Bochnia Hospital paramedics wear protective equipment as they transport a patient suffering of COVID-19 to a local hospital on March 17, 2021 in Bochnia, Poland.
Omar Marques | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
The World Health Organization said Monday the trajectory of the coronavirus pandemic is now "growing exponentially," with more than 4.4 million new Covid-19 cases reported over the last week.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the agency's technical lead for Covid-19, said "we're in a critical point of the pandemic," as some countries ease restrictions even as new cases per week are more than eight times higher than a year ago.
"This is not the situation we want to be in 16 months into a pandemic where we have proven control measures. It is the time right now where everyone has to take stock and have a reality check of what we need to be doing," she said during a press briefing. "Vaccines and vaccinations are coming online, but they aren't here yet in every part of the world."
Covid-19 cases climbed by 9% across the globe last week the seventh consecutive weekly increase and deaths jumped 5%, she said, asking governments to support their citizens in implementing pandemic safety measures.
Last month, WHO officials warned of a steady rise in Covid-19 cases and deaths, urging people to stick with mask mandates and social distancing rules as the world enters a critical phase of the pandemic.
The virus is "stronger, it's faster" with the emergence of new variants that spread more easily and are more deadly than the original wild strain of the virus, Dr. Mike Ryan, the head of the WHO's health emergencies program, said March 31. "We're all struggling" with and sick of restrictive lockdowns, he said.
India has overtaken Brazil as the second worst-infected country behind the United States after Covid-19 cases continued to surge across India where a double-mutant variant researchers say could be more contagious has emerged and is rapidly spreading.
In the U.S., B.1.1.7, the highly contagious coronavirus variant first identified in the United Kingdom is now the most common strain circulating, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said last week.
Hospitals are also seeing a rise in young people being admitted, she said.
Walensky said the U.S. needs to accelerate its vaccination efforts, which are averaging about 3.1 million shots per day. "We must continue to vaccinate as many Americans as we can each day," Walensky said, adding it will cause new cases and deaths to decline.
The WHO urged the public and world leaders to continue to practice safety measures, including social distancing, wearing masks, washing hands and avoiding crowded spaces.
DETROIT The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan has risen to 764,519 as of Wednesday, including 16,621 deaths, state officials report.
Wednesdays update includes a total of 7,955 new cases and 35 additional deaths. On Tuesday,the state reported 756,564 total cases and 16,586 deaths.
Testing has been steady around 35,000 diagnostic tests reported per day on average, with the7-day positive rate above 15%as of Tuesday, near the highest weve ever recorded.Hospitalizations have increased over the last several weeks, now near the highest point of the pandemic.
More:16 things to know from recent talk about Michigan COVID restrictions, workplace rules, vaccines
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Michigan continues to lead the nation in new COVID-19 cases. The states7-day moving average for daily caseswas 7,014 on Tuesday -- the highest since November. The 7-day death average was 43 on Tuesday, slightly higher than the last two weeks. The states fatality rate is 2.2%. The statealso reports active cases,which were listed at 154,000 on Tuesday. More than 587,000 have recovered in Michigan.
Michiganhas reportedmore than5.3 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administeredas of Tuesday, with 41.9% of residentshaving received at least one dose.
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More:CDC: Michigans response to rising COVID cases should be to shut things down
According to Johns Hopkins University, more than31 million cases have been reported in the U.S., with more than562,000 deathsreported from the virus.
Worldwide, more than136 million people have been confirmed infectedand more than2.9 million have died. More than77 million have recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University. The true numbers are certainly much higher, because of limited testing, different ways nations count the dead and deliberate under-reporting by some governments.
Michigan COVID-19 vaccinations: How to find appointments, info on phases
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Coronavirus headlines:
VIEW: Tracking Michigan COVID-19 vaccine doses
VIEW: Tracking coronavirus cases, outbreaks in Michigan schools
The director of the CDC said the answer to Michigans alarming rise in COVID-19 cases isnt to vaccinate our way out of it, but to shut things down like the state did last spring and summer.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, spoke Monday about the COVID-19 situation in Michigan.
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On Friday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called Michigan a COVID hotspot and called on the federal government to surge additional vaccines here in response to rising case numbers.
Read more here.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the state health department are asking residents to follow certain voluntary COVID-19 restrictions, such as avoiding indoor dining, suspending sports and returning to remote learning.
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On Friday, Whitmer and Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, spoke about the alarming COVID-19 trends in Michigan.
I am quite concerned with what we are seeing in our data, Khaldun said We are on track to potentially see a surge in cases thats even greater than the one we saw in the fall.
The city of Detroit is launching eight neighborhood COVID-19 vaccination sites, adding to an expansion at TCF Center, to combat surging cases and hospitalizations in the city.
Detroits vaccination rate, 21% as of Monday, is far below neighboring areas and overall state average, which is 35%. The city is expanding options for residents with an urgent message: Get vaccinated.
Next week, the city will be offering eight additional locations throughout the week, in addition to its Community Saturdays and other outreach programs, to provide Detroiters with the opportunity to get vaccinated in a convenient and familiar location close to home.
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Read here.
All Michigan residents age 16 and up became eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine on April 5, nearly a month before the May 1 date pledged by President Joe Biden.
People age 16 to 49 with certain medical conditions or disabilities will qualify starting March 22, when 50- to 64-year-olds can begin getting shots under a previous announcement. Two days later, March 24, a federally selected regional mass vaccination site will open at Detroits Ford Field to administer an additional 6,000 doses a day for two months.
Learn more here.
MORE: Michigans updated COVID-19 vaccination schedule: Who is eligible and when
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The COVID-19 variant detected in Brazil has been identified in Bay County. That variant is known as the P1 strain and it is more contagious and more than 50% able to reinfect.
The person infected in Bay County and the people theyve been in contact with will need to quarantine for 14 days. Its unclear what effect, if any, it will have on those, including seniors, who have already been vaccinated as there isnt enough research to know exactly.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer released a statement Tuesday after White House officials announced that there will increase COVID-19 vaccine doses available for Michigan starting next week.
According to a press release, next weeks shipment will increase by 66,020 bringing the total number of doses to 620,040 -- a weekly record for the state. Officials said the allocation includes 147,800 doses of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
This comes after Whitmer recently requested for more vaccines as the state is seeing a rise in COVID numbers.
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The CDC said that Michigan is leading the country in new cases of COVID-19 per population.
On Tuesday, officials reported 5,177 new COVID cases and 48 additional deaths, including 20 from a Vital Records review. On Monday, the state reported 660,771 total cases and 16,034 deaths.
Local 4s Dr. Frank McGeorge said hes seen a very clear increase in COVID patients at the hospital where he works.
Many of them need to be hospitalized. I would honestly say, this feels worse to me here in Southeast Michigan than it was during the wave that started in November. Now, the most concerning trend is the number of middle-aged people with severe COVID, McGeorge said.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced that the first case of the COVID-19 variant B.1.351 has been identified in a child in Jackson County.
The health department did not say how the boy was infected but a case investigation is underway to determine close contacts and if there are additional cases associated.
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This new variant was originally detected in South Africa in October 2020 and shares some mutations with the B117 variant. The first case of the B117 variant -- originally detected in the United Kingdom -- was identified in Washtenaw County.
Michigan COVID-19 daily reported cases since March 15:
March 15 -- 1,572 new cases
March 16 -- 2,048 new cases
March 17 -- 3,164 new cases
March 18 -- 2,629 new cases
March 19 -- 3,730 new cases
March 20 -- 2,660 new cases
March 21 -- 2,400 new cases
March 22 -- 2,401 new cases
March 23 -- 3,579 new cases
March 24 -- 4,454 new cases
March 25 -- 5,224 new cases
March 26 -- 5,030 new cases
March 27 -- 4,670 new cases
March 28 -- 4,101 new cases
March 29 -- 4,101 new cases
March 30 -- 5,177 new cases
March 31 -- 6,311 new cases
April 1 -- 6,036 new cases
April 2 -- 5,498 new cases
April 3 -- 8,413 new cases
April 4 -- 5,146 new cases
April 5 -- 5,147 new cases
April 6 -- 4,964 new cases
April 7 -- 8,015 new cases
April 8 -- 7,819 new cases
April 9 -- 7,834 new cases
April 10 -- 6,892 new cases
April 11 -- 4,837 new cases
April 12 -- 4,837 new cases
April 13 -- 8,867 new cases
April 14 -- 7,955 new cases
Michigan COVID-19 daily reported deaths since March 15:
March 15 -- 5 new deaths
March 16 -- 27 new deaths (6 from vital records)
March 17 -- 0 new deaths
March 18 -- 25 new deaths (24 from vital records)
March 19 -- 15 new deaths
March 20 -- 47 new deaths -- (39 from vital records)
March 21 -- 3 new deaths
March 22 -- 3 new deaths
March 23 -- 16 new deaths (8 from vital records)
March 24 -- 16 new deaths
March 25 -- 49 new deaths (30 from vital records)
March 26 -- 20 new deaths
March 27 -- 22 new deaths
March 28 -- 4 new deaths
March 29 -- 4 new deaths
March 30 -- 48 new deaths (20 from vital records)
March 31 -- 10 new deaths
April 1 -- 49 new deaths (33 from vital records)
As a risk factor for serious COVID-19 disease, physical inactivity was surpassed only by advanced age and a history of organ transplant.
Among COVID-19 patients, a lack of exercise is linked to more severe symptoms and a higher risk of death, according to a study covering nearly 50,000 people who were infected with the virus.
People physically inactive for at least two years before the pandemic were more likely to be hospitalised, to require intensive care, and to die, researchers reported on Tuesday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
As a risk factor for serious COVID-19 disease, physical inactivity was surpassed only by advanced age and a history of organ transplant, the study found.
Indeed, compared to other modifiable risk factors such as smoking, obesity or hypertension, physical inactivity was the strongest risk factor across all outcomes, the authors concluded.
The pre-existing conditions most associated with severe COVID-19 infection are advanced age, being male, and having diabetes, obesity or cardiovascular disease.
But up to now, a sedentary lifestyle has not been included.
To see whether a lack of exercise increases the odds of severe infection, hospitalisation, admission into an intensive care unit (ICU), and death, the researchers compared these outcomes in 48,440 adults in the United States infected with COVID-19 between January and October 2020.
The average age of patients was 47, and three out of five were women. On average, their mass-body index was 31, just above the threshold for obesity.
Around half had no underlying illnesses, such as diabetes, chronic lung conditions, heart or kidney disease, or cancer. Nearly 20% had one, and more than 30% had two or more.
All of the patients had reported their level of regular physical activity at least three times between March 2018 and March 2020 at outpatient clinics.
Some 15% described themselves as inactive (0-10 minutes of physical activity per week), nearly 80% reported some activity (11-149 minutes/week), and 7% were consistently active in keeping with national health guidelines (150+ minutes/week).
After allowing for differences due to race, age and underlying medical conditions, sedentary COVID-19 patients were more than twice as likely to be admitted to hospital as those who were most active.
They were also 73% more likely to require intensive care, and 2.5 times more likely to die due to the infection.
Compared to patients in the habit of doing occasional physical activity, couch potatoes were 20% more likely to be admitted to hospital, 10% more likely to require intensive care, and 32% more likely to die.
While the link is statistically strong, the study which is observational, as opposed to a clinical trial cannot be construed as direct evidence that a lack of exercise directly caused the difference in outcomes.
The findings also depend on self-reporting by patients, with a potential for bias.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WFLA) Officials are requiring that all fans and staff members be fullyvaccinated against COVID-19in order to attend Buffalo Bills games this fall.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announcedduring a press conference Tuesdaythat officials want fans to return to Highmark Stadium. However, he says in order to do that there must be a vaccination requirement.
I want to see that stadium full. I know the Bills want to see that stadium full. We want to return fans back to the stadium, said Poloncarz. Our plan is that unless you are vaccinated you will not have entry to the stadium. It is easy. It is safe.
Poloncarz says that county leaders want to see 70,000+ people attending games and that you can be one of those people by getting vaccinated.
He adds that there is no need to do masscoronavirustesting to buy tickets for games.
Poloncarz says attendees can download theNew York State Excelsior Pass appwhich allows residents to show that they have been fully vaccinated. The app reportedly features a QR code that will be scanned and used to allow access to the venue.
We want to ensure that if you want to go to a Bills game you can buy and ticket and you can enter by showing that you are vaccinated, he said.
Erie County officials say the same policy will be required for entry into KeyBank Center for Buffalo Sabres games.
Our goal is to have a 100% full house for the Bills and the Sabres starting in the fall and thats ensuring everybody who enters that facility the fans, the staff are fully vaccinated, Poloncarz said.
Those with questions about the vaccination policies are encouraged to reach out to the teams or Erie County officials for more information.
Another two Mainers have died as health officials on Tuesday reported 571 more coronavirus cases across the state.
The number of coronavirus cases diagnosed in the past 14 days statewide is 4,574. This is an estimation of the current number of active cases in the state, as the Maine CDC is no longer tracking recoveries for all patients. Thats up from 4,226 on Monday.
It marks the highest single-day increase in cases Maine has seen since Jan. 26, when 662 were reported and the state remained in the grip of a severe winter surge in virus transmission.
However, some cases occurred beyond the previous 24 hours because those reported to the Maine CDC have been exceeding what its able to review within a day.
Of the number of new cases reported on Tuesday, 51 cases were diagnosed April 12, 149 were diagnosed April 11, 166 were diagnosed April 10 and 205 were diagnosed on April 9, according to Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah.
A man and a woman in their 80s from Oxford County have succumbed to the virus, bringing the statewide death toll to 753.
Tuesdays report brings the total number of coronavirus cases in Maine to 54,827, according to the Maine CDC. Thats up from 54,256 on Monday.
Of those, 41,482 have been confirmed positive, while 13,345 were classified as probable cases, the Maine CDC reported.
The new case rate statewide Tuesday was 4.27 cases per 10,000 residents, and the total case rate statewide was 409.64.
Maines seven-day average for new coronavirus cases is 369.9, up from 327.9 a day ago, up from 311.4 a week ago and up from 177.1 a month ago. That average peaked on Jan. 14 at 625.3.
The most cases have been detected in Mainers in their 20s, while Mainers over 80 years old make up the majority of deaths. More cases and deaths have been recorded in women than men. For a complete breakdown of the age and sex demographics of cases, hospitalizations and deaths, use the interactive graphic below.
So far, 1,742 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus. Of those, 96 are currently hospitalized, with 36 in critical care and 13 on ventilators. Currently, 94 out of 381 critical care beds and 245 out of 319 ventilators are available. Meanwhile, 446 alternative ventilators are available.
The total statewide hospitalization rate on Tuesday was 13.02 patients per 10,000 residents.
Cases have been reported in Androscoggin (5,955), Aroostook (1,511), Cumberland (14,835), Franklin (1,065), Hancock (1,161), Kennebec (4,803), Knox (861), Lincoln (725), Oxford (2,775), Penobscot (4,921), Piscataquis (401), Sagadahoc (1,118), Somerset (1,558), Waldo (749), Washington (797) and York (11,590) counties. Information about where an additional two cases were reported wasnt immediately available.
For a complete breakdown of the county by county data, use the interactive graphic below.
Out of 6,376 COVID-19 tests reported to the Maine CDC in the previous 24 hours, 5.3 percent came back positive. Overall, 2,210,508 tests have been administered and the statewide positivity rate is 2.73 percent.
An additional 6,013 Mainers have been vaccinated against the coronavirus in the previous 24 hours. As of Tuesday, 520,089 Mainers have received a first dose of the vaccine, while 386,624 have received a final dose.
New Hampshire reported 375 new cases on Tuesday and no deaths. Vermont reported 89 new cases and two deaths, while Massachusetts reported 1,532 new cases and 19 deaths.
As of Tuesday evening, the coronavirus had sickened 31,335,197 people in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as caused 563,354 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.
Nationwide, 192 million doses of the vaccine have been administered, an increase of 2 million since Monday, according to Bloomberg.
The global tally for the coronavirus-borne illness rose above 136.7 million on Tuesday, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University, as the death toll climbed above 2.94 million. The U.S. leads the world in cases and deaths by wide margins, with 31.3 million cases, or about 23% of the global total, while the 562,533 death toll make of about 19% of the global toll. The U.S. added at least 72,286 new cases and 476 new deaths on Monday, according to a New York Times tracker. The U.S. has averaged 69,030 cases per day in the past week, up 6% from the average two weeks ago. The rise in new cases comes despite the continued increase in vaccinations. More than 189.6 million doses have been administered and more than 120.8 million Americans -- 36.4% of the total population -- have received at least one dose, with more than 74 million people, or 22.3% of the population, being fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Outside of the U.S., India has replaced Brazil as the country with the second highest number of cases at 13.7 million, and is fourth globally by deaths at 171,058. Brazil is third by cases at 13.5 million and second with a death toll of 354,617. Mexico is third by deaths at 209,702 and 14th highest by cases at 2.3 million. The U.K. has 4.38 million cases and 127,346 deaths, the highest in Europe and fifth highest in the world.
(April 14, 2021) Six new coronavirus cases were reported on Nantucket Wednesday morning, increasing to 1,453 the total number of positive tests on the island since the pandemic began.
The results also included 90 negatives. Thirty-eight COVID-19 cases have been reported on the island in the past seven days, a 6.7 percent weekly positivity rate.
There have been five COVID-19 Nantucket deaths since the start of the pandemic, the most recent April 7 a woman in her mid-50s.
Health director Roberto Santamaria attributed the recent spike in cases to the probable presence on the island of more contagious coronavirus variants, and community spread.
More powerful variants of the COVID-19 virus have been recently confirmed in Massachusetts, and evidence of the U.K. variant has turned up in island sewage tested for coronavirus (Click herefor story).
We have to assume this spread is being caused by variants, Santamaria said. And now we are seeing with the nice weather and coming into the shoulder season people are getting lax in their safety measures like mask-wearing and distancing.
"We're seeing more people sicker, and more people in our emergency room now presenting with symptoms more severe than just what we'd been seeing at the drive-through testing," Nantucket Cottage Hospital president and CEO Gary Shaw said last week.
Click hereto read Shaw's full statement on the recent surge.
Shaw also attributed the recent spike in part to new arrivals on the island.
"We're seeing a greater number of people coming from other parts of the country for seasonal work, not knowing they are infected, getting tested and testing positive," he said.
"We are not out of the woods by any means. A good part of the country and the world are not vaccinated at a time when people really want to travel. Levels of decline have plateaued within the state. Thats a bad sign. A ramp-up in caseload is going to be coming," he continued..
"We all need to be vigilant to cross this hurdle. Its a race to get vaccines into arms. We are havinganother surge, and we need to be careful."
"Our biggest line of defense is you working together with us to help prevent the spread of this heinous virus. We are in the 24th mile of a full marathon. The end is near, but we cant quit now," Santamaria said in a recent Twitter message.
The second round of Phase 2 vaccinations began in early March, and vaccination of the general public is scheduled to begin April 19. (Click here for story). The vaccination site was closed Monday and Tuesday, however, because the town did not receive as many doses of vaccine as it had requested from the state (Click here for story).
As of Monday, 6,346 first doses and 3,934 second doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered on Nantucket.
All COVID-19 testing is now being conducted at the hospital's 57 Prospect St. drive-through portico to free up additional vaccination space at the New South Road VFW. Testing hours for those with symptoms and close contacts will be held from 7 a.m.-10 a.m. Monday-Friday.
COVID-19 elective testing for asymptomatic patients (those with no symptoms) will be held from 10 a.m.-noon Monday-Friday and 8 a.m.-10 a.m. Saturdays.Click hereto read more.
Hospital staff have collected 30,511 nasal swabs for testing since the start of the pandemic last March. In addition to the 1,453 positive tests 4.76 percent of the total number returned 29,053 have come back negative, and five are awaiting results.
The Nantucket Board of Health on Dec. 11, 2020 established a COVID-19 task force to better enforce and raise awareness of coronavirus regulations (Click herefor story).
Gov. Charlie Baker in late Februry lifted the 9:30 p.m. statewide restaurant closing time, and in early March increased capcacity limits for restaurants, theaters, museums and other indoor locations. Additional capacity increases took effect March 22 (Click herefor story).
Part-time in-class learning for Nantucket public-school students resumed Jan. 14 after being remote only since before Christmas. Full in-class learning for elementary-school students began April 5, with middle- and high-school students scheduled to return full-time later this month.
"I ask everyone on Nantucket to take personal responsibility and do all you can to reduce the potential for transmission in our community. That means wearing masks, staying physically distant, washing your hands, and not hosting or attending gatherings with people outside your immediate households," Shaw said recently.
"Most of all, we want our community to stay healthy, we want our economy to remain open, we want our public schools to be able to return to in-person learning. To that end, we must work together and apply the simple preventive measures that will keep this situation from spiraling out of control."
There have been 1,387 coronavirus cases confirmed on Nantucket in the past seven months, beginning Sept. 9, 2020 with a spike linked to workers in the trades, followed by a second surge in late September tied to a church function in which a communal meal was shared.
A third spike in early November was again tied to workers in the trades, followed by significant surges related to holiday gatherings and travel at Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's. A moderate surge in early March was tied to school-break-related travel.
Prior to Sept. 9, Nantucket had one of the lowest COVID-19 rates in the state per 100,000 population, and the fewest confirmed cases of any county in Massachusetts.
The Board of Health on Oct. 6, 2020 voted to require all people on publicly-accessible property across the island to wear a mask, not just downtown and in Sconset, as was previously mandated.
It decided in mid-November against tightening restrictions to limit the total number of workers on a job site to six in an attempt to stop the spread (Click herefor story).
Nantucket Cottage Hospital does not have an intensive-care unit and only five ventilators. Shaw has said patients in need of acute respiratory care would be transferred to mainland hospitals if at all possible.
The criteria for symptomatic drive-up testing at the hospital includes at least one of the following signs or symptoms consistent with a viral respiratory syndrome: subjective/documented fever, new sore throat, new cough, new runny nose/nasal congestion, new shortness of breath, new muscle aches or anosmia (new loss of sense of smell). Close contacts of COVID-19 positive patients and pre-procedure patients can also be tested.
For more information about symptomatic and asymptomatic testing,click here.
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EDITORS NOTE: The daily numbers that we report do not line up with the numbers the state is reporting for each day. Every day at 10 a.m. we take the previous days numbers from 10 a.m. and subtract them with the current numbers from the state at 10 a.m. Rather than reporting a day behind, we wish to give you the most updated information.For Black Hawk and Linn Counties,we are reporting numbers from their county COVID-19 websites. For Johnson and Dubuque counties,we are reporting numbers from the states website.
IOWA
(KWWL) There were 655 new, confirmed cases from 10 a.m. Tuesday to 10 a.m. Wednesday,according to the states dashboard,bringing the states total number of cases to 358,139.
The states website says that of the 358,139 people who have tested positive, 339,094 have recovered. This is 510 more recoveries than what the state reported Tuesday.
The state is reporting 0 additional COVID-19 death, with a death toll of 5,857.
Subtracting the number of recoveries (339,094) and the number of deaths (5,857) from the total number of cases (358,139) shows there are currently 13,188 active positive cases in the state.
As of Wednesday morning, there were 46 patients hospitalized in Iowa within the last 24 hours and the total number of hospitalizations is 218, which is down from 220. Of those, 57 are in the ICU (up from 56), and 14 are on ventilators (down from 20).
In Iowa, there were 3,018 people tested in the last 24 hours, and a total of 1,671,928 people have been tested for COVID-19.
As of Wednesday morning, according to the statesCOVID-19 vaccine dashboard, 1,836,707 total doses have been administered to Iowa residents and 798,577 individuals have completed the series. This is 17,353 more completed vaccinations than Tuesday. You can view thedashboardfor more data. You can find more vaccine information and storieshere.
BLACK HAWK COUNTY
As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, theBlack Hawk COVID-19 dashboardis showing 15 new cases since 10 a.m. Tuesday, leaving a total of 16,588 cases. There have been 12 additional recoveries, leaving a total of 14,813. There have been no additional deaths, leaving a total of 306 deaths. In Black Hawk County, 34,115 residents have been fully vaccinated.
LINN COUNTY
As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, theLinn County COVID-19 dashboardis showing 17 new cases since 10 a.m. Tuesday, leaving a total of 20,219 cases. There have been 21 additional recoveries, leaving a total of 18,737 recoveries. There have been no additional deaths, leaving a total of 339 deaths in the county. There are currently 8 patients currently hospitalized in the county. In Linn County, 57,311 residents have been fully vaccinated.
JOHNSON COUNTY
According to thestates dashboardat 10 a.m. Wednesday, there are 43 new positive cases reported in Johnson County since 10 a.m. Tuesday. This brings the total to 13,940 reported cases. There have been a total of 13,192 recoveries, 13 more reported than yesterday. There were no additional deaths reported, leaving a total of 80. In Johnson County, 44,578 residents have been fully vaccinated.
DUBUQUE COUNTY
According to thestates dashboardat 10 a.m. Wednesday, there were 17 additional positive cases reported in Dubuque County since 10 a.m. Tuesday. This brings the total to 13,093 reported cases. There have been 13 additional recoveries reported, leaving a total of 12,323. There were no additional deaths reported, leaving a total of 202. In Dubuque County, 28,013 residents have been fully vaccinated.
View COVID-19 numbers fromTuesday here.
Introduction
The coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. and the changes in the daily lives of Americans that ensued have taken a toll on peoples mental health and created new barriers for those seeking mental health care. Stress and worry about contracting the virus, coupled with job losses, loss of childcare, as well as the devastating loss of loved ones due to COVID-19 are just a few ways in which the pandemic may be having an effect on mental health. Previous KFF analysis of the Census Bureaus Household Pulse Survey from earlier this year shows the economic downturn has led to mental health issues and increased substance abuse in the U.S.. The analysis also found school closures and lack of childcare had an even larger impact on parents with children in their home under the age of 18 who either have transitioned to working from home during the pandemic or have been required to go into work throughout the pandemic. This analysis from the March KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor finds that those hardest hit by the mental health impacts of the coronavirus pandemic have been younger people and women, including mothers.
In the first few months of the coronavirus pandemic, the share of U.S. adults who said worry and stress related to the coronavirus was having a negative impact on their mental health increased from about one-third (32%) in March 2020 to roughly half (53%) in July 2020. With the end of the pandemic in sight as millions of Americans are getting vaccinated against the disease, the mental health impact seems to have leveled off. The March 2021 KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor finds that about half of adults (47%) continue to report negative mental health impacts related to worry or stress from the pandemic.
Younger adults and women, including mothers with children under 18 years old in their households, are among the most likely to report that stress and worry related to coronavirus has had a negative impact on their mental health. Nearly half of Black adults (49%), White adults (48%), and about four in ten Hispanic adults (43%) say the coronavirus has had a negative impact on their mental health, including three in ten Black adults (31%) and one-fourth of White (23%) and Hispanic (25%) adults who say it has had a major impact. Smaller shares of adults ages 65 and older and men (including fathers with children in the home) say they have experienced mental health impact from the coronavirus. It is notable that some previous studies have shown that men, older adults, and Black adults may be less likely to report mental health difficulty and more likely to face challenges accessing mental health care.
More than half of women overall (55%) report a negative impact on their mental health related to the coronavirus pandemic, compared to about four in ten men (38%) who report the same. While a larger share of women across age groups under age 65 report a negative impact on their mental health, the youngest group of men and women are most likely to report negative mental health impacts, compared to their older counterparts. Nearly seven in ten women ages 18 to 29 (69%) report a negative impact on their mental health.
Direct experience with COVID-19 has a role in reported mental health impacts of the pandemic. The March 2021 KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor finds one in four (24%) U.S. adults report having a close friend or family member who has died of complications related to COVID-19. An additional 12% say they have someone less directly connected to them who has died, and about six in ten (63%) say they do not know anyone who has died of COVID-19.
Among those with the closest connections to a COVID-19 related death (having a close friend or family member who died), three in ten say stress related to coronavirus has had a major impact on their mental health. Smaller shares of those who do not know anyone who has died from complications related to COVID-19 say their mental health has been impacted in a major way (23%). Half of those who know someone close who has died, or indirectly, say their mental health has been impacted in at least a minor way (53% each), while more than four in ten who have not had a personal experience with knowing someone who has died say the same (44%).
One potential contributor to negative mental health impacts may be the fear of contracting COVID-19 or having a family member get sick from the disease. When asked how worried they are they or someone in their family will get sick from COVID-19, some of the same groups that are most likely to report negative mental health impacts are also the most likely to report being worried, including women, and younger adults.
A relationship between worry and self-reported mental health impacts is also evident. Among those who say they are either very worried or somewhat worried they or a family member will get sick from coronavirus, six in ten (61%) say worry or stress has had a negative impact on their mental health. This is compared to two-thirds of those who say they are either not too worried or not at all worried about their family getting sick who say that stress has not negatively impacted their mental health regarding the pandemic.
Many adults who reported worsened mental health due the pandemic also report forgoing mental health treatment. About one third (32%) of those who reported a negative impact on their mental health (representing 15% of all adults) say there was a time in the past year where they thought they might need mental health services or medication but did not get them. Nearly half of mothers (46%) who report a negative mental health impact due to the pandemic (27% of all mothers) say they did not get mental health care that they needed. In addition, about one in five adults under age 50, Black adults and women say they have experienced worsened mental health due to the pandemic and have not gotten mental health services or medication they thought they might need.
Access to providers and affordability appear to be the biggest barriers for those who felt they needed mental health care because of the pandemic but did not receive them. One in four adults who did not get the mental health care say the main reason why was because they could not find a provider (24%) or could not afford the cost (23%). An additional one in five (18%) say they were too busy or could not get the time off work to receive treatment. One in ten say they had problems with insurance covering their treatment while 5% said they were afraid or embarrassed to seek treatment.
