Aided by many states, nursing homes fend off lawsuits filed by families over COVID deaths USA TODAY
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Cameron County on Friday reported one new coronavirus-related death and 12 positive cases of COVID-19.
An unvaccinated Brownsville man died as a result of the virus, according to the Cameron County Public Health department. Since the pandemic began, 2,223 people have died due to the virus in Cameron County,
Of the 12 positive cases reported in the county on Friday, nine were confirmed reports based on PCR testing and three were probable reports based on antigen testing.
The people who tested positive are in the following age groups:
Vaccination efforts continue across Cameron County; currently, 85.79% of the population five years and older is fully vaccinated.
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Cameron County reports 1 coronavirus-related death and 12 positive cases of COVID-19 - KRGV
COVID-19 hospitalizations in Oregon could climb to around 300 this spring due to a particularly infectious coronavirus subvariant and the states decision to lift mask requirements, a new Oregon Health & Science University forecast predicted Friday.
The projected bump in hospitalizations is minuscule compared to the peaks reached during the delta and omicron waves. About half of those in the hospital would be there to get treatment for a different condition but would test positive for COVID-19, according to the universitys estimates. Hospitalizations would then fall by around mid-June, according to the forecast.
Cases and hospitalizations have been dropping precipitously since the omicron surge peaked in January. Daily average cases are now as low as they were before the delta wave. Hospitalizations Friday were down to 157 occupied beds, 86% lower than the omicron peak.
Forecasting for the unpredictable coronavirus has been challenging throughout the pandemic, sometimes underestimating the likelihood of surges until they are in full swing and other times projecting dire situations that dont materialize.
Experts have previously said that the BA.2 omicron subvariant is unlikely to drive a major surge in cases, given existing levels of immunity. But officials have said they do expect some rise in cases from the subvariant, which is estimated to be about 50% to 60% more contagious than the original omicron.
Fedor Zarkhin
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Small COVID-19 hospitalization bump forecast for spring in Oregon - OregonLive
The number of coronavirus infections across the UK rose by an estimated 1m compared with the previous week, with figures in Scotland at a record high, data from the Office for National Statistics has revealed.
According to the latest information from the ONS, based on swabs collected from randomly selected households, an estimated 9% of the population in Scotland had Covid in the week ending 20 March, about one in 11 people. The figure is the highest recorded by the survey since it began looking at the situation in Scotland in October 2020.
Infection levels also increased in England and Wales, although they decreased slightly in Northern Ireland, with data revealing that about one in 16 people in England had Covid in the most recent week, compared with one in 20 the week before, a rise from about 2,653,200 to 3,485,700 people.
The figure is just shy of the all-time high for England, when about 1 in 15 were estimated to have Covid in the week between Christmas and New Years Eve last year, at the height of the Omicron wave.
Experts have suggested that the recent surge in infection levels in the UK is owing to a number of factors, including the lifting of Covid restrictions to various degrees across the UK, changes in behaviour, waning immunity after the booster programme and crucially the rise of the BA.2 variant, which appears to be more transmissible than the earlier form of Omicron.
The percentage of people with infections compatible with the Omicron BA.2 variant increased in England, Wales and Scotland and decreased in Northern Ireland, the ONS report states.
Previous ONS figures have suggested that Northern Ireland experienced a rise in BA.2 before other parts of the UK.
On Friday, the UK Health Security Agency reported that cases of the BA.2 Omicron variant were increasing 75% faster than the original variant, BA.1, and now made up almost 89% of Covid infections sequenced in England. There is no evidence that BA.2 causes a greater risk of hospitalisation.
The agency is also monitoring three recombinant forms of the coronavirus that can occur when a person is infected with two Covid variants at once. The first, a mix of Delta and BA.1, known as XF, caused a small cluster in the UK but has not been spotted since mid-February. The second, XE, is a combination of BA.1 and BA.2 and is spreading about 10% faster than BA.2 in the UK, with 637 cases identified as of 22 March.
The third, XD, is another blend of Delta and BA.1. While it has not yet reached the UK, it has surfaced in France, Belgium and Denmark, and scientists are watching it closely because it is essentially the Delta variant with the Omicron spike protein.
The ONS figures also show that infection levels rose in all age groups in England. While the percentage of people testing positive was highest in children between two years old and school year 6, infection levels reached unprecedented levels in older adults: among those who are 70 or over, the figure hit an estimated 5.7% on 19 March.
While all regions of England experienced a rise, the highest levels of infection were in the south-east, with about 7.5% of people or one in 13 estimated to have had Covid during the week.
Sarah Crofts, the head of analytical outputs for the Covid-19 Infection Survey, said: Our latest data show infection levels have continued to increase in England, Wales and Scotland, driven by the rise of the Omicron BA.2 variant.
Northern Ireland was a few weeks ahead of the rest of the UK in this rising variant, where we now see a welcome decrease. Meanwhile, Scotland has now reached the highest level of any UK country seen in our survey.
Across England, infections have increased in all regions and age groups, notably the over-50s, who are at their highest levels since our survey began.
The figures come the week before free community testing ends for most people. After 1 April, most people in England will have to pay to take a Covid test, while advice to stay at home if someone has Covid symptoms is also set to be scrapped.
While vaccinations, improved treatments and a shift in variant severity have all helped to weaken the link between infections, hospitalisations and deaths, the recent surge in the number of people with Covid has nonetheless affected the NHS, with an uptick in hospitalisations including an increase in those primarily being treated for Covid increasing concerns about infections in vulnerable people and posing logistical challenges. Some hospitals have suspended visiting because of rising infection levels.
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Weekly Covid cases in UK increase by 1m, figures show - The Guardian
NEW YORK >> Small businesses that have been buffeted by the pandemic, inflation and shipping woes have another challenge to add to their plate: taxes.
Tax season can be complicated for everyone, but as the April 18 filing deadline looms, small-business owners, contractors, entrepreneurs and others face a raft of ever-changing rules and regulations.
Plus, many are dealing with delayed returns and refunds from prior tax periods. The Internal Revenue Service has warned of a backlog and says more delays are to be expected.
Its worse this year than last year, said Gene Marks, owner of The Marks Group, a small business consulting firm in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. It seems to get worse every year, and this year definitely worse than its been in prior years.
The IRS said earlier this month it was hiring 10,000 workers to deal with a backlog of 23 million items triggered by limiting operations during the coronavirus pandemic. But with understaffing at both the federal and state government levels, CPAs have found it difficult to reach anyone if problems or questions arise.
Ive never seen this in my career, theyre all understaffed and all behind, said Scott Orn, chief operating officer for the human resources and accounting startup Kruze Consulting.
But he urged companies to be patient with the IRS and state-level tax officials. The government programs provided during the pandemic, including the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans, helped countless small businesses.
So many companies were saved, but that additional administrative burden was really rough on the IRS and state tax agencies, Orn said. The unintended consequences of good deeds have been tough to handle.
Orn and other tax experts recommend filing for a tax extension this year, like most years.
We file an extension for every single client, although they should pay estimated taxes throughout the year, Orn said. It gives us more time do the tax return properly. You just get way more leeway and there is not as much time pressure.
There are other things to keep in mind too. Its not too late to claim the employee-retention credit. The program, established in 2020 to help businesses during COVID, was subject to changing eligibility rules several times during the pandemic, so not all businesses realized they qualified. In its final form, the program offered a maximum $7,000 credit per employee, designed to encourage employers to keep workers on their payroll. The credit ended on Oct. 1, 2021, but businesses can still apply retroactively by filing an amended payroll tax return.
Also, many companies that struggled through 2020 actually had a better year in 2021 as the economy rebounded. That might affect the estimated tax payments companies pay throughout the year.
So companies should keep an eye on their cash flow and make sure they have enough on hand to make more tax payments, if necessary, to avoid penalties.
This year, there will be some surprise profitability, with companies ending up with bigger tax bills than they thought, Orn said. Thats actually a good thing. The thing to worry about for small business owners is making sure they have the cash-flow support to estimated tax payments it could surprise you.
Finally, small businesses should keep in mind any money received via the Paycheck Protection Program or other COVID-related programs does not count toward gross income at the federal level. Unlike other types of loans, PPP loans are tax-exempt whether or not they were forgiven. Businesses may have to report some information about the loan if it was forgiven and if they are deducting related expenses.
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Small businesses face tax headaches on top of coronavirus pandemic woes - Honolulu Star-Advertiser
The worst of the Covid-19 pandemic may be behind us, but pretending that it is over will not make it so. A new Omicron subvariant, BA.2, is driving up coronavirus case counts in Europe and Asia, and experts predict it soon will account for the majority of new cases in the United States. The impact is uncertain. On the one hand, many Americans have already been infected by a similar strain of the virus. On the other hand, BA.2 arrives as people increasingly are resuming prepandemic behaviors, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly one-third of Americans have not completed their initial round of vaccinations, and more than 70 percent have not received booster shots.
In the face of this uncertainty, it would be reckless for the government to reduce its efforts to minimize new cases and help those who fall ill. Yet that is exactly what is happening after Congress recently failed to approve $15.6 billion for tests, treatments and vaccines.
Denied the funding it needs, the Biden administration is curtailing its efforts to combat the virus. Last week, the administration said that it would reduce the distribution of highly effective monoclonal antibody treatments by more than 30 percent and that it would be forced to end shipments this spring. It also stopped accepting reimbursement claims for Covid-19 tests and treatments from uninsured Americans; vaccine reimbursements will be accepted only through April 5. And the government said that it lacked sufficient funds to place an order for enough doses of vaccines to ensure the availability of booster shots later this year.
Congress must approve more funding immediately. Ensuring that Covid tests, treatments and vaccines remain readily available is the best way to prevent new waves of infections and to preserve the progress so far toward the end of the pandemic.
Failing to maintain adequate public funding means Americans increasingly will have to rely on their own resources. In effect, the United States is reverting to its usual approach to health care: Those with money and insurance will be able to get tests and treatments; those without may not. The price for a dose of monoclonal antibody treatment can approach $2,000, and even the relatively modest cost of test kits or vaccinations can discourage people from taking the basic steps necessary to protect themselves and others.
A bill to fund the government, which passed this month, initially included $15.6 billion in Covid aid, which would have provided the administration with much of the $22.5 billion it has requested. But the funding was stripped because House Democrats were unable to resolve an internal squabble. The bill would have repurposed unused money from earlier rounds of Covid aid, but some Democrats resisted, insisting the government should provide new funding.
To pass a new bill, Democrats will need the support of at least 10 Senate Republicans, and those most amenable want to use money from prior appropriations.
That should not be a deal breaker. States have received more federal aid in the past two years than they know what to do with; some state coffers are overflowing. Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia signed legislation this week that will send up to $500 to Georgia households to help with the rising cost of food, gas and other essentials. About a dozen other states, including California, are considering similar distributions of surplus cash. But while higher prices are a real challenge for many Americans, policymakers must also remain focused on preventing fresh outbreaks of Covid-19, which could be even more economically painful.
A chunk of the funding requested by the Biden administration, for example, was earmarked to help lower-income countries fight the coronavirus. The United States has a moral obligation to provide this humanitarian aid, and there are diplomatic benefits to helping other nations. In addition, it will help the whole world get closer to the end of the pandemic. Allowing the virus to continue to run rampant in some parts of the world increases the chances that new variants will continue to develop and spread.
It is worth underscoring that much of what the Biden administration is requesting should not require emergency funding. The United States ought to maintain funding for public health, including the resources to monitor infectious diseases and to develop new vaccines and treatments, in the same way that it maintains funding for other forms of national defense. The gaping holes in the nations public health infrastructure, which the pandemic exposed, were created by exactly the kind of shortsightedness now on display.
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Opinion | Congress Needs to Fund the Fight Against Covid-19 - The New York Times
A scathing review has been released evaluating the "failures" of the policies that guided Sweden's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The review, published in the journal Humanities & Social Sciences Communications Tuesday, discusses how, throughout the pandemic, Sweden attempted to avoid lockdowns and stay-at-home orders implemented by many of its neighboring countries.
The authors -- from Sweden, Belgium, Norway and the U.S. -- said Sweden was able to achieve this by portraying advice from independent scientists as "extreme," keeping the public in the dark regarding facts about how COVID-19 spreads and not issuing any mandates.
This is despite the country's history of collaboration between authorities and the scientific community and the general public's high level of trust of those in power.
COVID-19 Deaths per Million in Sweden vs. Neighboring Countries
As a result, Sweden had a higher COVID death rate than the surrounding Nordic nations.
"The Swedish response to this pandemic was unique and characterised by a morally, ethically, and scientifically questionable laissez-faire approach, a consequence of structural problems in the society," the team wrote. "There was more emphasis on the protection of the 'Swedish image' than on saving and protecting lives or on an evidence-based approach."
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sweden's Public Health Agency had published two pandemic planning documents in the last decade to prepare for such an event, according to the review.
Although both focused on the value of antiviral drugs and vaccines to treat and prevent cases, they also emphasized the importance of "limiting the consequences for individuals and society" and how "the negative effects on society must be as small as possible."
So, when COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020, Sweden was determined to keep its economy up and running and emphasized individual responsibility rather than collective responsibility.
According to the review, the Prime Minister and Minister of Health and Social Affairs "mainly referred to the authority of the Public Health Agency," a stark contrast from past collaboration between the government and scientists.
Unlike the strict lockdowns implemented by most of Europe, the PHA merely recommended staying at home if feeling ill, washing hands regularly, social distancing and avoiding unnecessary travel.
Meanwhile, restaurants, bars and shops remained open; children under 16 were required to attend school in person with no exceptions for those with at-risk family members; and no mask mandates were ever implemented.
The review noted that the PHA did eventually recommend face masks in hospitals and care homes in June 2020, but only when treating confirmed or suspected COVID patients.
The authors said the PHA discouraging the use of masks and claiming they were ineffective helped spread fear in the population and misinformed the public about how COVID spreads, that asymptomatic people can be infectious and that masks protect the wearer and those around them.
People pass by an outdoor restaurant, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in central Stockholm, Sweden, April 20, 2020.
According to the review, there was also a lack of transparency from public health authorities. The number of ICU beds per region was not publicly available and schools often did not inform parents or teachers when students tested positive for the virus.
Then there were efforts to actively squash medical researchers who criticized Sweden's strategy and accused authorities of not being properly prepared.
When researchers voiced their criticisms on social media, in interviews or in scientific papers, they were often reprimanded by their superiors for reasons such as not being allowed to use their university affiliation, even though this is against Sweden's right of Academic Freedom of Speech, according to the review.
Additionally, the PHA also "discredited any critique and national/international scientific evidence" and the authors say the agency "cherry picked" scientific papers that agreed with its viewpoint.
Ultimately, this led to Sweden having worse COVID-19 outcomes than its neighboring Nordic countries.
In late December 2020, Sweden was recording an average of 44 COVID-19 deaths per 1 million people, according to Our World in Data.
By comparison, Denmark was recording 5 deaths per 1 million, Norway was recording 0.5 deaths per 1 million and Finland was recording 0.3 deaths per 1 million, the data shows.
One month earlier, a report from the Swedish Inspectorate of Health and Social Services found half the country's deaths at the time were among nursing home residents.
About one year later in January 2022 -- during the omicron wave -- Sweden was faring better and recording 5 deaths per 1 million.
Daily commuters arrive with the metro at Stockholm's central station, Dec. 3, 2020, during the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the other three countries were recording half as many deaths with Denmark recording the highest at 2.4 per 1 million, Our World in Data shows.
"The cost in terms of infections and deaths of this pandemic in Sweden has been larger in some other more densely populated and more centrally located countries, yet is still markedly higher than in the other Nordic countries," the authors wrote. "This Swedish laissez-faire strategy has had a large human cost for the Swedish society."
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Scathing evaluation of Sweden's COVID response reveals 'failures' to control the virus - ABC News
Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday for the second time in five months, one day before she was scheduled to join President Biden on a diplomatic trip to Europe.
Ms. Psaki took a test for the virus on Tuesday morning and it came back positive, she said in a statement, adding that she would not join Mr. Biden and top officials at a NATO summit where the president will press allies to use more economic sanctions to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Ms. Psaki said that she had two meetings with Mr. Biden on Monday that were socially distanced, and that she and the president were not considered to have been in close contact based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The C.D.C. defines close contact as being less than six feet away from an infected person for a total of 15 minutes or more in a 24-hour period.
Mr. Biden tested negative for the virus on Tuesday, Ms. Psaki said in her statement.
Thanks to the vaccine, I have only experienced mild symptoms, she said. In alignment with White House Covid-19 protocols, I will work from home and plan to return to work in person at the conclusion of a five-day isolation period and a negative test.
Ms. Psakis positive case comes as the White House is grappling with the toll of an enduring two-year-old pandemic while also resuming the usual routine of the presidency, including overseas travel.
The administration has faced a series of positive cases in recent days. Last week, Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, tested positive. Ms. Harris stood alongside Mr. Biden during a bill signing that same day. The vice president tested negative on Sunday, a spokeswoman for her, Sabrina Singh, said on Tuesday.
Mr. Biden also had to cancel face-to-face meetings with Prime Minister Micheal Martin of Ireland last week after the prime minister received a positive result. The president was with Mr. Martin at a gala the night before but was not in close contact with him, according to White House officials.
Congress has seen a flurry of recent cases as well. Senator Bob Casey, Democrat of Pennsylvania, said on Tuesday that he had tested positive.
Hillary Clinton also announced a positive test result on Tuesday, writing on Twitter that she had some mild cold symptoms but was feeling fine. She said former President Bill Clinton had tested negative but was quarantining.
Movie recommendations appreciated! she wrote.
While virus cases in the United States have been on the decline, a highly transmissible Omicron subvariant known as BA.2 is spreading rapidly in parts of China and Europe. The spike in cases in Europe was caused in part because government officials relaxed precautions too quickly, a senior World Health Organization official in the region, Dr. Hans Kluge, said on Tuesday.
Still, White House officials have said they are focused on returning the United States to a place of prepandemic normalcy, and the White House has not reimposed mask-wearing mandates or capacity restrictions meant to mitigate the spread of the virus.
The C.D.C. issued guidelines last month that suggested that most Americans could stop wearing masks, and even before that, governors across the country had moved on their own to roll back pandemic restrictions.
The announcement of Ms. Psakis positive test came minutes after she was scheduled to deliver the daily press briefing with Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser. She and Mr. Sullivan were not considered to have been in close contact on Tuesday, White House officials said.
Ms. Psaki did not meet with Mr. Biden on Tuesday, the officials said.
Chris Meagher, a deputy White House press secretary, filled in for Ms. Psaki at the briefing. He said that no members of the news media were considered to have been in close contact with Ms. Psaki during the daily press briefing on Monday.
The White House said Karine Jean-Pierre, the principal deputy press secretary, would travel to Europe with Mr. Biden.
Ms. Psakis last positive test, in October, also came as the White House was preparing for international travel. She dropped out of a trip to Europe after learning that members of her family had contracted the virus. Her own positive test came days later.
Emily Cochrane contributed reporting.
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Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, tests positive for coronavirus. - The New York Times
International travelers checking in at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in December, after the airport joined a coronavirus surveillance program for travelers arriving from abroad.Credit...Nicole Craine for The New York Times
An airport-based coronavirus surveillance program in the United States for travelers arriving from abroad detected the first known U.S. case of the highly contagious Omicron subvariant BA.2 in December, according to a new study.
The results, which have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, suggest that pooled testing of international travelers may be an effective and efficient way to keep tabs on new variants and pathogens.
Travelers are really an important population when tracking new and emerging infectious diseases because theyre mobile, they have the potential for exposure to disease during travel and they can spread disease from one place to another, said Dr. Cindy R. Friedman, chief of the Travelers Health Branch at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the studys lead investigator.
The program actually detected the first known U.S. cases of two Omicron subvariants, BA.2 and BA.3, which are similar to, but genetically distinct from, BA.1 and B.1.1, the versions of Omicron that drove a winter surge in U.S. cases.
The voluntary program, which screened more than 16,000 travelers this fall and winter, was conducted by the C.D.C. and two commercial partners: the XpresSpa Group, which offers testing in airports, and Ginkgo Bioworks, a biotech company with a testing initiative and a network of laboratories across the country. The program combined nasal samples from multiple people arriving from the same country or on the same flight an approach, known as pooled testing, that allows scientists to search for the virus in multiple people at once.
The program was not the first to catch every version of Omicron; BA.1, the subvariant that was initially most prevalent worldwide, did not show up in one of the airport samples until Dec. 1, the same day that officials announced that another team of researchers had found the first U.S. Omicron case.
The researchers hope to expand the traveler surveillance program and are also preparing to launch a pilot study that will search for signs of the virus in the wastewater from airplane bathrooms, Dr. Friedman said.
The program began in late September, focusing on travelers on selected flights from India to three major U.S. airports: John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and San Francisco International Airport in California. In late November, after Omicron emerged, the program was expanded to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and to people arriving from South Africa, Nigeria, Britain, France, Germany and Brazil.
(Omicron prompted the Biden administration to tighten travel rules. It temporarily banned travelers from eight African countries the restrictions did not apply to U.S. citizens or permanent residents and required international passengers to present evidence that they had tested negative for the virus within a day before departure. Previously, travelers could test within three days of departure. As of Nov. 8, only vaccinated foreign travelers were allowed into the country.)
Eligible travelers could volunteer to provide a self-collected nasal swab at the airport. Swabs from five to 25 travelers from the same flight or country were added to a single tube and then tested for the virus using P.C.R. testing. Positive samples were then sequenced to determine which version of the virus was present.
Between Sept. 29 and Jan. 23, 10 percent of 161,000 eligible travelers enrolled in the study, and 1,454 sample pools were tested for the virus. Despite the preflight testing requirement, more than 15 percent of the pools were positive.
This relatively high positivity rate may indicate that travelers were early in the course of their infections and thus had viral loads too low for some tests to detect when they took their predeparture tests, or that they contracted the virus in the time between being tested and landing in the United States, the researchers say. People may also have submitted fraudulent test results.
Before Nov. 28, nearly all of the positive sample pools contained the Delta variant, the researchers found. (The only exception was a positive sample whose exact genetic lineage could not be determined.)
After that, however, Omicron quickly came to dominate; from Nov. 28 to Jan. 23, two-thirds of the positive samples were Omicron. Most of the Omicron samples were the BA.1 subvariant, which was initially the most prevalent version worldwide. BA.1 remains the most common lineage in the United States, though BA.2 has been gaining ground and now accounts for 35 percent of infections, according to C.D.C. estimates.
But the researchers found the BA.3 subvariant in a pool of samples collected from travelers arriving from South Africa on Dec. 3. They reported the finding in GISAID, an international repository of viral genomes, on Dec. 22. It was the first reported case of BA.3 in the United States; it would be more than a month before the next was reported.
The airport program also detected the first known U.S. case of BA.2, in samples collected from South African travelers on Dec. 14. The researchers reported the finding a week before the next U.S. case of BA.2 was reported.
This is a new tool in the C.D.C. tool kit that works, and weve shown its effective and it can be layered with all of our other mitigation measures, Dr. Friedman said.
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Covid-19 Live Updates: BA.2 Variant, Global Cases and the Latest - The New York Times
