More than a year after a "mysterious pneumonia" sickened workers at a seafood market in China, scientists are still gathering clues about where SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus that causes COVID-19 -- emerged from.
"It's critical to understand where this virus came from, so that we can understand how to stop future outbreaks going forward," said Anne Rimoin, an infectious disease epidemiologist at UCLA.
The investigation into the virus' origins is crucial for public health and science reasons, but it has also sparked tension among world powers, especially between the United States and China, whose leaders have accused one another of lack of transparency and xenophobia during the pandemic.
"It's not about finger-pointing -- it's just about understanding it, so we know how to do better in the future," Rimoin said.
Peter Ben Embarek, a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) team tasked with investigating the origins of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), attends the WHO-China joint study news conference at a hotel in Wuhan, China, Feb. 9, 2021.
To that end, on Jan. 14, 2021, the World Health Organization deployed a group of 17 international experts to Wuhan to work with Chinese scientists on an in-depth investigation into the virus' origins.
Scientists have long said that SARS-CoV-2 has zoonotic origins, meaning that it likely jumped from animals to people when humans came in contact with an animal infected with the virus. That contact could include handling the infected animal, eating it or preparing the animal for market, according to Rimoin.
A member of a World Health Organization team is seen wearing protective gear during a field visit to the Hubei Animal Disease Control and Prevention Center for another day of field visit in Wuhan, China, Feb. 2, 2021.
However, experts didn't know exactly how the virus had gotten into people and reaching a definitive conclusion about SARS-CoV-2's origins might take years. They also don't know where or when the virus first made its way into humans and several studies suggest that it may have been present elsewhere in the world -- perhaps circulating at low levels -- before the major outbreak in Wuhan, China.
"You're trying to reconstruct events from a year and a half ago with incomplete sampling and data," Dr. W. Ian Lipkin, director of Columbia Universitys Center for Infection and Immunity, told ABC News. "We may never know exactly what happened."
If previous infectious disease investigations are any clue, the virus' origins could remain shrouded in mystery. The best comparison is the 2003 SARS outbreak, which was caused by a close cousin of the virus that causes COVID-19 and eventually traced back to a single population of horseshoe crab bats.
But that search took more than five years. "I think they were quite lucky," Vincent Racaniello, a microbiology and immunology professor at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, said of the SARS investigation. "We've still not found the source of Ebola virus outbreaks after many years of looking," he added. "It's not easy."
A mink looks out from its cage at a farm, Nov. 6, 2020.
The joint WHO-China report is considered a first step in what will likely be a years-long investigation released its findings last week. But the report itself has been mired in controversy. Following its release, the United States and 13 other countries raised concerns about the report in a joint statement, arguing that the international investigation was "significantly delayed and lacked access to complete, original data and samples."
But many experts say the report, though imperfect, is an important first step.
The investigators explored four major theories of how the virus spilled over into humans, ranking those ranked those theories in order of likelihood, from "very likely" to "extremely unlikely."
The WHO-China report investigated possible pathways through which SARS-CoV-2 could have emerged.
The intermediary host theory: This theory proposes that the virus was transmitted from an original animal host to an intermediate host, such as a minks, pangolins, rabbits, raccoon dogs, domesticated cats, civets or ferret badgers, and then directly infected humans through live contact with the second animal.
WHO-China investigation conclusion: "likely to very likely"
The WHO-China report investigated possible pathways through which SARS-CoV-2 could have emerged.
The zoonotic spillover theory: The zoonotic spillover theory suggests that SARS-CoV-2 was passed directly from an animal, most likely a bat, to humans. This transmission could have happened through farming, hunting or other close contact between humans and animals.
WHO-China investigation conclusion: "possible to likely"
The WHO-China report investigated possible pathways through which SARS-CoV-2 could have emerged.
The frozen food chain theory: The "cold-chain" theory suggests that transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from animals to humans might have happened through contaminated frozen food. A frozen food product contaminated with animal waste that contained SARS-CoV-2 could have transferred the virus to humans without any direct live contact between humans and animals.
WHO-China investigation conclusion: "possible"
Peter Daszak, Thea Fischer, and other members of the World Health Organization (WHO) team investigating the origins of the COVID-19 coronavirus arrive at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China, Feb. 3, 2021.
As part of the investigation, scientists returned to the Huanan seafood market associated with the first known cluster of cases in Wuhan. They also visited the Hubei Provincial Hospital of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, where some of the first COVID-19 cases were treated, and looked at viral sequencing data. That viral sequencing showed that different minor variants of SARS-CoV-2 were spreading in Wuhan in December 2020.
"That again suggests that maybe the virus had been circulating a little bit longer than people had realized," said Dominic Dwyer, an epidemiologist and member of the WHO investigative team.
Viral sequencing also showed that the Huanan market likely wasn't the primary source of the outbreak. While many early cases were connected to the market, a similar number of cases were associated with other markets, or no markets at all, the WHO-China report found.
"The market was certainly an amplifier, but probably not the actual source of the whole outbreak," Dwyer said.
One of the last places the investigators visited was the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the target of a politically charged theory that the virus had accidentally leaked from a lab. The report cited high biosafety levels at labs in Wuhan, no evidence of respiratory illness in workers and no storage or lab activities on coronaviruses or bat viruses.
Prior genomic sequencing showed that the virus had natural origins and the WHO-China team ranked the lab leak theory as "extremely unlikely."
But Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO's director-general, said that he didn't think the team's assessment of the theory was extensive enough.
Further data and studies will be needed to reach more robust conclusions, Tedros said at a press conference about the report's findings, noting that he was ready to deploy additional missions with specialist experts to do so.
"Science can't rule things out like that," Peter Daszak, a zoologist and member of the WHO investigative team, said of the lab leak theory. "You can only really show positive findings, you can't prove a negative. But what we did find is that the lab escape was extremely unlikely."
Barriers are setup at the closed Huanan Seafood Market where the COVID-19 coronavirus is believed to have emerged in Wuhan, China, April 15, 2020.
The most likely pathway, the report found, was the first theory, that the virus passed from a bat to an intermediary animal and then to humans. According to Daszak, next steps for investigation could include tracing back the first cases of the virus; investigating market suppliers for unusual spikes in antibodies; and examining locations with concentrations of animals we know are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2.
Rimoin hopes the pandemic has shown that disease surveillance is key to preventing future outbreaks, not just reacting to them. As population growth and climate change push humans further into animal habitats, "we will see more viruses jumping from animals to humans and we're going to see more disease emergence events," Rimoin said.
"An infection anywhere is potentially an infection everywhere," she said.
ABC News' Sasha Pezenik, Sony Salzman and Eric Silberman contributed to this report.
Eric Silberman, MD, a resident physician in internal medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, is a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit.
As San Diego County this week enters yet another phase in the reopening of its pandemic-era economy, the public will have to navigate a mind-numbing set of new rules and capacity limits, whether its dining indoors at a restaurant, catching a new release at the multiplex, or heading to Petco Park to watch the Padres.
While Californias color-coded roadmap for safely easing back into something resembling a pre-COVID-19 life is set to vanish by June 15, San Diegans still have two more months to live with a system that rewards both consumers and businesses when infection, hospitalization and vaccination rates continue to improve.
Under the countys more relaxed orange tier the second least restrictive in Californias reopening plan some business categories, like restaurants and movie theaters, are seeing their indoor occupancy limits double overnight, offering some hope for a return to profitability following a year of decimated revenues. In other instances, such as attending an outdoor sporting event, capacity levels will increase significantly as long as all attendees show proof of a negative coronavirus test or full vaccination against COVID-19.
And still more new rules will go into effect April 15, when indoor live events like concerts and theatrical performances will be allowed to resume, again with prescribed capacity limits.
As tantalizing as it all sounds, significant challenges remain. Restaurants and theme parks are having a tough time hiring enough workers as they all expand their business operations at once. Also a puzzler for business owners is how to implement a verification process for COVID-19 vaccinations and tests among their patrons.
And then theres the ever-nagging fear of returning to the more restrictive red tier should COVID-19 hospitalization and transmission rates rise locally the way they have in other parts of the U.S.
Weve been here before, and were still not completely out of the clear, said longtime restaurant owner Brian Malarkey, whose three restaurants are now open indoors. A fourth, the more casual Herb & Eatery, ceased operating last year due to the pandemic. I cant help but look over my shoulder and see rising numbers in the East Coast. Weve been put on a yo-yo, and its exhausting for our employees and the customers. I just hope were doing the right thing and am excited to get back to as much as normal as we can.
In the interest of simplifying life under the orange tier, the Union-Tribune has assembled a guide showing what has and has not changed.
The county moved from red to orange because its case rate has been under six cases per every 100,000 residents for the last two weeks since moving to the red tier March 17. That move became a little easier once the state raised the qualifying case rate threshold after meeting a goal to vaccinate more than 4 million Californians living in areas deemed to have the worst access to health care and other resources necessary for healthy living.
Indoor seating at restaurants and bars that serve food has expanded from 25 percent capacity to 50 percent, or 200 people maximum, whichever is fewer. And the 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew has been lifted. There are no changes for outdoor seating, which many restaurants have expanded by moving onto sidewalks and parking areas of streets.
The Field Irish Pub in the Gaslamp Quarter
(K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Bars that offer no food service can now open up outdoors, with modifications. Wineries, breweries and distilleries are permitted to operate indoors after being restricted to outdoor-only in the red tier. The capacity limit is 25 percent or 100 people maximum.
Led by Junior Leoso, Pacific Beach Training offers both group classes and private lessons at its indoor facility.
(Courtesy of Pacific Beach Training)
Gyms and fitness centers are also getting an increase in capacity from just 10 percent to 25 percent and indoor pools can now open. Indoor hot tubs, saunas and steam rooms are still off-limits.
Movie theaters can seat 50 percent of their usual capacity or 200 people, whichever is fewer. Many theaters will continue to use online reservations to control capacity and make it easier for moviegoers to socially distance themselves while they munch on popcorn and watch the latest flick on the big screen.
Jason Mahrdt watches a movie with his Kids Ryan,4, Phoebe,8, and Olivia 4 at Angelika Film Center & Cafe at Carmel Mountain Plaza on March 20, 2021.
(Sandy Huffaker/SDUT)
While its not required, some movie theaters are limiting concession sales in the theater lobby and instead offering online ordering with treats delivered to where people are sitting.
Retail spaces, including supermarkets, and shopping centers can reopen to full, pre-pandemic indoor capacity if they stick with public health modifications such as masking, regularly cleaning surfaces and Plexiglass barriers at checkout stations. In the red tier, capacity was set at 50 percent. For malls, the capacity limitations for restaurants remain in place for food courts.
Eric Whitman works on a tattoo on Alexa DeFrazie on at Pacific Beach Tattoo in this June 2020 photo.
(Sandy Huffaker/For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Barbershops and personal care services, which include tattoo parlors, nail salons and other places you go for grooming and pampering, have been open indoors without capacity limits since the purple tier and will stay open. Thats because theres no evidence these settings play a major role in the spread of the coronavirus.
Case in point: In a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last July, two hair stylists with COVID-19 who kept their masks on while working with 139 clients didnt get any of their customers sick.
The San Diego Automotive Museum recently reopened since closing back in November. During the closure the museum underwent a total remodel, including flooring, painting, and new wall graphics.
(Nelvin C. Cepeda/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
These venues can now operate at 50 percent of their indoor capacity. Theyve been able to operate outdoors since the purple tier but were previously limited to 25 percent indoor capacity in the red tier. The orange tier probably wont change much for visitors to the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park, as both parks are largely outdoors.
Theme parks were only allowed to reopen a little more than a week ago, and with San Diego now in the orange tier, the overall capacity limit is going from 15 percent to 25 percent. That same restriction applies to any part of the park that is indoors.
Martin Lopez, left, and Katie Byle check seat restraints on the Electric Eel roller coaster for a test run at SeaWorld in advance of reopening its rides on Monday.
(K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Belmont Park in Mission Beach opened up its rides April 1, and Legoland, which had been closed for more than a year, also reopened that same day, with a wider reopening planned for April 15. On Monday, SeaWorld, which has been allowing guests under rules for accredited zoos since early February, will now reopen many of its rides. Additional conditions, including required reservations and a prohibition of out-of-state visitors remain the same, regardless of the tier level.
For the first time under the tier system, such venues think bowling alleys, escape rooms and trampoline parks can open indoors. The capacity limit is 25 percent, although that goes up to 50 percent if all customers are tested for COVID-19 or show proof of full vaccination. Masking is required except for food and beverage service at such locations.
The San Diego Padres take on the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park in their home opener on Thursday, April 1, 2021. Following California COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines for sporting events, Petco Park opened with reduced capacity.
(Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The biggest change is more generous limits on overall capacity, which has gone from 25 percent to 33 percent in the orange tier. That limit, however, rises dramatically to 67 percent if attendees can show evidence of a negative test for COVID-19 or proof that theyve been fully vaccinated. In advance of the Padres next homestand, the team has sent out a survey to its season ticket holders querying them about their seating preferences, noting that it may be possible to allow 67 percent capacity in certain sections of Petco Park for those who have provided proof of COVID tests or vaccinations.
Team spokesman Craig Hughner said the Padres are still awaiting clarification on guidelines to see if they will allow for larger capacities in designated seating sections.
The Manchester Grand Hyatt is the biggest hotel, by capacity, in Southern California.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Hotels have been open since the purple tier, but the move to orange means that on-site fitness centers can use 25 percent of their capacity. And if sweating on a treadmill isnt your style, you can take a dip in the indoor hotel pool, which was closed in the red tier.
These are incremental changes. Whats arguably more significant is that, starting April 15, hotels can host private meetings, such as conferences and wedding receptions. In the orange tier, these events can hold 100 people outdoors. If all guests can show that theyve been vaccinated or recently tested negative against the coronavirus, then hotels can host 300 people outdoors or 150 people indoors.
Some hoteliers have welcomed the news, while others have said the capacity limits are too strict for them to make a profit a common refrain among business owners frustrated with the states tiered reopening system. No decision has been made yet by the state on large conventions, a sector that has been moribund since the start of the pandemic.
Like the upcoming changes for hotel meetings, there will be expanded opportunities for indoor performances starting April 15. For venues with a capacity of up to 1,500 people, the cap will be 15 percent or 200 people, and will increase to 35 percent if all guests are tested or fully vaccinated. For larger capacity venues able to accommodate more than 1,500 people, the cap for the orange tier is 10 percent or 2,000 people, whichever is fewer, though it could increase to 50 percent if all those attending are tested or fully vaccinated.
The move to the orange tier now allows offices to be open indoors, although working remotely is encouraged.
Similar to many indoor business activities, places of worship get a bump up in their indoor capacity from 25 percent to 50 percent. These settings include churches, mosques and synagogues, as well as locations where weddings and funerals take place.
But the Bulldogs were granted a second chance this season. They navigated a complicated set of pandemic protocols, earned an at-large bid to their sixth consecutive NCAA tournament and prevailed in five overtimes last month against top-ranked North Dakota in the state of North Dakota to reach an fourth-consecutive Frozen Four at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.
Unfortunately for UMD, its story will not end with another national championship, or even an appearance in the national championship game. While the Bulldogs were able to stave off the coronavirus, they could not hold back Massachusetts, which scored 14:30 into overtime Thursday to beat the Bulldogs 3-2 in the semifinals of the NCAA Frozen Four at PPG Paints Arena.
To get back here, it's not an easy thing to do, Bulldogs coach Scott Sandelin said. And to be able to do it four years in a row, it still leaves a bitter taste losing the game, but certainly proud of our group.
UMD led 2-1 after two periods thanks to goals by junior wings Tanner Laderoute and Cole Koepke, and a healthy 26-11 shots on goal advantage.
UMass junior forward Anthony Del Gazio, with just his second goal of the season, tied the game 8:25 into the third period to force overtime, and from there the Minutemen overwhelmed the Bulldogs by a 13-2 margin in shots on goal.
It was the 13th puck UMass put on net, one that was quickly slid across the crease by Bobby Trivigno and onto the stick of fellow junior forward Garrett Wait a former Minnesota Golden Gopher of all people that found its way through.
Duluth is the best team we've played this year. They play a really heavy style that we're not used to playing against, said coach Greg Carvel, whose UMass team will play St. Cloud State for the national championship on Saturday. For two periods we struggled with it. I don't know if frustration is the right word, but what we usually do just wasn't working. So after the second period, I really urged the players to realize that it's going to take more, and I thought the kids did a great job in the third period.
It wasnt just the Bulldogs' shot at a three-peat that came to an end Thursday, but a number of historic runs by the program that will be remembered for years and years to come.
Already one of just five teams to have made three consecutive NCAA title games along with Boston College (2006-08), Minnesota (1974-76) and Michigan, twice (1951-53 and 55-57), the Bulldogs were trying to be the first school to appear in four straight national championship games.
UMD had a nine-game NCAA tournament winning streak that stretched back to 2018 snapped. Thursday's loss was only the program's second in 14 NCAA tournament games dating back to 2017.
Minnesota Duluth players celebrate a second period goal against Massachusetts during the NCAA Frozen Four semifinal game at PPG Paints Arena Thursday, April 8, 2021 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)
The Bulldogs had won nine consecutive NCAA tournament overtime games prior to Thursday. The last time UMD lost in OT in the NCAA tournament was 6-5 to RPI in the 1985 Frozen Four semifinals.
It's been awesome, said UMD senior wing Nick Swaney, who has been to three Frozen Fours in four seasons, winning two NCAA titles. It's hard to describe everything that we've gone through these four years. Getting back here every single year, that's just something you don't see a lot, and a testament to the culture we have here at Duluth. I'm fortunate to be part of so many great teams and so many great groups of guys.
Some streaks still stand.
UMD will be seeking a seventh-consecutive NCAA tournament berth in 2021-22. Their current run of six tournaments is the longest active streak in NCAA men's hockey.
The Bulldogs will also get a chance to keep their Frozen Four streak alive. One of 11 teams to ever reach four straight Frozen Fours, they can join Colorado College (1948-1952) and Boston University (1974-1978) as the only schools to make five straight Frozen Fours.
Tanner Laderoute (13) of Minnesota Duluth greets players on the bench after scoring a goal against Massachusetts in the first period during the NCAA Frozen Four semifinal game at PPG Paints Arena Thursday, April 8, 2021 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)
It's all about the culture we created, said Laderoute, who has been to two Frozen Fours and won one national championship in three seasons at UMD. We're good hockey players, but even more than that, we have good people. We have good character. That's what we create. That's why we keep coming back.
We faced so much adversity, every team has, but it's supposed to be this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And it seems that we keep coming. So it's a pleasure to be here. I couldn't be more lucky to do it with all these guys.
The longest consecutive Frozen Four streak belongs to Michigan, who made 10 in a row in college hockeys early days from 1948-1957. Thats also the only time any school has ever three-peated as national champions, with Michigan winning in 1951, 1952 and 1953.
Sandelin, who hasnt spoken to his team following a season-ending postseason defeat since the loss to Denver in the 2017 NCAA championship game in Chicago, said there wasnt much he could say to the team Thursday night, just that hes really proud of the team for the opportunity they gave themselves during a tough year.
I'm not sure going into the year a lot of people gave us a chance to get back, to have a chance to win another championship, Sandelin said. This group fought some of those odds and grew together during the year.
"A lot of those guys, they don't know this feeling. Sometimes the highs are unbelievable and the lows are really low, but you can learn from everything. So hopefully we learn from this and use it as motivation to get back here next year.
Massachusetts head coach Greg Carvel (right) talks to head coach Scott Sandelin of Minnesota Duluth after Massachusetts defeated Minnesota Duluth 3-2 in overtime during the NCAA Frozen Four semifinal game at PPG Paints Arena Thursday, April 8, 2021 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)
So how did the Minutemen, who were dominated by the Bulldogs two years ago in the national championship game in Buffalo and again during the opening two periods of Thursday's national semifinal, finally get the best of UMD?
Carvel had the answer to that.
When it got to overtime and as we found more confidence in our game and more aggression, being more aggressive in our play, we were getting them stuck in their D zone, Carvel said. That really wears you out when you have to play in your own zone for a long time. The overtime was pretty lopsided.
The one thing about this team is they know what makes them good and when they smell blood in the water, I just thought they took it up a notch and they all played great down the stretch in overtime.
Massachusetts forward George Mika (29) delivers an open ice check to Tanner Laderoute (13) of Minnesota Duluth in the overtime period during the NCAA Frozen Four semifinal game at PPG Paints Arena Thursday, April 8, 2021 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)
Carvel said he saw an opportunity when the Bulldogs began rolling only three lines in the third period. He had been matching UMD through the first two periods, but decided not to follow Sandelin and continue to roll all four of his lines.
By the time the game went into overtime, Carvel said he thought UMD ran out of gas.
We were trying to match, but if they're only playing three lines, I've got to play that fourth line against somebody, Carvel said. Eventually I didn't care who they put on the ice. We were just rolling four lines for the most part.
It's such an asset to be able to do that, to play all your players. And it was great because we're in overtime, I'm looking at the bench, the next line up is completely rested and ready to go and to continue the momentum that we had built.
Minnesota Duluth players react after losing 3-2 in overtime to Massachusetts during the NCAA Frozen Four semifinal game at PPG Paints Arena Thursday, April 8, 2021 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)
Sandelin said rolling only three lines was not the reason his team was winded in the overtime Thursday. Instead it was because of their decision-making in the defensive zone, and because of the relentless pressure UMass put on them each and every shift.
The Bulldogs were forced to expel so much energy defending, they had no energy to go the other way and create any offense, Sandelin said.
The difference was we couldn't get out of our zone. When you play defense, you run out of gas quick, Sandelin said. They did a good job. We knew what they liked to do and how they play as far as pressure and keeping pucks alive.
We couldn't get pucks out. Some of it was just decisions. We needed to make better decisions, harder plays.
Koby Bender (11) of Minnesota Duluth shoots the puck on goal against Massachusetts goaltender Matt Murray (31) during the NCAA Frozen Four semifinal game at PPG Paints Arena Thursday, April 8, 2021 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)
3. UMD junior wing Tanner Laderoute UMass took an initial 1-0 lead with a power play goal, but Laderoute was able to tie the game 2 minutes and 17 seconds later. He also had a look at a breakaway in overtime, only to be taken down. UMass scored the game-winner shortly after.
And while UMD fans were screaming for a call to be made in OT on the takedown, Laderoute wasnt after the game.
I mean, that's hockey, he said. I think I had a step on him. He maybe tangled me up a bit, but it's overtime at the Frozen Four. You can't be asking for calls at that time. They're a good team. They have fast skaters too. You've got to battle through.
2. UMass junior forward Bobby Trivigno The architect of the game-winning goal, Trivigno took advantage of another UMD turnover in its own zone and nabbing the puck along the boards. He then worked it down low, got himself to the front of the UMD net and slid the puck across the crease for Wait to tap in. Game over.
1. UMass senior goaltender Matt Murray With starter Filip Lindberg one of four Minutemen out due to COVID-19 protocols, Murray made his first start since Jan. 18. He made 38 saves to keep his team in the game and get them to overtime.
It's quite a story to be able to overcome that situation of losing that many players, said Carvel, who was also missing his leading goal scorer. Everything tonight was a testament to the culture of this team. I'm very proud of them.
I still do social distancing, I still have my masks with me and I still try to sanitize my hands, wash my hands constantly and do all that. I still do those things because thats still going to be required because everybody is not vaccinated, everybody is not, COVID is still out there, said Alesia Greer, Visiting from Jackson, Ga.
Brazzaville Less than 2% of the 690 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered to date globally have been in Africa, where most countries received vaccines only five weeks ago and in small quantities.
Forty-five African countries have received vaccines, 43 of them have begun vaccinations and nearly 13 million of the 31.6 million doses delivered so far have been administered. The pace of vaccine rollout is, however, not uniform, with 93% of the doses given in 10 countries.
Vaccine rollout preparedness, including training of health workers, prelisting priority groups and coordination has helped some countries quickly reach a large proportion of the targeted high-risk population groups such as health workers. The 10 countries that have vaccinated the most have used at least 65% of their supplies.
Although progress is being made, many African countries have barely moved beyond the starting line. Limited stocks and supply bottlenecks are putting COVID-19 vaccines out of reach of many people in this region, said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa. Fair access to vaccines must be a reality if we are to collectively make a dent on this pandemic.
Once delivered, vaccine rollout in some countries has been delayed by operational and financial hurdles or logistical difficulties such as reaching remote locations. WHO is supporting countries to tackle the challenges by reinforcing planning and coordination, advocating more financial resources as well as setting up effective communications strategies to address vaccine hesitancy and misinformation.
The delays are not only affecting vaccine delivery to priority targets but expanding vaccinations to the rest of the population, some of whom have expressed eagerness to receive the doses. WHO set a target to start vaccinating health workers and other priority groups in all countries in the first 100 days of 2021.
Africa is already playing COVID-19 vaccination catch-up, and the gap is widening. While we acknowledge the immense burden placed by the global demand for vaccines, inequity can only worsen scarcity, said Dr Moeti. More than a billion Africans remain on the margins of this historic march to overcome the pandemic.
Through the COVAX Facility, 16.6 million vaccine doses mainly AstraZeneca have been delivered to African countries.
The WHOs Global Advisory Committee for Vaccine Safety this week concluded that the link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and the occurrence of rare blood clots is plausible but not yet confirmed. This follows the European Medicines Agencys announcement that unusual blood clots should be listed as very rare side-effects of the vaccine.
Among the almost 200 million individuals who have received the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine around the world, cases of blood clots and low platelets is extremely low.
The Global Advisory Committee for Vaccine Safety continues to gather and review further data while carefully monitoring the rollout of all COVID-19 vaccines. Based on current information, WHO considers that the benefits greatly outweigh the risks and that countries in Africa should continue to vaccinate people with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
There have now been around 4.3 million COVID-19 cases on the African continent and 114 000 people have died. For the past two months, the region has seen a plateau of around 74 000 new cases per week. However, Kenya is experiencing a third wave and the epidemic is showing an upward trend in 14 other African countries, including Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mali, Rwanda and Tunisia.
Dr Moeti spoke during a virtual press conference today facilitated by APO Group. She was joined by Dr Abdelhakim Yahyane, Director of Population, Ministry of Health, Morocco, and Mr Mohamed Malick Fall, UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa. Also on hand to answer questions were Dr Salam Gueye, Director, Regional Emergency Preparedness and Response, WHO Regional Office for Africa, and Dr Richard Mihigo, Immunization and Vaccine Development Programme Coordinator, WHO Regional Office for Africa.
For Additional Information or to Request Interviews, Please contact:Meenakshi DalalCommunications ConsultantEmail: dalalm@who.intTel: + 1 (682) 812 2306 (WhatsApp)
Sakuya OKACommunications ManagerWHO Regional Office for AfricaCell: +242 06 508 1009Email: okas@who.int
Maybe if Deanna McCloskey had stopped working when her husband asked her to, he wouldnt have died.
But how could she have quit? They relied on her income to pay the bills.
Maybe if she had followed the news as closely as her husband had as coronavirus cases ticked then spiked, he would still be alive.
But no one else had her husbands absolute certainty that the country was at the beginning of a catastrophe. Why would she have been scared?
Maybe it wouldnt have mattered.
She will not ever really know.
Among the coronavirus unique cruelties are the questions it creates for its survivors. It can be impossible to know exactly when and where the disease gets contracted, particularly for those with jobs that force them to interact with others. People are left to wonder if they passed a virus that killed their own friends and family, and how they can live with themselves if they did. That guilt is why Danica Danali thought she would have to quit her job and why Adelina Rodriguez-Mata opened her vanity and looked at her pill bottles and wondered if she could make an overdose look like an accident. They watch vaccines roll out and people lose their caution, they try to make sense of things with strangers from around the country they met in a Facebook group, and they wonder if they will ever be fully back to normal.
Everyone tells Deanna not to feel guilty. They tell her: You couldnt have known you were sick. You cant be sure he got it from you.
Shes sure.
Danica, Houston
Danica Danalis daughter did not want to do sixth grade from home (Whats the point of sixth grade if not to socialize?), so she attended school in person.
It looked safe. The students in her Cypress-Fairbanks school wore masks and social distanced. They had put up plastic shields between desks and made the kids skip a seat at lunch. They didnt worry too much.
Danica, 42, did not think of the coronavirus when her daughter came home on a Friday in February, complaining she was tired. On Monday, she had a fever. By Tuesday, she felt fine.
So when Danica felt the exhaustion creeping in herself, she was sure that whatever it was would pass. She went into her job on the Friday before Valentines Day. She works delivering food for a national chain. Everyone wears masks. They take them off for a few minutes to eat or take a drink of water.
She did not think anything of it.
Deanna, Michigan
John Wadens worries began on March 16, 2020.
I think you need to get some of them disposable gloves like at the hospital and keep it in your car at your desk, he texted his wife. He had followed the coronavirus news since the virus sprung up in China from his home with Deanna in Allen Park, Mich. It scared him.
John and Deanna, 54 and 45, had met in Georgia. After eight months, he asked, Do you love me? Cause I love you. She loved him. They moved to Michigan in 2011. Everyone called him Big John for his size (6 feet 2) and his personality (South-Carolina polite with a talent for calming upset people during his years as a bouncer at a Georgia bar). In Michigan, they both worked in car shops until John came down with leukemia. He beat it after a stem cell transplant and stopped working in January 2019. A year before everyone donned a mask, John wore them everywhere.
On March 19, Deannas phone buzzed. She had just gotten up from her desk at her job in an auto shop. John had texted: I think Ill leave it up to you if you think financially will be OK take the day off plus I feel the less youre around people the better chance you dont get anything but I know you have to work and we had to pay bills so whatever you choose Im cool with.
And then: if we can afford it Id rather you stay home.
Going and staying till like 11 a.m., she texted back. She did not think they could afford it.
The case counts climbed. Deanna pulled herself out of work. The governor issued a stay-at-home order three days later.
Four days after she stopped working, Deanna got a cough that wouldnt go away.
Adelina, Austin
Adelina Matas job is cold, but on a Friday in December she felt hot.
Adelina, 42, works at a grocery store in Austin in the receiving department, with chilled dairy products and cold meats. She called her fiance and said, Im getting sick.
Raymond, 39, was at his regular dialysis appointment and told her he felt fine. They had met in 2005 and watched the sunset off the Capital of Texas Highway in Austin for their first date. She had seen him through a lupus diagnosis. He balanced her. When she would come home from work and tell him rapid-fire about everything that had happened to her that day, he would wait until she finished and say, OK, did you get it all out of your chest?
Adelina went home early and took her temperature. 102. By the time Raymond came home with takeout, their Friday routine, she had chills. She stayed out on the couch in their one-bedroom; he sat and watched TV on the other sofa. On Saturday, she had chest pressure. On Sunday, she told him she needed to go to urgent care.
Because of COVID protocols, he stayed in the lobby while she went and got tested. A nurse shoved the nasal swab up Adelinas nose. She flinched.
Raymond texted: Hows it going?
She told him one of the nurses had hurt her with the swab.
He said: Well, I guess Im not going to get tested.
Danica, Houston
Danica woke up at 2 a.m. with the worst chills shed ever experienced.
She shook so hard she woke up her husband. Whats wrong with you? he asked. She didnt know.
That morning, she went to urgent care. She had trouble breathing. She tested positive for the virus. She sent her husband for a test. Positive.
She called her manager to tell him her diagnosis.
Were you in contact with anyone? he asked.
Yeah, she said. Everywhere.
On Monday, she asked her manager if anyone else had gotten sick. No, he said, they hadnt.
The answer would change. Five of her coworkers came down with the virus. One of the five was her best guy friend. He quarantined himself and passed the disease to his wife.
On March 2, 2021, he texted her.
My wife just passed away this morning a lil after 1:30, he wrote at 4:06 a.m. She was sick and think it was COVID.
She read the text when she woke up. She typed back, Oh my God. Im so sorry. Can I do anything for you?
It did not hit her until a few hours later. She was the one who brought COVID to the workplace. She had killed her friends wife.
Deanna, Michigan
A week after she stopped working, Deanna brought her husband home to die.
He had gone to the hospital at 11 a.m. that Saturday in March 2020 with a 100.3 fever. Deanna stayed at their home. She didnt think they could possibly have the virus.
She woke up at 5:30 a.m. and scrolled through Facebook. She paused on his status update: Please pray for me. Im COVID positive.
She grabbed her phone from her nightstand. Hed texted her the news while she slept. When she called him, she cried. She knew he was immunocompromised. She knew he had stayed home for months. She knew she had given it to him.
On the phone, he told her, My bodys not gonna make it.
The doctors treated his pneumonia with antibiotics and attacked his blood clots with a blood thinner. John kept Deanna posted by Facebook messenger. He heard doctors discuss transferring the most severe cases to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He heard the machines of other patients trill as their hearts stopped. He texted Deanna: It is very scary in here.
At the worst time in his leukemia, Deanna and John had talked about end-of-life options. He had not wanted to rely on a machine to keep him alive. He had not wanted to leave Deanna with the burden of pulling the plug. He made the same decision with the coronavirus: He did not want the ventilator.
The doctors let Deanna into the hospital to pick him up. He had been asleep when she came in. He woke up slowly. She told him he was going home. Still groggy, he asked: Was he better?
She said: No honey, youre going home on hospice. Remember you and I talked about that?
He did.
She calls the next 36 hours her husbands living eulogy. She set up his bed near their front window in the living room so people could sit on the porch and look at him through the glass. They FaceTimed his family and friends in Georgia and South Carolina. She fed him watered-down Coca Cola and milk. She wiped the crust off his eyes and the snot from his nose with a warm washcloth. She put chapstick on his lips. He responded up until the last few hours.
Just before her husband died, Deanna told him: Im so glad that we met.
He slurred: Im glad I met you too.
She told him: I love you.
He mumbled: I love you too.
Adelina, Austin
Raymond was running late.
Adelina had set an appointment for him Thursday to get a coronavirus test. Her own had come back positive. Raymond had spent the week caring for her, making her grilled cheese and chicken noodle soup that she could barely keep down. Her fever spiked and ebbed and spiked again.
She woke him up at 9 a.m. Gotta get ready, she said. Im going to make some tea, come to the sofa.
He drank his tea. He barely spoke.
You want me to drive you? she asked. Is it because youre tired? Did you take some pills late or something?
He told her he was cold. She brought him a blanket. She would drive him straight to the hospital, she decided. Something wasnt right.
Raymond went to the bathroom and got in bed. He asked her to fix the blanket. She did.
In a little while youre going to get up and were going to the hospital, she said.
OK, he mumbled. He closed his eyes. She went back into the TV room. He did not come out.
She heard a thump.
Raymond had fallen from the bed onto the floor. She was too weak to move him. She called EMS and she sat and she waited with him. She told him she only had a week left of quarantine. She told him he would be home soon. He opened his eyes. He looked at Adelina. He closed them.
The EMTs, geared up in PPE, made their way into the bedroom and reached for Raymond.
Theres no pulse, one of them said.
Adelina screamed.
Danica, Houston
As her first day back at work got closer, Danica lost control of her thoughts.
She could not possibly go in. She would have to go in. Should she go in and quit? Her coworkers would hate her. Everyone would hate her. She had gotten them sick. She had killed her friends wife. How many people got the virus because of her? How many more people did she kill without knowing it? What about the woman with her adult son living at home? What if he had passed it to brothers or sisters she didnt know about? What if he passed it to a grandparent? What if
She pulled into the parking lot. She had not eaten anything all day. She had forgotten what it felt like to sleep through the night. Her lungs felt tight. She told herself: breathe.
She went inside. Everyone welcomed her back. Her manager reminded her: She had not known she was sick. It was not her fault.
Danicas main symptoms lasted 10 days but she still carries the aftereffects. She gets dizzy randomly. She reaches for words she used to know and cannot find them. When she drives down the streets around her neighborhood, she feels like shes exploring an entirely new place.
She texted her colleague whose wife died: PLEASE let me know if there is anything I can do for you! I understand if youre angry with me :(.
She asked if she could come over and make him food. He agreed. He thanked her for everything she was doing. How could he thank her? Danica wondered. Shed killed his wife.
She told him she felt responsible for what had happened. He understood. But it wasnt her fault, he said. It was his. His wife had deteriorated fast at home. She had refused to go the E.R., and he had accepted it. He told Danica he cannot stop wondering about what might have been different if he had forced her to go the E.R. earlier.
He does not blame Danica. He blames himself.
Deanna, Michigan
On the exact one-year anniversary of her husbands death, Deannas mother got her second dose of the vaccine.
Deanna has been in therapy. She still feels guilt, no matter how many people tell her not to. All she knows is that there were three cases of the coronavirus at her job the week she went home, and that her husband is dead.
Almost a year after John died, Deanna got his medical records. Shed wondered about his quality of care (Did they do everything in their power to save him? Did they give him the opportunity or make him feel like he had no hope?). In his records, she saw that the leukemia they thought John had beaten had come back. She wondered if the doctors had told him.
Deanna found a Facebook support group for coronavirus survivors and those who have lost their loved ones to the virus that has taken more than 550,000 lives in the U.S., 43,000 in Texas. She tells people: You never want to be in that position to know you have brought something home to somebody, and they die from it. Because you carry that for the rest of your life.
Adelina, Austin
On March 12, 2021, 11 days before she would get her first dose of Moderna and 17 days before Texas opened vaccine eligibility to all adults, Adelina and Raymond were supposed to have been married.
They had planned to get married in October 2020. They had picked a venue for 350. With the virus, they had downsized. It would have been the first time their full extended families had met. After he died, she looked at the pills in her medicine cabinet and wondered: If she took enough, would it look like shed just died of COVID?
Her father saved her without knowing it. He texted her at least five times a day after Raymond died. Had she eaten? Had she had water? Had she tested negative yet? Could he see her?
She has not seen Raymond in her dreams. Sometimes she looks for a sign of him. She cant find one. She cant listen to his music (80s hits) or watch his shows (The Walking Dead). She can barely watch TV at all, because TV was an activity they did together. She thinks about how he spent the last week of his life taking care of her. She didnt even see him deteriorate until he was gone.
Adelina has learned to forgive herself. She had the symptoms first, but her group at work is careful. Raymond was the one who went out to do their grocery shopping. Raymond was the one who resented wearing a mask, who sometimes didnt cover his nose. When they were together, she would say, Show me your hands. He would open them, palms-up, and she would spray his palms with hand sanitizer.
Adelina still lives in the apartment where Raymond died. On what would have been her wedding day, she woke up before the sun rose. She laid out Raymonds tux and pink tie. She arranged the train of her dress, white lace with a rhinestone belt. She put her shoes by the dress and their rings on Raymonds tux. She wrapped a wreath and white roses around their wedding clothes. Above the gown and tux, she put a curlicue carving: Mr. & Mrs.
MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI Hospital officials in Muskegon are quite concerned about an increase in patients hospitalized for COVID-19, and believe the situation will get worse before it gets better.
The number of inpatients with COVID at Mercy Health Muskegon has grown by nearly 150% over the past 10 days, according to hospital reports.
Were seeing a very significant elevation in hospitalizations, and that eventually will translate to deaths, Dr. Jerry Evans, chief of staff at Mercy Health Muskegon, told MLive.
The county recorded an additional three deaths due to COVID-19 between April 2-5, said Kathy Moore, director of Public Health Muskegon County. Those who died were two women over age 80 and a man in his 70s, she said.
Theirs were the first deaths recorded since March 6, and bring the total in the county to 302.
Nearly 500 additional COVID-19 cases have been diagnosed in the county in the past week. And its seven-day average positivity rate was 20 percent between March 30 and April 5.
Of the 42 inpatients at Mercy Health on Thursday, April 8, more than half were under age 60, according to information Mercy provided to MLive. That compares to 17 inpatients Mercy reported on March 29.
Were obviously quite concerned that the numbers are going up this is true across the state of Michigan, Evans said. Its obviously very concerning. The good news is were not seeing it in the nursing homes, and were not seeing it as much in our older population.
Thats because most older residents, who had been getting very sick from COVID, are vaccinated, he said.
Three-quarters of county residents age 75 and older have had at least one dose of vaccine, and 68% are fully vaccinated, according to data from the health department. Numbers are similar for those ages 65-74 and drops among those ages 50-64, among whom 48% have had at least one dose and 26% are fully vaccinated.
Health officials are concerned about a potential increase in cases as families who traveled for this weeks spring break return to the area.
Certainly, were concerned, Evans said. A lot of people went to Florida this week or another southern destination. I think anybody who is returning should consider themselves as possibly being exposed.
A free drive-through COVID testing clinic aimed at families returning from spring break will be 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, April 11, at Muskegon Community Colleges parking lot off Quarterline Road.
Other testing sites can be found by visiting maskupmuskegon.org.
Related: Free COVID-19 testing clinic at Muskegon college aimed at K-12 students returning from spring break
Its believed a new more contagious variant, known as the B.1.1.7 or the U.K. variant, is behind the recent surge in cases, health officials said. Muskegon County also was one of the first to have a positive Brazil variant, known as P.1.
Not all COVID tests are checked for the variants, so the actual extent of them is not clear, Moore said.
The surge in cases prompted the Muskegon County court system on Wednesday, April 7, to return to electronic court hearings, halt jury trials and close offices at the hall of justice to most visitors.
Most who are presenting at the Mercy emergency room with COVID symptoms including cough, shortness of breath, nausea, fever and weakness are relatively younger, and medical staff feel its safe to discharge them to home, Evans said.
Many are being treated with monoclonal antibodies in the emergency room, when previously those treatments were done after hospital admission, Evans said. That has helped reduce the inpatient load, along with the immunization of older residents, he said.
Most of those who are being admitted have such risk factors as heart disease, obesity, lung issues or kidney disease, Evans said. But others are otherwise healthy, he said.
The hospital reported on Thursday that admitted patients with COVID-19 included two in their 20s, three in their 30s, seven in their 40s, 11 in their 50s, eight in their 60s, nine in their 70s, and two in their 80s.
Related: Michigan reports 7,819 new coronavirus cases, 73 deaths Thursday, April 8
The surge in cases was part of the reason Mercy Health declared an emergency in its emergency room on Monday, April 5, said Evans, who is an emergency room physician.
There were 110 patients in the emergency room at one point, and the intensive care unit as well as those in Grand Rapids and hospitals throughout the region -- were full, he said.
Of the additional 489 cases recorded between April 1-8 in Muskegon County, most were among people in their 20s.
Totals by age group, as reported by the health department, are as follows: 1,299 cases among those under age 20, an increase of 77 from the previous week; 1,945 cases among those in their 20s, an increase of 128 over the prior week; 1,764 among those in their 30s, an increase of 91; 1,794 among those in their 40s, an increase of 82; 1,797 among those in their 50s, an increase of 61; 1,443 among those in their 60s, and increase of 37; 849 among those in their 70s, an increase of 11; and 594 among those age 80 and over, an increase of two.
Nearly 27 percent of all residents in the county over age 16 have been fully vaccinated, according to health department figures. Nearly 40 percent have begun the vaccination process that in most cases requires two doses.
Those seeking a vaccination should check the vaccinatewestmi.com website where there are multiple locations listed to register for the vaccine. Availability has become more widespread even as eligibility for it has opened to all who are age 16 and over.
Both Moore and Evans said they dont foresee the virus completely disappearing, with Evans saying surges in cases are going to continue to come and go.
But those who are vaccinated have incredibly mild symptoms if they do catch the virus, Evans said.
Moore advised those who are hesitant about receiving the vaccine to consult with their doctor.
We just still need to continue to be as cautious as we can, Moore said. I dont think we all need to hide in a closet until it goes away, because its not going to go away. We just need to take more precautions.
Also on MLive:
COVID-19 risk from touching contaminated surface is less than 1 in 10,000, new CDC study says
Will Electric Forest happen in 2021? Organizers say its still a maybe
Charges filed against 5 people in death of Muskegon County Jail inmate
A man wearing a protective face mask amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic walks on a parking lot at a shopping mall in Tokyo, Japan, April 8, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan aims to place Tokyo under a new, month-long quasi-emergency state to combat surging COVID-19 case numbers, a minister said on Friday, less than a month after the capital and host of the Summer Olympics lifted a broader state of emergency.
In a meeting with experts, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura proposed a month of targeted restrictions in Tokyo, like reduced business hours for bars and restaurants, along with 24 days of curbs for Kyoto and Okinawa, starting on April 12. That would take the period of restrictions through Japans annual Golden Week holiday season from April 29 to May 5.
Japan has so far seen far fewer COVID-19 than many Western nations - about 490,000 cases and 9,300 deaths to date, according to the health ministry - but concerns about a new wave of infections are rising fast, particularly with the summer hosting of the Olympic Games coming up fast.
On Monday, Japan placed the western prefectures of Osaka and Hyogo, along with Miyagi in the northeast, under targeted lockdown measures. Osaka, home to about 8.8 million people, has been hit especially hard, reporting a record 905 cases on Thursday.
At 545 cases, Tokyos Thursday count was just short of a peak since February hit on Wednesday.
The mutant strain is spreading rapidly, and we are extremely concerned, said Nishimura, who also heads the countrys coronavirus response, speaking at the start of the meeting with experts.
The new measures are based on a revised infection control law and can be applied to a narrower area than the state of emergency that Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared for most of the country in early January.
The controls allow regional governments to order businesses like bars and restaurants to shorten operating hours and to impose fines of 200,000 yen ($1,820) or publish the names of those that do not comply.
The addition of the three prefectures is expected to be formalised after a parliamentary session later.
Reporting by Yoshifumi Takemoto; Writing by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell
Jeff Gordon says he tested positive for COVID-19 last week, but he told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Thursday that he is good to go with his broadcasting duties at Martinsville Speedway.
I cant say my off-week was great, unfortunately, because I tested positive for COVID last week, he told SiriusXM NASCAR Radios On Track show. Ive been in quarantine, but the good news is it was smooth, and I had minimal symptoms and good to go for Martinsville this weekend.
FS1 will broadcast Saturdays Cup race at Martinsville at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Gordon said it has been a learning experience since testing positive.
Its certainly been a big learning curve, all the discussions that Ive had with doctors and trying to understand it, he said. The more you try to understand it, the more confusing it seems to get. Like I said, Ive been very fortunate where my symptoms were very minimal. I took all the precautions. I was very fortunate that my family, my wife, my kids did not get it.
Its just one of those things where Ive just been trying to educate myself and understand it. I also got my first round of vaccine about seven days before I tested. I dont know if that played a role. Im looking forward to getting the final dose of the vaccine.
Im a big proponent of masks and vaccination and protecting ourselves. Its unfortunate that this happened but fortunate at the same time that Ive been able to get through it as smoothly as I can and be ready to go this weekend.
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