U.S. President Joe Biden's administration said it would appeal a Florida judge's ruling ending mask mandates on airplanes and public transportation if public health officials deem it necessary https://t.co/l4rQkMv7eU pic.twitter.com/dZ0EFiyQc6
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 20, 2022
U.S. COVID update: Daily cases continue to rise
– New cases: 52,021
– Average: 42,284 (+2,990)
– States reporting: 34/50
– In hospital: 13,504 (+292)
– In ICU: 1,791 (-5)
– New deaths: 462
– Average: 432 (-13)More data: https://t.co/YDZSbYO7l7 pic.twitter.com/mQXJp514CM
— BNO/Medriva Newsroom (@medriva) April 20, 2022
Six in 10 adults support continued masking in public—and for good reason—500 people are still dying daily of Covid, and multiple #Omicron variants are on the rise. Survey by Kaiser Family Foundation reveals the demographics on who favors masking and who doesn't⬇️ https://t.co/EMowCsJ39y
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) April 19, 2022
A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday said government employees cannot sue over President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal workers, echoing another court that came to the same conclusion and reinstated the mandate earlier this month.
A unanimous three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said two employees of federal agencies had to first raise their challenge to the mandate through the administrative scheme laid out in the federal Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA).
The CSRA says federal workers must bring legal disputes in a grievance process that culminates at the Merit Systems Protection Board. That agency’s decisions can then be appealed in federal court…
The plaintiffs in Tuesday’s case claimed Biden lacked the authority to issue the mandate, and that it violated their constitutional rights.
A Maryland federal judge in November disagreed and dismissed the case. The 4th Circuit on Tuesday said the judge should never have taken up the claims because the workers were bound by the process established in the CSRA.
In January, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked Biden’s COVID-19 vaccination-or-testing mandate for large businesses, a policy conservative justices deemed an improper imposition on the lives and health of many Americans. The court allowed a separate federal vaccine requirement for healthcare facilities to stand.
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"China urged to seek alternatives to its faltering Covid vaccines"
—Need for 3 shots for parity w/ mRNAs for mortality reduction
—May need 2 mRNA booster shots for full effectiveness https://t.co/nN1DbnD7JS @hannahkuchler @EleanorOlcott w/ @VirusesImmunity @bencowling88 pic.twitter.com/zarXvZK1Gb— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) April 20, 2022
Shanghai allowed 4 million more people out of their homes Wednesday as coronavirus rules eased. Almost 12 million people of the city’s 25 million can now leave their homes after the city imposed lockdowns starting March 28 following a surge in infections. https://t.co/6lj50qQckY
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 20, 2022
Hong Kong recorded 668 new Covid-19 infections on Wednesday. The city also added 10 deaths in the past 24 hours.
Full, trusted coverage on HKFP: https://t.co/w8LTgNgHXy pic.twitter.com/Qh137k0pKW
— Hong Kong Free Press HKFP (@hkfp) April 20, 2022
DDMA has called a meeting on April 20 to discuss the coronavirus situation in the national capital over rise in number of cases#Delhi #Covid19 #CovidSurge #CoronavirusPandemic #REhttps://t.co/eqKj3TCh0J
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) April 20, 2022
"He is a man without shame." https://t.co/Zt5kaNkcVy
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) April 19, 2022
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If the (very early, tentative!) suggestions that Paxlovid helps against long covid are supported by further research, the demand will surge *very* quickly:
… Paxlovid was expected to be a major tool in the fight against COVID after it reduced hospitalizations or deaths in high-risk patients by around 90% in a clinical trial.
Thousands of people still die from COVID-19 every week, even as global infections are far off their peak. And there are only a few proven antiviral treatments, of which Paxlovid is the most attractive. The others are Merck & Co’s (MRK.N) far less effective rival pill molnupiravir, and Gilead Sciences’ (GILD.O) intravenous remdesivir.
But even amid a recent rise in infections, Paxlovid supply far outstripped demand in the United States, UK, Japan, and South Korea, data from health ministries and Reuters interviews with doctors and pharmacists found…
Pfizer plans to produce up to 120 million courses of Paxlovid this year and expects at least $22 billion in sales from contracts signed through early February. The United States, which agreed to buy up to 20 million pills this year, making it the largest publicly known buyer, is paying around $530 a course, but prices vary by country.
Pfizer is on pace to produce 3.5 million courses earmarked for U.S. use by the end of April, the government said. Through the first half of April, U.S. data shows it has distributed around 1.5 million courses and that pharmacies still have over 500,000 available…
The Paxlovid rollout has also been slow in Asia, despite some countries hitting record infections recently…
Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla said last week that restrictions on who can receive Paxlovid have limited use in Europe.
“Right now we have some countries – some of them very big countries – that have dispensed a very small percentage of the quantities that they already have,” he said.
Some U.S. pharmacists and doctors raised concerns that a turn to home tests over laboratory testing could allow high-risk patients to slip through the cracks because they are unaware they are eligible for Paxlovid or that it exists…
Paxlovid can interact with many widely-used medications, complicating its use. “It’s a bit of a pain to prescribe, said University of Southampton Professor Paul Little.
Demand could increase if Paxlovid is proven to work in studies underway testing it in broader groups, including those at lower risk and the vaccinated.
Dr. David Battinelli, chief medical officer for Northwell Health, New York State’s largest hospital group, said even if cases pick up, he doubts Paxlovid use would increase among the unvaccinated.
They either fight through it, he said, or, “they show up at the hospital.”
… Dr. Jacqueline Miller, a top Moderna scientist, said the company had no immediate plans to file for authorization of the bivalent vaccine including the Beta variant. It will submit the data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in order to lay the groundwork for a future bivalent vaccine candidate that includes the Omicron variant as a target.
The company said the bivalent vaccine with Beta generated higher neutralizing antibody titers against the Omicron variant at one and six months after the shot was given than the booster of its original vaccine currently in use.
The company said it was especially encouraging that the bivalent vaccine induced higher antibody responses against variants that were not specifically included in the vaccine.
The 50-microgram bivalent booster, which the company calls mRNA 1273.211, was tested in 300 people.
Moderna has started testing a different bivalent shot that combines an Omicron-specific vaccine with its original. Initial data from that vaccine is expected later in the second quarter, Moderna said…
“In order to be ready for the fall, we’ve had to start manufacture at risk,” Miller said. “Our belief is that the bivalent, based on the data that we have already observed … offers the best hope for longer and more durable protection.
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Hospitalization rates for unvaccinated children ages 5 to 11 were twice as high as among those who were vaccinated during the record COVID-19 surge caused by the Omicron variant, according to a U.S. study released on Tuesday. https://t.co/sr7s5JjG1Z
— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) April 20, 2022
I experienced first hand today what Monday's court ruling on the federal mask mandate means. Within 24 hours, most people masked = most people not masked. Please read my @BostonGlobe colleague @reneeygraham on the implications of the ruling. https://t.co/gAs42hMTvi
— Helen Branswell ?? (@HelenBranswell) April 20, 2022
… Judging from the jubilant reactions posted on social media after airline employees announced mid-flight that passengers were no longer required to wear a mask, they weren’t thinking about the more than 6.2 million people killed by COVID — nearly 990,000 in this nation alone, the highest death toll in the world.
Buoyed by the selfishness that has prolonged this pandemic, they think only of themselves.
Of course, Donald Trump-appointed US District Court Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle’s vexing decision to void the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s national mask mandate for public transportation doesn’t affect only air travelers. It also applies on trains, buses, and boats. Uber, the ride-hailing company, won’t require masks for drivers or passengers.
Throwing out the mask mandate reeks of the privilege of someone who doesn’t rely on public transportation. Airplanes may have great ventilation and filtration systems, but the same cannot be said of many subways and buses. On Tuesday the MBTA rescinded its mask mandate for all customers, except users of The RIDE paratransit services…
“This was a legal decision, not a public health decision, and it was abrupt,” Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, said during a Tuesday segment. “All of a sudden masks came off, families and travelers who were fully anticipating they would still be able to travel in a masked environment suddenly could not. Children under the age of 5 who’ve not been able to be vaccinated — again, feeling more comfortable in a masked environment — suddenly were not in a masked environment.”
All of this is happening as BA.2, an even more transmissible Omicron subvariant, is causing COVID infections to rise again. Vaccinations have stalled. There are about 40,000 new cases a day, and it’s probably higher, since people generally do not report home test results. Between 400 and 500 people die every day. Such numbers aren’t as dire as those during the height of the Delta and Omicron waves, but it still means that thousands continue to die from COVID each week…
Once headlines verified what many of us anticipated — that COVID, enabled by systemic and institutional racism, would have a disproportionate impact on Black and brown communities — scores of white people, some of them armed, took to the streets and state houses for raucous anti-lockdown tantrums.
People went from cheering health care workers to cheering the fact that they would no longer have to use one of the most effective mitigation devices during this pandemic. That puts the elderly, immunocompromised, and children too young to be vaccinated at risk. What’s being hailed as a victory for independence and personal choice feels like surrender…
During these past two unprecedented years, I’ve often thought about something Michelle Obama said: “Being president doesn’t change who you are. It reveals who you are.” That can also be applied to how this nation has handled the pandemic. The COVID crisis has not changed America, but revealed its churlishness and cruelties, both unchecked and now unmasked.
On The Road – ?BillinGlendaleCA – Hidden Valley
Baud
Even the crazy 5th circuit said the same thing last week.
NeenerNeener
Monroe County, NY:
752 new cases. This is PCR and home tests.
Vaccinations now at 72%. It’s nice to see this going up again, however slowly.
Total COVID deaths is now 1829.
Baud
Nate Silver really has become a tool.
sab
@Baud: This isn’t recent. This is who he has always been.
germy
Lapassionara
Does Nate Silver know anything at all about riding public transportation?
Mr. LP and I have been in France for a while. Not a lot of masks outdoors, but masks required on buses and the metro. Thanks at least in part to those rules, we both tested negative this morning for our flight home, on which we will both wear our N95 masks.
JPL
@Baud: Nate apparently doesn’t ride buses or trains.
edit what Lap said.
Ian R
I suppose one upside of Lyft suddenly dropping any masking requirement for their drivers is that it has already saved me money. I opened the app, saw the message that it was no longer required, and walked the 40 minutes home after work instead.
germy
sab
@Baud: Grand-daughter’s public school system stopped masks this week. See you in June, sweet girl.
ETA I am not just a grandparent. I am a working person who chips in a lot towards her maintenance. I die, she loses.
Soprano2
I think flight attendants might be glad to not be fighting people about masks all the time. Of course, those same people who were fighting them will be mystified when flights are canceled because too many airline personnel are out sick.
JPL
@Lapassionara: What a lovely trip.
Soprano2
@germy: This is most certainly true.
germy
@Lapassionara:
A reply to Nate Silver:
Lapassionara
@JPL: Yes. It has been lovely. We considered postponing when the CDC issued warnings about the coronavirus in France, but I am so glad we made the trip.
Nelle
My friend was in a plane on the taxiway for take off when the pilot announced the mask mandate was over. The flight crew hurrah, yelled joyously, and ripped their masks off., as did about 40% of the passengers. My friend was unimpressed as her father, a nephrologist, works 8 to 12 hours at a time in masks. Her stepmother, on another flight, was scheduled for lengthy spinal surgery the next day. Why was there such an immediate reaction and implementation, giving people at greater risk no chance at self-protection?
I’ve been the most self protective person in my sphere. I have been in a restaurant exactly once since March 10, 2020, last week. Less than 20 hours later, my eyes began to itch in what is for me a classic reaction to pollen. After a few days, I began to wonder so took a home test. Positive for Civid. Don’t know for sure if it was the restaurant; a family member might have been asymptomatic and given it to me. But we spent our 42nd wedding anniversary trying to avoid each other. I’ve had my second booster and this is mild. But I missed the window for Paxlovid.
Kay
There seem to be a largish group of people here who had covid, it was really bad, took them months to recover, and they’re scared they’ll get it again. I always wonder why this is never mentioned. I can’t be the only person who encounters them. A lot of people died but a lot of people also got very sick and were sick for weeks or even months. They’re trying to avoid reinfection.
New Deal democrat
Nationally cases are now rising sharply, up to 41,500, an increase of 25% in the past week. Hospitalization are generally flat at slightly over 10,000, but new admissions have risen steadily, by 8% over the last 11 days. Deaths have continued to decline, to 452, a level lower than all times during the pandemic except for 7 weeks last June and July.
Yesterday the CDC updated their variant tracker.
BA.2 and it’s subvariant constitute 93.4% of all US cases. They have started to track BA.2.12.1, and it already constitutes 19% of all US cases (up from 3.3% just 3 weeks ago, and on a trajectory equal to that of the original BA.2). At its current rate of growth, BA.2.12.1 will be over 90% of cases in just 5 weeks.
Regionally the BA.2 variants are 95% in the Northeast and over 90% along the West Coast. BA.2.12.1 is already over half of all cases in NY and NJ, and 20% or higher along the rest of the East Coast.
Cases have peaked already in 8 of 14 counties in the Central NY region where the NYS Department of Health says that BA.2.12.1 constitutes 90% of cases.
Regionally, cases are still flat in the South but rising in all three other regions. In the Northeast, cases are down in NH, flat in RI, decelerating to below 20% growth week over week in NY, and to 10% in NJ. Cases continue to grow steadily elsewhere in the region.
Cases are rising slowly in CA, OR, and WA on the West Coast, and also in the Delmarva area. Texas is still flat, but cases have increased 40% in the last week in FL. Cases are rising sharply in IL and MN, but flat elsewhere in the Midwest.
The template of Europe’s experience with BA.2 no longer holds for the US, because of the emergence of BA.2.12.1. Essentially what South Africa was to BA.1, the US is to this new variant (what everyone dreaded from the “let’er rip” de facto public health approach).
Most likely cases will rise in each State until BA.2.12.1 reaches roughly 90% of all cases. We’ll get there in a couple of weeks in the Northeast, but only in about 2 months in the interior Deep South and Great Plains, where BA.2.12.1 is only about 3% of cases now. It is encouraging that cases have peaked in most of the NYS counties that were the first epicenter, and that growth is slowing in NY and NJ.
Since public health strategies have all but disappeared in the US, the course of the pandemic will depend on the regularity of the emergence of more efficient strains.
germy
Baud
@Kay:
I know y’all tired of hearing this but no one cares about them because they don’t vote on those issues. They either stick with their tribe or they make excuses why both sides are flawed. Society and the media isnt going to give voice to lefty type issues based on talk or feelings. They see tangible political results because the operating assumption is that oppressed people will give up easily.
New Deal democrat
@NeenerNeener: “This is PCR and home tests.”
And BA.2.12.1. Cases are rising rapidly in Western New York and many of the Finger Lakes counties.
Kay
@germy:
The decision to announce it and rip off the masks mid-flight was boneheaded. It’s terrible customer service. The people who want to avoid infection deserved notice and the opportunity to not get on a maskless flight. It’s a real “fuck you” to half their customers, and for what? What was gained?
germy
@Kay:
Airlines are mostly horrible. I’m not surprised they handled it the way they did.
debbie
I have to rely on others’ having read it, but the judge’s ruling is said to be particularly inept. I don’t see how this will end well.
Sloane Ranger
Tuesday the UK reported 116,227 new cases. This covers the entire 4 days of the Easter extended weekend. The rolling 7-day average is down 31.3%. New cases by nation,
England – 93,281
Northern Ireland – 2695
Scotland – 19,979
Wales – 272.
Deaths – There were 482 deaths reported yesterday covering the 4 day extended Easter weekend. The rolling 7-day average was down 3.3%. 411 deaths were in England, 14 in Northern Ireland, 41 in Scotland and 16 in Wales.
Testing – 330,645 tests took place on 18 April. The rolling 7-day average is down 25.6%.
Hospitalisations – Has not been updated since last Thursday.
Vaccinations – As at 18 April, 92.2% of all Uk residents aged 12+ had had 1 shot; 86.5% had had 2, and 67.9% had had a 3rd shot/booster. The percentage of people having had a 2nd shot has gone up by 0.2%, no change in the others.
lowtechcyclist
@Kay:
What was gained is what is always gained in post-Trump America: the right of people to be assholes in any and all situations where not being an asshole might inconvenience them in the slightest.
I hate this fucking timeline. I hate what this nation has become.
Kay
@germy:
They are mostly horrible, especially after you’re trapped onboard.
It will never not be amusing that all the expert risk assessors and personal liberty activists will continue to happily and obediently perform anti-terrorism security theatre at the airport that has been in place for 20 years without a single complaint, but the masks enraged them.
rikyrah
@Baud:
Truth??
rikyrah
@Kay:
Just ridiculous?
Baud
@Kay:
They don’t get paid to be consistent. They get paid to tear us down.
Lapassionara
@debbie: Yes. It has to be appealed because it completely undermined the federal government’s ability to “promote the general welfare” when a pandemic hits. I am sorry Biden didn’t give a more forceful statement about it.
lowtechcyclist
@Kay:
And cigarettes: if it’s now OK to share your Covid virus with everyone on the plane, why not cigarette smoke? One plane trip’s worth of secondhand smoke won’t kill you, but one plane trip sitting next to an unmasked person with Covid certainly could.
Baud
@lowtechcyclist:
And pants. Going without never hurt anybody.
Kay
@lowtechcyclist:
Cigarettes, wearing shoes, childhood vaccinations. Apply the anti-mitigation covid risk anaylsis to any of these and all the rules are useless and should be thrown out, because the death risk to an individual is low.
But remember these are people who happily comply with the anti-terrorism theatre, so it’s not like it’s logical. They’ll just pick and choose, as they did in this instance. Their hard-headed rationality and devotion to “data” is way oversold. They don’t like covid mitigation and they do like performing anti-terrorism rituals. That’s the rationale.
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s Ministry of Health reported 6,069 new Covid-19 cases yesterday in its media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 4,402,234 cases. It also reported 12 deaths for an adjusted cumulative total of 35,449 deaths – 0.81% of the cumulative reported total, 0.82% of resolved cases.
Malaysia’s nationwide Rt stands at 0.86.
59 confirmed cases and 38 suspected cases are in ICU; of these patients, 36 confirmed cases and 28 suspected cases are on ventilators. Meanwhile, 10,619 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 4,274,746 patients recovered – 97.1% of the cumulative reported total.
Five new clusters were reported yesterday, for a cumulative total of 6,995 clusters. 109 clusters are currently active; 6,886 clusters are now inactive.
5,959 new cases reported yesterday were local infections. 110 new cases were imported.
The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) administered 47,612 doses of vaccine on 19th April: 7,579 first doses, 35,398 second doses, and 4,635 booster doses. The cumulative total is 69,742,922 doses administered: 27,643,270 first doses, 26,327,040 second doses, and 15,985,545 booster doses. 84.6% of the population have received their first dose, 80.6% their second dose, and 48.9% their booster dose.
Kay
The conservative push to punish Disney for not hewing to far Right beliefs seems to have hit a snag:
They’re punishing Disney by off loading 2 billion in Disney debt to the county. That’ll show em.
NotMax
@Kay
Torches, pitchforks and the hanging of Mickey and Donald in effigy to follow.
//
Enhanced Voting Techniques
You all obviously never worked at a place were safety equipment is required. The admin and management will go out of their way to flaunt these rules as a display of privilege. The reason a certain group of people hate masks is it makes them look like they work with their hands.
Mai Naem mobile
I still think someday in the future we are going to find out TFG didn’t want to wear a mask because he was worried about the mask messing up his hair and make up. This led to his idiot side of the country refusing to mask. I just don’t think the vast majority of Americans would have given a crap about masking otherwise.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Kay: Pushing that debt onto the county is likely DeSantis’ goal all along. Then he can brag about cutting Florida state taxes.
Kay
@NotMax:
They’re mean spirited and authoritarian, sure, but “stupid and reckless” is also a key part of their governing philosophy.
There’s some pesky Florida laws they have to ignore or get around too, like the law that says they have to put it on a ballot before they shift 2 billion in debt to people in those counties, who are mostly Disney employees. I feel like maybe the planning for this was not super thorough. DeSantis just pulled it out of his ass.
Geminid
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: That’s just Goofy.
Betty
My sister’s 10 year old grandson tested positive this morning. So, yes, the virus is alive and well and coming to a school/theater/grocery store/plane near you. He is vaccinated but also asthmatic so a bit of a worry.
NotMax
@Enhanced Voting Techniques
Tourist: “You sure this is where Disneyworld is supposed to be?’
Local: “Well I’ll be switched. Whole shebang was there yesterday.”
//
Betty
@Kay: Someone brought up the point that The Villages have the same authority. So can he do this just to Disney and allow The Villages to keep their special status?
JMG
Getting my second booster tomorrow. Going to NYC next weekend to see “Music Man” with Hugh Jackman, my Christmas present to my wife. I will be curious to see how many are masked on Amtrak in this Acela Corridor trip. I know masks are still required for attendance at any Broadway show.
Matt McIrvin
@germy: That would have been a lie, especially in the days when we were forced to rely on cloth masks, which are not that protective to the individual. A messaging strategy built on lies is doomed to backfire.
Baud
@Betty:
Heard on the news that he’s proposing to change the rule based on when the special authority was granted. I assume it’s to protect the Villages.
pajaro
@debbie:
As to the judge’s ruling: I would call “particularly inept” an understatement. The judge completely misreads the statute and has a view of the CDC’s public health authority and of the reason for masks that is absurd.
The CDC’s public health authority is also the justification for the bar to entry of asylum seekers that has, under Trump and Biden, kept more than a million people from what should be their right to seek asylum. Somehow, I don’t think this judge would deny the CDC the right to continue its public health order. As a matter of fact, it wouldn’t shock me if she were to decide that the Biden Administration was mandated to continue it.
These decisions, IMO aren’t just about ideology. They’re also about politics. They are denying deference to Biden in circumstances that they granted it to Trump.
lowtechcyclist
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
I’m thinking you mean ‘flout’ instead of ‘flaunt.’ To flout the rules would mean to blatantly disregard them. To flaunt them would mean to make sure it’s widely known that you have them and are proud of them.
lowtechcyclist
Or at least to avoid inconveniencing as few other people as possible besides Disney.
At least, reading about this today, I already knew what a special taxing district is. My neighborhood is applying for one in order to pay for sewer because our septic systems are failing.
Kay
@Betty:
They made it apply only to those established prior to 1968, to protect their political supporters in The Villages. It’s pure state punishment. The State of Florida is punishing Disney for not hewing to far Right political and social views.
They’re stupid, unqualified people who don’t work very hard though so keep your fingers crossed. Coin toss it’s a fucking chaotic shit show that boomerangs. Low quality hires produce low quality work.
Fair Economist
We have a hypermutated substrain of BA.2 in the NE and spreading (the one out on the tip). I assume it’s one of the BA.2 substrains; that particular tool doesn’t say. I’ve been thinking that the Omicron events were single extended mutation sequences from individuals with extended infection; but this subanalysis makes me think maybe it’s more multiple smaller events stacked up. That outermost branch has managed about as much mutation per unit time as the original Omicrons did during their cryptic evolution; but it’s got sisters.
NotMax
@JMG
If looking for a meal beforehand, Carmine’s (44th just west of 7th Ave.) puts out quite satisfactory Italian grub. Mostly family style portions so go easy on ordering. Reservation not required but recommended – they’ll hustle to take the extra effort to serve in a timely manner in order to let you make curtain time.
And afterward you can partially walk off the meal by sauntering the six blocks north to the Winter Garden theater.
;)
trnc
Regarding the Nate Silver tweet and response – Lincoln also didn’t bring his assassin back home or to the office.
VOR
@Mai Naem mobile: The cartoonist Tom Tomorrow on Twitter:
YY_Sima Qian
On 4/19 Mainland China reported 2,753 new domestic confirmed (616 previously asymptomatic), 17,066 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 0 domestic suspect cases, & 7 new deaths.
Guangdong Province reported 14 new domestic confirmed (3 previously asymptomatic) & 6 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 5 domestic confirmed & 14 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 269 active domestic confirmed & 1147 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 6 new domestic asymptomatic (all at Fangchenggang) cases. 7 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 8 active domestic confirmed (4 at Baise, 2 at Qinzhou, & 1 each at Guilin & Yulin) & 560 active domestic asymptomatic cases (482 at Fangchenggang, 43 at Baise, 12 at Chongzuo, 22 at Qinzhou, & 1 at Guilin) in the province.
Hunan Province reported 3 new domestic confirmed cases (2 mild & 1 moderate), all at Shaoyang, a family cluster & traced close contacts of the domestic positive case reported there on 4/18. There currently are 11 active domestic confirmed 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 sub-districts are now at Medium Risk.
At Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region there currently are 7 active domestic confirmed (3 at Chifeng, 2 each at Hinggan League & Bayan Nur) & 10 active domestic asymptomatic (8 at Hinggan League & 1 each at Hohhot & Wuhai) cases in the province. 1 residential compound at Chifeng is currently at Medium Risk.
At Tianjin Municipality 1 domestic confirmed & 3 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 1 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
Shandong Province reported 25 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 8 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 89 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 100 active domestic confirmed cases & 670 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 9 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic, all mild, 7 at Taiyuan & 2 at Shuozhou) & 21 new domestic asymptomatic (19 at Taiyuan & 2 at Shuozhou) cases, all traced close contacts under centralized quarantine or via screening of residents under lockdown. 3 domestic confirmed & 4 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 62 active domestic confirmed (46 at Taiyuan, 12 at Shuozhou, 2 at Jinzhong, & 1 each at Xinzhou & Yangquan) & 207 active domestic asymptomatic (201 at Taiyuan, 3 at Shuozhou, 2 atYangquan, & 1 at Jinzhong) cases remaining. 1 site at Taiyuan is currently at Medium Risk.
Hebei Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed & 61 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 2 domestic confirmed & 51 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 22 active domestic confirmed & 803 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 asymptomatic cases. 23 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 18 active domestic confirmed & 311 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 45 new domestic confirmed & 28 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 12 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 232 active domestic confirmed & 149 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Jilin Province reported 133 new domestic confirmed (69 previously asymptomatic, 116 mild & 6 moderate & 11 serious) & 262 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 603 domestic confirmed & 842 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 (both mild), a traced close contact under centralized quarantine & a person arriving from elsewhere on 4/18 & tested positive on arrival. As the city does not break down recoveries by imported vs. domestic cases, I cannot track the count of active domestic cases there. 1 site is currently at High Risk.
Shanghai Municipality reported 2,494 new domestic confirmed (533 previously asymptomatic) & 16,407 new domestic asymptomatic cases & 1 new domestic suspect case. 17,978 of the new domestic positive cases were already under quarantine, & 390 screening of persons deemed at risk of exposure (effectively meaning from the community). Daily incidence continues to drop, as is the number of cases being found from the community. There were 7 deaths (2 < 60 y.o. & 5 > 70 y.o., all w/ a range of underlying conditions, 2 vaccinated). The authorities claim that the proximate causes of death are the underlying conditions & not COVID induced symptoms. 1,682 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 25,411 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 22,522 active domestic confirmed (52 serious) & 220,258 active domestic asymptomatic cases & 1 active domestic suspect case in the city. 13 sites are currently at Medium Risk.
Shaanxi Province reported 5 new domestic confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic, 4 mild & 1 moderate) & 4 new domestic asymptomatic cases, all at Xi’an, all traced close contacts under quarantine. 6 domestic confirmed & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 29 active domestic confirmed & 14 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. 3 sites at Xi’an are currently at Medium Risk.
Hubei Province reported 4 new domestic asymptomatic (2 at Huanggang, & 1 each at Ezhou & Yichang) cases. 1 of the cases at Huanggang is a traced close contact under centralized quarantine, & the other is a recent arrival from elsewhere. The case at Ezhou is a traced close contact under centralized quarantine. The case at Yichang is a recent arrival from Shanghai & under centralized quarantine. 1 domestic confirmed & 10 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 4 active domestic confirmed (4 mild & 1 moderate, 2 at Wuhan & 1 each at Huanggang & Yichang) & 306 active domestic asymptomatic (22 at Suizhou, 124 at Wuhan, 90 at Ezhou, 4 at Huangshi, 6 at Enshi Prefecture, 53 at Huanggang, 3 at Shiyan, & 2 each at Jingmen & Yichang) cases in the province.
Jiangsu Province reported 8 new domestic confirmed (3 previously asymptomatic) & 95 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 6 domestic confirmed & 58 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. The currently are 88 active domestic confirmed & 939 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 each administrative division, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
Anhui Province reported 48 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 50 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 10 active confirmed & 600 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Zhejiang Province reported 8 new domestic confirmed (4 previously asymptomatic) & 47 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 there.
Gansu Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 14 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.
Fujian Province reported 2 new domestic confirmed (both previously asymptomatic) cases. 9 domestic confirmed case recovered & 34 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 93 active domestic confirmed & 298 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 did not report any new domestic positive cases. 1 domestic asymptomatic case recovered. There currently are 13 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the region (4 at Wusu, 3 each at Shuanghe & Ürumqi, 2 at Bayingol Prefecture, & 1 at Changji).
At Guizhou Province 1 domestic asymptomatic case recovered. There currently are 2 active domestic confirmed (1 each at Guiyang & Xingyi in Qianxinan Prefecture) & 2 active domestic asymptomatic (1 each at Xingyi in Qianxinan Prefecture & Tongren) cases.
Jiangxi Province reported 25 new domestic confirmed & 28 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 2 domestic confirmed & 23 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 42 active domestic confirmed & 132 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 3 new domestic confirmed (all mild, all at Anyang) & 13 new domestic asymptomatic (4 at Zhengzhou, 3 at Anyang, & 2 each at Luohe, Shangqiu, & Zhoukou) cases. The cases at Anyang were found via community screening. The cases at Zhengzhou & Luohe are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. The cases at Shangqiu are are construction workers returning from building temporary hospitals in Shanghai & under centralized quarantine since arrival. 17 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 21 active domestic confirmed & 206 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.
At Chongqing Municipality there currently are 1 active domestic confirmed & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
Qinghai Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed & 1 new domestic asymptomatic cases, all at Xining, 1 via screening of persons deemed at risk of exposure & a traced close contact under centralized quarantine. 2 domestic confirmed & 4 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 25 active domestic confirmed & 29 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Yunnan Province reported 5 new domestic asymptomatic cases (3 at Maguan County in Wenshan Prefecture & 1 each at Mengla County in Sipsongpanna Prefecture & Hekou County in Honghe Prefecture). 2 domestic confirmed & 8 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 17 active domestic confirmed & 229 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 4/18, Mainland China reported 8 new imported confirmed cases (1 previously asymptomatic, 0 in Guangdong), 100 imported asymptomatic cases, 1 imported suspect case:
Overall in Mainland China, 2,365 confirmed cases recovered (22 imported), 26,760 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (103 imported) & 617 were reclassified as confirmed cases (1 imported), & 34,397 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 30,733 active confirmed cases in the country (236 imported), 116 in serious condition (all domestic), 266,288 active asymptomatic cases (750 imported), 6 suspect cases (5 imported). 412,624 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
As of 4/19, 3,319.55M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 2.487M doses in the past 24 hrs.
On 4/20, Hong Kong reported 668 new positive cases, 13 imported & 655 domestic (317 via RT-PCR & 338 from rapid antigen tests), 10 deaths (4 fully vaccinated, including 1 boosted).
On 4/20, Taiwan reported 2,481 new positive cases, 95 imported & 2,386 domestic (800 asymptomatic). Symptom onset for the domestic cases date from 3/19 to 4/18.
Steeplejack
@Baud:
?
YY_Sima Qian
On Eric Topol’s tweet, I am all for using mRNA vaccines as booster for all of China’s population. I absolutely believe the CCP regime is playing politics by not approving the BioNTech’s vaccine, of which a Chinese company was an early investor (before Pfizer), & they deserve condemnation for it. However, the problem w/ China’s elderly population is low vaccination uptake, not (yet) the types of vaccines used. If the elders are scared off the very mild side effects of the inactivated whole virion vaccines, their hesitancy will shoot through the room w/ stories of the stronger side effects of the mRNA vaccines. Every deaths (however few they may be) will be hyped on Chinese social media, which we have seen in Hong Kong & Taiwan. Of course, it is the government’s job to overcome such resistance (& civil society, but the CCP regime has largely marginalized civil society). It is perfectly able to conduct the kind of mass mobilization to vaccinate the elders, but will take some coercive measures & the regime is afraid of the blowback.
Wuhan just implemented a “grey code” on the health code APP. If one has not taken an RT-PCR test w/in 48 hrs, the health code will go from green to grey, & one needs to go to the nearest testing booth (which are ubiquitous, have short lines & free) to get a swab. The code will then turn green after the swab has been registered (no need to wait for a negative results). A grey code means one cannot go to school, to work, visit public spaces where health codes are checked, or even enter one’s residential compound. The purpose is surely to boost participation in mass screening campaigns. Why won’t China implement such a system w/ vaccination? Well, no one dies or suffer serious side effects from swabs. Nothing riles up the Chinese population than endangering elders & children.
Tazj
I guess some airline workers think their jobs will get a lot easier now that there’s no mask mandate, maybe that’s why they’re thrilled. I wouldn’t count on it if we were them though, many people love to be angry and feel oppressed.
Cases are rising in WNY. I took a peak at cases per day yesterday and there about 4 times what they were a month ago. My six year old nephew and his mom tested positive a few days ago and thankfully they’re both recovering. I hoping hospitalizations don’t start to tick up.
Republicans are still holding up more funding for COVID and that’s one reason why the supply of Paxlovid is limited, and of course few if any of them push boosters or any other preventative health measures to their constituents. And these are the idiots everyone is clamoring to put back in power.
Hoodie
@Lapassionara: It’s a godawful, willful misreading of a federal statute. As it’s a district court opinion, it won’t be much in the way of precedent, but it needs to be appealed just to get it off the books. This judge really exemplifies the low-quality hires that McConnell stuffed the courts with.
smith
@Hoodie: It is being appealed. Really, it needs to be reversed. Not only does it strike at the heart of the federal government’s ability to respond to a public health emergency, it seems to me to contravene federal control over interstate commerce ( but IANAL). I also think this ruling should have been stayed pending the appeal, given the harm that can/will ensue, and especially given the current rise in cases. That it was not is another sign that this is politicking by a federal judge.
Matt McIrvin
@smith: When you have that level of general jubilation and ball-spiking on the part of the antimaskers, including flight crews, I don’t think it can be reversed in practice. They’ll hijack planes and fly them into buildings if the masks come back. Hell, the pilots will do it themselves.
Nelle
I had two friends flying when crews jubilantly ripped their masks off. One was scheduled for major surgery the next day. The other was going home to an immunocompromised person. No warning, no ability to make other choices. Appallingly quick and thoughtless implementation.
smith
@Matt McIrvin: Even if the Biden administration doesn’t think it can reimpose the mandate for this pandemic (in this election year) it needs to preserve the ability to make and enforce rules to protect public health in emergencies.
Tazj
“The public health establishment still has not grappled with the damage it’s done to its reputation by failing to respect the fact that members of the public have different values and preferences than their own, or to place any value on individual freedom.”-Josh Barro
I knew there was a reason I muted him on Twitter years ago. Their job is first and foremost the health of the public it’s right in their job title, an individual’s feelings about mask wearing should be way down on that list.
Cameron
@Kay: He actually has more easily hurt feelings than Trump, and is probably more vindictive as well. I think this is because he’s not as stupid as Trump, so he spots “grievances” much more readily.
Lacuna Synecdoche
Reuters via Anne Laurie @ Top:
They should immediately appeal anyway. Having to appeal before implementing mandates again, should they become necessary, will just cause delays in an emergency.
And the precedent shouldn’t be allowed to stand.
JMG
@NotMax: We’ve already got a reservation at a Cuban place, Victor’s, for before the show.
Ruckus ??
I got my first 3 shots at the VA and there were people in line to get them. My first booster we had to wait while they brought more from the freezer – there were more customers than they expected. My second booster I got at CVS up the street. There was a line. Of course 70% of the people in LA county is still a lot of people – 7.7+ million and we actually are at 79%, almost 8.1 million. Still, in a pandemic that is, in my opinion, a low number. And yes, I know it’s a higher percentage than a lot of areas. Are any areas up in the range of vaccination that would stop disease spread? Anywhere in this country? I’d bet not, because I believe we have the highest death rate in the world. First place in this race is not the prime spot. Unless the country is going for the ignorant fuck first place trophy. Unfortunately we seem to have won it.
Ruckus ??
@Kay:
DeSantis just pulled it out of his ass.
He has to pull his head out every time he wants to do anything, so really, where else is he going to get any thing from?
Ruckus ??
@Cameron:
You may be correct but I suspect that there is something to do with SFB is only interested in what directly effects him or is directed at him. DeathSantis is interested in what effects his political aspirations and wallet. SFB has proven that while he cares about what’s in his wallet, his ability to think of how to actually earn anything is on the level of an infant. The net effect is that both of them are shit.
Ruckus ??
@Hoodie:
This judge really exemplifies the low-quality hires that McConnell stuffed the courts with.
I believe they are not low-quality hires.
You give them too much credit.
They are ZERO-quality hires.
No, I’m wrong.
They are NEGATIVE-quality hires. Their intent is to do as much damage as possible.
Another Scott
(via EclecticBrotha)
Cheers,
Scott.