Subscribe!
Your Coronavirus Update – Today – Jan. 8, 2021
RHODE ISLAND & VICINITY
RI said to have the 2nd highest infection rate in the world.
“Because of concerns of increased coronavirus transmission after holiday gatherings, many Massachusetts school districts are returning from winter break in a remote-only model to prevent in-school and further community transmission.”
Massachusetts announced Thursday that the state’s current restrictions for gatherings and business capacity will be extended for at least two weeks. 10 people indoors and 25 outdoors. Most businesses, including restaurants, are limited to 25% capacity.
The Newport Winter Festival has been canceled for 2021
Providence Restaurant Week will be held Jan. 10-Feb 6, regardless of COVID19 uptick.
Ocean State Job Lot provides substantial food, supplies for Family Service of R.I
Harry’s Bar & Burger, in Newport, is being sold – the building comes with a 2-level restaurant and a 2-bedroom apartment.
Beginning January 15th RI Elder Info will be hosting a free Caregiver Support Group on the 3rd Friday of the month at 10am.Zoom login can be found by clicking here
A Brigham and Women’s doctor is predicting lockdowns are on the horizon to deal with the post-holiday surge in COVID-19 cases.
Rhode Island is adhering to the two-dose plan, rather than the 1-dose or ½ dose being adopted by many states to quicken vaccinations.
New Bedford set to open COVID surge facility – one of two facilities associated with SouthCoast Hospitals being prepared for opening
Phoenix House has been taken over by a court master, claiming pandemic has devastated the nonprofit recovery group. The intent is to wind down PH operations.
RI will begin offering testing of public school students and teachers beginning this month. Consent must be given and participation is not mandatory. Scituate and Lincoln schools have opted out, saying it is too labor intensive for their nursing staff.
The Worcester County Jail & House of Correction is on a modified lockdown after an uptick in COVID-19 cases among inmates, with 57 of 570 inmates positive.
The RI Air Show may come back on June 26th weekend.
Most ACI inmates, and 100% of staff opt for COVID vaccine
Brookside Rehabilitation and Healthcare in Webster, MA is under investigation after 51 of the 58 residents tested positive for COVID-19, and three patients have died.
Joseph Molina Flynn, newly appointed Municipal Court judge in Central Falls, is recovering from COVID19
Today’s Data – Jan 7, 2020
Deaths: 20
Tests – 18,960. Positives – 1,155. Percent positive – 6.1%
Hospitalized – 397. In ICU – 59. Ventilated – 40
Deaths in hospital – 7. New Admissions – 45. New Discharges – 53
Vaccinations – 1st shot: 28,603 – 2 shots: 1,103
Data by City:
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
Arizona is the new hotspot for COVID19
Yesterday, the CDC said the states need to change their priorities and get the most shots out to the most people they can reach – rather than focusing on levels of individuals most at risk. This could dramatically change vaccine delivery in the very near future.
LA County is making plans to vaccinate low priority groups as well in an all-out effort to get more people vaccinated.
“With the holidays over, “once you get rolling and get some momentum, I think we can achieve 1 million a day or even more,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert.
Moderna said it will be able to make at least 600 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine this year.
Studies to see if Moderna COVID-19 vaccine doses can be halved may take two months
LA County Public Health Director: “You run the risk of an exposure whenever you leave your home.”
Virus variant found in Pennsylvania
Walmart is requiring all associates and customers to wear face coverings when inside stores, has implemented adjusted store hours to allow for deep cleanings, and extended its COVID-19 emergency leave policy for all associates. The extension goes through June, 2021.
Japan declares emergency for Tokyo area as cases spike.
China’s CNBG has supplied 3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to UAE
Operation Warp Speed’s Moncef Slaoui will stay on as a consultant for Biden.
Amazon has announced $2 billion in loans and grants to secure affordable housing in three U.S. cities where it has major operations, including a Seattle suburb where the online retail giant employs at least 5,000 workers.
In one ICU in hospital in Egypt – all coronavirus patients died after oxygen supply failed – “the oxygen level almost below 2% & neither enough pressure nor enough oxygen”. El Husseineya Central Hospital
Japan’s top-ranked sumo wrestler, Hakuho, has tested positive for coronavirus, the Japan Sumo Association
Amazon reports it purchased 11 new jets to help with its delivery network.
Manufacturing in US rose by 60% in December.
Local researchers are studying whether vitamin D could lessen the severity of COVID symptoms.
45 Macy’s stores will close in 2021 – no locations were yet announced – RI stores will NOT close.
In Florida, several counties are using the event platform, Eventbrite, known for selling concert tickets and coordinating happy hours, to schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments.
Updated guidelines from the U.K. allowing people to mix-and-match different vaccines. The new guidelines permit patients to receive a different vaccine for their second dose if the shot from their first dose is no longer available or unknown to the recipient. So far, the U.K. has approved vaccines from Pfizer and AstraZeneca, which use different ingredients and technologies to provide immunity. While it’s possible that mixed vaccines could help protect against the virus, there is no safety or efficacy data yet for mixing doses. The new vaccination guidelines are part of the U.K.’s effort to vaccinate as many people as possible, regardless of likely delays between doses.
In Florida, the hospital system was used to disseminate vaccines for the 70% of residents are seniors. Some have not been able to vaccinate quickly enough. The hospitals who are slow will have their allocations redistributed to other hospitals who can handle the influx. The state is now working to convert state-run testing sites into vaccination centers, working to hire 1,000 extra nurses to administer shots and is even planning to use churches as vaccination sites to target under-served communities.
95% of COVID-19 deaths are people over 50. Some 40% have been residents and staff in nursing homes.
CVS Health is now administering COVID-19 vaccines in skilled nursing facilities in 49 states, with the rollout beginning in 36 states and Washington, D.C. last week.
Within the next two weeks, Operation Warp Speed, the federal government’s vaccine accelerator, estimates 3,000 to 6,000 pharmacies could begin administering Covid-19 shots, according to a senior HHS official.
A study has shown that loss of smell happens in 86% of COVID19 cases.
A Northern California hospital has shown it’s possible to get the COVID-19 vaccine into the arms of people fast. Adventist Health Ukiah Valley Medical Center learned Monday morning the refrigerator holding Mendocino County’s most recent distribution of 850 Moderna vaccines had failed. Racing to beat the clock before the vaccines spoiled, they successfully administered the entire supply in 2.5 hours in collaboration with the county’s health department and skilled nursing facilities. They aimed to issue the vaccine to high-risk individuals, but “the highest priority was making sure that nothing went to waste.” At 11:30 a.m. Monday, Howe and his colleague Bessant Parker, the hospital’s medical officer, received the call that the compressor on the refrigerator was broken. The vaccines need to be stored at a temperature of 36-46 degrees, and they had been sitting at room temperature since 2 a.m. “Moderna has a 12-hour shelf life at room temperature,” said Howe, who noted that a refrigerator failure is unusual. Hospital officials acted quickly, treating the situation like an emergency, and devised a plan to issue several dozen vaccines directly to a nursing home and 200 to the county, which administered its allotment to everyone from county workers to jail inmates. They offered the remaining 600 inoculations to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis, with an emphasis on getting the word out to high-risk individuals. “We set up four vaccination centers, three on our campus and one in a church close by,” said Parker, who added that it took a workforce of about 40 people to administer the shots at the four locations. They alerted the public through social media and by making phone calls to places such as nursing homes. Employees also helped spread the news.