The successes in response to COVID-19 threats have come not just from scientific cognition of disease characteristics (SARS-CoV-2) strain biological characteristics, disease prognosis, etc., but also from broad approaches that play a complementary role to fight against COVID-19, including constant surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 strain, clinical and public health efforts, and efficient translation of new findings into disease-control application and implementation.
The comprehensive strategies and measures are formulated based on four elements [4]: (1) SARS-CoV-2 strain characteristics include infectivity, pathogenicity, and mutations. (2) Social and economic development situation, including demographic characteristics, medical resource, material supply, etc. (3) Culture, scientific and technological level. (4) Government will, prevention and control concept, social system and social mobilization capacity.
Packed indoor events and fully booked flights where masks are few and far between suggest that the pandemic is a distant, unpleasant memory.
In reality, Covid-19 cases have steadily increased nationwide since the end of March. Hospitalization and death rates remain low, and will likely stay that way. But beyond that, many experts say they're unable to predict the trajectory of the current wave, including how and when it will end.
Given the past two years of pandemic precedent, that's somewhat surprising and one indicator of many that the ongoing rise in cases is noticeably different than previous Covid surges. Some experts say it might even mark the beginning of the country's "new normal."
Here's why, and what that means for the future of the pandemic:
Previous surges were caused by the emergence of new Covid variants. This wave is powered predominantly by waning immunities, says Dr. David Dowdy, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a physician with Baltimore Medical Services.
The immunity people gained by recovering from the omicron wave in December and January is fading away, allowing omicron and its subvariants "to make [their] rounds again," Dowdy tells CNBC Make It. And many Americans aren't taking particularly strict Covid precautions anymore, assuming that if they get sick, they'll likely recover without ever being hospitalized.
Taken together, that helps explain the past couple months of rising cases: The country's seven-day rolling average of new daily cases is up to 109,032 as of Wednesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That large number is likely a significant undercount, with many people now relying on at-home tests and not reporting their results or eschewing Covid tests entirely.
"We're seeing this disconnect between the 'official' number of cases, for example, and percent positivity or other indicators like wastewater surveillance," Dowdy says.
The winter omicron wave had an incredibly steep peak. By contrast, this one is more driven by "lots of mini waves that come and go," says Dr. Howard P. Forman, director of the health care management program at the Yale School of Public Health.
Forman says the virus' geographic circulation is different this time around: When New York is struggling, for example, Florida may be doing just fine, and vice versa. Those regional waves are often driven by different omicron subvariants sometimes multiple at once making the virus additionally difficult to tamp down. Forman says this is likely what Covid will look like for the foreseeable future.
That doesn't mean reinstating lockdowns or mask mandates. Rather, Forman says, people should be prepared to adjust their behavior and take necessary precautions when there's an outbreak in their area using metrics like hospitalization rates instead of new daily cases to gauge local severity.
"People have to understand that we're still going to have real waves and new concerning variants, and they do need to continue to pay attention and treat this as though it's still a pandemic," Forman says.
The U.S. case load could eventually fall back to its early-March levels. Or, this could be a glimpse of what Covid-19 looks like as an endemic virus in other words, our "new normal."
Either way, instead of trying to live like it's 2019 again, Forman recommends building Covid prevention strategies into your daily routine. Primarily, he says, that means staying up-to-date on your vaccines and getting comfortable with self-testing at home on a semi-regular basis.
Dowdy says you should take an at-home test an hour before heading to any big event or visiting loved ones, because "that's going to be the best indication of your contagiousness level at that time." You should also take an at-home test about five days after any potential exposure to the virus, he adds.
If you test positive, quarantine or isolate yourself appropriately even if that means having to skip something important in your life. Forman says you could also consult your doctor about an antiviral treatment like Paxlovid, which is becoming increasingly available for treating Covid infections.
"Paxlovid works best if used to treat patients early, which means testing is even more important now than it was a few months ago," he says.
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The 27-member scientific advisory group convened by the World Health Organization said available data suggests the virus jumped from animals to humans but gaps in "key pieces of data" meant a complete understanding of the pandemic's origins could not be established.
The team, called the Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), was formed last year to recommend further areas of study to better understand the pandemic's origins and as well as the emergence of future pathogens.
"Studying origins of any novel pathogen or pandemic is incredibly difficult," said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's Covid-19 technical lead for its Health Emergencies Program. "There is a lot more work that needs to be done, in China and elsewhere."
Here are key takeaways from the report.
Animal origins
Current data suggests a zoonotic origin of SARS-CoV-2 -- which means the virus originated in animals and jumped to humans.
The most closely genetically related viruses were found to be beta coronaviruses identified in bats in China and Laos, according to SAGO.
"However, so far neither the virus progenitors nor the natural/intermediate hosts or spill-over event to humans have been identified," the report said.
The group pointed to published surveys of animals sold at the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, where the virus was first identified.
Between 2017 and 2019, the survey showed that several species known to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, such as racoon dogs and red foxes, were present in the market. But those animals were not sampled in the studies presented to the team by invited Chinese scientists.
SAGO said further information about studies into the testing of these animals, as well as tracing back to source farms and serologic investigations into people who farmed and sold or traded the animals have been requested.
The seafood market
Another area the group identified for further study is the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, which investigations suggest "played an important role early in the amplification of the pandemic."
Several of the patients first detected in December 2019 had a link to the market, and environmental samples from the market tested positive for the virus, the report said.
However, once again, big gaps remain.
It is not clear how the source of the virus was introduced to the market and where the initial spill over to humans occurred, the group said, adding that follow-up studies have not been completed.
"There is a need to examine environmental samples collected from specific stalls and drains at the market in January 2020 that tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in areas known to have sold live animals," SAGO said.
"Other essential studies include detailed mapping of upmarket trade of wild/domestic animals sold in Wuhan City and Hubei Province and clinical history and seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in humans and animals from the source farms of animals sold at Wuhan markets," the report said.
The lab-leak theory
SAGO's preliminary report said it "remains important to consider all reasonable scientific data" to evaluate the possibility that Covid-19 spilled into the human population through a laboratory incident.
However, the group said there "has not been any new data made available" to evaluate this theory and recommended further investigation "into this and all other possible pathways."
Essentially, because lab leaks have happened in the past and there is no new data available, the group said this theory cannot be ruled out.
Three members from Russia, Brazil and China objected to this recommendation, "due to the fact that from their viewpoint, there is no new scientific evidence to question the conclusion" of a WHO report from March 2021 that describes the lab leak theory as "extremely unlikely."
Nonetheless, experts have roundly condemned the theory of a laboratory origin for the virus, saying that there's no proof of such origins or of a leak.
'We do not yet have the answers'
According to the report, more than 200 samples initially tested positive for the antibodies but when tested again were not found to be positive. SAGO said it has requested further information on the data and methods used to analyze the samples.
Similarly, the group recommended further study of 76,000 Covid patients identified in the months before the initial outbreak in Wuhan in December 2019 and who were later discounted.
SAGO also said it supports further investigations in any part of the world where there is "firm evidence" of coronavirus in humans before the recognized outbreak.
The preliminary report was based on studies reviewed by SAGO, which was only able to assess information that was made available to them through published reports or presentations from invited scientists.
On Thursday, WHO Director-General Tedros said it has been two-and-a-half years since Covid-19 was first identified but "we do not yet have the answers as to where it came from or how it entered the human population."
He urged the importance of scientific work being kept separate from politics.
"The only way this scientific work can progress successfully is with full collaboration from all countries, including China, where the first cases of SARS-CoV-2 were reported," he said.
CNN's Katherine Dillinger contributed reporting.
Here are options for finding free COVID-19 tests as cases surge in AZ The Arizona Republic
If youre one of the millions of Americans who have already had Covid-19, you may be wondering how long you will have immunity from the coronavirus. Earlier in the pandemic, most people assumed that getting infected had at least one upside: that you would be protected against future encounters with the virus. But as the latest wave heads toward the Western region of the country and the virus shows no signs of easing up, reinfections seem to have become common. Already, many people are reporting second or even third infections with newer variants.
Experts have warned that exposure to the coronavirus through vaccination or infection does not mean that you are completely protected from future infections. Rather, the coronavirus is evolving to behave more like its closely related cousins, which cause common colds and infect people repeatedly throughout their lives.
Ive thought, almost since the beginning of this pandemic, that Covid-19 is eventually going to become an inevitable infection that everybody gets multiple times, because thats just how a new respiratory virus gets established in the human population, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious-disease specialist at Johns Hopkins University.
However, the coronavirus doesnt yet fit into clear seasonal patterns like the other common cold viruses. It can also cause debilitating symptoms that persist for months or years in some people, and has claimed the lives of millions of others. So what can you do to protect yourself, not only from infection but also reinfection? We asked experts for answers to common questions.
Before Omicron, reinfections were rare. A team of scientists, led by Laith Abu-Raddad at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, estimated that a bout with Delta or an earlier coronavirus strain was roughly 90 percent effective in preventing a reinfection in both vaccinated and unvaccinated people. But Omicron really changed that calculus, said Dr. Abu-Raddad, an infectious disease epidemiologist.
After Omicron emerged, prior infections only provided about 50 percent protection against reinfection, Dr. Abu-Raddads study showed. The coronavirus had acquired so many mutations in its spike protein that newer versions became more transmissible and better able to evade immunity. That means you can catch a version of Omicron after recovering from an older, non-Omicron variant. You can even get sick with one of the newer Omicron subvariants after getting over a different version of it.
Other factors also increase your vulnerability to reinfection, starting with how long it has been since you had Covid. Immune defenses tend to wane after an infection. A study published in October 2021 estimated that reinfection could occur as soon as 3 months after contracting Covid-19. While these findings were based on the genome of the coronavirus and accounted for expected declines in antibodies that could fight off the virus, the study did not account for new variants like Omicron that were radically different from older variants. Because of how different Omicron is, your protection may wane even sooner. In a study published in February that has not yet been peer-reviewed, scientists from Denmark found that some people got reinfected with the BA.2 sublineage of Omicron as soon as 20 days after they got infected with the original Omicron BA.1.
Because the virus is infecting more people now, your chances of being exposed and getting reinfected are also higher, Dr. Abu-Raddad said. And while its unclear if some people are simply more susceptible to Covid-19 reinfection, researchers are beginning to find some clues. People who are older or immunocompromised may make very few or very poor quality antibodies, leaving them more vulnerable to reinfection, Dr. Abu-Raddad said. And early research shows that a small group of people have a genetic flaw that cripples a crucial immune molecule called interferon type I, putting them at higher risk of severe Covid symptoms. Further studies could find that such differences play a role in reinfection as well.
For now, you should treat any new symptoms, including a fever, sore throat, runny nose or change in taste or smell, as a potential case of Covid, and get tested to confirm if you are positive again.
The good news is that your body can call on immune cells, like T cells and B cells, to quash a reinfection if the virus sneaks past your initial antibody defenses. T cells and B cells can take a few days to get activated and start working, but they tend to remember how to battle the virus based on previous encounters.
Your immune system has all kinds of weapons to try and stop the virus even if it gets past the front door, said Shane Crotty, a virologist at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in California.
Many of these immune cells build up their protections iteratively, Dr. Crotty said. That means that people who are vaccinated and boosted are especially well equipped to duke it out with the coronavirus. Similarly, people who have been infected before are able to keep the virus from replicating at high levels if they get reinfected. And most people who have logged encounters with both the vaccine and the coronavirus build up a hybrid immunity that may offer the best protection.
The result is that second or third infections are likely to be shorter and less severe.
Dr. Abu-Raddad, who has been tracking reinfections among large groups of people in Qatar, has already started seeing this promising pattern in patient records: Of more than 1,300 reinfections that his team identified from the beginning of the pandemic to May 2021, none led to hospitalization in an I.C.U., and none were fatal.
But just because reinfections are less severe, it doesnt mean that they are not terrible. You may still run a fever and experience body aches, brain fog and other symptoms. And theres no way of knowing if your symptoms will linger and become long Covid, Dr. Adalja said.
It is possible that each Covid infection forces you into a game of Russian roulette, though some researchers hypothesize that the risk is highest right after your first infection. One of the risk factors for long Covid is having high levels of virus in your system early in an infection, and you are likely to have such a high viral load the first time you are infected, Dr. Abu-Raddad said. In subsequent infections, your body is better prepared to fight off the coronavirus so you may be able to keep the virus at low levels until it is completely cleared, he said.
Many of the tools and behaviors that help protect against infection can still help you avoid reinfection, Dr. Abu-Raddad said. There is no magical solution against Covid reinfection.
Getting vaccinated and boosted, for example, is a good idea even after youve had Covid. You only need to wait a few weeks after an infection to get a shot. The vaccines will bolster your antibody levels, and research shows that they are effective in preventing severe outcomes if you get sick again. Scientific confidence in vaccine-induced immunity was and is much higher than infection-induced immunity, Dr. Crotty said.
Additional measures, like masking indoors and in crowded spaces, social distancing and improving ventilation where possible, can provide another layer of protection. But because most people and communities have largely dropped these protections, it is up to individuals to decide when to adopt extra precautions based on their risk of getting Covid and how much theyd like to avoid it.
If you had an infection just last week, you probably dont have to mask up, Dr. Adalja said. But as a month or so passes from your infection and new variants start circulating in the U.S., it may make sense for high risk individuals to do that. People who are trying to avoid getting Covid because theyre going on a cruise soon or because they need a negative P.C.R. test for some other reason may consider taking precautions. Covid protections dont have to be one-size-fits-all.
Novavax aims to bring new COVID shot option to US
Americans may soon get a new COVID-19 vaccine option a more traditional kind of shot known as a protein vaccine. It's late in the pandemic for a new choice, but Novavax is hoping to find a niche with those who are unvaccinated or need boosters. (June 2)
AP
The number of new COVID-19 cases on Cape Cod has declined for the third week in a row, according to a weekly report on cities and towns released by the state Department of Public Health Thursday.
During the last two-week reporting period, from May 22 to June 4, new COVID-19 cases in Barnstable County on Cape Cod declined by about 215 to approximately 910, the DPH said.
State public health officials reported 1,125 new coronavirus cases for the previous two-week reporting period on June 2; 1,380 on May 26; and 1,440 on May 19.
The DPH also said the 14-day testing positivity rate for Cape Cod had declined to 8.64% Thursday from 9.29% June 2.
Daily casenumbers are also down, state public health officials said.
They said Thursday that there were 1,989 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Massachusetts, for a total of 1,736,088 since the pandemic began.
There were also 261 new probable cases for a total of 155,710.
In their daily report Thursday, DPH officials said Barnstable County had 53 new coronavirus cases for a total of 39,572 since the pandemic started.
Hospitalizations also are down.
From the archive: As nation records 1M COVID deaths, Cape Cod remembers those we lost
The DPH said that as of June 8, Massachusetts hospitals had 505 patients with COVID-19, 62% of whom or 313 were fully vaccinated and 33% of whom or 169 were being treated primarily for a COVID-19-related illness.
Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis had 12 patients with coronavirus, one of whom was in intensive care. Falmouth Hospital had four, none of whom were in the ICU.
The 16 Cape patients representa decline from 23 reported last Thursday.
DPH officials said in their Thursday daily report that there were 17 new fatalities among people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 for a total of 19,531 since the pandemic began.
There were no new deaths of people with probable cases. The number of fatalities from probable cases stands at 1,195 in Massachusetts.
More: Patients are waiting for days in Cape Cod ERs for behavioral health care. Here's why.
Barnstable County had one new coronavirus death, the DPH said Thursday, for a total of 598.
The two-week COVID-19 case count, total case count and 14-day testing positivity rate for Cape Cod towns follows.
Barnstable (214; 10,269; 9.66%); Bourne (72; 3,829; 6.38%); Brewster (36; 1,553; 5.91%); Chatham (22; 881; 8.73%); Dennis (50; 2,448; 7.70%); Eastham (15; 527; 8.38%); Falmouth (151; 4,839; 9.73%); Harwich (39; 2,200; 7.23%); Mashpee (68; 2,699; 8.74%); Orleans (19; 821; 8.76%): Provincetown (less than five; 464; 1.54%); Sandwich (97; 3,761; 9.34%); Truro (less than five; 183; 1.92%); Wellfleet (12; 290; 16.00%; and Yarmouth (111; 4,755; 9.63%).
COVID-19 levels are on the decline in Twin Cities wastewater, according to the latest surveillance reports.
The Metropolitan Council and University of Minnesotas Genomic Center continue to combine forces in monitoring Twin Cities wastewater for changes in prevalence of COVID-19.
Fridays welcome news from the Council: The viral RNA load in Metro Plant influent decreased by 16% last week compared to the previous week.
COVID-19 levels measured in Twin Cities wastewater have dropped 16% over the most recent week.
The project consistently analyzes samples from the regions largest wastewater plant, serving 66 communities and nearly two million people. COVID-19 levels measured in metro wastewater have been a leading indicator of the pandemic and strongly correlated with case counts as well as hospitalizations statewide.
The University of Minnesotas other wastewater tracking project, based at the medical school and tracking data from 40 plants statewide, also shows declines in the Twin Cities, as well as central and southeast Minnesota, for the week ending May 25th.
In the most recent week's wastewater data COVID-19 levels are falling in three areas of the state.
On the other hand, COVID levels have been rising recently in two wastewater plants in the southwestern counties of Lyon and Nobles as well as three plants serving Beltrami, Clay and Pennington counties in northwestern Minnesota.
The Minnesota Department of Healths official COVID-19 case count data shows a steady decline recently with a 7-day average of 1,481 cases reported as of June 3, compared to 1,685 the previous Friday.
Hotspots do remain in some counties according to the data, however. Most notably Pope County in west central Minnesota.
Other findings from the Metropolitan Councils update on Friday, include that the omicron variant BA.2 now makes of 68% of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA while BA.4 and BA.5 now comprise 12% and 20%, respectively. These newer sub-lineages are thought to be more transmissible, but somewhat less harmful, than previous versions of COVID-19.
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Maricopa County is now in the medium community level of spread according toCDC, with a rolling average of over 1,200 new cases reported per day. At the same time,flu is widespread, well past the typical mid-winter peak and with significantly higher case counts than are usually seen at this time of year.
While COVID-19 and flu are often mild, both diseases can cause severe illness for some people, to the point of needing hospitalization, said Dr. Nick Staab, medical epidemiologist for Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH). Luckily, we have tools to decrease the spread and severity for people.
People can take several steps to reduce their chances of getting and spreading COVID-19 and flu:
Symptoms for COVID-19 and flu are very similar:
The only way to know for sure if you have COVID-19, flu, or neither is to get tested for both, said Dr. Staab. Medications to decrease severe illness are available for both COVID-19 and flu if they are started soon after developing symptoms. Anyone with symptoms should stay away from others until they get test results to avoid spreading infection.
While vaccines do not prevent 100% of infections, they do a good job at reducing the chances that youll get infected, added Dr. Staab. Its still worth getting vaccinated because if you do end up sick after being vaccinated, your symptoms will typically be milder with a quicker recovery. This helps prevent severe cases and hospitalizations, especially for those who are at higher risk of severe illness, like older adults and those who are immunocompromised.
For more information, including symptoms, vaccine locations, and case counts, please visit:
SHANGHAI, June 11 (Reuters) - China's capital Beijing is experiencing an "explosive" COVID-19 outbreak connected to a bar, a government spokesman said on Saturday, as the commercial hub, Shanghai,conducted mass testing to contain a jump in cases tied to a hair salon.
The warning followed a new tightening of COVID curbs in Beijing since Thursday, with at least two districts closing some entertainment venues after a flare-up in a neighbourhood full of nightlife, shopping and embassies.
While China's infection rate is low by global standards, it maintains a zero-COVID policy, citing the need to protect the elderly and the medical system, even as other countries try to live with the virus.
Register
So far, the country of 1.4 billion has seen just 5,226 deaths from COVID-19.
Beijing authorities said on Saturday that all 61 new cases uncovered in the city on Friday had either visited the Heaven Supermarket Bar or had links to it.
"The recent outbreak ... is strongly explosive in nature and widespread in scope," Xu Hejian, spokesperson of the Beijing municipal government, told a news briefing.
The capital had registered 46 new local cases on Saturday as of 3 p.m. (0700 GMT), all people already in isolation or under observation, health official Liu Xiaofeng said.
The city did not announce new curbs at the briefing, but later the Beijing sports administration said all off-campus and "offline" sports activities for teens would be cancelled from Sunday.
So far, 115 cases and 6,158 close contacts linked to the bar have been reported, throwing the city of 22 million back into a state of anxiety.
Beijing only relaxed curbs less than two weeks ago that had been imposed to fight a major outbreak that began in April.
The sprawling Universal Beijing Resort - a theme park on the city's outskirts - on Friday rescinded a plan to reopen. City authorities said three of its workers had visited the Heaven Supermarket bar.
Many neighbourhoods in the capital have been put under lockdown, with residents told to stay home.
In Shanghai, officials announced three new confirmed local cases and one asymptomatic case detected outside quarantined areas on Saturday, as nearly all the city's 25 million residents began a new round of COVID tests.
Authorities ordered PCR testing for all residents in 15 of Shanghai's 16 districts this weekend, and five districts barred residents from leaving home during the testing period. A city official said residents should complete at least one PCR test a week until July 31.
China's most populous city only lifted a gruelling two-month COVID-19 lockdown on June 1. read more
"I am a little bit worried because if there are positive cases in the compound, it will be put into a sealed situation," said Shanghai resident Shi Weiqi. "I will also stock up on some supplies properly in case the previous situation happens again."
Shanghai authorities said they had also reprimanded and dismissed several district-level officials for lapses at a hotel that was used to quarantine arrivals from overseas, pinpointed as one of the sources of Shanghai's wave of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.
They also said they had warned or dismissed some executives at a state-owned firm that owned the Red Rose beauty salon, where three cases were found among workers this week.
The salon's employees had not followed guidelines to undertake PCR testing daily, they said.
On Saturday, Shanghai reported seven new local symptomatic cases for the previous day, a rise of one, of which six were detected outside of quarantined areas.
The city also recorded nine new local asymptomatic cases, up from six the previous day.
In total, mainland China reported 210 new coronavirus cases for June 10, of which 79 were symptomatic and 131 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said.
That was up from 151 new cases a day earlier, 45 of them symptomatic and 106 asymptomatic.
As of Friday, mainland China had confirmed 224,659 cases with symptoms.
Register
Reporting by Andrew Galbraith, Ryan Woo, Brenda Goh and the Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Kim Coghill, David Holmes and Kevin Liffey
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. New figures from the Arkansas Department of Heath show that the state saw an increase in active cases.
Health officials reported that there were 377 new active cases, pushing the total to 6,565. Total cases jumped to 849,754, an increase of 610.
Data shows that nine state residents were hospitalized, bringing the total to 154. The number of patients on ventilators fell by one, lowering the total to five. There are currently 23 patients in ICU care, a decrease of four.
An additional five Arkansans died, raising the total to 11,517 since the beginning of the pandemic.
The latest figures show that the total vaccine does given rose by 1,596, bringing the total to 4,087,985 within the last 24 hours. Data shows that there are 1,617,977 state residents fully immunized, an increase of 310. There are 285,989 Arkansans partially immunized.
