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Your Coronavirus Update – Today, March 23, 2021
Photo: New book featuring Dr. Fauci, to encourage children to undertake studies/career in medicine/science.
RHODE ISLAND & VICINITY
Roughly 4,000 first dose appointments will be made available on vaccinateRI.org today at 9 a.m. These appointments will be for 3/30, 4/1, 4/2, and 4/3 (1,000 appointments per day) at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence. These will be appointments for Moderna vaccine. RI will be opening more first dose appointments tomorrow morning than we did on Tuesday or Friday last week. However, we are still doing a lot of second dose vaccinating. (We expect to administer roughly 35,000 second doses this week.) We expect larger numbers of first dose appointments to be available next week.
Kenny Chesney has rescheduled all his concerts to 2022 – refunds or use of tickets at next year’s events, including Gillette, is possible.
Newport Country Club expected to host U.S. Senior Open in 2024
ProJo reporting that divorce rates are down in RI in the pandemic, for multitude of reasons.
The MBTA will be funded to return to pre-pandemic levels
RI extends tax deadline to May 17th to go with federal tax deadline that has been extended the month.
VFW halls in the area are having a hard time, financially, looking forward to post-pandemic return.
Bryant University has closed its Confucius Institute, shortly after Tufts Univ did so, and after URI closed theirs. Efforts to have these Institutes closed increased after the attributed China-originating pandemic.
Fenway vendors selling food will not be able to sell on the sidewalks, yet local restaurants will be able to set up outdoor seating.
It’s expected Disney cruises will return – in the fall.
Boston Red Sox are announcing plans for the upcoming baseball season at Fenway Park to put a limited number of single-game tickets for April games on sale to the general public starting Thursday. They will be sold in pods of two and four seats.
RI Adding About 4,000 Coronavirus Vaccine Appointments Tuesday
Only ½ of correctional officers in Bristol Co., MA opted for the vaccine. In RI, 70% of officers are vaccinated.
The RIDOH mobile testing unit was in Newport this past weekend – Jamestown & Newport beach areas. More sites will be announced.
Massachusetts residents age 60 and older, as well as essential workers, became eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine starting Monday.
Swampscott High School moves to all-remote learning for at least two weeks after a non-school event led to a high number of COVID-19 cases
Worcester State University plans to resume full in-person classes in the upcoming fall semester
Tanglewood concerts will return – they will be shorter, with no intermission, and all with outdoor seating and other protocols in place.
The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission on Friday extended a moratorium on utility terminations that was set to expire on April 15 to June 25
Providence Teachers Union has taken a vote of no-confidence in RI State Education Commissioner Angelica Infante-Green and Providence Superintendent Harrison Peters
Boston Globe reports spike in car thefts during the COVID-19 pandemic
Massachusetts is allowing dance floors at weddings and events
The head of the MPHA – Mass Public Health Association is cautioning Massachusetts residents about opening too soon and a possible 4th wave.
The Massachusetts Teachers Union is urging the state to delay the return to in-person learning after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed its social distancing guidelines for schools Friday.
The University of New Hampshire plans to fully reopen for the 2021 fall semester with face-to-face classes in a residential learning environment
Two Bruins games have been postponed after four additional players entered the NHL’s COVID protocols.
Two strains of coronavirus variants were detected in Vermont residents
Veterans of any age were vaccinated against COVID-19 during a clinic Monday at the former Benny’s, 1400 West Main Rd., Middletown. No registration required – first come, first served.
Kosher for Passover Food Boxes for those in need can be picked up in Providence, by pre-order at https://cloverfoodlab.wufoo.com/forms/m1x9f27a0nt0w36/ by Tuesday. A box for two costs $110, $200 for four, $276 for six, $328 for eight and $380 for 10.
Justice Francis Flaherty has been hired to assist Providence schools with unions and administration issues.
Providence College and Bryant will hold a formal commencement but without family/visitors
RI Hospital nursing fair – looking for nurses, nursing assistants, aids
Fall River is preparing to receive a windfall from the American Rescue Plan, with over $73 million in direct municipal aid.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of RI reversed its policy and will now provide members COVID-19 treatment with no out-of-pocket cost for the remainder of the pandemic.
Harvard is expecting a return to full campus
The state Department of Public Health’s weekly COVID risk chart has designated Fall River a red, or high-risk community for the past 23 weeks.
In RI, people in their 50s will get an eligibility window before vaccine appointments are opened up to everybody on 4/19; no decision yet.
A cheerleading camp in Waltham is now the site of an outbreak and will close with students going into quarantine.
Data – March 22, 2021
Deaths: 3 (plus 6 over past 3 days) = 9
Tests – 4,528 – Positives – 197 – Percent positive – 4.4%
Hospitalized – 118 – In ICU – 16 – Ventilated – 13
Deaths in hospital – 4 – New Admissions – 14 – New Discharges -13
Vaccinated – 302,419; Both shots – 169,381
Data – March 19, 2021
Deaths: 1
Tests – 17,450 – Positives – 3334 – Percent positive – 1.9%
Hospitalized – 129 – In ICU – 18 – Ventilated – 11
Deaths in hospital – 1 – New Admissions – 20 – New Discharges -15
Vaccinated – 288,402; Both shots – 146,194
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
Miami Beach is on an 8pm curfew due to what the city leadership calls a “hotbed” of concern about the virus spreading. An emergency city meeting is being held to determine what to do next.
8 states are of concern where the virus is increasing – otherwise the virus is not diminishing but plateauing.
A company that’s one of only two manufacturers of a specific type of swab needed for coronavirus tests is opening a production facility in Tennessee-Puritan Medical Products
Protests and new COVID lockdowns in Europe as more deaths are occurring now than this time last year.
Paris residents rushing to leave the city before the lockdown.
A company that’s one of only two manufacturers of a specific type of swab needed for coronavirus tests is opening a production facility in Tennessee-Puritan Medical Products
France, Italy, and Poland imposing new lockdowns.
More than 28% of Alaskans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine – better than most states and well above the national average of 23.3%.
The White House plans to send millions of unused AstraZeneca shots to Canada and Mexico. The U.S. has not yet approved that vaccine.
Europe will begin using Astra Zeneca vaccine once again.
FEMA will begin paying families of those who lost someone from COVID-19, for funeral costs.
Krispy Kreme will give people who can show proof of vaccination one free donut a day for the rest of the year
Some schools nationwide are talking about repeating the entire school year.
Dr. Fauci tells Gov. of Michigan to pull back on reopening due to uptick in cases.
Olympics 2021 bars foreign spectators – refunds are being made.
New York City high schools reopen for in-person learning
US has ordered 300 million doses of Astra Zeneca vaccine.
Mar-A-Lago suspending dining room and spa services as coronavirus spreads
8pm curfew still in place in Miami which will be extended until April 12th. 9pm further in from the shore.
Greece lifts some COVID-19 restrictions to relieve lockdown fatigue
Two women whose husbands died of COVID are favored in races to replace them in Congress (Luke Letlow in Louisiana and Ron Wright in Texas)
The Supreme Court is returning to normal, with most of the justices meeting in person now that they have been vaccinated.
New York is expanding eligibility for the vaccine to everyone aged 50 and older
Many members of the Armed Forces are eligible to get the coronavirus vaccine. But less than half in some units have agreed to get vaccinated, and the Pentagon is now working to counter that hesitancy.
NASCAR on Sunday used virus sniffing dogs to survey the area prior to and during the race event.
In Tennessee, they will soon allow all residents 16 and older to be vaccinated.
Loyola University announced plans to return to a full in-person format for the fall semester, athletics, etc.
George Washington University said it will cut varsity of men’s rowing and six other sports by the end of this spring, a result of budget cuts because of the pandemic.
Kent Taylor, CEO of Texas Roadhouse, died from suicide after suffering severe side effects after battling COVID-19 – including serious tinnitus.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of the criminal justice system, leading to some positive changes, some missed opportunities and several lessons to be learned, according to criminal justice experts. Here is how it affected law enforcement and incarceration.
Read full article
Walmart saying it will provide standardized digital vaccination credentials to anyone who gets vaccinated at one of its stores or at Sam’s Club. The retailer will develop a health passport app that people can use to verify their status at airports, schools, sports arenas and other potentially crowded places.
Tufts working hard to dispel bad impact of the vaccine on pregnant women or women wanting to become pregnant.
Vaccinated older Americans are filling restaurants, hugging their grandchildren and are offering a glimpse into post-pandemic times.
A U.N. spokesman said it has no staff in North Korea: those assigned to the country are working remotely. Despite claiming to be coronavirus- free, North Korea has sealed off its borders as part of stringent anti-pandemic measures that also involved the departure of diplomats and foreign nationals.
Dr. Fauci: “the more people get vaccinated, the less likelihood that there is going to be a surge.”
A study published today by JAMA Network Open found Americans living under lockdown gained about 2 lbs. a month.
DoorDash is offering same-day on-demand delivery of FDA-authorized COVID test kits. Go deeper.
New children’s book, approved, but not authored, by Dr. Fauci:
