https://twitter.com/medriva/status/1527832046596505604
COVID restrictions for migrants at U.S. border cannot end yet, judge rules https://t.co/ZvKHxbsGN7 pic.twitter.com/ksONZ5tZDq
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 21, 2022
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As COVID restrictions continue in China's capital, many Beijing residents queued for COVID tests as 50 new symptomatic coronavirus cases were reported the day before pic.twitter.com/3xUpP7Am8C
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 20, 2022
North Korea says it has found nearly 220,000 more people with feverish symptoms even as leader Kim Jong Un claims progress in slowing a largely undiagnosed spread of COVID-19 across an unvaccinated population of 26 million. https://t.co/nK9BuB8nwx
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 21, 2022
At 9:30 a.m. every day this week, a soft-spoken official, Ryu Yong Chol, has appeared on North Korean television to report the number of people with fever and new deaths, and to explain measures to stop the country's first confirmed COVID outbreak https://t.co/QmmP5mTlZP pic.twitter.com/ikZ751f58U
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 20, 2022
Britain reduce COVID alert level as Omicron subsides https://t.co/JQxCE85VGk pic.twitter.com/VEuJUSrKqc
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 20, 2022
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A Moderna #Covid booster after a Pfizer primary series induced higher antibody levels in older adults than did a third shot of Pfizer, researchers in Singapore report. https://t.co/TlemOT4bgU
— Helen Branswell 🇺🇦 (@HelenBranswell) May 14, 2022
Vaccination has again been linked to a reduction in #LongCovid symptoms. The newly reported British findings corroborate similar results reported earlier this year. Researchers, however, are still a long way from proving a causal relationship, experts say https://t.co/kqf9UTY8Eb pic.twitter.com/Bd6e4vUKqX
— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) May 19, 2022
How often can you be infected with the #ooronavirus?
The spread of #Omicron variants has given scientists an unsettling answer: repeatedly, sometimes within months https://t.co/3gkDWNVjyh
— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) May 17, 2022
[Recap] Covid-19: WHO approves China’s single-shot CanSino vaccinehttps://t.co/RDLeZmIIZR
— Hong Kong Free Press HKFP (@hkfp) May 20, 2022
Airborne viruses: The role of fit-tested N95 masks and HEPA filters. A research team from Monash University says a fit-tested N95 mask combined with a portable HEPA filtration system offers the best protection against viral particles in the air. https://t.co/moocHl9UrX via @mnt
— Dan Epstein (@epstein_dan) May 20, 2022
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This is the best use of an interactive layout I've ever seen, just incredibly affecting. https://t.co/LLGW9Jg7U0
— Rachel Riederer (@readerer) May 20, 2022
NeenerNeener
Monroe County, NY:
341 new cases reported on 5/15.
446 new cases reported on 5/16.
596 new cases reported on 5/17.
430 new cases reported on 5/18.
447 new cases reported for 5/19.
Maybe we’ve finally peaked.
Steeplejack
Open thread, I presume.
I fired up the A.C. this morning for the first time this season. The temp went over 90° yesterday here in NoVA and is supposed to hit 95° today. I’ve had the windows open all week, and it was very pleasant until yesterday. Even now it’s mostly the humidity that’s getting to me. So the A.C. will suck some of that out of the air, I hope. The weather is supposed to go back to mild after tomorrow.
Had the usual semiannual moment of anxiety when turning on the A.C. for the first time. (Same with heat in the autumn.) Would it work? Or: “Area man killed in freak HVAC blast.” But it’s working fine. I set the thermostat to 74° to take the edge off.
NotMax
FYI: https://www.staradvertiser.com/2022/05/20/breaking-news/power-rangers-actor-charged-with-paycheck-protection-fraud/
“The actor who played Red Power Ranger in the ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ films and television series has been charged with wire fraud conspiracy relating to the federal Paycheck Protection Program, officials said.
Jason Lawrence Geiger, 47, of McKinney, Texas, is one of 19 defendants named in a federal indictment, the FBI said. Acting under the name Austin St. John, Geiger played Jason Lee Scott, the Red Power Ranger.
[snip]
The Payroll Protection Program was part of the CARES Act designed to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans who were suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement issued Thursday, federal prosecutors said the 19 defendants made fraudulent applications for payroll protection benefits during the pandemic lockdown and used the proceeds for personal purchases and expenditures. In all, the defendants were accused of obtaining at least 16 loans worth at least $3.5 million.”
New Deal democrat
While we were away . . .
Cases in NY, PR, IL, MI, VT, and MN have peaked. NJ appears to be at peak right now. Per the latest CDC report, BA.2.12.1 is close to 80% of all cases in NY, NJ, and PR.
With the exception of PR, where cases increased 30x from trough to peak, the other jurisdictions increased about 5x in 2+ months. If that template holds for the country at large, that will mean a peak of about 150,000 confirmed cases in about a month, with about 50,000 hospitalizations, and about 1500 deaths in about two months.
Then we await the next variant, possibly BA.4/BA.5, which is showing up in small numbers in many States.
Steeplejack
‘@NeenerNeener:
Saw something on Twitter a few days ago that stuck with me. When the airline mask mandate was canceled a month ago the daily national COVID case count was 30,000. Now it’s over 100,000.
Actually 145,000, according to Anne Laurie’s stats up top.
eclare
‘@Steeplejack: Due to at-home testing, that 145k number is vastly underreported. I think it was Eric Topol who tweeted to multiply by seven to ten.
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s Ministry of Health reported 2,063 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, for a cumulative reported total of 4,487,482 cases. It also reported five deaths for an adjusted cumulative total of 35,638 deaths – 0.79% of the cumulative reported total, 0.80% of resolved cases.
There were 29,229 active cases yesterday, 560 fewer than the day before. 1,124 are in hospital. 36 confirmed cases are in ICU; of these patients, 20 confirmed cases cases are on ventilators. Meanwhile, 2,618 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 4,422,615 patients recovered – 98.6% of the cumulative reported total.
2,060 new cases reported yesterday were local infections. Three new cases were imported.
The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) administered 20,998 doses of vaccine on 20h May: 7,965 first doses, 11,286 second doses, and 2,017 booster doses. The cumulative total is 70,762,530 doses administered: 27,918,641 first doses, 26,980,027 second doses, and 16,077,473 booster doses. 85.5% of the population have received their first dose, 82.6% their second dose, and 49.2% their booster dose.
Steeplejack
‘@eclare:
No doubt!
New Deal democrat
‘@steeplejack: Be careful with the conclusion you draw from that, because the Omicron wave in January was similarly underreported due to at home testing, I.e., the true peak in January was not 800,000, but probably 3 million or more.
As an aside: there was supposed to be a big family reunion with the cousins today. Last weekend I pulled out, due to the number of people flying in, and all staying under the same roof. I made the right call: Thursday I found out the host’s son in law tested positive. The event has now been canceled.
Steeplejack
‘@New Deal democrat:
My conclusion is that *everything* is underreported, but even the underreporting is reporting a lot more cases.
Matt McIrvin
Case rates once again seem to be peaking in Massachusetts, but only time will tell if that is a mirage like it was the last time.
Observations of the number of people I personally know who recently got COVID makes me think that the scaling of this relative to the previous Omicron wave is roughly accurate–that is, it’s maybe 1/4 to 1/3 as tall.
I still have no idea how I’ve managed to avoid getting sick so far–I have been more careful than the average person but by no means super-careful. Knock on wood.
Old School
That NYT feature. Very effecting.
YY_Sima Qian
On 5/20 Mainland China reported 181 new domestic confirmed (66 previously asymptomatic), 951 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 0 new domestic suspect cases, & 1 new death.
Guangdong Province reported 2 new asymptomatic confirmed (1 each at Guangzhou & Dongguan) cases, both persons coming from elsewhere & under centralized quarantine since arrival. 9 domestic confirmed & 2 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 105 active domestic confirmed & 46 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. 1 business at Zhanjiang is currently at Medium Risk.
At Guangxi “Autonomous” Region 1 domestic asymptomatic case recovered. There currently are 2 active domestic confirmed (both at Hechi) & 28 active domestic asymptomatic cases (19 at Fangchenggang, 7 at Baise, & 2 at Chongzuo) in the province.
At Hunan Province 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 7 active domestic confirmed & 1 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 Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region there currently are 2 active domestic confirmed (1 each at Manzhouli in Hulun Buir & Chifeng) cases in the province.
Tianjin Municipality reported 6 new domestic confirmed (all mild) & 17 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 20 are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine & 3 via screening of residents under movement control. There currently are 44 active domestic confirmed & 103 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
Shandong Province reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case. 4 domestic confirmed & 23 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 10 active domestic confirmed cases & 57 active asymptomatic cases in the province. As not all of the administrative divisions in the province provide data on recoveries, I cannot track the count of active cases in all of the administrative divisions, given the multiple simultaneous outbreaks.
At Dezhou there currently is 1 active domestic asymptomatic case remaining.
At Binzhou there currently is 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining.
Jinan reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case, a person returning from Shanghai & under centralized quarantine since arrival. 2 domestic confirmed & 20 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 8 active domestic confirmed & 47 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city
At Yantai 2 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 3 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
In the rest of the province 1 domestic asymptomatic (at Linyi) case recovered.
At Taiyuan in Shanxi Province 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 2 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining.
At Ankang in Shaanxi Province there currently is 1 active confirmed case in the city.
At Hebei Province 7 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 3 active domestic confirmed & 62 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. 1 produce market at Tangshan & 1 village at Chengde are currently at Medium Risk.
Liaoning Province reported 4 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 14 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 7 active domestic confirmed & 305 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.
Shenyang reported 4 new domestic asymptomatic cases, all via screening persons in high risk occupations.
Yingkou did not report new domestic positive cases. 4 sites are currently at Medium Risk.
Dandong did not report any new domestic positive cases. 8 sites are currently at Medium Risk.
At Heilongjiang Province 1 domestic confirmed & 5 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 5 active domestic asymptomatic (3 at Mudanjiang & 1 each at Harbin & Qiqihar) cases in the province. All areas of the province are now at Low Risk.
Jilin Province reported 6 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 5 domestic confirmed & 24 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.
Yanbian Prefecture reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic (at Tumen) case, via screening of residents under movement control.There currently are 10 domestic confirmed & 3 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city
Baishan reported 5 new domestic asymptomatic cases, all at Changbai County, 2 traced close contacts under centralized quarantine & 3 via screening of residents under movement control. There currently are 13 active domestic confirmed & 36 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
At Changbaishan there currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case remaining.
At Jilin City 1 domestic confirmed & 1 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered.
At Changchun 4 domestic confirmed & 23 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered.
Beijing Municipality reported 58 new domestic confirmed (2 previously asymptomatic) & 12 new domestic asymptomatic cases. Of the 54 domestic positive cases (9 asymptomatic, 36 mild & 9 moderate) reported between 3 PM on 5/19 & 3 PM on 5/20, 52 are traced close contacts under centralized quarantine or residents under movement control, & 2 via community screening. As the city does not break down recoveries by imported vs. domestic cases, I cannot track the count of active domestic cases there. 15 sites are currently at High Risk. 23 sites are currently at Medium Risk.
Shanghai Municipality reported 84 new domestic confirmed (49 previously asymptomatic) & 784 new domestic asymptomatic cases, all of the new positive cases were already under quarantine. There was 1 news death (89 y.o., w/ a range of underlying conditions, unvaccinated). 257 domestic confirmed & 2,531 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 3,211 active domestic confirmed (212 serious & 59 critical) & 11,394 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city. 8 sites are currently at Medium Risk.
Hubei Province reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case, at Ezhou, a person coming from Shanghai & under centralized quarantine since arrival. 1 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 11 active domestic asymptomatic (5 at Jingmen, 2 each at Enshi Prefecture & Ezhou, & 1 each at, Qianjiang & Suizhou) cases in the province.
Jiangsu Province reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case, at Suzhou, a traced close contact under centralized quarantine. 75 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. The currently are 2 active domestic confirmed & 224 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 5 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 6 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 52 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Huangshan reported 5 new domestic asymptomatic cases, all at Xiuning County, all traced close contacts under centralized quarantine. 3 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 49 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
In the rest of the province 3 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 3 active domestic asymptomatic (1 each at Haozhou, Anqing & Suzhou) cases remaining.
Zhejiang Province reported 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases, both at Hangzhou, both persons under centralized quarantine. As the province does not break down recoveries by imported versus domestic cases, I cannot track the count of active domestic cases there.
At Fujian Province there currently are 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.
At Guizhou Province 2 domestic confirmed & 2 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 2 active domestic confirmed (both at Zunyi) & 6 active domestic asymptomatic (4 at Qiannan Prefecture & 2 at Qiandongnan Prefecture) cases remaining.
Jiangxi Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. 8 asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 3 active domestic confirmed & 93 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.
At Yichun 5 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 79 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
At Shangrao 2 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 3 active domestic confirmed & 12 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
In the rest of the province 1 domestic asymptomatic case recovered, at Fuzhou.
Henan Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed & 38 new domestic asymptomatic cases. 4 domestic confirmed & 52 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 164 active domestic confirmed & 481 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.
Zhengzhou reported 1 confirmed & 1 new domestic asymptomatic cases, both traced close contacts under centralized quarantine.
Xuchang reported 35 new domestic asymptomatic cases, all at Changge.
The rest of the province reported 2 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 1 each at Zhoukou & Nanyang. The case act Nanyang came from Shanghai & under centralized quarantine since arrival.
Sichuan Province reported 32 new domestic confirmed (15 previously asymptomatic) & 77 new domestic asymptomatic cases. As the province does not break down recoveries by imported vs. domestic cases, I cannot track the count of active domestic cases there.
Guang’an reported 32 new domestic confirmed (15 previously asymptomatic) & 76 new domestic asymptomatic cases, all but 3 at Linshui County, all persons under centralized quarantine or residents under lockdown. 3 sites are currently at Medium Risk.
The rest of the province reported 1 new domestic asymptomatic case, at Leshan, a traced close contact under centralized quarantine.
At Chongqing Municipality 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 6 active domestic confirmed & 4 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining in the city.
At Qinghai Province 6 domestic confirmed & 13 domestic asymptomatic cases recovered. There currently are 35 active domestic confirmed & 76 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
At Yunnan Province 1 domestic asymptomatic case recovered. There currently are 1 active domestic confirmed & 5 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 5/20, Mainland China reported 20 new imported confirmed cases (1 previously asymptomatic), 59 imported asymptomatic cases, 0 imported suspect cases:
Xiamen in Fujian Province – 9 confirmed cases, 6 coming from Taiwan & 1 from Singapore
Fuzhou in Fujian Province – 2 asymptomatic cases, 1 each coming from Nigeria & the US
Guangzhou in Guangdong Province – 3 confirmed cases, all count from the US; 14 asymptomatic cases, 9 coming from Malaysia, 2 from Japan, & 1 each from South Korea, Papua New Guinea (via Sydney) & the Philippines
Foshan in Guangdong Province – 1 confirmed case, coming from the US; 3 asymptomatic cases, 1 each coming from Bolivia, the Philippines & Switzerland; all off flights that landed at Guangzhou
Shenzhen in Guangdong Province – 7 asymptomatic cases, 5 coming from Hong Kong & 1 each from Japan & South Korea
Zhuhai in Guangdong Province – 1 asymptomatic case, coming from Hong Kong
Chongzuo in Guangxi “Autonomous” Region – 2 confirmed & 13 asymptomatic cases, all coming from Vietnam
Qinzhou in Guangxi “Autonomous” Region – 2 asymptomatic cases, both coming from Vietnam
Chengdu in Sichuan Province – 2 confirmed cases, both coming from the Netherlands; 4 asymptomatic cases, 2 each coming from Canada & the Netherlands
Nanjing in Jiangsu Province – 2 confirmed cases, 1 each coming from Singapore & the US
Jiangsu Province (location not specified) – 1 asymptomatic cases, no information released
Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province – 1 confirmed case (previously asymptomatic); 1 asymptomatic case, coming from Mexico
Kunming in Yunnan Province – 3 asymptomatic cases, all coming from Australia
Yunnan Province (location not specified) – 2 asymptomatic cases, both coming from Myanmar, via land border crossing
Dalian in Liaoning Province – 2 asymptomatic cases, no information released
Shanghai Municipality – 1 asymptomatic cases, coming from the DRC (via Paris CdG)
Beijing Municipality – 1 asymptomatic case, no information released
Yantai in Shandong Province – 1 asymptomatic case, coming from South Korea
Taiyuan in Shanxi Province – 1 asymptomatic case, no information released
Overall in Mainland China, 391 confirmed cases recovered (12 imported), 2,897 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (49 imported) & 67 were reclassified as confirmed cases (1 imported), & 28,355 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 4,715 active confirmed cases in the country (200 imported), 292 in serious/critical condition (1 imported), 41,812 active asymptomatic cases (428 imported), 0 suspect cases. 258,717 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
As of 5/20, 3,369.057M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 1.337M doses in the past 24 hrs.
On 5/21 Hong Kong reported 228 new positive cases, 16 imported & 212 domestic (87 via RT-PCR & 125 from rapid antigen tests), 0 deaths.
On 5/21, Taiwan reported 84,639 new positive cases, 52 imported & 84,587 domestic (including 153 moderate & 70 serious). There were 59 new deaths (ages ranging from 30+ to 90+, actual dates of death between 5/11 – 5/19, 56 having a range of underlying conditions, 30 partially/fully vaccinated). The reported case incidence in Taiwan is likely no longer indicative of the actual prevalence, as RT-PCR capacity has maxed out, rapid antigen tests are in short supply, & there is no mass screening program.
Pete Mack
Case rates appear to be peaking in the Northeast, which as usual was hit first by this wave. The peak is about equal in magnitude to Delta variant, but the hospitalization and death rates are far lower. Looks like we can reasonably say COVID is endemic, but at a shockingly high level.
And what the hell is China doing? The point of lockdowns is to give time before vaccination. Once vaccination is widespread, lockdowns are supposed to be unnecessary, with hospitalization rate under control!