Just when it seemed global risks might be peaking, a new but all-too-familiar fear is back.
Covid-19 cases are surging again in China. Chinese authorities imposed a lockdown of the southern city of Shenzhen on Sunday and implemented fresh restrictions in Shanghai, the countrys most populous city.
Hong Kongs Hang Seng Index tumbled 5% Monday,...
The vaccine deployment in December 2020 signaled a turning point in the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of May 2021, 40% of the U.S. population was fully vaccinated. But as vaccination rates lagged over the summer, new surges of COVID-19 came, including Delta in the summer of 2021, and now the Omicron variant, which comprises the majority of cases in the U.S.
Researchers around the world have reported that Omicron is more transmissible than Delta, making breakthrough and repeat infections more likely. Early research suggests this strain may cause less severe illness than Delta and the original virus, however, health officials have warned an Omicron-driven surge could still increase hospitalization and death ratesespecially in areas with less vaccinated populations.
The United States as of March 10 reached 964,448 COVID-19-related deaths and 79.4 million COVID-19 cases, according to Johns Hopkins University. Currently, 65.2% of the population is fully vaccinated, and 44.1% have received booster doses.
Stacker compiled a list of the counties with highest COVID-19 infection rates in California using data from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and vaccination data from Covid Act Now. Counties are ranked by the highest infection rate per 100,000 residents within the week leading up to March 9, 2021. Cumulative cases per 100,000 served as a tiebreaker.
Keep reading to see whether your county ranks among the highest COVID-19 infection rates in your state.
New cases per 100k in the past week: 56 (145 new cases, -45% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 13,560 (35,097 total cases) 40.5% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 105 (272 total deaths) 51.6% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 86.7% (224,292 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 57 (5 new cases, -77% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 11,073 (979 total cases) 51.4% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 79 (7 total deaths) 63.6% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 41.5% (3,673 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 57 (954 new cases, -79% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 15,926 (266,180 total cases) 30.1% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 106 (1,766 total deaths) 51.2% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 80.8% (1,349,877 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 59 (27 new cases, -54% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 16,547 (7,596 total cases) 27.4% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 253 (116 total deaths) 16.6% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 52.7% (24,195 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 73 (328 new cases, -39% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 20,187 (90,135 total cases) 11.4% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 148 (659 total deaths) 31.8% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 68.4% (305,237 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 73 (46 new cases, -36% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 21,258 (13,352 total cases) 6.7% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 150 (94 total deaths) 30.9% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 71.3% (44,770 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 74 (293 new cases, -23% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 17,446 (69,493 total cases) 23.4% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 148 (591 total deaths) 31.8% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 66.4% (264,339 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 76 (1,187 new cases, -38% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 19,379 (300,773 total cases) 14.9% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 185 (2,869 total deaths) 14.7% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 66.6% (1,034,337 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 77 (50 new cases, -46% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 22,353 (14,548 total cases) 1.9% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 243 (158 total deaths) 12.0% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 42.5% (27,637 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 78 (593 new cases, -35% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 22,879 (174,375 total cases) 0.4% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 274 (2,091 total deaths) 26.3% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 60.2% (459,064 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 78 (1,915 new cases, -31% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 24,911 (615,445 total cases) 9.3% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 254 (6,279 total deaths) 17.1% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 57.7% (1,424,607 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 81 (938 new cases, -48% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 17,249 (198,967 total cases) 24.3% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 109 (1,256 total deaths) 49.8% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 81.5% (940,024 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 81 (362 new cases, -58% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 19,282 (86,313 total cases) 15.4% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 97 (435 total deaths) 55.3% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 66.0% (295,549 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 83 (1,600 new cases, -28% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 16,636 (320,714 total cases) 27.0% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 114 (2,202 total deaths) 47.5% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 84.9% (1,635,937 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 91 (1,984 new cases, -8% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 26,707 (582,245 total cases) 17.2% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 307 (6,703 total deaths) 41.5% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 56.0% (1,221,724 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 94 (127 new cases, -50% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 14,559 (19,736 total cases) 36.1% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 101 (137 total deaths) 53.5% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 65.4% (88,613 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 95 (171 new cases, -44% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 20,256 (36,477 total cases) 11.1% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 274 (493 total deaths) 26.3% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 46.0% (82,779 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 95 (27 new cases, -37% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 22,808 (6,476 total cases) 0.1% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 151 (43 total deaths) 30.4% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 54.4% (15,442 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 99 (17 new cases, -51% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 14,910 (2,565 total cases) 34.6% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 35 (6 total deaths) 83.9% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 43.9% (7,551 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 99 (9,907 new cases, 0% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 27,863 (2,797,184 total cases) 22.3% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 306 (30,759 total deaths) 41.0% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 72.3% (7,262,335 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 101 (44 new cases, -51% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 16,346 (7,117 total cases) 28.3% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 170 (74 total deaths) 21.7% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 47.9% (20,863 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 103 (790 new cases, -27% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 16,431 (125,957 total cases) 27.9% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 82 (630 total deaths) 62.2% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 83.7% (641,460 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 103 (227 new cases, -18% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 17,707 (39,043 total cases) 22.3% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 139 (306 total deaths) 35.9% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 69.6% (153,488 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 103 (225 new cases, -13% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 17,935 (39,310 total cases) 21.3% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 172 (378 total deaths) 20.7% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 52.7% (115,417 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 103 (445 new cases, -41% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 21,007 (91,184 total cases) 7.8% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 163 (706 total deaths) 24.9% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 71.5% (310,186 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 106 (13 new cases, -52% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 11,925 (1,465 total cases) 47.7% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 163 (20 total deaths) 24.9% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 48.4% (5,943 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 106 (294 new cases, -41% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 25,243 (70,095 total cases) 10.8% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 285 (791 total deaths) 31.3% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 50.6% (140,570 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 108 (85 new cases, -17% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 21,452 (16,876 total cases) 5.8% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 146 (115 total deaths) 32.7% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 48.3% (37,966 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 120 (340 new cases, -20% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 19,618 (55,541 total cases) 13.9% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 158 (448 total deaths) 27.2% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 63.5% (179,665 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 121 (26 new cases, -13% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 20,940 (4,512 total cases) 8.1% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 97 (21 total deaths) 55.3% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 59.7% (12,870 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 122 (192 new cases, -43% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 27,420 (43,139 total cases) 20.4% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 225 (354 total deaths) 3.7% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 53.5% (84,126 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 125 (616 new cases, -15% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 17,113 (84,597 total cases) 24.9% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 96 (473 total deaths) 55.8% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 77.6% (383,487 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 138 (26 new cases, -33% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 16,244 (3,055 total cases) 28.7% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 69 (13 total deaths) 68.2% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 54.4% (10,236 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 140 (193 new cases, -8% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 19,210 (26,460 total cases) 15.7% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 99 (136 total deaths) 54.4% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 78.2% (107,734 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 143 (390 new cases, -30% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 17,828 (48,708 total cases) 21.7% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 93 (254 total deaths) 57.1% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 74.5% (203,411 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 144 (26 new cases, -13% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 25,101 (4,528 total cases) 10.2% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 310 (56 total deaths) 42.9% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 61.5% (11,086 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 147 (267 new cases, -51% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 36,231 (65,656 total cases) 59.0% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 491 (890 total deaths) 126.3% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 91.2% (165,195 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 149 (1,488 new cases, -25% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 24,982 (249,597 total cases) 9.7% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 266 (2,653 total deaths) 22.6% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 60.2% (601,348 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 151 (97 new cases, -32% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 17,748 (11,427 total cases) 22.1% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 202 (130 total deaths) 6.9% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 54.2% (34,879 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 153 (844 new cases, -18% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 24,416 (134,449 total cases) 7.2% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 279 (1,537 total deaths) 28.6% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 56.1% (308,738 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 159 (5,292 new cases, -14% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 23,705 (791,352 total cases) 4.0% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 152 (5,068 total deaths) 30.0% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 74.7% (2,492,721 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 159 (739 new cases, -34% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 28,280 (131,841 total cases) 24.1% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 282 (1,316 total deaths) 30.0% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 53.5% (249,188 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 166 (66 new cases, -8% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 22,696 (9,022 total cases) 0.4% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 211 (84 total deaths) 2.8% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 52.0% (20,666 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 193 (187 new cases, +10% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 22,997 (22,300 total cases) 0.9% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 224 (217 total deaths) 3.2% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 59.6% (57,821 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 203 (176 new cases, -16% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 18,275 (15,853 total cases) 19.8% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 135 (117 total deaths) 37.8% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 67.9% (58,942 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 241 (67 new cases, -40% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 21,376 (5,945 total cases) 6.2% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 173 (48 total deaths) 20.3% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 46.8% (13,028 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 299 (458 new cases, -30% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 35,728 (54,643 total cases) 56.8% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 283 (433 total deaths) 30.4% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 44.3% (67,746 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 303 (165 new cases, +11% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 23,811 (12,972 total cases) 4.5% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 329 (179 total deaths) 51.6% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 51.7% (28,150 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 343 (3,087 new cases, -11% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 26,101 (234,963 total cases) 14.6% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 239 (2,152 total deaths) 10.1% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 52.7% (474,630 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 363 (111 new cases, +14% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 32,038 (9,795 total cases) 40.6% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 203 (62 total deaths) 6.5% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 28.6% (8,730 fully vaccinated)
What GAO Found
Starting in January 2020, presidential executive actions imposed restrictions on international air travel to the U.S. from certain countries and mandated that face masks be worn on transportation systems, due to COVID-19. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issued security directives to operators of transportation systems to implement these executive actions. TSA expedited coordination with external stakeholdersother federal agencies and industryto develop and issue these directives, due to the urgent nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to TSA officials, development of security directives can take up to several months. However, the executive actions typically gave TSA less than a week to issue the COVID-19 security directives. While selected external stakeholders raised several issues with the security directives, they stated that TSA's expedited coordination was generally effective.
TSA Face Mask Security Directive Signage at Airport Security Checkpoints
TSA took steps to ensure operator implementation of its security directives and, in addition to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has investigated incidents of or related to non-masked passengers. For example, TSA conducts in-person inspections of air carriers' preboarding procedures for U.S.-bound flights to confirm that they are following the directives restricting travel from certain countries. It also conducts investigations into incidents reported by transportation operators of passengers who refuse to comply with the face mask security directives and become disruptive or aggressive towards an operator or others. Of the over 3,800 incidents investigated from February 2021when the face mask security directive was implementedto March 2022, TSA issued more than 2,700 warning notices and over 900 civil penalties against passengers. Separately, the FAA investigates incidents of unruly passengers who interfere with crew members in their duties, including times when they have been asked to comply with the face mask security directive.
In response to the pandemic, the federal government has been concerned about how to slow the spread of COVID-19, including in the transportation sector. TSA, the federal agency responsible for securing the nation's transportation sector, issues security directives if threat information, events, or significant vulnerabilities indicate that additional security measures are needed. TSA security directives establish mandatory measures for transportation operators to implement.
The CARES Act includes a provision for GAO to monitor the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic. GAO was also asked to review TSA efforts to respond. This report describes TSA's (1) security directives issued to address COVID-19, (2) coordination with interagency and industry stakeholders on COVID-19 security directives, and (3) efforts to ensure operators' implementation of TSA's COVID-19 security directives as well as TSA and FAA investigations of non-masked passengers.
GAO reviewed relevant agency documents and guidance, and analyzed data on related enforcement actions taken from February 2, 2021 to March 7, 2022 for TSA and from January 1, 2021 to November 1, 2021 for FAA. GAO interviewed TSA, FAA, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials as well as a nongeneralizable sample of transportation stakeholders, selected based on transportation mode, region of operation, and other factors to obtain insights into stakeholder perspectives on TSA coordination.
For more information, contact Tina Won Sherman at (202) 512-8461 or shermant@gao.gov.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. COVID-19 mask restrictions have been lifted for New Yorkers, including for schoolchildren above the age of 5.
It should be a happy, liberating moment. Its what many of us have waited for.
But it hasnt been that easy. Theres much that isnt as straightforward any more, thanks to the pandemic.
Not everybody wants to take their masks off. Some kids want to keep them on. They still feel in danger from the virus. They could face peer pressure in school if all the other kids want to take their masks off.
The same is true on the flip side: In some places, the majority of kids may want to keep their masks on. They could single out or shun those kids who want to be done with facial coverings.
Some parents may not agree with lifting the mandate and will want their kids to keep their masks on. The kids may disagree with mom and dad. Parents themselves may disagree with each other over whether their kids should keep their masks on.
Were seeing these differences in the larger world as well. Many people are choosing to keep their masks on in the supermarket, in the park, while driving their cars.
Its divided us. Because dont tell me that people dont judge each other based on whether theyre masked or not.
Those on the red side of the political divide consider people wearing masks to be helpless sheep who cant think for themselves. To those on the blue side, the unmasked are science deniers who want everybody in the world to die of the virus.
The mask has become an outward sign of your social virtue or lack thereof. And that creates some peer pressure for us adults as well. Dont think that we dont feel it. Its not going away anytime soon.
In another welcome move, vaccine passports are no longer required to enter bars, restaurants or sports and entertainment venues in New York City.
Well, not quite. Eateries and other businesses can still keep the passport in effect if they so choose. So be sure to check the rules before you buy those concert tickets.
The same goes for any vacation spot you may want to visit. Youre going to have to call ahead to see if any restrictions are still in place. Check with your airline and with Amtrak too.
We still dont know if kids will be required to get yearly vaccines to attend public schools in New York City. We dont know if colleges and universities will continue to demand that students be vaccinated.
All of us who are employed by companies doing business in New York City are still required to be vaccinated. Will we be required to get boosters? Will we be required to get a COVID vaccine each year? Nobody knows.
We dont know whats going to happen when the next cold and flu season rolls around. If COVID is still present, even in a diminished form, will there be shutdowns again? Will be be forced into hibernation again?
And what about the health care workers, teachers and others who lost their jobs because they refused to be vaccinated? United Airlines is allowing workers with vaccine exemptions to return to work. When will other workers be allowed back on the job?
The world is different now. Things have changed.
And they might change again in the future. Because the kids today who are growing up thinking that masks are essential or at least cant hurt will be the leaders of tomorrow. What public health measures will they think are common sense?
This pandemic may never truly end.
Betsy Bloch doesn't remember the end of 2020, or any part of January 2021.
She remembers getting in the ambulance on Christmas night. She can remember the next day, being taken by helicopter to UnityPoint-Meriter Hospital in Madison. She caught COVID-19 on the tail end of Wisconsin's first big wave of new infections and spent January sedated in a medical coma.
Bloch was seven months pregnant when she went into the hospital. Doctors needed to medically sedate her, and when they did that, the baby's vital signs began to crash, Bloch said. Just days after she was admitted, she gave birth to her third daughter, Jennifer, by cesarean section.
"I was told in February that I'd had the baby," she said. "They didn't tell me what day."
The hospital sent Jennifer, who was about two months early, to the newborn intensive care unit. Bloch's condition was worsening, and her lungs werent supplying her body with the oxygen she needed. Doctors would later learn that in addition to COVID-19, she also had contracted blastomycosis, a rare fungal infection that attacks the lungs. That infection likely compounded the effects of COVID.
It would be months before Bloch came home, months before she held her daughter or even saw her in person instead of on FaceTime. And the life she came home to in Athens, a small town in central Wisconsin,was different. Her family was different, and she was different. And she and her husband would spend the next year worried about their medical bills and working on her recovery.
Wisconsin has confirmed almost 1.4 million cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. More than 12,000 people have died. But even among those who have recovered, the disease has left lasting scars. Some suffer from long COVID; others have lost family members, jobs or social connections in the last two years.
Today, the rate of new COVID-19 infections in the state is as low as it was nearly a year ago and is still declining. Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control in recent weeks has issued new, relaxed guidance on mask-wearing and quarantining. In the words of one science writer, the pandemic is "inching toward an endemic."
Bloch is also moving forward.
"I'm trying to create a new life and put this behind me," she said in February.
But in the same way the pandemic has left changes small and large across Wisconsin, the nation and the world, Bloch's case also demonstrates just how much a fight with a serious illness can affect a family's life. There are things about her sickness she can put behind her. But there are also things in her life that will never be the same.
From the time his wife was hospitalized, Justin Bloch tried to keep some sense of normalcy for their two daughters, 5-year-old Amelia and 4-year-old Raina.
"I kept pushing on every day," Justin said. "Especially when the kids were around, just trying to be a base for them."
They were not sure how Betsy contracted COVID-19. Luckily, the rest of the family didn't get sick at the same time.
Because of the hospital's pandemic rules, he mostly visited Betsy virtually. In the first month, he saw her in person once, while she was under sedation. After Jennifer was born, he could see his daughter in the NICU, but only under strict visiting protocols and, at first, after a nearly three-hour drive from their central Wisconsin home to Madison.
For a time, he couldn't work. In the mornings, he took his daughters to day care, then spent the day waiting for medical news, talking with family, trying to distract himself.
For much of her time in the hospital, Betsy's family, including Justin and her mom, Kim Engel, spent every day afraid of the call that would tell them she died. After Betsy had Jennifer, Betsy's condition worsened. They told Engel thatdespite the risks of moving her, they would need to transfer Betsy from Meriter to UW Health Hospital. Her oxygen levels were falling, and they believed she might require an ECMO machine, a life support system that could essentially breathe for her. The pandemic had made ECMO machines scarce, but UW Health had one available for her.
"They said: We can't wait until the last minute," Engel said. "She has to be there if she's going to be put on it."
Doctors put her on the ECMO machine as soon as she was transferred.
Baby Jennifer was in the NICU in Madison for about three weeks, then was transferred to a Wausau hospital for about a week, much closer for Justin. By late January, Jennifer was home.
For Betsy, though, the months that followed were the most agonizing of her life. She felt as if she were burning from the inside. The air-conditioning in her hospital room was set at 55 degrees. Nurses brought her cooling blankets.
"They had six to seven ice packs put around me, and they had to change them out because they would just melt," she said.
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She remembers a scan of her lungs that showed how depleted they had gotten. If a scan of healthy lungs shows a large, dark cavity, she said, "mine was like looking through a cloud. It was just white."
Her despair was not just physical. She felt uncontrollable anxiety. She remembers looking up mortality rates on her phone from her hospital bed, thinking she probably wouldn't leave alive. She tried kicking off the ECMO lines. She said she attempted to kill herself when she felt she couldn't live through the pain.
But she did, and she began to improve. The lung scans began to show pockets of black. She could breathe on her own.
"They still weren't normal-looking, because they're not going to be," she said. "My right lung is very, very scarred. And (the doctors) said that might not go away."
In March 2021, Betsy was released from the hospital, and finally met her baby. It was not a made-for-TV moment. She hadn't been able to bond with her child in the hospital. And even though she was home, she wasn't close to healthy yet. She wasn't eating. Her thoughts turned to dark places.
"I would have panic attacks if the kids would get too loud," she said. "It sounds horrible, but when you're in a hospital room, with its beeps and boops ... you get used to that."
Holding Jennifer felt wrong. Betsy burst into tears at the sight of Raina, who seemed to have grown into a different child since Betsy had been gone.
It took her months to bond with the baby. But again, she made small, incremental steps forward, with the support of her family. She got better.
In October, Engel organized a community fundraiser for Justin and Betsy. Church members, family friends and community members gathered in the town of Merrill for food, music and raffles, all to raise money for all the income they lost while Betsy was hospitalized and Justin wasnt working, as well as what they worried could be crushing medical bills.
Raina and Amelia played hopscotch and rolled down the hill outside the town hall. Jennifer slept in a baby carrier. The family said they felt supported by their community, who came together to show they cared about what all the Blochshad been through.
"It's been a trying year," said Jerry Engel, Betsys father. "But it turned out for the good."
By the fall, Betsy had been able to go back to work at Weinbrenner Shoe Company in Merrill. Justin, formerly a dairy farmer, had found a maintenance job with the Athens School District. Engel was caring for her own aging mother in Merrill, and worrying a lot less about her daughter.
In December, nearly a full year after Betsy got sick, she finally received word about her medical bills. Though she had been affected by both COVID-19 and blastomycosis, the state attributed her hospital stay to COVID-19, and wrote off the cost of her expenses: the helicopter; the ambulances; the months spent connected to the ECMO machine. The family had almost gotten used to the underlying anxiety of worrying about whether theyd spend the rest of their lives in medical debt.
For Betsy,finding out they didnt owe anything came with its own kind of survivors guilt. The money from the fundraiser was still a lifeline, as her sickness had meant months of lost income for the family and plenty of debt.But after all the months of waiting for the next bill, she almost couldnt believe it when it didn't come.
She knows she's changed since she got sick. It's not just the tracheotomy scar, the inhaler she needs now. She's also quieter, she said, and a bit more inwardly directed.
"She didn't come home the same person she was when she left," Justin said. "You go through a life issue like that, you're not the same person anymore."
But Betsy also said she feels fortunate to have come out on the other side of her ordeal.
"I do have a long way to go," she said. "But I'm here."
This week, WPR is bringing you stories reflecting on the last two years of the pandemic. They include stories on long haulers, masking, health care workers, education and work. For more stories on COVID-19, visitwpr.org/COVID.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the name of Jerry Engel.
Michigan teens have been in the middle of a 2-year tug-of-war over COVID-19, safety Detroit Free Press
CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WSAV) As cases continue dropping across the Coastal Empire, the Chatham County Health Department is altering some of the services they offer.
Free COVID-19 testing and vaccination will continue to be available in Chatham County, but locations will be moved to smaller buildings to match the demand.
Beginning Mar. 17 through April, all public COVID-19 testing will be offered at the Health Departments West Chatham site, located on the campus of Georgia Tech at 250 Technology Circle in Pooler.
After Mar. 16, there will be no testing at the Savannah Civic Center through April due to previously scheduled events at that location.
New self service options are also coming to Chatham County. In early April, the Health Department expects to receive a self-testing kiosk, dispensing free PCR self-tests 24-hours a day at the main clinic on Eisenhower Drive. More details will be released soon.
Mar. 31 will be the final day for vaccinations at the COVID-19 Vaccination Annex at 1249Eisenhower Drive. Vaccinations will be relocated to the main Health Department clinic located at 1395 Eisenhower Drive.
Mobile vaccination clinics will continue to be offered at various locations throughout Chatham County by C.O.R.E.
Weve been so fortunate to have the cooperation and generosity of the City of Savannah andChatham County in letting us use the Civic Center and the Annex site for such a long time, saidDr. Chris Rustin, Administrator of the Chatham County Health Department. During the peakdemand of testing and vaccinations, we could not have adequately served the communitywithout these facilities.
For more information or to pre-register for a test or vaccination, visit the Coastal Health District website here.
The pandemic isnt over, and as long as COVID continues to circulate, new variants candevelop and bring another surge in cases, said Dr. Rustin. These changes reflect our need toadjust to the situation at hand. Should demand change again in the future, well expand againto meet it. In the meantime, if you do become sick, or if youre exposed, or if you still need toget up to date on your vaccinations, were here and ready to assist you.
The Red Cross will resume testing blood donations for COVID-19 antibodies.
A spokesman for the Red Cross said they plan to use plasma with high levels of antibodies to help people with a weaker immune system.
Blood from routine donations will be tested for antibody levels, and the plasma that has high levels of COVID antibodies may be used as convalescent plasma.
The Red Cross first tested donations for antibodies earlier in the pandemic, but paused when infection rates decreased and new treatments became available. The new donations will target immunocompromised patients.
Earlier in the pandemic, convalescent plasma was being used for a wide range of patients, and now its very limited to people with immunosuppressive disorders or are receiving treatment for things like an organ transplant, said Matt Trotter with the Red Cross.
With the emergence of new variants, hospitals began looking for more options.
Trotter says the Red Cross decided to bring back testing to give doctors another option.
Now when were in a situation where hospitalizations have gone up again, cases spiked, we have immunocompromised patients battling COVID in hospitals that would really benefit from convalescent plasma, Trotter said.
The Red Cross says COVID antibody test results will be available to donors one to two weeks after donation.
Given the strain on hospital resources caused by the pandemic, many informaticists have focused on the abilityto predict patient populations.
In January, researchers at the Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University found that machine learning models trained using statewide health information exchange data can actually predict a patient's likelihood of being hospitalized with COVID-19.
Joining Healthcare IT News Senior Editor Kat Jercich to discuss the study's implications are two of its lead authors, Dr. Shaun Grannis and Suranga Kasturi.
Like what you hear? Subscribe to the podcast onApple Podcasts,SpotifyorGoogle Play!
Talking points:
More about this episode:
Regenstrief launches initiative to disseminate SDOH data
HIE-trained AI models can forecast individual COVID-19 hospitalization
Data from 175K COVID-19 patients fuels predictive severity model
Predicting COVID-19 hotspots: Kaiser Permanente tool uses EHR data to forecast surges
Even innocuous-seeming data can reproduce bias in AI
NEW YORK UConn coach Dan Hurley had just coached his team to victory over Seton Hall in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night when he began his press conference by crediting the Pirates coach Kevin Willard. They are, after all, similar characters. Both are in their 40s, prone to sharp-witted sarcasm and have a burning desire to dominate the hyper-competitive Big East.
Credit Seton Hall, said Hurley, the Jersey City native and former Seton Hall guard. What Kevin has done with those guys this year through, just through losing guys and the type of season hes had in the Big East this year, and [I] just want to wish those guys good luck next week in the [NCAA] Tournament.
Willard, 45, has Seton Hall (21-10, 11-8 Big East) into the Big Dance for the fifth time in the last six tournaments. They are the No. 8 seed in the South Regional and will face No. 9 TCU on Friday night in San Diego (9:57 p.m. ET, truTV).
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Willard is back in the Big Dance despite losing one of his key players, Bryce Aiken, for the season due to a second concussion, and despite a COVID pause in December that impacted the team for several weeks afterward. It should actually be Willards sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in seven years, but the 2020 event -- where the Myles Powell-led Pirates were a potential Final Four team -- was canceled by the pandemic.
My staff did a great job this year, Willard said Sunday on a Zoom. They really did. I have Grant Billmeier, who should be a head coach pretty soon. I think the fact that I had such a good staff and we were able to navigate the disruptions much better than we have in the past, I think that was huge.
And I think having a veteran group, guys that had been through it, I think they helped me navigate it tremendously. They helped me navigate it. They were able to get back into the swing of things after the COVID pause and I think their leadership was really good. I think it was overall an unbelievable team effort from top to bottom.
The genesis of Willards success this season goes back to last year, when they came up short of making the NCAA Tournament despite featuring Sandro Mamukelashvili, who won a share of Big East Player of the Year honors and now plays for the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks.
Knowing that his team desperately needed help at the point guard position, Willard hit the NCAA transfer portal hard, adding North Brunswick native and former Patrick School guard Jamir Harris and Syracuse transfer Kadary Richmond. Willard bolstered his front court by nabbing South Florida transfer Alexis Yetna to join Missouri transfer Tray Jackson and returning big men Ike Obiagu and Tyrese Samuel.
Willard had arguably the deepest and most experienced team of his Seton Hall tenure, which began in 2010. The Pirates average age of 21.3 made them the 10th-oldest team in Division I this season.
They charged out of the gates going 9-1 in the non-conference with wins over Texas, Michigan, Rutgers, Wagner (which ended up playing in the Northeast Conference championship game) and Yale (which won the Ivy Leagues automatic bid by beating Princeton on Sunday). They peaked at No. 15 in the AP poll.
Then COVID struck.
The Pirates had to cancel games in December with local rivals Iona and St. Johns due to COVID hitting the team. Jared Rhoden, the teams best player and a first-team All-Big East selection, was struck by the virus and said he was stuck in a room at home on Long Island for about 10 days. He was able to do push-ups and lift weights, but he couldnt run much or do many cardio exercises.
Im a very hard-working dude so for me it was just driving me insane being in that one room for quite a while, Rhoden said.
Samuel, meantime, had to quarantine at home in Canada for a couple of weeks.
I know weve all had our own individual battles, Rhoden said, but I think collectively it kind of derailed us a little bit. Just not being able to practice, not being able to physically see each other, it was kind of rough for us. It was kind of a dark period for us because a lot of us probably had PTSD affecting us from the previous years with COVID and I think that kind of derailed us again so we were kind of scared about what the effects could be.
When the Pirates finally returned to the court on Dec. 29, 17 days after the Rutgers win, they were reduced to eight players because Obiagu and Samuel remained in COVID protocols. They lost by just five points, 70-65, to Providence, the eventual Big East regular-season champs.
Three days later, with the two bigs out yet again, they lost at home to Villanova, 73-67, at Prudential Center. The loss dropped them 0-2 in the Big East for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign.
Had they split or won those two games, they probably would have had a higher seed in the Big East Tournament, and maybe would have gone deeper in the conference tournament.
Still, once Samuel and Obiagu returned and the team was at full strength, they appeared to have reverted to their pre-COVID form.
On Jan. 8, they beat Hurley and UConn, 90-87, in overtime at Prudential Center in a game in which Richmond dominated and scored a career-high 27 points and Aiken poured in 22 with seven assists.
They got a lot of depth, physically imposing, Hurley said after the game. They got a lot of firepower on the perimeter, well-coached. Theyre a title contender as are we.
A week later, the season took another disastrous turn.
In the final seconds of a game at Marquette that Mamukelashvili watched from courtside, Marquettes Greg Elliott appeared to elbow Aiken in the nose. Aiken, who was whistled for a foul, was shaken up after the play.
With 1.8 seconds left, Elliott made 1-of-2 free throws to lead Marquette to the win.
Little did anyone know at the time, but it would be the last game the 25-year-old Aiken played all season.
It turned out to be the second concussion of his Seton Hall career, and though Willard suggested in the following weeks that Aiken might return to the court, he never did. Asked if there was any chance Aiken will play in San Diego, Willard said, No.
The loss of Aiken, who remains with the team in street clothes and helps his teammates warm-up before games, may have turned the Pirates from a team capable of winning multiple games in the NCAA Tournament into a team that could be fortunate to win one. He was their closer, someone capable of taking over games late with his 3-point shooting and ability to change pace on offense. He was the Big Easts leading scorer at 19.5 points per game when he went down.
Still, the fact that the Pirates still have both Richmond, who has battled a sprained right thumb, and Harris, who hit the game-winning 3-pointer against Georgetown in the first round of the Big East Tournament, means they still have depth at the point. They have won nine of their last 12 games heading into the tournament.
And that goes back to Willard loading up on guards via the Transfer Portal after last season. Harris, who was the third-string point guard when the season began, has had to play a much bigger role without Aiken.
I just knew I would be prepared for any advancement I would have, but in the heat of the moment I wasnt thinking about that, Harris told NJ Advance Media, I was just thinking about [Aiken]. I know he loves the game of basketball and wants to be out there with us. So when it came official that he was out, I just wanted to be able to step into the role that he had and play more with the ball, which is definitely something Im comfortable doing.
Harris has never been to the NCAA Tournament, and one of the reasons he returned home to Seton Hall was to play in March Madness.
Definitely being able to make the tournament will be a dream come true for me, he said. I havent had that experience yet.
As for Willard, his fellow coaches fully understand how good a coach he is and what he has had to overcome this season.
He has been linked to various Power-Five conference jobs over the years, and turned down Virginia Tech in 2019 before that school hired Mike Young. (That turned out to be a brilliant move as Young led the Hokies to their first ACC Tournament championship with Saturday nights win over No. 1 seed Duke).
Willard has been linked to the Maryland job since the school fired Mark Turgeon back in December. It remains to be seen if hes even interested in the job. He has two teenage sons and his wife and family may not want to leave their home in Westfield and the life they have built there.
Asked if Seton Hall had already extended Willard or given him a raise, athletic director Bryan Felt said the school doesnt comment or confirm contract information.
Still, expect Willard to continue to be linked to higher profile jobs, especially if the Pirates win a game or two in March Madness.
Listen, I think any major opening Kevin Willards name is definitely going to be there, Iona coach Rick Pitino, Willards former boss, told NJ Advance Media last month. Hes done it, hes not afraid to play anyone, hes very creative offensively, hes sound on defense. They rebound great, theyre tough kids. His kids are tough so I think any job, no matter what level, any major, major job, I think Kevin Willard will be top three mentioned.
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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter who covers Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media.
