Tag Archives: pandemic

CBC News reports: Canada joined several European nations by halting flights from the U.K. on Sunday in an effort to prevent a new, potentially more contagious strain of the coronavirus from spreading to this country. CBC News obtained a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued by Transport Canada stating that all commercial, private and charter flights transporting passengers from the U.K. …

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports: State Sen. Jerry Relph, R-St. Cloud, has died of complications related to COVID-19, the first Minnesota lawmaker to succumb to the virus. Relph, 76, was among a number of Republican legislators who contracted COVID-19 after contact with colleagues in mid-November. At the time, Rachel Aplikowski, the Senate GOP spokeswoman, said Relph tested positive after having had …

The Associated Press reports: Workers on Sunday began packaging shipments of the second COVID-19 vaccine authorized in the U.S., a desperately needed boost to efforts to bring the coronavirus pandemic under control. Employees at a factory in the Memphis area were boxing up the vaccine developed by Moderna Inc. and the National Institutes of Health. The much-needed shots are expected …

Bloomberg News reports: Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed a full lockdown on London and large parts of southeast England and told the public across the country to avoid travel, in a desperate attempt to stop a new strain of coronavirus that is spreading rapidly in the U.K. After emergency talks with his most senior officials, Johnson canceled plans to ease …

The New York Times reports: United Airlines said on Friday that it was working with health officials to contact passengers who might have been exposed to the coronavirus by a male passenger who died after a medical emergency on a recent flight. The four flight attendants who responded to the emergency on board the flight, United 591, also went into …

Los Angeles’ ABC News affiliate reports: The ICU capacity in the 11-county Southern California region has dropped to 0% amid a dramatic surge in coronavirus cases, officials said Thursday. California hospitals are required to report the total number of all available staffed ICU beds each day. Regional ICU capacity is calculated by subtracting neonatal and pediatric intensive care beds from …

The Miami Herald reports: Florida’s Department of Health on Thursday confirmed 13,148 additional cases of COVID-19, the most seen since mid-July. The state now has a total of 1,168,483 confirmed cases. Also, 101 new resident deaths were announced, bringing the statewide resident toll to 20,305. Florida has the third highest number of total confirmed cases in the country after Texas …

The Washington Post reports: The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that pharmacists can draw additional doses from vials of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, potentially expanding the country’s supply by millions of doses as the Trump administration negotiates with Pfizer to speed up the next round of vaccine deliveries. The government’s existing supply of the first authorized vaccine can be …

The New York Times reports: Officials across the United States on Wednesday reported the highest daily number for new coronavirus since the pandemic began, as well as the most deaths in a single day. New infections were put at 244,365, and deaths at 3,607 — nearly 500 more than the record set only a week ago. The previous case record, …

Bloomberg reports: New York is headed toward a second full shutdown if Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations continue at their current pace, Governor Andrew Cuomo said. “If we do not change the trajectory, we could very well be headed to shut down” all non-essential businesses, Cuomo said Monday at a virus briefing. The state reported 5,712 hospitalizations, an increase of more …

The Hill reports: The United States on Monday passed 300,000 total deaths from the novel coronavirus, according to a New York Times tally, a shocking number that is certain to quickly grow larger before a vaccine is widely available. The country is now averaging about 2,500 coronavirus deaths every day, a record total. On some days, more than 3,000 people …

The New York Times reports: Despite the horrifying surge of Covid-19 cases and deaths in the United States right now, one bit of good epidemiology news is emerging this winter: It now looks unlikely that the country will endure a “twindemic” of flu and the coronavirus hitting at the same time. That comes as a profound relief to public health …

The Miami Herald reports: Florida’s COVID-19 dashboard reported 11,699 more confirmed cases Friday, replacing Thursday’s case total as the most since July 25, and puts the state’s death toll at 19,977. On July 25, Florida reported 12,199 new cases, ending a run of nine of 11 days with five-figure new case totals. Friday makes five of the last nine days …

Gothamist reports: For the first time since launching the metrics this spring, New York City has surpassed all three infection and hospitalization thresholds meant to monitor the spread of COVID-19. Mayor Bill de Blasio revealed the troubling milestone during a press conference on Friday, while previewing the launch of a new command center that will soon help distribute a COVID …

CNN reports: More Americans who don’t even have coronavirus are suffering from soaring Covid-19 hospitalizations. Newly released data from the US Department of Health and Human Services show at least 200 hospitals were at full capacity last week. And in one third of all hospitals, more than 90% of all ICU beds were occupied. Coronavirus patients occupied 46% of all …

The New York Times reports: Just one week after the United States broke a daily record for coronavirus deaths, it did so again on Wednesday, when officials across the country reported at least 3,011 new fatalities. Last week’s record — 2,885 deaths reported in a single day — was a milestone because not since the pandemic’s first peak, in spring, …

The Associated Press reports: The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows about a quarter of U.S. adults aren’t sure if they want to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. Roughly another quarter say they won’t. Among those who don’t want to get vaccinated, about 3 in 10 said they aren’t concerned about getting seriously ill from …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, racing ahead of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Europe’s main regulator to approve shots for its most vulnerable citizens. Canada will now begin its immunization rollout as early as next week—a daunting challenge for a country that is the second-largest in the world in terms of land mass …

The Associated Press reports: Several German states moved closer to a “hard lockdown” Tuesday as officials warned that continued high coronavirus infections could overwhelm hospitals and that too many people were ignoring existing pandemic restrictions. The governor of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer [photo], announced that schools and most stores will close from Monday until Jan. 10, as the eastern state recorded …

The New York Times reports: With a seven-day average of 2,249 deaths, the country broke the previous mark of 2,232 set on April 17 in the early weeks of the pandemic. Seven-day averages can provide a more accurate picture of the virus’s progression than daily death counts, which can fluctuate and disguise the broader trend line. The United States is …