These are the latest Covid stats from the United States:
COVID CASES USA 7-DAY AVG
71,742 MAY 08 2022
42,015 MAY 08 2021
DEATHS 7-DAY AVG
607 MAY 08 2022
607 MAY 08 2021
Developing in the coming weeks.
South Africa cases are nearing records .. time will now tell if the new ‘normal’ means equal deaths and cases than previous years—or even more..
“I’m yet another [White House Correspondents Association] weekend casualty,” tweeted Julia Ioffe, a correspondent at Puck News. “I knew I was taking a risk and, well, here we are!”
Jada Yuan, who covered the dinner for The Washington Post, also tweeted she tested positive afterwards and would have to miss an international work trip she had been looking forward to. “Hindsight and all that, but wear a mask or leave or tell your employer you can’t go if you’re in a situation where you feel uncomfortable,” she tweeted. “Those consequences are usually better than the ones you’ll face if you get sick.”
“We worked hard to publicize our protocols and encouraged those eligible to get booster shots in the weeks leading up to the dinner,” Steve Portnoy, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, wrote in an email. “Our event implemented protocols that went beyond any guidance or regulation issued by the CDC or the DC health department. We wish anyone who may not be feeling well a speedy recovery.”
Concerning how serious the cases will be.. THE HILL writes,
Attendees at the White House Correspondents Dinner are generally privileged and well-connected people, who have much better access to treatments like Paxlovid, as well as paid time off and other benefits, than some Americans.
Anyone with children (and society in general) are finding these reports alarming.. we have been following for weeks now..
It was predictable that more cases would emerge.. the extent of how far reaching this potentially new virus or just stronger strain of a virus is yet to be determined. But the high number of healthy kids who needed a liver transplant is disconcerting..
Cases are under investigation in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.
The CDC’s alert followed reports of children from England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland going to hospitals with unexplained hepatitis.
As of May 1, there are 228 probable cases linked to the outbreak in 20 countries, with more than 50 cases under investigation, Dr. Philippa Easterbrook, a senior scientist in the World Health Organization’s Global Hepatitis Program, said in a briefing Wednesday. Among these cases, one child has died, and about 18 have needed liver transplants, she said.
Most of the children were healthy when they developed symptoms that included fatigue, loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, belly pain, dark urine, light-colored stools and yellowing of their skin and eyes – a sign called jaundice.
Reporters and staffers from CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Politico, and other news organizations test positive for COVID-19 after White House Correspondents’ Dinner; exact number unknown – CNN
The event organizers, in response to allegations of it being a super spread event, said everyone was tested that day…
Maybe they will blame the Kardashians…
The country’s health ministry said the victims died from ‘suspected acute hepatitis’ last month and were all located in the capital of Jakarta…
MORE..
Additional reporting in publications:
Their symptoms included nausea, vomiting, heavy diarrhea, fever, jaundice, seizures and loss of consciousness — all tell-tale signs of the deadly liver disease.
Tests are underway to confirm their cause of death. Indonesia has not officially logged any cases of hepatitis since the outbreak began.
The ages of the children have not been revealed and it is not clear if they had underlying health conditions.
“At the moment, the Health Ministry is investigating the cause of the acute hepatitis by running a full panel of virus tests,” it said.
The ministry also called on parents to immediately take their children to hospital if they showed any sign of the symptoms.
The emergence of a possible new disease afflicting only young children — most are under the age of 10 with no underlying conditions — has sent ripples of concern through a global health community already grappling with COVID-19.
The WHO said that, in Britain, there was an “unexpected significant increase” in cases among young, previously healthy children, as well as in Ireland and the Netherlands.
DEVELOPING..
U.S. CORONAVIRUS DEATH TOLL
Just as a Florida judge ruled that airlines should not be required to have mask mandates, some have rejoiced! Including airline companies that appear to be calling an end to then pandemic..
From a statement from Delta Airlines, the company writes that COVID has now transitioned to a plain old regular seasonal bug..
And of course the company is walking it back…..
After a backlash, Delta Airlines revised its Monday statement on the lifting of the federal mask mandate on airplanes calling COVID-19 a “seasonal virus,” to a revised version Tuesday calling it “a more manageable” virus.
Meanwhile.. In other news that makes Delta’s comment appear too soon:
New COVID surge? Florida reports 3,046 new coronavirus cases, an increase of 44% from last week. Number in hospital up 14%, reaching 1,040.. Meanwhile: Disney lifts mask requirement at all resorts..
People in the financial hub are reportedly running out of food, water and other necessities, with many said to be on the brink of starvation.
Videos are doing the rounds on social media, purportedly showing the people of Shanghai complaining of lack of food and medical care. Barred from leaving their houses, they took to their balconies to scream, sing and lend voice to their anger, fears and suffering.
As Shanghai residents yelled out their frustrations from their balconies and windows, the government’s response to the outcry was “control your soul’s desire for freedom”. India Today could not independently verify these videos.
Meanwhile China reports 130,000 + cases–but NO DEATHS.. 😉
Surge in western Europe has USA bracing for another wave…
Germany record infections again…
New Variant in Israel…
Morgues overflowing in Hong Kong…
All of this is very troubling..
COVID CASES USA
25,489 MAR 15 2022
57,164 MAR 15 2021
DEATHS
1,399 MAR 15 2022
749 MAR 15 2021
Eric Feigl-Ding has written extensively about COVID-19 over the past two years on Twitter. He was one of the very few vocal people back in January 2020 warning about potential global effects of the virus long before others.
Some have called him an alarmist, others have attempted to discredit his background and education.
As with Covid everything has gone from controversial to outright divisive ..
Feigl-Ding is back with new worries over China initiating brand new lockdowns in major cities across the nation. China has employed a ‘Zero Covid’ strategy and appears hellbent on continuing that regardless of the consequences..
Outbreak is still early in China, but the surge is near vertical so far —and that bodes very poorly. The fact that it’s simultaneously happening in with lockdowns in multiple cities at once shows urgency that we haven’t seen before. Furthermore, China isn’t alone in this mess. South Korea is also see an epic surge— now surpassing all time pandemic highs. And as expected, South Korea also has surging BA2 levels, now 31% of all variants detected in the country and rising fast. If SK also follows HK’s fate, then that may also be horrible for global crisis.
Meanwhile, Western European leaders have naively believed that they are immune from #BA2 after their recent #Omicron wave. They are wrong— there is some sobering news for those leaders who claim ‘COVID is over’—they are delusional as cases are soaring across Europe again, this time dominated mostly by BA2 plus with added relaxation of mitigations. Let’s always learn from what’s happening elsewhere, because #CovidIsNotOver.
Yesterday we showcased the image and live video of China quickly building new massive hospitals. They are live-streaming the process ..
While we make no light of Covid, it shows there’s a song for everything.
Two years after lockdowns and the virus briskly moving around the world, perhaps we are right back where we started from.