brings wave of arrests https://t.co/qLyAzxne5d pic.twitter.com/gWxR6qtITK
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 15, 2022
China said on Friday that it will help hundreds of companies in key sectors to resume production in locked-down Shanghai, the commercial capital at the centre of the country’slatest COVID-19 outbreak, as businesses warn of the growing economic toll of restrictions.
The announcement comes as a growing number of business leaders and analysts warn that China’s strict “zero-COVID” policy is triggering economic disruptions that are rippling through global supply chains for goods from electric vehicles to iPhones…
Although Shanghai’s 23,000 new infections on Friday were down from more than 27,000 the previous day, they included a record 3,200 symptomatic cases, versus 2,573 a day earlier.
Xpeng’s Chief Executive He Xiaopeng issued a dire warning for the sector unless the situation improved.
“If the suppliers in Shanghai and its surrounding areas can’t find a way to resume operations and production, in May possibly all of China’s carmakers will have to stop production,” he said on the Wechat social media app…
On Friday the transport ministry announced a national pass system to let cargo vehicles move between higher risk zones without delays, as long as drivers have normal temperatures and a negative virus test no older than 48 hours.
An April 7 study by Gavekal Dragonomics found that 87 of China’s 100 largest cities by gross domestic product have imposed some form of quarantine curbs.
COVID curbs have also hit travel nationwide, with flag carrier Air China (601111.SS) reporting a drop of 70% in March traffic from a year ago…
Most of Shanghai’s shops were closed, except for some with half-opened shutters from which goods were being carried to waiting delivery drivers.
The city has converted residential buildings into quarantine centres but that is sparking protests from angry neighbours worried about higher risks of infection.
Shanghai turns residences into COVID isolation facilities, sparking protest https://t.co/GJqStVFmJj pic.twitter.com/Uz5zCtROix
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 15, 2022
South Korea to drop most COVID-related restrictions next week, including a midnight curfew on eateries, as cases show signs of waning https://t.co/gpd7crzGJt
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 15, 2022
======
The FDA has authorized the 1st Covid breath test. The InspectIR Covid-19 Breathalyzer takes just minutes & uses gas chromatography to detect 5 compounds associated w/ the coronavirus in exhaled breath. If a test is positive, it needs confirmation w/ PCR https://t.co/DpIhOSN0Q7 pic.twitter.com/LrtZcPWg5t
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) April 15, 2022
… Regeneron’s “cocktail” of two monoclonal antibodies, casirivimab and imdevimab, had received an emergency use authorization in the United States in late 2020 to treat patients who were 12 years and older with mild-to-moderate COVID-19.
The therapy, called REGEN-COV, was later also authorized in the country for the prevention of COVID-19 in certain people exposed to an infected individual, or who were at high risk of such exposure.
However, data showed that REGEN-COV and a rival monoclonal antibody drug from Eli Lilly (LLY.N) were unlikely to be effective against the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant. That led the U.S. FDA to revise the emergency use authorizations for both therapies to limit their use…
======
An untold number of #coronavirus cases are going uncounted, and mass testing sites throughout the U.S. are closing. Ever since it became increasingly common to rely on at-home tests, official case counts have become less reliable https://t.co/gJ9M8mzcTY
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) April 14, 2022
{*facepalm*}
Are some doctors vaccine hesitant? Researchers conducting a survey say the answer is 'yes' & the proportion is higher than expected. Among 625 doctors surveyed, 10.1% *disagreed* w/ this statement: Vaccines are safe; 9.3% don't think they're effective https://t.co/zV9bYUrm0h
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) April 14, 2022
On The Road – Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!) – Belize, December 2021 part Three, Raptors around Gallon Jug Farm
NeenerNeener
Monroe County, NY:
691 new cases yesterday. Not looking any better yet.
Baud
10% < 27% so that's something at least.
YY_Sima Qian
On 4/14 Mainland China reported 3,472 new domestic confirmed (404 previously asymptomatic), 20,782 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 0 domestic suspect cases.
Guangdong Province reported 22 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic) & 19 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 4 domestic confirmed & 9 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 186 active domestic confirmed & 202 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.
Guangxi “Autonomous” Region reported 136 new domestic asymptomatic (all at Fangchenggang) cases, 120 persons in “closed loops”, 13 traced close contact under centralized quarantine, & 3 via screening of persons deemed at risk of exposure. 11 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 8 active domestic confirmed (4 at Baise, 2 at Qinzhou, & 1 each at Guilin & Yulin) & 501 active domestic asymptomatic cases (403 at Fangchenggang, 42 at Baise, 16 at Chongzuo, 36 at Qinzhou, 3 at Guilin, & 1 at Nanning) in the province. 3 sites at Qinzhou are currently at Medium Risk.
At Hunan Province 2 domestic confirmed & 3 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 14 active domestic confirmed & 2 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.
Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region reported 2 new domestic confirmed (both at Bayan Nur) & 2 new domestic asymptomatic (both at Hinggan League) case, 2 traced close contacts under centralized quarantine & 2 truck drivers coming from Xinjiang. There currently are 9 active domestic confirmed (1 each at Hinggan League & Hohhot, 2 each at Bayan Nur & Chifeng, & 3 at Tongliao) & 9 active domestic asymptomatic (6 at Hinggan League, 2 at Tongliao Tongliao & 1 at Wuhai) cases in the province. 1 residential compound at Chifeng is currently at Medium Risk.
Tianjin Municipality reported 1 new domestic confirmed (mild) & 1 new domestic asymptomatic cases, both truck drivers coming from Shanghai. 2 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 8 active domestic confirmed & 15 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 1 sites are currently at Medium Risk.
Shandong Province reported 5 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic) & 24 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 7 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 17 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 164 active domestic confirmed cases & 955 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 10 new domestic confirmed (7 at Taiyuan, 2 at Jinzhong, & 1 at Shuozhou) & 43 new domestic asymptomatic (all at Taiyuan) cases. All cases at Taiyuan & Jinzhong are workers at a logistics center. The case at Shuozhou is an express delivery person (same company as the one w/ outbreak at Taiyuan). 5 domestic confirmed & 2 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 48 active domestic confirmed (42 at Taiyuan & 2 each at Jinzhong, Shuozhou & Yuncheng) & 67 active domestic asymptomatic (65 at Taiyuan & 1 each at Changzhi & Yangquan) cases remaining. 1 site at Taiyuan is currently at Medium Risk.
Hebei Province reported 23 domestic asymptomatic cases. 8 domestic confirmed & 120 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 37 active domestic confirmed & 923 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 1 new domestic confirmed & 20 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 14 domestic confirmed & 67 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 30 active domestic confirmed & 441 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 7 new domestic confirmed & 3 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 26 domestic confirmed & 15 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 79 active domestic confirmed & 103 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Jilin Province reported 174 new domestic confirmed (81 previously asymptomatic, 168 mild & 4 moderate & 2 serious) & 342 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 765 domestic confirmed & 1,282 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. 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 2 new domestic confirmed cases (1 mild & 1 moderate), a traced close contact under centralized quarantine & a construction worker returning from building temporary hospitals in Shanghai & under centralized quarantine since arrival. 1 site is currently at High Risk.
Shanghai Municipality reported 3,200 new domestic confirmed (307 previously asymptomatic) & 19,872 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 22,041 of the new domestic positive cases were already under quarantine, & the rest from screening of persons deemed at risk of exposure (effectively meaning from the community). 543 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 8,070 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 12,684 active domestic confirmed (10 serious) & 226,738 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 13 sites are currently at Medium Risk.
Shaanxi Province reported 3 new domestic confirmed (all mild, all at Xi’an) & 4 new domestic asymptomatic (3 at Xi’an & 1 at Weinan) cases, 2 traced close contacts under centralized quarantine, 2 via screening of persons deemed at risk of exposure, a person arriving from elsewhere on 4/13 & tested positive upon arrival, a response worker living in “closed loop” found via regular screening, & 1 via community screening. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 36 active domestic confirmed & 9 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. 2 sites at Xi’an are currently at Medium Risk.
Hubei Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed (at Wuhan) & 29 new domestic asymptomatic (13 at Wuhan, 9 at Ezhou, 6 at Huanggang, & 1 at Enshi Prefecture) cases. 5 of the cases at Wuhan are traced close contact under centralized quarantine, 7 constructions workers returning from building temporary hospitals in Shanghai & under centralized quarantine upon arrival, 1 via community screening, & 1 from fever clinic (on 4/13). The cases at Enshi & Ezhou are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. 5 of the case at Huanggang are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine & a recent arrive from elsewhere. 5 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 4 active domestic confirmed (3 mild & 1 moderate, 1 each at Enshi Prefecture, Huanggang, Wuhan, & Yichang) & 266 active domestic asymptomatic (39 at Suizhou, 89 at Wuhan, 65 each at Ezhou, 11 at Huangshi, 5 at Enshi Prefecture, 47 at Huanggang, 3 at Shiyan, 2 each at Xiaogan, Jinzhou & Jingmen, & 1 at Yichang) cases in the province.
Jiangsu Province reported 2 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic) & 49 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 3 domestic confirmed & 53 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. The currently are 86 active domestic confirmed & 732 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.
Anhui Province reported 47 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 1 domestic confirmed & 45 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 15 active confirmed & 591 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Zhejiang Province reported 17 new domestic confirmed (11 previously asymptomatic) & 6 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.
At Gansu Province 1 domestic confirmed & 10 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 32 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province. As the province no longer breaks down recoveries by administrative divisions, I cannot track the count of active cases in the administrative divisions.
At Wuzhong in Ningxia “Autonomous” Region both domestic asymptomatic cases recovered.
Fujian Province reported 10 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic) & 7 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 21 domestic confirmed case recovered & 82 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 168 active domestic confirmed & 416 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 Xinjiang “Autonomous” Region 5 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 18 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the region.
Hainan Province reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case, at Sanya, 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
Guizhou Province reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case, at Tongren, a person returning from Shanghai on 4/11 & under centralized quarantine since. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 3 active domestic confirmed (all at Xingyi in Qianxinan Prefecture) & 3 active domestic asymptomatic (2 at Xingyi in Qianxinan Prefecture & 1 at Tongren) cases.
Jiangxi Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed (mild) & 18 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 5 domestic confirmed & 22 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 10 active domestic confirmed & 130 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 1 new domestic confirmed (mild, at Zhengzhou) & 25 new domestic asymptomatic (2 at Luohe, 6 at Zhengzhou, 16 at Anyang, & 1 at Zhoukou) cases. The cases at Anyang, Zhengzhou & Zhoukou are construction workers returning from building temporary hospitals in Shanghai & under centralized quarantine since arrival. The cases at Luohe are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. 4 domestic confirmed & 17 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 22 active domestic confirmed & 223 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 1 at Luohe & 2 at Shangqiu, are currently at Medium Risk.
Chongqing Municipality reported 1 new domestic confirmed case, a traced close contact under centralized quarantine. 2 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 2 active domestic confirmed & 3 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
Sichuan Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed case, at Chengdu, via screening of persons deemed at risk of exposure. As the province does not break down recovered cases between domestic & imported, I cannot keep track of the count of active domestic positive cases there. 1 residential compound at Leshan remains at Medium Risk.
Qinghai Province reported 5 new domestic confirmed cases, all at Xining, all via screening of persons deemed at risk of exposure. 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 17 active domestic confirmed & 31 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Yunnan Province reported 6 new domestic confirmed & 16 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 1 domestic confirmed & 9 new domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 20 active domestic confirmed & 109 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 4/14, Mainland China reported 14 new imported confirmed cases (3 previously asymptomatic, 1 in Guangdong), 88 imported asymptomatic cases, 1 imported suspect case:
Overall in Mainland China, 1,430 confirmed cases recovered (39 imported), 9,833 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (140 imported) & 407 were reclassified as confirmed cases (3 imported), & 28,778 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 24,878 active confirmed cases in the country (283 imported), 76 in serious condition (all domestic), 276,632 active asymptomatic cases (789 imported), 16 suspect cases (all imported). 448,928 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
As of 4/14, 3,308.616M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 2.732M doses in the past 24 hrs.
On 4/15, Hong Kong reported 946 new positive cases, 11 imported & 935 domestic (460 via RT-PCR & 475 from rapid antigen tests), 36 deaths (2 fully vaccinated) + 31 backlogged deaths.
On 4/15, Taiwan reported 982 new positive cases, 75 imported & 1,209 domestic.
mrmoshpotato
Good on ya, England! Well done, Flobalob!
germy
That doctor with the “NO Vaccine” sign. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a photo of Dr. Vinnie Boombatz before.
Dorothy A. Winsor
We’re leaving for a Viking cruise in Holland later today. You have to be vaccinated, have a negative test before you go, and be tested up to daily while you’re there. Two weeks ago, they dropped the requirement that you be masked when you leave your cabin. Yesterday, they reimposed that requirement, I assume in response to BA2
Raven
“Fewer” Eric.
Raven
@Dorothy A. Winsor: So you fly there and then cruise?
Elizabelle
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Enjoy, Dorothy!
At least you won’t be schlepping all Mr. W’s luggage all over the place. Having a stateroom that moves with you is nice.
geg6
I am watching the numbers locally (because I’m surrounded by idiots) and I am almost exactly six months out from my booster. I have just scheduled booster #2 for tomorrow. We don’t have any Easter plans, so if I get any side effects, we don’t have to cancel anything.
Steeplejack
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Bon voyage! ? ? ?
Baud
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Fair winds and following seas.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Raven: Yes, we fly to Amsterdam. At that point, we’re in Viking’s hands. They pick us up and take care of us for a week like baby bunnies
@Elizabelle: We have to schlepp our luggage onto a train to Paris at the end of the first week. We’re on our own for two days before joining a Viking Loire Valley 3-day thing and then getting on another river boat to Bordeau. Coming home May 7.
@Steeplejack: @Baud: Thank you.
Jay
Sorry to those that have heard this before,
2020, 2021, 2022,
Screenplay by Steven King,
cinematography by Quentin Tarantino,
sound track, by
New Deal democrat
In the US as a whole, cases jumped 3,100 to 36,600. Hospitalizations decreased slightly to 9,997, but the trend has been flat for the last 4 days. Deaths decreased to a new 9 month low of 497.
The West as a whole is flat, with increasing cases in CA, OR, and WA, but decreasing in AZ, HI, and WY. The South is also flat, with flat cases in TX, but increasing in DE, MD, and VA. The Midwest is increasing, driven by gains in IL, WI, MN, MI, and OH. The Northeast is also still rising, with all States participating, and none showing signs of slowing down.
By now 90% or more of cases nationwide are BA.2. Case increases will be driven by its spread alone, rather than a more infectious variant taking over. The large-scale abandonment of basic mitigation measures, plus waning immunity from prior infections will presumably also play a role. That being said, similar conditions obtained in Europe, where cases peaked anyway.
JMG
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Enjoy what sounds like a wonderful trip!
Jay
Sorry to those that have heard this before,
2020, 2021, 2022,
Screenplay by Steven King,
cinematography by Quentin Tarantino,
sound track, by Yoko Ono
Raven
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Cool!
NotMax
OT.
@Raven
Keep forgetting to mention when I see you’re present that the World Fishing Network is offering a free preview for the month of April.
@Dorothy A. Winsor
Take care whilst tiptoeing through them tulips.
;)
Raven
@NotMax: I’m on it like a duck on a june bug
eta Boo, very limited platforms
https://www.worldfishingnetwork.com/channelfinder/30601
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s Ministry of Health reported 10,413 new Covid-19 cases yesterday in its media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 4,363,024 cases. It also reported 18 deaths for an adjusted cumulative total of 35,381 deaths – 0.81% of the cumulative reported total, 0.83% of resolved cases.
Malaysia’s nationwide Rt stands at 0.86.
69 confirmed cases and 85 suspected cases are in ICU; of these patients, 45 confirmed cases and 44 suspected cases are on ventilators. Meanwhile, 13,202 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 4,209,858 patients recovered – 96.5% of the cumulative reported total.
Eight new clusters were reported yesterday, for a cumulative total of 6,966 clusters. 112 clusters are currently active; 6,854 clusters are now inactive.
10,386 new cases reported yesterday were local infections. 27 new cases were imported.
The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) administered 58,078 doses of vaccine on 14th April: 8,554 first doses, 41,430 second doses, and 8,094 booster doses. The cumulative total is 69,431,570 doses administered: 27,587,017 first doses, 26,097,771 second doses, and 15,959,507 booster doses. 84.5% of the population have received their first dose, 79.9% their second dose, and 48.9% their booster dose.
Suzanne
I will gladly, happily, excitedly get a booster shot for Spawn the Younger.
But can I get a fucking vaccine for Spawn the Youngest already?!?!?! FUCK.
If there has been a bigger failure of public health this year than this utter abandonment of our youngest kids, I would be floored.
Hildebrand
My son and his partner are soldiering through their bout of Covid. They are both vaxxed and boosted.
They had managed to avoid getting it thus far, but she works for Google and they ordered everyone back to the office. One week later she was sick – and she just never gets sick. Tested negative with home tests a few days in a row, but stayed home out of an abundance of caution. She tested positive on the fourth day of symptoms. My son tested positive three days later.
They have done a great job of taking care of each other. Both are improving. Both are a bit peeved at Google.
New Deal democrat
Just wanted to note the interesting case of Rhode Island.
It has a very high rate of “full,” 2 dose vaccination: 82%. But it also has one of the highest rates of confirmed cases, at 35%. Probably the true rate of infections is about 70%. So probably close to 95% of the population has either been vaccinated or been previously infected.
Despite that, at present it ranks 2nd only to Vermont in the % of new infections in the entire country.
But at the same time, it has consistently ranked among the bottom 5 States for death rates, currently averaging 1 death per 2.5 million, or 1 death per day in the entire State.
The moral of the story seems to be that Omicron blows through vaccinations, but almost never causes deaths among the vaccinated.
Wanderer
Vaccination approval for UNDER 5’S is still in limbo. We need protection for these little ones!
Betty
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Sounds like a fabulous trip. Best wishes for fair weather and no Covid.
YY_Sima Qian
A bit of context on the protest that BBC referred:
If your imagination is filling in blanks & thinking TOTALITARIAN DYSTOPIA, a few notes of caution:
A few more notes on the dynamics of protests in China, & there are a lot of small scale protests in China:
YY_Sima Qian
@New Deal democrat: The testing rate has dropped significantly across the US, right? Some states seems to be only testing people who are symptomatic. Are we still comparing apples to apples to data from the previous waves?
New Deal democrat
@YY_Sima Qian:
I doubt it has ever completely been “apples to apples” in the US at any point during this pandemic, because States have so often changed their parameters for testing and reporting. On the other hand, to the extent those changes have repeated during each of the waves and respites, the underlying *trend* should still be accurate. That’s also true if the changes fall along a normal random distribution.
Additionally, hospitalizations and even moreso deaths are, ahem, “objective” events? So those trends should be valid.
YY_Sima Qian
@New Deal democrat: Hospitalization & death should be fairly reliable (unless the health care system collapses), but they are trailing indicators (far trailing in the case of deaths), thus not that useful for public policy.
kalakal
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Sounds great. Hope you have a great time. In the Amsterdam/Holland phase of your trip do you get to go to Keukenhof? This time of year it should be heaven on earth
New Deal democrat
@YY_Sima Qian: Well, confirmed cases are trailing indicators as well when it comes to public policy. We have seen repeatedly how the public and governments in the US (and the West generally) let down their guard the moment cases go down, with predictable results.
When it comes to pandemics, to be effective public policy must act on the sketchiest, noisy, and frequently unreliable early signals. And then it runs up against human behavior.
The US did that with swine flu during the Ford Administration in the 1970s. It turned out to be a false alarm. The public was outraged. As a result, the Carter Administration brought the CDC into the Department of HHS and put it under the authority of the Secretary of that Department, a political appointee. And viola!
mrmoshpotato
@YY_Sima Qian: Your nine details about these tenants being moved to different apartments all sound very reasonable and accommodating.
YY_Sima Qian
@mrmoshpotato: There could be real grievances that these people might have. I am just have not read about them. However, the tens of millions of people reading BBC’s headline will think China is commandeering people’s bought to longer term leased homes to quarantine infected people. If the government tried to do that there will be revolution on hand.
The property management company had already turned 5 empty towers into quarantine/isolation centers. They did not have another empty tower, so they turned to the least occupied one.
NotMax
@YY_Sima Qian
Comments?
Sloane Ranger
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Sounds like the trip of a lifetime. Have fun. I wouldn’t worry too much about the requirement to be masked when you leave your Stateroom. I went on a sea cruise over Christmas and you get used to it very quickly. It just became part of the routine after the first day. I presume that, like my cruise, the bar will be open and you can take the mask off when partaking? We were also allowed to take it off when outside on the sundeck. Have you checked Viking’s exact requirements
Plus, have you checked about whose paying for the tests? Ours were free as they were company policy, but I have read that other cruise companies were requiring guests to pay for them at up to £20 a pop.
Sloane Ranger
So, Thursday in the UK we had 32,608 new cases. The rolling 7-day average is down 34%. New cases by nation,
England – 27,283
Northern Ireland – 791
Scotland – 4196
Wales – 338.
Deaths – There were 350 deaths within 28 days of a positive test reported yesterday. The rolling 7-day average is up by 50.4%. 295deaths were in England; 5 in Northern Ireland; 40 in Scotland and 10 in Wales.
Testing – 415,654 tests took place on 13 April. The rolling 7-day average is down by 23.2.5.
Hospitalisations – There were 19,028 people in hospital and 355 on ventilators on 13 April. The 7-day average for hospital admissions was down by 7.2% as of 10 April. Providing the downwards trend in new cases continues, the pressure on UK hospitals should decrease significantly over the next few weeks.
Vaccinations – As of 13 April, 92.1% of all UK residents aged 12+ had had 1 shot; 86.2% had had 2, and 67.9% had had a 3rd shot/booster (or, in other words, no change from the last 3 days).
YY_Sima Qian
@NotMax: Poor support during lock down will driving down compliance, which ultimately is what “Zero COVID” is based on. A prominent economist’s > 90 y.o. mother died at the ER, waiting for a negative RT-PCR result to be admitted. There has been clear guidance from national & municipal government that lack of negative RT-PCR results w/in 48 hrs cannot be a reason for refusing treatment or admission in cases of medical emergency, but it still happens. Right now hospital administration are held responsible for nosocomial outbreaks, so their incentives are all pushing them toward ever greater caution. However, if they were held liable for people dying while waiting for treatment, then they would be incentivized to act differently.
I have heard of horror stories (2nd or 3rd hand) from friends & colleagues in Shanghai. A friend of a friend’s child is suffering from high grade fever for two weeks. They were able to visit doctors, ruled out bacterial infection. That leaves viral infections (2 wks is awfully long for that) & some kind of autoimmune response. However, the department staffs at all major hospitals are severely depleted, so they are refusing admission for in-patient care. All the medical staff are helping w/ the mass screening campaigns or staffing the temporary hospitals, some have become infected & are isolating, some more are close contacts & under centralized quarantine. The tens of thousands medical staff being sent to Shanghai (to staff the temporary hospitals & conduct mass screening campaigns) should help getting these hospital departments restaffed & available for people suffering from other diseases.
I just read a story on a local Shanghai paper of 2 sons > 60 y.o. helping to take care of their > 90 y.o. All are positive, all had run out of medicine days ago, & running short of food. One of the sons has hypertension & diabetes, & he had to reduce the dosage to half at the start of the lock down, & still ran out. They were only able to buy rice before the lock down, unable to compete w/ the younger buyer during the panic buying frenzy at the supermarkets. They only received intermittent supply of medicine w/ help of their sons. The community office tried to send the sons to temporary hospital when they 1st tested positive, but they refused, citing the need to care for their mother. Finally, the local pandemic response command relented & allowed them isolate together in their apartment. The community office was also able to obtain a couple of weeks of medicine. Most of the > 4K people living in their compound are elderly, many alone, former peasants who received the apartments as part of the compensation when the formerly rural area was developed. Since this story made it to state media, it is far from the worst. There are horror stories from every citywide lock down in China, but Wuhan & Xi’an were able to sort out the logistics w/in a couple of weeks. Shanghai is still struggling.
All of the suffering are direct consequences of Shanghai allowing its outbreak develop to a large size, & not having a sensible plan for the citywide lock down. The caseload is unprecedented in China (much higher than Wuhan’s in spring 2020), even if the severity of the disease is much lower. I am personally quite skeptical that there has been 0 COVID deaths in Shanghai from this outbreak, or that there are only 9 cases (none vaccinated) in serious condition. However, if the ICUs are overflowing words would have leaked, & our relatives working as doctors & nurses in Nanjing & Wuhan would have heard through the grapevine (all of them have colleagues who volunteered to go to Shanghai). I am sure more people have died as the result of the lock down in Shanghai than COVID (officially 0), but that equation changes very quickly if uncontrolled spread occurs, & plenty will die from non-COVID causes as the health care system is overwhelmed, as we have seen repeatedly in other parts of the world.
Once that critical mass of cases is reached, there are no good options left, only the bad ones, & poor planning made the least bad much worse than it had to be. Even some of the seemingly sensible suggestions are problematic at this stage: allowing mild/asymptomatic/close contacts to isolate/quarantine at home for example.
Problem 1: Isolation/quarantine has to be tightly supervised, or breaches will simply promote further community transmission, prolonging the time that Shanghai has to lock down to suppress the outbreak. Managing their isolation/quarantine just increases the burden on the already overloaded community workers.
Problem 2: Their neighbors are unlikely to welcome them back to the compounds, any community transmission delays the date when the compound can exit full lock down.
Problem 3: Food have to be delivered to the door of those under isolation/quarantine, further stressing the last km/last 100 m logistics of distribution, further burdening the workload of overworked security guards, property management workers & volunteers. At least the few hundred thousand mild/asymptomatic cases & close contacts do not have to worry about meals in a centralized facility (even if the quality of the meals leave a lot to be desired).
Problem 4: Many people live in multi-generational dwellings, home isolation/quarantine is simply infeasible.
Problem 5: Should mild cases suddenly deteriorate, there are no medical help immediately on hand.
Anything less “draconian” will allow greater spread in Shanghai, & greater spread to the rest of China. 50% of the vulnerable elders are still unvaccinated. Once the spread becomes unstoppable, there is no way back, no “do-overs”.
YY_Sima Qian
@New Deal democrat: Yeah, the WHO named H1N1 a pandemic very early on, which pissed off a lot of capital (pandemic insurance & all that) when it did not turn out as bad as feared. The WHO came under a huge criticism, especially from western countries, which influenced its hesitation to call COVID-19 a pandemic, even though it was urging all nations to treat it as one.
Gravenstone
John Carpenter, just to stay on theme.
Another Scott
ICYMI, Leana Wen interview with STATNews:
(Emphasis added.)
Quite fatalistic. And I don’t accept her framing. Having people wear masks in public when community spread remains high is not some draconian freedom-destroying, soul-crushing, anti-human measure. And, really, expecting people to know what levers to pull to get drugs and treatments that are in short supply (and aren’t as good as being masked and not getting infected in the first place) – that’s the masking alternative for the at-risk people out there? Really??!
Cheers,
Scott.