One of the scientists behind the UKs testing network for quickly identifying Covid variants of concern has urged the government to continue surveillance of coronavirus cases brought in to the UK from abroad.
Alan McNally, a professor in microbial evolutionary genomics who worked on setting up the lighthouse laboratories, made the comments amid reports ministers are preparing to overhaul Covid travel restrictions, including a relaxing of test rules.
It has been reported that double-jabbed travellers will no longer need to take a more costly PCR test after returning from green countries, but take a cheaper lateral flow test instead, while pre-departure tests, taken 72 hours before a passenger flies home are also likely to be scrapped.
It is only positive PCR tests that are referred for genomic sequencing the process that identifies whether the infection was caused by a new variant of coronavirus.
McNally said: It kind of makes sense if you look at the rates of Covid in the UK right now, theyre high, so probably lateral flow tests will be sufficient for travellers.
But I dont think we can just completely remove all controls on travel and travel-associated Covid, we know from the past that travel-associated Covid is very high risk to this country.
The devils in the detail in this and I would really hope there will be a very strong mandate that any lateral flow positive test from travel have to get a confirmatory PCR test because in my opinion we still that genome level surveillance of Covid cases being introduced into the UK from abroad.
He added: I do think its vitally important we do genome surveillance on travel Covid cases.
McNally said there were two groups of people that needed genome surveillance: those who had been double vaccinated but were hospitalised and those who had travelled, adding: If were not monitoring travel-related Covid cases we can end up in big trouble.
As well as changes to the travel testing regime, it is understood ministers are to slash the number of red list countries. The traffic light system will be overhauled, with the amber tier removed so there is a clearer distinction between go and no go destinations.
Currently, scientists working at the Joint Biosecurity Centre suggest changes to the three lists depending on each countrys Covid case, vaccine and variant levels, though ministers vet these and make the ultimate decisions.
Speaking on Sky News on Friday, the environment secretary, George Eustice, said: My understanding is no decisions have been taken yet, there may be a meeting today to review this.
Government insiders told the Guardian the ultimate aim was to simplify the rules, after Labour called for the amber list to be scrapped in order to clarify guidance on which destinations are relatively safe and which are not.
However, they also admitted it would have the effect of providing a greater incentive to the 10% of those eligible to be vaccinated who had not yet had their first jab, given the extra money people would have to pay for a PCR test instead of a cheaper lateral flow one, as well as avoiding the hassle of having to self-isolate.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. The 2021-2022 academic year is underway, as approximately 1 million students returned to New York City public schools for in-person learning on Monday and many classrooms across the city, including Staten Island, have already been closed -- or partially closed -- due to coronavirus (COVID-19) cases.
So what happens if there is a positive coronavirus case in your childs school or classroom?
Positive coronavirus cases are reported to the city Department of Education (DOE) Situation Room, which then investigates and prepares a notification to school staff and families.
Families will be notified if there is a confirmed COVID-19 case in their childs school, which will include whether your child is considered a close contact.
If your child int a close contact, he or she will be able to continue attending in-person instruction.
If your child is a close contact to the positive COVID-19 case, whether a student will be forced to quarantine will be dependent on vaccination status.
If your child is in elementary school
Currently, the coronavirus vaccine is not available to children under the age of 12. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds in the United States in May.
As a result of the vaccine not yet being available to younger students, if there is a positive case in an elementary school class, all students will be required to quarantine for 10 days and will be provided live remote instruction from their teacher throughout the length of the quarantine period.
If your child is in middle or high school
If your child is vaccinated and not symptomatic
Students over the age of 12 who are vaccinated and dont have any COVID symptoms will not be required to quarantine, and will continue to attend school for in-person instruction. These students are encouraged to get tested for the coronavirus three to five days after exposure out of an abundance of caution.
If your child is vaccinated and symptomatic
Students over the age of 12 who are vaccinated, but are symptomatic, will be required to quarantine for 10 days and will be provided with remote learning materials, but will not receive live instruction.
If your child isnt vaccinated
Middle school and high school students who are unvaccinated will be required to quarantine for 10 days and will be provided with remote learning materials, but will not receive live instruction.
Quarantined students who are unvaccinated can test back into in-person instruction by taking a coronavirus test on Day 5 of their quarantine. If the test comes back negative, students may return on Day 7 of the quarantine period.
In the event of a partial classroom closure, quarantining students will receive office hours for every course in which they are enrolled. Office hours could include individual or small group tutorials, check-ins on assignments and answering questions.
When do schools or classrooms close due to COVID cases?
According to the DOE, schools will be closed only when its determined by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) that there is widespread transmission in the school.
The city expects school closures will be limited.
Is there more information about instruction if a student needs to quarantine?
In the event of a full classroom or full school closure, students will receive synchronous (live) remote instruction.
In the event of a partial classroom closure, students who are quarantining will receive asynchronous (self-paced learning that isnt live) remote instruction, with support from teachers through office hours. Fully vaccinated students (vaccine-eligible students are age 12 and older) who are asymptomatic and not required to quarantine will continue to receive in-person instruction.
The DOE created a table that outlines the type of instruction students will receive in the event of any type of coronavirus-related closure dependent on vaccination status.
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Workers fold clothing at a Thai Son S.P. Co. garment factory in Binh Thuan province, Vietnam.
Maika Elan | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Prolonged coronavirus restrictions in Vietnam have become a bigger headache for retailers, particularly those that rely on the region for manufacturing footwear and apparel, as the holiday season approaches.
The worries led Wall Street research firm BTIG to downgrade Nike shares last week. BTIG cited serious production issues for the sneaker maker since it last reported earnings. Supply chain challenges are expected to be a hot topic when Nike's next fiscal quarter financial report drops after the stock market closes next Thursday.
The troubles go beyond Nike. The risk has grown for a number of other retailers, which have been hampered by supply-chain delays as they wait for production facilities in Vietnam to get back up and running, according to recent comments to analysts and investors.
The difficulties have even made some companies reconsider decisions to move production out of China and into Vietnam.
On Monday, authorities announced a two-week extension of restrictions in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's business hub and Covid outbreak epicenter. Under the restrictions, factories have been subject to rules that require them to either keep workers on site or completely suspend operations. Experts also note that restrictions in northern Vietnam have not been as stringent as rules in the southern part of the country.
Some retailers have expressed hope the pressure will ease. Leggings maker Lululemon has said it anticipated factories in Vietnam would start a phased reopening in the middle of September.
The high-end furniture chain RH, meantime, has targeted a restart in southern Vietnam in October. It hopes to ramp up production to full capacity by the end of the year.
The manufacturing slowdown, coupled with longer transit times and heightened transportation costs, led RH to delay the launch of its contemporary furniture collection until next spring. It also delayed mailing fall catalogs.
For now, many businesses are watching and waiting to see how the restrictions and manufacturing activity will evolve. But the picture will likely grow bleaker as the holidays approach.
The obstacles in Vietnam join a litany of other supply chain troubles, ranging from a shortage of cargo shipping containers to backlogged ports and a limited number of truck drivers. Some companies that moved manufacturing out of China and into Vietnam in the past few years in a bid to diversify their supply chains and avoid tariffs have gone as far as to say they are bringing production back to China.
During a presentation with investors last week, Designer Brands Chief Executive Officer Roger Rawlins said he spoke to another industry CEO who told him that because of the slowdown in Vietnam, six years of supply chain work was undone in six days.
"When you think about the amount of effort everyone was putting into getting out of China, and now one of the only places where you can get the goods is China," Rawlins said. "It really is crazy, the roller coaster everyone has been on here."
Rawlins noted that because Designer Brands sells less workout apparel and performance footwear, such as running and basketball shoes, the company has fared better than some of its peers through the lockdown measures in Vietnam. Categories including so-called athleisure have traditionally relied on the country.
The retail companies with some of the greatest exposure to Vietnam include Ugg and Hoka parent Deckers Outdoor, Michael Kors parent Capri Holdings, Columbia Sportswear, Nike, Coach owner Tapestry, Under Armour and Lululemon, according to an analysis by BTIG.
Manufacturing troubles in Vietnam may not have much effect in the third quarter, BTIG analyst Camilo Lyon said in a report to clients. It could cause more issues in the fourth and holiday quarter and likely into the first half of next year, Lyon said.
"Many brands have proactively cut orders in anticipation of capacity constraints and backlogs once factories are back up and running post-lockdown," Lyon noted. "Many larger brands have moved or attempted to move some production to other countries."
Products tracked by BTIG that normally take about three months to produce in parts of Asia are now taking 12 weeks longer because of backlogs.
"It may take 5 to 6 months for factories to be back up and running normally post-lockdown," Lyon said. "This includes 4 to 5 weeks of delay in receiving raw materials and another 8 weeks for a factory to work through its backlog of production."
Factories in Vietnam will also likely have trouble getting workers to return after authorities lift Covid-related restrictions, BTIG said.
Urban Outfitters CEO Richard Hayne told analysts in late August that the retailer's biggest concern has been receiving inventory, specifically dresses and bottoms that have been on order from Vietnam.
"We have a situation in Vietnam ... where the country is completely closed," he explained. "We have a lot of product there, and we're trying to get it in."
A few months earlier, Covid outbreaks made India a trouble spot for the retail industry, before conditions improved there, Urban Outfitters said. Vietnam then started to pose challenges, the company said.
Donna Dellomo, CFO of the furniture company Lovesac, said the company has shifted orders out of Vietnam and back into China to try to minimize risk.
"We know that the inventory that comes in from China is impacted by tariffs, but it allows us to stay in-stock on our inventory, which is super important to us, as it is to our customers," she said on an earnings conference call earlier this month.
Nike produced some 350 million pairs of sneakers in Vietnam last year, BTIG estimated. The research firm predicts as many as 160 million pairs might not be made this year because of the shutdowns.
Nike declined to comment, as the company is in a quiet period ahead of its earnings report.
CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this reporting.
The World Health Organization made another urgent plea to developed nations to make a greater effort to get vaccines against the coronavirus-borne illness COVID-19 to Africa, and prevent the continent from turning into a breeding ground for new variants that may prove resistant to existing vaccines.
The staggering inequity and severe lag in shipments of vaccines could end up sending the whole world back to Square 1, said Matshidiso Moeti, WHOs Africa director at a Thursday news briefing.
The comments came as the WHO-backed Covax alliance, which was created to get vaccine supply to lower-income countries, was forced to cut its projected shipments to Africa this year because of global shortages. Africa is now expected to be able to vaccinate just 17% of its population by year-end, far below the 40% goal set by the WHO earlier this year.
As long as rich countries lock Covax out of the market, Africa will miss its vaccination goals, Moeti said.
Her comments were echoed by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who called on world leaders attending next weeks United Nations General Assembly to prioritize vaccine equity, fulfill their dose-sharing pledges and facilitate the sharing of technology, know-how and intellectual property to allow for regional manufacturing of vaccines.
More than 5.7 billion vaccine doses have been administered globally, but 73% of all doses have been administered in just 10 countries, Tedros said. High-income countries have administered 61 times more doses per inhabitant than low-income countries. The longer vaccine inequity persists, the more the virus will keep circulating and evolving, and the longer the social and economic disruption will continue.
The comments came as a panel of independent experts that acts as advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration were convening to review data and take a vote on whether Americans need booster shots of vaccine. Pfizer PFE, -0.69% and Moderna MRNA, -3.43%, which stand to make billions of dollars from a booster program, have both said this week that they believe people over the age of 16 should get a booster dose.
Read also: Nursing homes are now facing a COVID resurgence, and a staffing shortage will only make it worse
But many medical experts disagree and say the data shows vaccines remain effective at preventing severe disease and death, as MarketWatchs Jaimy Lee reported.
Is it necessary at this point? Does the data justify a mass rollout to 150 million [or] 200 million Americans who are younger and in good health? asked John Moore, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College. What we have got to get away from is this idea that the vaccines are failing, because theyre just not.
See also:Alaska joins Idaho in rationing health care as hospitals are packed with COVID patients, and WHO says Africa is being left behind in vaccine push
The meeting is scheduled to end at 3.45 p.m. Eastern time. The FDA is not obliged to follow the committees recommendations, but it often does.
Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to record almost 2,000 COVID deaths a day, according to a New York Times tracker, the vast majority of whom are unvaccinated people. New cases are averaging 150,366 a day, while hospitalizations are averaging 97,424, the highest readings since winter.
Florida surpassed 50,000 coronavirus deaths on Thursday, with more than one-fourth of those succumbing this summer as the state battled a fierce surge in infections fueled by the delta variant, the Associated Press reported.
Florida has the 11th worst per-capita death rate among the 50 states, the CDC says. New Jersey, Mississippi and New York have had the worst, but Florida has risen from the 17th spot in the past two weeks.
Overall, about one in every 400 Florida residents who were alive in March 2020 has since died of COVID-19. Only cancer and heart disease have killed more Floridians during that period, according to state health department statistics. Those have each killed about 70,000 Floridians.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has opposed face-mask and vaccine mandates and even cut funding from schools for mandating that unvaccinated children wear face masks. Children below the age of 12 are not yet eligible for vaccination.
Dispatches from a Pandemic:COVID-19 long haulers are frustrated with unvaccinated friends, worried about reinfection, and mired in medical bills
The CDCs vaccine tracker shows that 54% of Americans are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had two shots of the vaccines developed by Pfizer with German partner BioNTech BNTX, -4.28% or Moderna, or one of Johnson & Johnsons JNJ, -0.59% one-jab regimen.
Some 63.5% of the overall population has received at least one dose.
In a sign of how exhausted nurses have become, many are quitting their jobs, with 62% of U.S. hospitals reportinga nurse vacancy rate higher than 7.5%, according to a 2021 NSI Nursing Solutions report. Many have taken to social media to document the abuse they receive from patients who refuse to accept that COVID is real, even as their oxygen levels sink to the point of death.
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Elsewhere, Cambodia has started to vaccinate 6- to 11-year-olds, to make it safe for them to return to school in person, the AP reported. The move comes as regulators in other countries await data from clinical trials seeking to determine the safety and efficacy of vaccines in that age group.
The first civil lawsuit over an outbreak at an Austrian ski resort in March 2020 was set to be heard in a court on Friday, AFP reported. Thousands of people from 45 countries claim they were infected at the resort of Ischgl and are accusing authorities there of not responding quickly enough. The suit is being brought on behalf of the family of 72-year-old Hannes Schopf, who died after contracting the virus in Ischgl.
Italy has introduced one of the most aggressive measures of the pandemic, making it mandatory for all workers to show proof of vaccination, a recent negative test or recovery from a COVID infection, the Washington Post reported. Workers who fail to comply could be fined or suspended without pay, but not fired.
In London, transport officials are reporting a spike in accidents on the Tube due to passengers, fearing COVID infection, declining to use handrails, according to local media.
The Daily Telegraph and Evening Standard said there were 12 serious injuries on the Tube network between April and June, and 23 on buses more than any quarter throughout 2020-21.
The global tally for the coronavirus-borne illness climbed above 227 million on Friday, while the death toll rose to 4.67 million, according todata aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.
The U.S. continues to lead the world with a total of 41.8 million cases and 670,034 deaths.
India is second by cases after the U.S. at 33.4 million and has suffered 444,248 deaths.
Brazil has the second highest death toll at 589,246 and has reported 21 million cases.
In Europe, Russia has recorded the most fatalities at 193,111, followed by the U.K. at 135,134.
China,where the virus was first discovered late in 2019,has had 107,792 confirmed cases and 4,849 deaths, according to its official numbers, which are widely held to be massively underreported.
The Daily Item
The state Department of Health on Thursday reported the most new COVID-19 infections since April 13 and the third-highest single-day death total since April 27.
Statewide there were 5,786 new infections. It was the third time this month with more than 5,000 in a single day, according to data from Health officials. There were 72 new Pennsylvania deaths, bringing the three-day total to 200.
In the first 16 days of September 2021, 533 Pennsylvania residents deaths have been linked to the virus. There were 469 in all of September 2020.
Cases continued to climb in the Valley, too. The 102 new cases marked the third time this month with more than 100. The Valley hasnt had 100 new cases three times in a month since February. There were at least 12 new cases in each Valley county 51 in Northumberland, 22 in Union, 17 in Snyder and 12 in Montour.
Three virus-related deaths were added in the Valley, one each in Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties. There has been a COVID-19-related death in Snyder County in each of the last four days.
All 67 counties in Pennsylvania have high levels of community transmission of COVID according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. High transmission means a county has reported at least 100 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past week.
Every county in Pennsylvania reported at least three new cases of COVID-19 and 19 reported 104 or more. Allegheny County had the most in the state with 574, followed by Philadelphia with 348, York with 261 and Lancaster with 260.
HospitalizationsAs of noon Thursday, there were 2,323 patients in Pennsylvania hospitals with COVID-19 symptoms, down 10 from Wednesday. The total had increased by 150 in the previous three days.
Of those hospitalized, 560 were being treated in intensive care units (ICUs), down four, and 277 were being treated on ventilators, down three.
Among 74 patients in Valley medical facilities up five from Wednesday, and the second consecutive day with an increase there were 14 patients in intensive care units at Geisinger in Danville, four at Evangelical and none at Geisinger-Shamokin. The Danville total increased by two from Wednesday
Geisingers Danville location was also treating 8 patients on ventilators, three fewer than on Wednesday. Evangelical had three patients on ventilators for at least the second consecutive day.
All of the newly admitted patients were at Geisingers main campus in Danville, pushing the total there to 43. There were 19 patients at Evangelical and 12 at Geisinger-Shamokin. According to Evangelical hospital, 18 of the 19 patients hospitalized are unvaccinated.
On campusThere were 13 active cases at Bucknell University, the schools COVID dashboard shows after it was updated Wednesday morning. Eleven of the cases were among students and 10 students are in isolation.
Bucknell is reporting 94.1 percent of its campus community is fully vaccinated.
There were six cases at the prisons in Union County, down two. At the medium-security unit in Allenwood, there were two staff cases, and there was one active inmate and two staff cases at the U.S. Penitentiary (USP) in Allenwood. There was also one staff case at USP Lewisburg, one fewer staff case and one fewer inmate case than reported Wednesday.
USP Lewisburg and USP Allenwood both remained in the BOPs Level 3 of COVID modifications on Wednesday. The modifications are based on the facilities COVID-19 medical isolation rate, combined percentage of staff and inmate completed vaccinations series, and their respective county transmission rates.
At each level, an infection prevention procedure or modification to operations such as inmate programming and services may be made to mitigate the risk and spread of COVID-19 in accordance with BOP pandemic guidance. BOP pandemic guidance follows and integrates guidance and direction from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Department of Justice, and established medical best practices.
The BOP reports 93 of 98 federal prisons are in Level 3 modifications.
The state Department of Corrections reported six active staff cases at the State Correctional Institution (SCI) in Coal Township on Thursday, the same number reported since Tuesday. There were 112 inmate cases statewide, an increase of 50, including 82 at SCI Chester, but none at SCI Coal Township. There are 81 staff cases statewide an increase of eight including 14 at SCI Cambria.
There were still active COVID-19 cases among persons receiving services and staff members at the Selinsgrove Center on Wednesday. The cases were both listed as less than five. The state does not release precise numbers unless there are more than five to avoid identifying a patient.
At the North Central Secure Treatment Unit juvenile facility in Danville, there were no cases among residents at the boys or girls units. Both units had less than five staff cases.
No active cases were reported at the Danville State Hospital.
Researchers focused on data between April 2020 and July 2021 from the Gun Violence Archive on mass shootings, in which four or more people were killed or injured, not including the shooter.
In that 15-month period, there were 343 more mass shootings, 217 people killed and 1,498 people injured in the US, than expected.
The team observed an increase in mass shootings after May 2020, compared to trends in previous years. There were 88 such shootings in July 2020, 42 in July 2019 and 45 in July 2018, the team noted.
Last year, there were 611 mass shootings around the country, compared with 417 a year earlier, according to Gun Violence Archives. This year there have been 498 mass shootings, 34 just in September so far.
After April 2020, the team said that there were an average of .78 additional daily mass shootings, .49 additional people killed each day and 3.40 additional people injured each day.
Increases in mass shootings during the pandemic were observed across the 882 cities included in the data, but cities with both low and high pre-pandemic mass shootings -- as opposed to cities in the middle of the range -- contributed most to the overall increase in fatalities.
The large increase in mass shootings during the pandemic is consistent with the idea that this violence may be influenced by social and economic factors, the researchers note.
CNN's Theresa Waldrop contributed to this report.
The U.S. passed another grim milestone in the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday, when the number of fatalities from COVID-19 passed 666,000, meaning that about 1 in every 500 people living in America has died of the illness.
Roughly 1,900 deaths are now being recorded daily, which means the U.S. is suffering more deaths every two days than in the terrorist attacks of Sept 11, 2001.
The U.S. is recording an average of 152,605 new cases a day, according to a New York Times tracker, and an average of 98,449 hospitalizations. Almost all of those patients are unvaccinated.
West Virginia, an early leader in vaccination, has slipped to become one of the states with the lowest rates and now leads the nation in recent cases on a per capita basis. The state is suffering more new cases almost 2,000 a day than at any other time during the crisis.
Just 40% of West Virginias population is fully vaccinated, meaning they have received two doses of the two-shot vaccines developed by Pfizer PFE, -0.69% and German partner BioNTech BNTX, -4.28% or Moderna MRNA, -3.43%, or one of Johnson & Johnsons JNJ, -0.59% one-dose regimen.
See also: Alaska joins Idaho in rationing health care as hospitals are packed with COVID patients, and WHO says Africa is being left behind in vaccine push
The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions vaccine tracker is showing that 54.1% of the overall population, almost 180 million people, are fully vaccinated, while 63.4% have received at least one dose. Public health experts have lamented the preventable deaths being suffered among unvaccinated people.
The debate about whether willing Americans should now get booster shots continues ahead of the meeting Friday of a group of independent advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, who will gather to review data and vote on the issue.
Dispatches from a Pandemic:COVID-19 long haulers are frustrated with unvaccinated friends, worried about reinfection, and mired in medical bills
The FDApublished its own viewof applications for a booster dose from Pfizer and Moderna on Wednesday, saying that all COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. continue to provide strong protection against severe disease. The companies, which stand to make billions of dollars from boosters, have said they believe that boosters are needed. Pfizer argued that the U.S. could track the experience of Israel, which has started to administer booster shots amid a delta-variant surge.
But experts are not convinced, as MarketWatchs Jaimy Lee reported.
Is it necessary at this point? Does the data justify a mass rollout to 150 million [or] 200 million Americans who are younger and in good health? asked John Moore, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College. What we have got to get away from is this idea that the vaccines are failing, because theyre just not.
The World Health Organization has pleaded for a moratorium on boosters until the rest of the world has received initial vaccine doses, and other agencies have echoed the call for greater equity in vaccine supply.
Meanwhile, public health officials in Los Angeles County will begin requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for patrons and workers at indoor bars, wineries, breweries, lounges and nightclubs in October, the Associated Press reported.By Nov. 4, proof of full vaccination will be mandatory, according to the countys Department of Public Health. Health officials strongly recommend the same precautions for indoor restaurants but have not chosen to mandate proof of vaccination for them.
See now: Requests for religious exemptions grow after new COVID-19 vaccine mandates
The Biden administration is considering requiring vaccinations against COVID-19 and contact tracing of international visitors as the U.S. revamps current broad restrictions that bar many foreigners from traveling to the U.S., the AP said in a separate report.
Jeffrey Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said that, because of the recent increase in COVID-19 cases, current travel restrictions will remain in place until the administration rolls out a new system for regulating international travel. The system will include a prominent role for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Elsewhere, China said it has now fully vaccinated 1 billion people, equal to 71% of its population of 1.4 billion, the Times reported. That brings it closer to its goal of fully inoculating 80% of its people by year-end.
France has suspended 3,000 healthcare workers for failing to get vaccinated against COVID by a Wednesday deadline, AFP and other news agencies reported. Francesnational public health agency estimated last week that roughly 12% of hospital staff and around 6% of doctors in private practices have yet to bevaccinated.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that dozens of his staff have been infected with COVID and that he will continue to isolate, ABC News reported. Putin first said he would self-isolate earlier this week after someone in his inner circle tested positive.
Separately, Russias ambassador to the United Nations has expressed anger after the New York City government said all attendees at next weeks U.N. General Assembly must provide proof of vaccination, the Guardian reported. Vassily Nebenzia requested a meeting of the assembly to discuss the move.
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The global tally for the coronavirus-borne illness climbed above 226.7 million on Thursday, while the death toll rose to 4.66 million, according todata aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.
The U.S. continues to lead the world with a total of 41.5 million cases and 667,359 deaths.
India is second by cases after the U.S. at 33.3 million and has suffered 443,928 deaths.
Brazil has the second highest death toll at 588,597 and has recorded 21 million cases.
In Europe, Russia has reported the most fatalities at 192,340, followed by the U.K. at 135,134.
China,where the virus was first discovered late in 2019,has had 107,705 confirmed cases and 4,849 deaths, according to its official numbers, which are widely held to be massively underreported.
BEIJING (AP) China tightened lockdowns and increased orders for mass testing in cities along its east coast Wednesday amid the latest surge in COVID-19 cases.
Checks have been set up in toll stations around the city of Putian in Fujian province, with a dozen of them closed entirely. The nearby cities of Xiamen and Quanzhou have also restricted travel as the delta variant spreads through the region.
The National Health Commission on Wednesday said an additional 50 cases had been diagnosed in various parts of Fujian, most of them in the Putian region.
Since the start of the pandemic, first detected in late 2019 in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, China has imposed strict testing, lockdowns, quarantines and mask wearing requirements.
Fujian has seen at least 152 new cases in recent days, prompting stay-at-home orders and the closure of entertainment, dining and fitness venues, along with the cancellation of group activities including those for the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.
Long-distance bus service to other parts of the province has been suspended.
China has largely stopped the spread of COVID-19 but new outbreaks continue to occur in various parts of the country. A delta variant outbreak in July and August spread to several provinces, raising concern about new and more contagious variants.
The National Health Commission says it has administered more than 2 billion doses of vaccine, although the efficacy of the domestically developed serums has been called into question, particularly in dealing with the delta variant.
While the lockdowns and other stern measures have taken a toll on the economy and daily life, most of the country has overcome the impact of the initial outbreak.
Authorities are taking no chances, however. The discovery of a suspected case in Beijings eastern Chaoyang district prompted officials Wednesday to bar residents of a high-rise community from leaving their apartments, according to the newspaper Health Times published by the ruling Communist Party.
Students and teachers have also been encouraged to avoid traveling during the upcoming three-day Mid-Autumn Festival beginning Sunday, along with the Oct. 1-7 National Day vacation.
Even with 91% of students and teachers vaccinated nationwide, it is still recommended students do not leave their home provinces and stay on guard, Wang Dengfeng, head of the COVID-19 prevention office at the Ministry of Education, was quoted as saying by the official China Daily newspaper.
US now has one COVID-19 death for every 500 residents
Here are the most startling pandemic statistics as of mid-September.
STAFF VIDEO, USA TODAY
Registered nurse Anna Hollissaw COVID-19 vaccines as a lifeline.
As a way out of thewaves of sickness and death that have come time and time again over the last 18months.
As away to halt the virus that left her bed-ridden for weeks and kept her out of work for six months with heart complications and other lingering symptoms.
"We've struggled with our patients. We've struggledwith staffing at times," said Hollis, who's worked 26 years as a nurse. "A second surgewas bad enough, butthen a third one. ... I was just convinced it's not going to get there. It's not going to get there. But here we are."
The state is yet again teetering onthe edge ofanother swellincoronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths this time driven by the more contagious delta variant.
Although 56.7%of the state's residents ages 12 and older are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, it's not enough, health officials say, to lift the state from the grips of the virus. Since the pandemic began,983,109Michiganders have had confirmed cases and20,597have died.
"I chalkit up to a younger generation that don't like being told what to do," Hollis said of the way the vaccination effort has dwindled in recent months despite the ongoing threat the virus poses."It's still out there and we have to protect ourselves and other people."
More: Your questions about the COVID-19 vaccine, answered
More: COVID-19 vaccines: Here's how to spot misinformation on social media and fight it
Hollis stood in the hallway at Beaumont Hospital in Trenton Monday, and said she wished she could bring people who are refusing vaccines and foregoing masks inside to see what she sees, to hold the cell phone for a patient trying to talk toloved ones via Facetime or Zoom who can't be at their bedside.
"I really wish I could bring people here to see that pain in someone's eyes when they can't see their family," said Hollis, the charge nurse on the intermediate-care floor, which has a mix of patients some with coronavirus and some hospitalized with other medical conditions.
"They have to rely on the nurse setting up the time to do it. It is time consuming very worth it and we work diligently at making it happen but it's so difficult. I wish everyone could see that. It would make people more mindful of what they do and how they can protect themselves."
Thenumber of people in the state sickened by the virus is growingagain 2,685Michiganders have gotten a new coronavirus diagnosis each dayin the last week, roughly double the number of new daily cases one month ago.
When those people get sick enough to need medical treatment,it puts more pressure on hospitals, which already are treating a heavier load of patientswho avoidedpreventive health care earlier in the pandemic and now are in crisis.
Those hospitals are grappling witha labor shortage, too.Henry Ford Health System announcedMonday it had to shut down 120 hospital beds because it didn't have enough workers. On Wednesday,Beaumont said italso had to close180 of itsbeds because of the staffing shortage.
Andall 10 of Beaumont'semergency departments were nearly full. Its leadersissued an urgentrequest: Seek medical care elsewhere such as urgent care centers orphysician's offices if you can.
"There are many people who still need to get vaccinated. So, our staff must care for those unvaccinated individuals who become extremely ill with the COVID delta variant, or other variants, and try to balance all the other patients coming in with medical emergencies,"said Beaumont CEO John Fox in a statement."Add in a staffing shortage, and you have a perfect storm."
Kevin Miller, 30, of Southfield didn't get a COVID-19 vaccine. He works out, eats well anddidn't think he was vulnerable to coronavirus.
"Just out of pure laziness," he said, he didn't seek out a shot. "I've been like out and about and living lifenormallysince COVID came,kind of ignorantly."
But then hiswife caught the virus, and he did, too.
She was fully vaccinated andrecovered quickly. ButMiller, a father of two with a new baby on the way,ended up in the emergency room earlier this month at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak.
He wore a T-shirt and sweatpants as he lay in a hospital bed Tuesday, watching a college soccer match,trying to pass the time.
More: 'Perfect storm' has Beaumont emergency rooms nearly full
More: Henry Ford Health System temporarily closes 120 inpatient beds because of staffing challenges
"I ran a fever of103for about eight days," he said. His body ached everywhere. He lost his sense of taste and smell, and then he became disoriented and couldn't carry on a conversation with his wife.
"She was talking about getting bigger baby clothes for our son because he's growing. And I turned around, looked at her and said, 'All windows in the houses havecurtains on them.' And she says, 'You need to go to the hospital.' I wasn't making any sense."
When he arrived at Beaumont,Miller said he was vomiting blood. His oxygen levels were depleted. He was given the anti-viral drug remdesivir along with the steroid dexamethasone.
"I honestly thought I was going to die," he said. "I couldn't breathe. I couldn't function.
"This isnothing like the flu. I don't know why they categorize this as flu-Iike symptoms. These are not flu-like symptoms. These are likealien-type symptoms, like something has crawled inside of you and is trying to take over."
Talking to his 10-year-old son, Roman,about his illnesswas crushing.
"All he understands is people that get COVID die," he said. "When I told him I had COVID, he totally lost it, was crying, stuff like that, and it broke my heart."
Miller said he's feeling much stronger now, though he still has a lingering coughand supplemental oxygen at his bedside for when he feels short of breath. He's lost about 40 pounds during the ordeal.
Hehopes he willrecover quicklyenough to be back home in time to celebrate Roman's 11th birthday next week.
"I'm only 30, andthis hit me," Miller said. "It shouldn't have hit me this hard."
More: MDHHS: Students exposed to COVID-19 can stay in school with testing, masks
More: You told us about hard-to-find school COVID-19 dashboards. We found them.
Miller said heplans toget vaccinated as soon as his doctors green-light it, and urged others to do the same.
"Get it," he said. "Think about your mother. Think about your grandmother, your brothers and sisters, your children. They all matter. ... And we have an obligation ... to protect ourselves and the people around us.
"It's selfish for somebody to say that I'm not going to do this because ofsome ridiculous reason like they did their internet research or something like that, you know? And then they endup getting it like I did, and it's too late."
It was too late for one of his closest friends from childhood, too. FelipeSettles was just 35 when he died earlier this year from the virus, unvaccinated.
"It took him. ... One day, I woke up and he was gone," Miller said.
"People don't really understand it until it hits home. And then by then, it's too late."
Though lots of people want to resume life as normal, ditch masks and crowd football stadiums and concert hallsas they did before, the pandemic is not over,said Dr. Jonathan Kaper,Beaumont Trentons chief medical officer and patient safety officer.
"Earlier in the summer, I think people were declaring victory over COVID. But to me, it seems like we're declaring victory at halftime, and you know, there's still a lot of work to be done and potentially a lot of changes ahead of us," he said.
Much of what lies ahead is unknown.
"People are thinking this is like the Spanish flu, and it'll be here for two years, and then we'll move past it," said Kaper, who also is an anesthesiologist."But no one really knows. ... Are there more mutations that we're going to have to deal with? Is COVID ever going to go away? Or is it going to be something that we deal with on a yearly basis like the flu?
"There's six or eight states that are really surging; their ICUs (intensive-care units) are full.But most of the states aren't experiencing that. ... You ask yourself the question: Well, why are those states surging and, for instance, we're not? We have seen increased numbers in our hospitals as of late, but not the types of surges that we've seen in the past, at least not until this point."
Every time the case rates and hospitalizations spike,the situation is a little different, Kaper said. Thedelta variant, which now accounts for more than 99% of coronavirus infections in Michigan, is highly contagious, and seems to be able to infect more people who are fully vaccinated than other earlier strains.
Still, taking the vaccine remains the best protection from hospitalization and death from the virus.
"Someone who is vaccinated, their chance of dying from COVID is 11 times less than someone who hasn't been vaccinated," he said. "And that's a big deal when you're talking about hospitalizations, when you're talking about the work you have to do as a doctor."
Coronavirus patients have to be handled carefully because of the risk of spreading the disease, and they often come to the hospital when they're already very ill and need a high level of care.
A task that takes 15 minutes for a patient who doesn't have COVID-19 "might take an hour and 15 minutes with a COVID patient," Kaper said. "And if you have an ICU full of COVIDpatients, just think about the demand on that staff.
"In health care, we only have so deep of a bench. There's only so many ICU nurses, respiratory therapists, nurses aides, and ER nurses who can take care of these patients. And I wish that was recognized a little bit more by the public because it does put a huge burden on these front-line employees.
"When you look at the length of the time we've been ... dealing with COVID, and the number of surges, it's very stressful, very difficult for them physically, emotionally. And I think that's something I wish the public, especially those who aren't vaccinated, recognized."
Health care workers, he said, are tired.
"For those who aren't vaccinated, ... show the respect to those people who've stepped up, especially in a very unknown situation at first and put themselves and their families at risk," Kaper said.
"When it comes to the pandemic, we can put it behind us sooner if ... we can get the rest of the population vaccinated."
Oxygen pumped into Thomas Blackburn's nose through a plastic tube as he lay in abedat Beaumont Hospital in Trenton, where he was among 26patients hospitalized Monday with the virus.
Blackburn, a retired police officer,was being treated with IV dexamethasone and remdesivir, and stopped to cough a few times during his conversation with a Free Press reporter.
"Thiswould have been 10 times worse on me had I not gotten vaccinated," said Blackburn, 61, of Gibraltar, who had his second dose of the Pfizer vaccine in early February. "Every doctor I've had in here has said that. ... My message to everybody is get vaccinated.... That's your lifesaver."
More: Michigan coronavirus cases: Tracking the pandemic
The vaccines work to preventsevere disease and death among most people, though health officials say somebreakthrough cases are to be expected especially when spread in the community is high, as it is now in Michigan.
Of the 176 millionpeople who are now fully vaccinated in the U.S., about 14,000 have developed breakthrough COVID-19 infections that made themsick enough to be hospitalized or die, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In Michigan, fewer than 1% of all fully vaccinated people in the state have developed breakthrough cases of the virus, state health department data shows.
Those most vulnerable to breakthrough infections are people with compromised immune systems and older people who might not get as much protection from the vaccines as younger, healthier people.
Blackburn, who has diabetes, wasUp North in late August when he was exposed to the virus.It managed to make him sick.
"He was a smoker for so many years," his wife, Carol Blackburn,said in a phone interview with the Free Press. "I always thought if he got COVID, hewouldn't live."
He felt achy and had a fever and chills. Next came shortness of breath. His wife also contracted the virus, though her symptoms were milder.
While the couple quarantined together in the first week of September, a friend dropped a care package on their doorstep. In it was a pulse oximeter they could clip to his finger to check his blood-oxygen levels.
That's when Carol Blackburnrealized her husband of 42 years needed help. She called his doctor, who advised them to go to the hospital.
"Every joint in my body aches everywhere," said Blackburn, a father of three and grandfather of eight."It's really rough. It's been quite an experience."
He looked out the window of his hospital room, and could see his daughter's church across the street.
"They're all praying for me over there," Blackburn said, smiling.
Just getting out of bed to use the bathroom can make his blood-oxygen levels drop,said his nurse, Scott Blackburn, who is not related.
Thomas Blackburnmay need to continue to needsupplemental oxygen after he goes home from the hospital as well, his nurse said.
"We've had a lot of people discharged with home oxygen needs," Scott Blackburn said.
Some are able to eventually wean off the oxygen. Others have had to return to the hospital because their symptoms returned or got worse.
Since the pandemic began, Scott Blackburnsaid he's been struck by the inconsistency of it all. He's cared for patients in their 90s who recovered well, and young patients who didn't.
"It's just very peculiar, you know? We don't know who's going to be the person that's going to have an issue," he said.
"You just don't know."
Scott Blackburn said hewas among the first Beaumontemployees to take the Pfizer vaccine when it won emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December. Now heworries about whether his immunity is waning and whether he needs another dose.
"Heck yeah, I'll get the booster," he said.
From his bed, Thomas Blackburn nodded in agreement. He's convinced of one thing: If he hadn't taken thevaccine, he wouldn'tbe alive today.
"If you do get the shot, at least you've gota chance."
Text your ZIP code to 438829.Youll receive an immediate response with a list of vaccination sites in your area, a number you can call if you need more help, and information on how you might get a free ride to the location using Uber or Lyft.
Search for vaccine locations by ZIP code.https://www.vaccines.gov/search/.
The Detroit Free Press is conductinga surveyas part of this project on vaccine hesitancy. This survey will take less than 2 minutes to complete. It is anonymous unless you choose otherwise; sharing your email address is optional.
Contact Kristen Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kristenshamus.
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In January, Alaska had the highest per capita coronavirus vaccination rate in the nation. Now, hospitals are overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients, and the states largest hospital is rationing care.
Vaccine hesitancy and the delta variant have pushed the states fragile and limited hospital system to the breaking point.
Providence Alaska Medical Center, the states largest hospital, released a letter to the public Tuesday saying that more than 30% of its patients have COVID-19 and the hospital is rationing treatment.
Registered Nurse Banu Mufale administers a Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine to physical therapist Becca Mamrol, Dec. 16, 2020, at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska.
"While we are doing our utmost, we are no longer able to provide the standard of care to each and every patient who needs our help," wrote Chief of Staff Kristen Solana Walkinshaw on behalf of the hospitals Medical Executive Committee. "The acuity and number of patients now exceeds our resources and our ability to staff beds with skilled caregivers, like nurses and respiratory therapists."
Of Alaska's 120 ICU beds, 106 were filled as of Thursday -- leaving only 14 beds available statewide.
Alaska had a strong initial vaccine rollout, delivering doses to remote areas of the state by helicopters, planes, dog sleds and ferries, with additional support from the Indian Health Service and state tribal health system to vaccinate Alaska Natives. Due to the challenges posed by the states vast size, it received vaccine allocations monthly as opposed to weekly, giving it the ability to plan ahead and deliver many doses early on.
But, as in the rest of the country, vaccination rates slowly began dropping off over the summer, stagnating with 56.7% of Alaskans fully vaccinated as of Thursday, according to the states coronavirus dashboard.
"In terms of why things went stagnant, it does seem like hesitancy is the main factor behind that," said Jared Kosin, CEO and president of the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association. "It's not an access issue. The vaccine's widely available in Alaska anywhere."
Gov. Mike Dunleavy ended Alaskas COVID-19 emergency declaration in the spring, and both the state legislature and Dunleavys administration have yet to reinstate one even at the pleading of hospitals and doctors.
In a spring mayoral race, Anchorage voters elected Dave Bronson, who has repeatedly said his administration will not enact citywide mask or vaccine mandates.
Bronson reiterated that commitment on Tuesday after an assembly meeting where hospital workers begged for action.
Cases in Alaska have been sharply increasing since August, and the state shattered its new daily case record with 1,068 infections reported Wednesday. As a result, hospitalizations have skyrocketed, reaching all time highs.
And health care experts warn this is only the beginning of a surge that could last weeks.
"It has brought us to the breaking point, and to be totally direct, in many respects we are broken," said Kosin. "The situation is extremely bleak."
Dr. Jodie Guest tests Iditarod musher Matthew Failor for COVID-19 at a mobile clinic in front of Lakefront Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska, March 3, 2021.
Alaska runs on a "hub-and-spoke model" of health care, according to Kosin. "If you're in a more rural area, you're going to go to clinics, rural hospitals," he told ABC News. "The idea is, as you need a higher level of care or (have) more needs, you will transfer in, ultimately, to our biggest hub, which is Anchorage."
Anchorage, the states most populous city, is home to the states three largest hospitals -- some of which offer the only advanced neurological and cardiovascular care in the state. While many people live in rural and geographically isolated areas, those communities still rely on the specialty medical care that can only be found in the city.
As city hospitals have reached capacity and Anchorage residents are forced to remain in their cars or emergency room waiting areas until they can receive care, health care institutions must refuse transfer patients from rural communities, leaving them without what can be lifesaving treatment, Solana Walkinshaw said.
The nearest next option are hospitals in the contiguous U.S. like Seattle, Washington -- an over three-hour flight away. Seattle is also experiencing an influx of COVID-19 patients and is trying to help by taking patients from neighboring states like Idaho, which is coping with its most serious surge in cases since the beginning of the pandemic. That leaves very limited options.
Because city hospitals are inundated with COVID-19 cases, they are struggling to provide routine care and emergency services to patients who do not have the virus.
As of Tuesday night, Providence Alaska Medical Center had only a single available bed with 10 admitted patients in need of one, along with patients in the emergency room also waiting for an opening, Solana Walkinshaw said. Three of those patients needed an ICU bed, but the hospital had none available.
Front-line caregivers wait in line to receive a Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine, Dec. 16, 2020, at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska.
Between 80-85% of COVID-19 patients at the hospital are unvaccinated and the same is true of the COVID-19 patients who die, according to Providence Alaska Medical Center spokesperson Mikal Canfield.
The hospital began rationing care Saturday, leaving health care workers to decide which patients get care and which ones have to wait. The staff is demoralized, Solana Walkinshaw said, with some breaking down in tears, sad and frustrated over the situation they find themselves in.
"People are struggling, working as hard as they can and having to make these decisions is probably some of the hardest things people have done in their careers," she said.
While rural Alaska has experienced a stark increase in coronavirus cases, with some communities seeing the worst outbreaks on record, rural health providers are not being hit as hard with COVID-19 patients, Kosin said.
That's due to the smaller populations outside of the city, the fact that the COVID-19 patients in the most serious condition are sent to Anchorage and because some of the villages have very high vaccination rates.
The bigger problem for rural institutions is that they are being tasked with caring for non-COVID-19 patients they would typically transfer to Anchorage.
At Tuesday's city assembly meeting, a group of health care workers from hospitals across Anchorage pleaded for residents to wear masks and get vaccinated.
United States Public Health Service nurse, Faith Walsh carries a cooler containing a single vial of Moderna coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine to her flight out of Fairbanks, Alaska, March 31, 2021.
Leslie Gonsette, an internal medicine hospitalist at Providence Alaska Medical Center, came to testify at the meeting during her hospital shift. One of her patients, who does not have COVID-19 and is vaccinated, was in critical condition and in need of an ICU bed, she said.
"I called my colleagues in the ICU, and I explained, 'My patient is going to probably die. I need an ICU bed,'" she said. "And the answer I got was, 'We are doing our best. We do not have a bed.'"
Nurse Practitioner Kim Sonderland speaks with tribal villagers before beginning their (COVID-19) vaccines in Eagle, Alaska, March 31, 2021.
Bronsons office released a statement after the meeting.
"My administration has been clear since the beginning that we will not mandate masks or vaccines," it said. "If someone wants to wear a mask or get a vaccination that's their personal choice. But we will not violate the privacy and independent health care decisions of our citizens in the process."
Alaska's health care providers, however, are left worrying about the kinds of choices they will be left with.
"Rationing care will take on a whole new meaning than it does today," Kosin said. "I think it's going to lead to the types of decisions you cant imagine a person having to make."
