Thursday, August 25, 2022

Welcome to the Covid pearl-clutching symposium, hosted by the Kansas City Star


Over the past 14 days, the average number of new Covid cases in Kansas city has decreased 31%.  Hospitalizations have decreased 4%, and deaths are down 50%.  

Since July 12th, the 7-day average number of new cases has decreased more than 50%, from 192 to 95.

#VaccinesWork #GetBoosted

HeadlineKasnas City Star, 8/25/2022
Covid infoNew York Times
KC Star excerpt:
At a press briefing on Wednesday, officials from 10 area hospital systems said staffing shortages have led to a reduced bed capacity at hospitals and are delaying transfers from rural hospitals to better-equipped emergency departments in the metro. 
Dr. Dana Hawksinson, the medical director of infection prevention and control at the University of Kansas Health System, added that fortunately, widespread immunity from vaccination and previous infection has prevented the current surge from reaching the case totals and hospitalization numbers of the delta or omicron variant waves. 

8/12/2022 update starts here

Over the past 14 days, the average number of new Covid cases in Dane County has decreased 18%.  Hospitalizations have decreased 6%, and deaths are down 77%.  

Since July 12th, the 7-day average number of new cases has decreased more than 40%, from 393 to 190.

#VaccinesWork #GetBoosted


HeadlineMadison Minute, 8/12/2022
Source:  New York Times (box and arrows added)
Now, the bad news. Dane County has tipped from the “medium” category back into the “high” Covid-19 activity category. 
What does this mean for you? PHMDC says the best possible way to keep protected from Covid-19 infection is to stay up to date on vaccinations and make sure you wear a well-fitting mask when indoors in public, regardless of vaccination status.


8/6/2022 update starts here

Over the past 14 days, the average number of new Covid cases in California has decreased 25% and hospitalizations have decreased 3%.  Since July 12th, the 7-day average number of new cases has decreased nearly 40%, from 25,803 to 15,350.

#VaccinesWork #GetBoosted

Headline:  San Jose Mercury News, 8/5/2022
Source:  New York Times (box and arrows added)
As K12 schools re-open this month, face masks will be optional for most California students, as they were last spring. Testing and quarantining are being dialed back. Schools are giving out rapid tests for students to take before returning to class from the summer break but aren’t demanding proof of a negative result. 
And talk of a statewide vaccine mandate for students has been put on hold along with requirements for the shots that many school districts such as Oakland and West Contra Costa were planning last year.

8/5/2022 update starts here

Over the past 14 days, the average number of new Covid cases in Dane County has decreased 14%, hospitalizations 5%, and deaths 50%.  Since May 14th, the 7-day average number of new cases has decreased nearly 50%, from 392 to 200.
 
HeadlineDaily Cardinal, 8/4/2022
Source:  New York Times (box and arrows added)



7/25/2022 update starts here

The 7-day average of new COVID cases in the U.S. has decreased 2% since since July 12, from 130,716 to 127,756.

Moreover, hospitalizations and deaths  are way down compared to previous peaks.  

#VaccinesWork #GetBoosted

Headline:  Wisconsin State Journal, 7/25/2022
Covid graph and stats:  New York Times (arrows and box added)
As a new school year approaches, COVID-19 infections are again on the rise, fueled by highly transmissible variants, filling families with dread. They fear the return of a pandemic scourge: outbreaks that sideline large numbers of teachers, close school buildings and force students back into remote learning. 
Some school systems around the country have moved to bolster staffing to minimize disruptions, but many are hoping for the best without doing much else differently compared with last year. 
Even some of the districts that had the most disruptions to in-person schooling amid the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant point to few specific changes in their prevention efforts.

7/22/2022 update starts here

Hospitalizations and deaths in Dane County are way down compared to previous peaks.  Moreover, the 7-day average of new Covid cases (232) on 7/21/2022 is down nearly 40% since 5/11/2022, down from 378.

#VaccinesWork #GetBoosted

Headline:  Wisconsin State Journal, 7/11/2022
Covid graph and stats:  New York Times (arrows and box added)
Dane County health officials are recommending, but not requiring, that residents wear face masks in indoor public spaces again, as the county has moved into a high COVID-19 community level as defined by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 
Reported cases of COVID-19 have been stable in the county recently, but hospitalizations have been gradually increasing, said Janel Heinrich, director of Public Health Madison and Dane County. Cases are likely underreported, given the accessibility of rapid tests, for which results typically are not publicly reported, the department said.

7/21/2022 update starts here

Hospitalizations and deaths are way down compared to previous peaks.  

Headline:  NOLA,  7/11/2022
Covid graph and stats:  New York Times (arrows added)

It's not just about case counts anymore.
The slow and gradually building sixth wave of the coronavirus in Louisiana appeared to make a sharp upward turn on Monday, as case counts soared and hospitalizations rose sharply.

7/20/2022 update starts here

And in King County/Seattle (Washington), the 14-day average of new Covid cases is down 15%.   #VaccinesWork #GetBoosted

Headline:  New York Times 7/18/2022
Covid graph and stats:  New York Times (boxes and arrows added)
And the public health officer in King County, Wash., Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, said on Thursday that officials were discussing reissuing a mask mandate but would prefer that the public mask up voluntarily. “We’re not going to be able to have infinite series of mandates forcing people to do this, that and the other,” he said.

 


7/19/2022 update starts here

Hospitalizations and deaths are way down compared to previous peaks.  

Headline:  Chicago Sun-Times, 7/15/2022
Covid graph and stats:  New York Times
The latest highly infectious variants are not thought to cause more severe symptoms, and vaccines have still proven to offer significant protection, according to the Cook County Department of Public Health. That’s why the basic pandemic tenets still apply, spokesman Don Bolger said in an email.


Related reading:

New York Times 7/18/2022


7/16/2022 update starts here

Cases are up, but hospitalizations are way down from the omicron peak and deaths are negligible (<1 daily average).

Headline:  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 7/15/2022
Covid graph and stats:  New York Times (arrows and box added)

"Seemingly"?
The advisory is in effect for all individuals older than 2 regardless of vaccination status or prior infection. Early research indicates that BA.5, now the country's dominant variant, is "seemingly more transmissible and more immune-evading" than other variants, the advisory states. 
The CDC’s finding of "high" COVID-19 spread in Milwaukee County was based on 294.91 new cases per 100,000 people in the last week, 12.8 new hospital admissions with COVID-19 per 100,000 people in that time period and 3.4% of inpatient beds occupied by patients with confirmed COVID-19.

7/15/2022 update starts here

But hospitalizations and death are way down from the November 2020 and January 2022 peaks.

Headline:  San Jose Mercury News, 7/14/2022
Covid graph and stats:  New York Times (red and orange arrows and red box added)
Los Angeles is the most populous county, home to 10 million residents. It faces a return to a broad indoor mask mandate on July 29 if current trends in hospital admissions continue, county health Director Barbara Ferrer said Thursday. 
Ferrer conceded that “for many this will feel like a step backwards,” but requiring masks again is part of a toolkit of “sensible safety precautions” during a jump in cases that’s reminiscent of the Delta variant-fueled surge last summer.
That's when Californians were running up that hill.  (orange arrow)


7/14/2022 update starts here

But hospitalizations and death are way down from omicron peak in January.

HeadlineKansas City Star, 7/12/2022
Covid graph and stats:  New York Times (arrows and red box added)
Cases of COVID-19 are rising up to levels not seen since the end of the omicron wave around Kansas City, in large part due to the new BA.5 variant that is more resistant to immunity and vaccines.Ferrer conceded that “for many this will feel like a step backwards,” but requiring masks again is part of a toolkit of “sensible safety precautions” during a jump in cases that’s reminiscent of the Delta variant-fueled surge last summer.
 
7/13/2022 update starts here

Up a whopping 8%.

Headline Wisconsin State Journal, 7/13/2022
Covid graph and stats:  New York Times (red box added)
Florence County, in northern Wisconsin bordering Michigan's Upper Peninsula, has a high COVID-19 community level, meaning people should wear face masks indoors, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Good luck with that!

Source:  Wikipedia

7/12/2022 update starts here

HeadlineMilwaukee Journal Sentinel, 7/9/2022
Covid graph and stats:  New York Times (arrows and red box added)

On Friday, the Wisconsin Hospital Association reported 427 COVID patients in hospitals across the state, this is an increase of 53 patients from July 1 and also the highest level in the state since early March. Wisconsin is also experiencing an uptick in transmission, as the positivity rate has increased steadily throughout the week starting July 3, up to 13.2%.
 

7/11/2022 Bloomberg edition

Headline:  Bloomberg, 7/9/2022
Covid graph and statsNew York Times (current surge captured within red box)

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