I am deeply saddened to learn that former Representative Steve Carter lost his battle with COVID-19 this evening. Steve served the Baton Rouge community in the Louisiana Legislature for 12 years, and I was honored to serve with him during that time, Edwards said. I hope you will join me and Donna in praying for his wife Gloria, his children Amelia and Solomon and their families, including his four granddaughters, Yvie, Carter, Julia and Addie during this very difficult time.
In the United States, vaccine appointments have been canceled throughout the country as state and local health officers and medical providers confront a limited supply of vaccine, which is being targeted at medical workers, older people, some frontline workers and other highly vulnerable people. The patchwork of rules about eligibility has deepened confusion about access to the shots.
In Washington Park, where the streets are lined with multimillion-dollar homes, sushi restaurants and breweries, 247 of every 1,000 residents who are 70 or older have already received a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
The numbers are even better in the east Denver neighborhood of Central Park, formerly known as Stapleton, where 461 out of every 1,000 older residents have been vaccinated.
But then check out Sun Valley, one of the poorest neighborhoods in Colorado and home to several government-supported housing projects. Out of every 1,000 residents 70 or older in the west Denver neighborhood, just 42 have received the coronavirus vaccine.
And in Elyria-Swansea, a predominantly Latino neighborhood in the shadow of industrial plants in north Denver, 119 out of 1,000 older residents have been vaccinated, well below the rate of several wealthier neighborhoods. This is despite Elyria-Swanseas high rate for the virus itself the latest data from mid-January shows the area has a 10.6% positivity rate for coronavirus tests, compared with 3% in Central Park.
Its still early in Colorados vaccination rollout, but the initial statistics about who is getting word about vaccine clinics, who is seeking out appointments and who is showing up to be immunized reveal gaping disparities along racial and economic lines.
Even though the work to create an equitable distribution began months ago, the way the first doses have been spread across the state has favored white Coloradans. Those who are active patients in a health system, who are tuned in via social media and online networks, and who are native English speakers are more likely to have access to the coronavirus vaccine, public health officials say.
In response, public health workers and newly formed vaccine equity task forces are mobilizing to bring the vaccine to places where vaccination rates have been lower historically in Colorado. To reach communities of color, the strategy is twofold breaking down logistical barriers such as in language and transportation, and battling an ingrained mistrust of the government and medical providers, several advocates told The Colorado Sun.
A key strategy is locating the trusted community leaders who can spread the message, which is why advocates are setting up vaccine clinics at places including St. Cajetan Catholic Church rectory and the Denver public housing authority.
Sending invitations via email or social media is easy, but that wont cut it for the 70-plus crowd or folks who are not connected to a health care system, particularly in low-income neighborhoods, said Dr. Ozzie Grenardo, co-chair of the Colorado Vaccine Equity Taskforce.
For those harder-to-reach groups, and those who are reluctant, there needs to be a different type of effort, he said.
Initial statewide data shows that white Coloradans have accounted for about 68% of those receiving at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine so far, which is roughly equal to white representation in the state. Black Coloradans, however, have accounted for just 1.8% of vaccinations, even though they represent about 4% of the population. And Hispanic Coloradans have received 4.3% of the vaccines despite representing 22% of the population. The data is incomplete, however, and in some cases, race was not recorded.
Those are total vaccination numbers from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, so they include vaccines for health care workers, first responders and those 70 and older, the three groups at the top of the states priority list.
Brig. Gen. Scott Sherman, who is in charge of the states coronavirus vaccine distribution, said the data so far is heavily influenced by the makeup of the health care and fire responder workforces, which are predominately white. It just mirrors what that demographic looks like, he said. The state will release demographic data for vaccinations specifically among the 70 and older population later this week, he said.
Grenardo, also the chief diversity and inclusion officer for Centura Health, was alarmed when he saw the racial breakdown of hospital system employees who have gotten the coronavirus vaccine.
Black, Latino and other minority staff were far less likely to get the vaccine than their white peers. By mid-January, Centura had administered 25,736 doses to its workers. Black workers were 44% less likely to get vaccinated than white workers and Latino workers were 22% less likely.
And they all got the same email inviting them to get vaccinated, said Grenardo, who also works as a family doctor for a Centura health clinic in diverse, southeast Aurora.
Its a sign that there is still, even in those who work in health care, a disconnect from either the information that people are receiving about the vaccine or the mistrust or issues around discrimination that have been present for many years in the industry with communities of color.
Its a sign that there is still, even in those who work in health care, a disconnect from either the information that people are receiving about the vaccine or the mistrust or issues around discrimination that have been present for many years in the industry with communities of color, he said.
Grenardo is expecting similar results when Centura crunches the numbers on the racial makeup of patients age 70 and older who have gotten the vaccine so far.
I can only imagine that those numbers are even more significantly problematic, he said.
The doctor is one of three co-chairs of a vaccine equity task force that began its work this month to make sure COVID-19 vaccines are distributed equitably to communities of color, the same communities that have experienced the most severe outcomes from the coronavirus. The task force is working to overcome long-standing distrust of the medical community, language barriers and less access to health care.
The first step, he said, is messaging.
Having the message come from a trusted community leader or provider is much more impactful than someone from the government or someone they dont know giving the information, Grenardo said.
Finding trusted, local leaders whether a doctor at a health clinic, a pastor or a neighborhood organizer to spread the word about the coronavirus vaccine is also high priority among a group of Latina government leaders who represent the west side of Denver.
Denver City Councilwoman Jamie Torres, state Sen. Julie Gonzales and state Rep. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez meet weekly to discuss the effects of COVID-19 on Latino and immigrant communities in their districts. Now their conversations are focused on overcoming language barriers and trust issues to get their constituents vaccinated, and other government leaders, including a few other city council members and a representative from the mayors office, are joining the calls.
Torres thinks of an 88-year-old woman in one of the neighborhoods she represents, a woman who has no ID and has very real fears around immigration questions, even though the state and city have said they will not ask anyone to prove their citizenship status when its their turn to get a coronavirus vaccine. Torres knows that a government official even a local city councilman isnt likely to persuade the woman.
Its more difficult for me to walk up to their door and ask them to sign up, Torres said. But she trusts someone in that neighborhood.
The goal is to find that person.
The women are working with community organizations and housing programs for senior citizens, searching for the trusted community leaders who will spread the vaccine message. The older residents are some of the hardest to reach, considering they are less likely to use the internet.
We recognized from the beginning how difficult it is to capture that population, Torres said.
The data is concerning so far, Gonzales said, noting that her constituents already were less likely to get tested for the coronavirus. It means that weve got to do extra work to make sure there is equity baked into who receives the vaccines, she said. We have seen COVID disproportionately impact Black and brown communities and other communities of color since March.
While Latino people are 29% of Denvers population, they make up 50% of the coronavirus cases in the city to date, according to Denver health department data.
The reasons for the disparity are in part logistical folks in lower-socioeconomic neighborhoods are more reliant on public transportation, some dont use the Internet, and some dont speak English as a first language. But there is another factor at work: a legacy of medical racism that has led communities of color to have additional questions that need answered before they feel comfortable, Gonzales said.
What I expect and what I need from the governors office, and what we are starting to receive, and Im appreciative for that, is data, is process, is structure, Gonzales said.
Still, the group is moving forward on building its own network in communities where vaccine numbers are low. Theyre coordinating with St. Cajetan Catholic Church to set up a drive-up, appointment-only vaccine site at its Alameda and Stuart location, and for a second drive-up site at Servicios de la Raza, a Latinx community group that provides services ranging from behavioral health to employment.
We just cant wait anymore. We cant just sit and wait for them to recognize our communities.
We just cant wait anymore, Gonzales-Gutierrez said. We cant just sit and wait for them to recognize our communities.
Denver Health is attempting to email, text, call or mail letters to about 16,000 people this month, a roster of patients who are at least 70 years old and have yet to register for a coronavirus vaccine.
No matter whether those are active patients or people who visited the hospital or one of its clinics just once in the last few years, Denver Health hopes to find and vaccinate them. The hospital, which serves a huge portion of the citys low-income and Medicaid population, has assigned the task to its patient navigators, who speak at least 13 languages among them.
The massive effort is but one part of a plan at Denver Health and its public health side, Denver Public Health, to try to reach patients in racially and ethnically diverse neighborhoods. Denver Public Health is also bringing vaccines to areas of the city with historically low vaccination rates for the flu vaccine and childhood immunizations, including through the public housing authority.
The effort began back in May, when a COVID-19 vaccine was only an aspiration, said Dr. Judy Shlay, associate director of Denver Public Health and a family physician. Thats when she started worrying about how the agency would equitably distribute a coronavirus vaccine.
Denver Public Health mapped out the pockets of the city where vaccination rates were low and then last fall used outreach teams to bring the flu vaccine and childhood immunizations, including the measles vaccine, to targeted areas. The teams set up in food banks, community organizations and fire stations.
Thats the model we are using now for the COVID vaccine, Shlay said.
During its trial-run last fall, everyone was invited because flu vaccines are for all ages. Now, though, the clinics are targeted to the segment of the population currently eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, which includes health care workers, first responders and people at least 70 years old.
So far, Shlay is not satisfied with the rollout, in terms of equity. Were very transparent and were not there yet, she said, noting the west side of Denver, with a large Latino population, is lagging behind the east side. Now weve got to build out those approaches to be able to reach other populations.
Part of the problem, though, is that the incoming supply of vaccine has been inconsistent and too low, she said. Its difficult to ramp up vaccination distribution and schedule clinics throughout the city when Denver Health doesnt know how much vaccine to expect each week through its state health department allocation.
Denver Public Health has been giving out about 1,000 doses per day, but should be dispensing 7,000 per day or more than 200,000 per month, Shlay said. And its not just the weekly allocation thats slowing the process its the staff to administer the shots.
Its building a whole army of people to do it, she said. Were at the beginning stages.
Denver Public Health wants to make sure the coronavirus vaccine is available in about 25 pharmacies, including inside King Soopers and Safeway stores. Right now, its only available at three Safeways and one King Soopers in the city, Shlay said.
Denver Health has the vaccine available in three of its community clinics, but is trying to expand that to all 10 as soon as there are enough doses available.
The hospital system is trying to avoid a situation in which it would have to cancel a patients appointment because it didnt have enough of the vaccine. We are at the whim of the state right now, said Rachel Hirsch, public information officer for Denver Health.
So far, the rollout is disjointed across the city. Denver Public Health, for example, was unaware that the city-county health department hosted a vaccine clinic at a historic Black church in north Denver, Shlay said, and had to field questions from patients who wondered why they werent invited.
Gov. Jared Polis has frequently used the church vaccination clinic to show the states commitment to equity. But Shlay said there needs to be a more systematic approach.
It wasnt equitable in the sense that anybody in the community was aware it was happening, she said of the church clinic.
The Polis administration has announced plans for a broader equity effort, hoping to hold pop-up clinics in half of the states top 50 census tracts for low-income, high-density minority neighborhoods. And Shlay said she has hope that the vaccine distribution will improve as supply increases and public health agencies have an infrastructure in place.
This work, if we do it right and we cover the community well, we could get back on track as a society, she said. I want to go and hug my friends. I want all my patients to come in and see me.
DeWine noted that its still important to follow health guidelines if the curfew is adjusted, especially with concerns about a more contagious variant.
Our case numbers are improving because of what you are doing -- and what youre not doing, he said. More people are wearing masks. Please continue wearing masks.
He added that if hospitalizations start to increase again, a curfew could be reinstated.
The curfew went into effect on Nov. 19 and initially was scheduled to last 21 days. However, after cases and hospitalizations surged in November and through early December, DeWine opted to expand the curfew.
Last week it was extended again and is now scheduled to last through Jan. 30.
Coronavirus vaccinations for K-12 school staff will begin this week in Cincinnati, with Ohio aiming to administer the first dose of the vaccine to all school personnel who want it by the end of February, DeWine said.
Districts scheduled to receive the vaccine next week have already been notified. The remaining districts will be contacted by Friday and a time and date for vaccinations will be set up.
The vaccinations will mainly be distributed in closed clinics so staff will not have to compete with the general public. The governor hopes that by expanding vaccines to school staff, most districts will back to in-person or hybrid learning by March 1.
More coronavirus vaccines are expected to be available to older Ohioans as the state wraps up Phase 1A, DeWine said.
On average, the state is receiving 146,000 first doses each week. With Phase 1A finishing up, about 110,000 to 120,000 vaccines will be available to those eligible in Phase 1B.
DeWine also said that another 77,000 doses will be available in the next two weeks because the state isnt drawing down all the vaccines required to be set aside for nursing homes in the federal vaccination program.
Starting Feb. 8, the state will bring vaccines to affordable senior housing locations in an effort to distribute the vaccines to Ohioans of different backgrounds.
Our team is concentrating efforts to get these residents vaccinated and is working with local partners to offer assistance through onsite clinics, DeWine said. These clinics will help ease the burden for many seniors having trouble with the registration process and arranging transportation.
Ahead of the clinics, there will be an onsite resource guide with information on vaccine, when the clinics will be available and a sign up sheet for those who are interested.
The governor also said his office is working to set up town halls, create a vaccine toolkit for partners and other educations strategies to reach minority communities and address vaccine hesitancy.
Ohio recorded fewer than 5,000 daily cases of coronavirus for the third day in a row and the fourth day in a week, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
The 4,262 cases reported Tuesday is the lowest number of cases reported in the last three weeks.
Throughout the pandemic, there have been 872,918 total cases reported.
Hospitalizations increased by 295 for a total of 45,276. Its nearly 100 more than the 198 hospitalizations recorded on Monday and the 98 reported Sunday.
However, the total number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Ohio decreased to 2,964 on Tuesday. Its the first time ODH has reported fewer than 3,000 hospitalized patients in at least two weeks.
In southwest Ohio hospitals, coronavirus patients dropped to 824, also a two-week low. The region had 208 patients in ICUs and 176 on ventilators.
Throughout the pandemic, there have been 6,600 COVID-19 patients admitted to ICUs in Ohio.
The state also reported 88 deaths on Tuesday, bringing the total to 10,856,
Just as the holiday-driven surge of coronavirus cases in the Bay Area appears to be slowing down, public health experts have a new battle on their hands: Mutations to the virus that make it more infectious, or able to partly evade treatments and vaccines, could lead to another sharp rise in infections.
What does that mean for you?
While scientists are working frantically to determine the risks posed by these variants, including one that took hold in the Bay Area in December and was linked to several major outbreaks, experts recommend people double down on safety protocols.
We have to be especially more careful independent of these variants because theres so many more people walking around infected today than there were in October, said John Swartzberg, an infectious disease expert at UC Berkeley. And because some of the variants may make it easier to get infected, it adds to the message of being more careful.
Here are steps to avoid the coronavirus, no matter the variant. Many are familiar safety measures, and experts say they should be taken more seriously than ever.
Wear a better mask or two: There is still a lot scientists do not know about the variants. But they have confidence that the primary route of infection is through airborne particles.
Bandannas, or common cloth masks with just one layer, may not afford enough protection. Experts say that the best cloth masks have three layers where the user can add filters between two cloth layers. The goal is to filter out enough viral particles to prevent you from hitting the threshold needed for infection.
Wearing a good mask, not just a single layer cotton mask or a gaiter, is sufficient when you combine it with social distancing and avoiding to the maximum extent being around other people, Swartzberg said.
Another option is double-masking with two cloth masks, or a surgical mask underneath and a cloth one over it which President Biden has sometimes done. Some experts also recommend over-the-head masks versus ones with ear loops for an improved fit.
Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Georgetown University, said on the podcast In the Bubble: From the Frontlines said that she wears two masks when she goes to the store.
What people need to be thinking about is really doubling down on the measures they should have already been taking, she said. If youre exposed to more particles, youre more likely to get infected.
Loyce Pace, a member of President Bidens COVID-19 advisory board, said the same precautions scientists have been advising all along still work.
We still want people to be masking up, she said Thursday on a webcast hosted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. We still need people to limit congregating with people outside their household. We still need people to be washing their hands and really being vigilant about those public health practices, especially as these variants emerge.
Keep your distance, and cut down trips to the grocery store: Even if you have added layers of protection or access to a medical N95 mask, Swartzberg warns against going out and taking more risks.
Stay home as much as possible, and avoid gatherings, Rasmussen said.
If thats not possible, make sure youre always wearing a mask, make sure youre physically distancing; if you can ventilate the space that youre in, thats wonderful, she said.
You should also continue to limit the time you are around others who are not in your household.
Swartzberg said since the latest surge, he re-evaluated everything he does in terms of minimizing contact with people outside of his bubble.
We just have to put more work into avoiding other human beings, he said.
Anyone who can order groceries, meals and other necessities online ahead of time to be delivered or picked up curbside should take advantage of those services. For many who are unable to do that, having a strategy for when you leave the house can be helpful.
If you have to go to the grocery store, put more time in planning out exactly what you need, Swartzberg said. Get through the store as fast as possible, imagine where everything is in your mind. Try to go at a time when there are fewer people in the store early in the morning or late at night.
Get vaccinated: Vaccines are expected to remain effective against some variants.
But there are signs that some identified in South Africa and Brazil might be less susceptible to vaccines.
A recent study shows that nearly half of samples taken from people who were infected with the South African variant resisted neutralization by antibodies from convalescent plasma. A variant found in Brazil might also be resistant to convalescent plasma. Those studies raise concern that the variants may also be resistant to vaccine-induced antibodies.
But more research on both of these variants needs to be done and also on the Bay Area variant, which needs more study before scientists determine whether vaccines will be fully effective against it. The highly infectious and potentially more deadly British variant, B117, is believed to be containable via the vaccine.
This means there is an added urgency to get shots into the arms of as many people as possible, to slow the spread of the virus and its mutations. And over time, the vaccine formula may need to be tweaked to combat variants.
The slow rollout and the variants are connected because now were not only in a race against COVID, but were now in a different, slightly different race against a competition thats running faster than it was before, Robert Wachter, chair of the UCSF Department of Medicine, said on the In the Bubble podcast. So we have to run even faster to get people vaccinated, and get on top of this.
Aidin Vaziri and Kellie Hwang are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: avaziri@sfchronicle.com, kellie.hwang@sfchronicle.com
The moment the first coronavirus case was reported in Europe -- on 24 January 2020, in Bordeaux, France - no one could have possibly imagined the monumental scale of the year of loss and struggle ahead.
Nor could they have foreseen how Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies stepped up their activities across Europe and Central Asia, enabling them to be at the heart of the response.
Staff and volunteers from the movement have been running first aid tents, delivering critical supplies to the elderly, caring for the sick and dying, at the end of the phone for people unable to leave home. They've provided food, shelter, a kind word and a friendly face, supported those who fall through the cracks -- the migrants, people on the move, people who are homeless. They've provided trusted information.
The numbers are staggering.
More than 12.5 million people across the region have received food and other material aid from Red Cross Red Crescent[1]. More than 2.8 million people have received direct cash or voucher assistance and 1.3 million more received psychosocial support to help them through the tough times.
Red Cross Red Crescent ambulances carried more than 325,000 COVID-19 patients to hospitals. Accurate information was shared to help inform people about the virus and how to stay safe, and an estimated 60 million people in the region have been reached with this messaging.
The breathtaking spread of the virus
With Italy the centre of the first wave, and the first country to go into lockdown, it remained the hardest hit country in Europe for months. Italian Red Cross was the first National Society in Europe to deliver food and medicine to people in quarantine, and ramped up their ambulance service to cope with the escalating number of people infected.
By March Europe was the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic, so much so that on 18 March more than 250 million people were in lockdown in Europe. And now, nearly 12 months after the first case, sadly by 19 January 2021, 30.8 million cases were confirmed and 674,00 people in the region had died. [2]
The Red Cross Red Crescent response needed to be swift. On 30 January the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a public health emergency of international concern and the following day the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) allocated funds for a Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) and a preliminary Emergency Appeal. With its long experience in health emergencies it anticipated COVID-19 could develop into a pandemic with a devastating humanitarian impact and sadly it has shaped up to be one of the world's most challenging crises, affecting every corner of the region with everyone vulnerable to contracting this virus.
In line with Red Cross Red Crescent's unique role as auxiliary to government, and as a community-based and widely-trusted organization, in Europe region the Red Cross movement came up with innovative responses. The Austrian Red Cross developed a contact tracing app. British Red Cross surveyed people on their loneliness and pivoted to provide extra support for those newly alone. The Czech Red Cross trained volunteers to work in hospitals which had become overwhelmed. The Turkish Red Crescent researched people's knowledge and attitudes towards the virus and pivoted to fill the gaps they discovered. Swedish volunteers helped children with their homework. The Red Crosses of the countries of Italy, Slovenia and Croatia worked together to get supplies across their borders to people in an isolated part of Croatia. Extra support was given to people with HIV in Eastern Europe and Central Asia whose treatment was disrupted by the pandemic.
With the rapid surge in prevention activity, while case numbers grew at an alarming rate, by the end of Spring the situation had improved somewhat.
By summer as numbers plateaued government restrictions relaxed. The movement urged people to stay the course and maintain prevention measures in the face of pandemic fatigue and a sense the worst was behind us.
Second wave
Sadly conditions deteriorated, leading to a second wave. From late July case and death numbers steadily worsened again. By October, the Europe region accounted for the greatest proportion of reported new cases globally, with over 1.3 million new cases in the last week of October, a 33% leap in cases in a week.
The national societies doubled down. Many had by now switched to remote and on-line support, however 23 National Societies continued to deliver COVID-safe clinical and paramedical services, including those in Germany, Italy, Israel, Spain and the UK. As well they ran quarantine and testing stations, triage facilities and outpatient fever clinics to support the public emergency medical service, and provided mobile care services.
Some National Societies also supported experimental treatments by collecting plasma from patients who recovered from COVID-19 and had antibodies, and in turn provided this plasma to hospitals to treat very sick patients. Countless training and guidance sessions for staff and volunteers on COVID-19 were helped across the region, on the proper use of personal protective equipment and ambulances cleaning and disinfection.
Vaccines -- a potential game changer
By the start of December, the future started to look brighter. Countries started to plan for the possible arrival of vaccines, but this was taking place against a background of a relentless resurgence in the number of people infected with COVID-19. In the WHO Europe region, there had been more than 4 million new cases in November alone, with the region accounting for 40 % of new global cases and 50% of new global deaths. [3]
The vaccine results have come to be seen a large part of the solutions to containing the virus, but it has brought with it the challenge of countering misinformation and building trust in vaccines, as well as managing expectations that they will bring about a quick end to the pandemic. IFRC has supported local efforts to educate communities about their safety and efficacy.
Those hardest hit
In January more evidence came to light of the disproportionate impact the coronavirus was having on older people when the IFRC's Europe office published the results of a survey[4] which found older people had become sicker, poorer and more alone as a result of the pandemic. It added to a growing body of evidence that coronavirus had harmed the poor and most vulnerable the most, pushing millions more into poverty. [5] Sadly, migrants were also identified in new IFRC research as those least protected and most affected by the pandemic. [6]
And now, as we enter the start of the second year of the pandemic under ongoing harsh lockdowns, many countries are starting to see cases stabilise and even reduce.
This emergency has had significant challenges, including global flows of misinformation and disinformation, response fatigue and system-wide impacts of multiple waves of cases. The Red Cross Red Crescent movement is well-placed to do its part in the regional response given its extensive history with disease outbreak.
And planners in the movement acknowledge that vaccines will not be the silver bullet to end this pandemic alone. Red Cross will continue to work with communities to ensure they are informed about the virus, how it spreads and what to do to keep safe. It's continuing to advocate for tracing and isolation of people who are ill as a central part of the response. To keep in the fight against COVID-19, the entire population must stick to the preventative measures which have been proven to help stop the spread of the virus -- even as a vaccine becomes more widely available.
(KTAL/KMSS) Oklahoma and Arkansas are among the top five states in the U.S. with the fewest coronavirus restrictions, according to rankings released Tuesday by personal finance website Wallet Hub.
WalletHub says it compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 14 key metrics, ranging from whether restaurants are open to whether the state has required face masks in public and workplace temperature screenings.
Oklahoma came in first in the country among states with the fewest restrictions. Arkansas came in at number 4, Louisiana 22nd, and Texas 28th.
Oklahoma ranks as the state with the fewest coronavirus restrictions in part because it is one of just four states that have not taken any action on face coverings in public, and one of 19 states that have no limits on large gatherings, said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. Oklahoma has reopened all non-essential businesses, and it is one of only 13 states that neither require nor recommend working from home.
Here are the top 10 states WalletHub says have the least COVID-19 restrictions:
Here are the top 10 states with the most COVID-19 restrictions:
Data compiled by the website shows four out of the top five states with the fewest restrictions are also among those with the highest death rates: Oklahoma, South Dakota, Arkansas, and Florida. The tenth on the list, South Carolina, also ranks among the highest in WalletHubs death rate rankings. But the rest of the states that make up the bottom half of the top 10 states with the fewest restrictions are all among the lowest-ranked in death rates: Iowa, Utah, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Alaska.
WalletHub also shared some answers to Frequently Asked Questions along with the release of the state-by-state rankings on coronavirus restrictions:
How might the results of the election impact COVID-19 restrictions?
The results of the election will likely bring about a more uniform COVID-19 response across the U.S., as the Biden administration will likely use the power of Federal Government dollars to encourage states to follow the same types of plans, said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. We may also see an additional stimulus to help support people whose livelihoods are impacted by COVID-19 restrictions.
Is there a correlation between how restrictive a state is and its unemployment rate?
There is a moderate correlation between a states restrictiveness and its unemployment rate, said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. WalletHubs analysis found that 68% of states with few COVID-19 restrictions had low unemployment rates. This makes sense because states with fewer restrictions allow more places to open, which in turn provides more opportunities to work.
Should states strictly enforce their COVID-19 restrictions?
States should strictly enforce their COVID-19 restrictions because otherwise there is no incentive for people to follow the rules. If there are no consequences for disobeying a states mask mandate, for example, people will be more likely to try to enter crowded areas without masks, which in turn will contribute to the spread of the virus, said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. Fines are a good deterrent to make sure Americans follow COVID-19 restrictions, and enforcement will also minimize the need for citizens to play the police.
California has experienced the most coronavirus cases overall in the U.S. How has that impacted the states restrictions?
California has the most coronavirus restrictions in the U.S., and is one of only four states to ban all gatherings currently, said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. All non-essential businesses in California are closed. The state is one of only a few with a statewide order for partial school closures, as well as a limited quarantine, too.
Three new deaths from COVID-19 were reported this morning in the West Piedmont Health District. Those deaths appeared in the Virginia Department of Health's database, but those deaths could have occurred at just about any time. VDH often awaits death certificates to confirm cause of death. We don't know much about individual deaths, but each case is tracked by a person's residence. There was one death each in Martinsville, Henry County and Franklin County. That's now 160 residents of the health district who have died from the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and Henry County and Martinsville have combined to account for 100 of them (68 in the county and 32 in the city). Franklin County now has had 32 deaths. There also were 87 new cases and 2 hospitalizations. Franklin County, where schools resumed in-person learning today, had 40 new cases, and Henry County and Martinsville had 23 new cases apiece. Patrick County had 1 new case. Martinsville had both new hospitalizations. Because VDH's website was malfunctioning throughout Tuesday morning, additional information was not available....On Monday, the first day that many residents could sign up for the vaccine, some 18,000 had by late afternoon....Patrick Henry Community Colleges Division of Technology moved quickly to get PHCC running remotely for virtual learning during the pandemic....President Biden says he hopes the U.S. willsoon be able to administer 1.5 million doses of coronavirus vaccinea day, and the Defense Department is consideringdeploying thousands of troops to help reach that goal. One official said up to 10,000 troops could be involved. While Americans wait for vaccinations, health officials say they're extremely worried about new COVID-19 variants detected in the U.S. One expert sayseveryday activities are now much more dangerous because of them. In New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says thecountry's borders may stay shut for most of the yearto ward off outbreaks. At the core of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, the city of Manaus offers acautionary tale for health care systems on the brink of collapse: tens of thousands of new graves, no beds or oxygen tanks and a second wave promising even more misery.....Californias health department released to the public previously secret projections for future hospital intensive care unit capacity throughout the state, the key metric for lifting the coronavirus stay-at-home order....Britain appears ready to order some travelers arriving from abroad to isolate in hotels at their own expense in an attempt to stop the import of new virus variants....The Virginia Department of Health reportsthis morning there have been 483,326 cases and 6,081 deaths statewide -- up by 93 since Monday. Some 20,860 people have been hospitalized. Henry County has had 3,578 cases, with 246 hospitalizations and 68 deaths. Martinsville has had 1,317 cases, with 112 hospitalizations and 32 deaths. Patrick County has had 1000 cases including 76 hospitalizations and 28 deaths. Franklin County has had 3,206 cases, 103 hospitalizations and 32 deaths. Danville has reported 3,412 cases (64 deaths), and Pittsylvania County has had 3,952 (46 deaths).Johns Hopkins University's real-time mapshowed 99,802,069 cases worldwide and 2,142,650 deaths. In the U.S. there have been 25,298,405 cases and 421,239 deaths because of COVID-19.
(134) updates to this series since Updated 13 hrs ago
Posted: Jan 26, 2021 / 07:14 PM CST / Updated: Jan 26, 2021 / 07:14 PM CST
Floridas total cases: 1,667,763, 9,594 case increaseFlorida Residents: 1,637,296, 9,466 case increaseResident Hospitalizations: 70,802, 456 case increaseResident Deaths: 25,673, 227 case increaseNon-Resident Deaths: 407, 4 case increase
Total confirmed cases globally: 100,201,258, 683,407 case increaseTotal deaths globally: 2,154,530Total recovered globally: 55,316,924
Total confirmed cases in the U.S.: 25,424,174, 235,446 case increaseTotal deaths in the U.S.: 424,690, 4,994 case increase
To find the most up-to-date information and guidance on COVID-19, please visit the Department of Healths dedicatedCOVID-19 webpage. For information and advisories from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), please visit theCDC COVID-19 website.
For any other questions related to COVID-19 in Florida, please contact the Departments dedicated COVID-19 Call Center by calling1-866-779-6121.The Call Center is available 24 hours per day.Inquiries may also beemailed toCOVID-19@flhealth.gov.
