Daily Archives: October 17, 2021

A leading Israeli health official has cautioned his country against any further easing of coronavirus rules and said he fears a potential fifth wave of Covid-19 could hit the nation.

Prof Salman Zarka said there were lessons to be learnt from lifting rules too soon. Israel reported 734 new cases on Saturday, in a country of 9.4 million down from 11,000 a day during a surge last month.

We are optimistic and we see the downward trend is continuing but the fourth wave is still here, he told Kan public radio on Sunday.

We also have a lesson to learn, to remind everyone we exited too quickly from the third wave.

We thought we beat the coronavirus and then the Delta variant came in the fourth wave. We need to do it slowly, carefully, keeping in mind a potential fifth wave, God forbid

Prof Salman Zarka

"We thought we beat the coronavirus and then the Delta variant came in the fourth wave.

We need to do it slowly, carefully, keeping in mind [a potential] fifth wave, God forbid.

Israel has battled surges in daily cases throughout much of the summer, despite having one of the world's highest vaccination rates.

Prof Salman Zarka says Israel has learnt lessons from dropping mask wearing and other rules too early. Photo: Ziv Medical Centre

The government dropped most coronavirus rules, including the mandatory wearing of masks, in April as the Delta variant hit the region then was forced to reintroduce masks in June.

The Times of Israel reported that the Cabinet is expected to ease remaining restrictions in the coming days, including abolishing rules limiting large outdoor gatherings to between 1,000 and 5,000 participants, and limits on event halls of 400 people in closed spaces and 500 in open spaces, once the average daily new case rate drops to fewer than 1,000.

Prof Zarka, as the Israeli government's chief Covid-19 officer, co-ordinates national efforts to tackle the pandemic and advises ministers on the most appropriate response.

He previously said he expected that by late 2021 or early 2022, Israel would be giving shots specially adapted to cope better with variants. He last month gave a warning of how under strain hospitals were.

The story of this outbreak is the story of those who choose to not be vaccinated, Prof Zarka said.

The drop to less than 1,000 cases per day is a significant improvement on August and September. In the first week of September, Israel had about 1,100 people in hospital in almost 700 considered "seriously ill".

Israel has administered at least 15,700,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines so far, and nearly 40 per cent of its population have had a booster shot, Reuters reported this month.

Updated: October 17th 2021, 6:06 PM

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Israel's coronavirus tsar warns against easing rules and fears fifth wave - The National

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 239.6 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths stands at more than 4.88 million. More than 6.6 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.

Sydney will allow in fully vaccinated travellers from overseas from 1 November - without needing to quarantine. The rule change would initially only benefit citizens.

France has donated more than half a million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Nigeria through the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility.

The EU's drug regulator has started a real-time review of AstraZeneca's antibody-based COVID-19 therapy.

Latvia has cancelled most planned hospital operations from Monday to free up beds and staff as COVID-19 cases increase.

UK Health Minister Sajid Javid said yesterday that the COVID-19 situation is 'quite stable at this point'. 42,776 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Wednesday - the highest figure since mid-July.

A panel of expert advisors to the US Food and Drug Administration has voted to recommend booster shots of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for certain groups.

Poland is donating a million AstraZeneca COVID-19 shots to Iran, the Polish embassy in Tehran said yesterday.

Hungary has reported 1,141 new confirmed daily COVID-19 cases, the first time the number has risen above 1,000 during the pandemic's fourth wave in the country.

Daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases per million people in selected countries.

Image: Our World in Data

US President Joe Biden told the visiting Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday that the United States is set to make a one-time donation of more than 17 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to the African Union.

Biden said the 17 million doses will be in addition to 50 million the United States has already donated to the African Union.

The African Union, which has 55 member states and a combined population of over 1.3 billion people, has accused vaccine manufacturers of not giving its members fair access. Of 5.7 billion doses of coronavirus vaccines administered around the world by mid-September, only 2% had been in Africa.

The 17 million doses of J&J are available immediately and will be delivered to the African Union in the coming weeks, the White House said.

Each of our Top 50 social enterprise last mile responders and multi-stakeholder initiatives is working across four priority areas of need: Prevention and protection; COVID-19 treatment and relief; inclusive vaccine access; and securing livelihoods. The list was curated jointly with regional hosts Catalyst 2030s NASE and Aavishkaar Group. Their profiles can be found on http://www.wef.ch/lastmiletop50india.

Top Last Mile Partnership Initiatives to collaborate with:

The tiny Pacific Island nation of Palau has the world's highest vaccination rate, the Red Cross said yesterday.

99% of the country's population over 12 has had both shots of a vaccine against COVID-19, the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) said, citing government figures which also show that this amounts to 16,152 people.

That puts Palau, an archipelago of 500 islands in the western Pacific Ocean, in the "top spot", the IFRC said in a statement. Other nations in the region continue to lag behind though. Less than 10% of the Solomon Islands (population 650,000) and Kiribati (population 119,000) are vaccinated, the IFRC said.

Written by

Joe Myers, Writer, Formative Content

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 15 October - World Economic Forum

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) A recent study has ranked Pennsylvania in the top 20 safest states to be in during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study, conducted by Wallethub, ranked Pennsylvania 19th out of 50 states and Washington D.C.

It also said that West Virginia tied with Idaho for having the worst COVID-19 death rate.

The study said it based its rankings of the states on COVID-19 transmission rates, the number of positive COVID-19 tests, hospitalizations and deaths related to the virus, and the number of eligible people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

The study was released on Thursday.

On Friday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health said that 1,502,124 total cases and 30,418 total deaths have been recorded since the start of the pandemic, and over 70% of the states population 18 and older are fully vaccinated.

Wallethub said the safest state was Connecticut and the least safest was Idaho, with West Virginia being ranked second-to-last overall.

The results of this study by Wallethub were a stark contrast from one released earlier in the year, which put Pennsylvania at a 34th ranking.

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Study Ranks Pennsylvania In The Top 20 Safest States During The Coronavirus Pandemic - CBS Pittsburgh

RICHMOND, Va. -- The health department reported 14,779 more people tested positive for COVID-19 out of the +238,872 total tests processed over the past week. That brings Virginia's total number of coronavirus cases to 902,938.

As of Friday's update, 37,767 (+503 from the Friday before) people had been hospitalized and 13,391 (+316) people had died as a result of COVID-19-related illnesses, according to updated Virginia Department of Health (VDH) data.

RELATED: 14,700+ new cases reported this week; 62% of Virginians now fully vaccinated

Scroll down for complete city/county-by-county breakdown of COVID-19 cases in Virginia

These localities saw the biggest jumps (100 or more) in COVID-19 cases last week (Oct. 9-15):

Central Virginia

Chesterfield 38,728 ( +551 )Henrico 33,701 ( +394 )Richmond City 23,458 ( +246 )Hanover 11,479 ( +192 )

Hampton Roads

Virginia Beach 48,959 ( +480 )Chesapeake 28,299 ( +364 )Norfolk 23,974 ( +279 )Newport News 20,193 ( +270 )Hampton 14,750 ( +156 )Portsmouth 12,376 ( +142 )Suffolk 10,700 ( +157 )James City 6,859 ( +125 )

Northern Virginia

Fairfax 90,382 ( +778 )Prince William 54,059 ( +544 )Loudoun 33,536 ( +304 )Spotsylvania 14,577 ( +263 )Stafford 15,574 ( +194 )Arlington 18,265 ( +175 )Alexandria 14,019 ( +145 )

Additional Localities:

Roanoke County 11,520 ( +253 )Frederick 11,285 ( +207 )Rockingham 9,147 ( +188 )Waynesboro 3,551 ( +183 )Roanoke City 11,795 ( +174 )Shenandoah 6,184 ( +154 )Pittsylvania 7,884 ( +152 )Bedford 9,670 ( +151 )Washington 7,355 ( +138 )Lynchburg 11,594 ( +135 )Wise 5,047 ( +132 )Smyth 4,678 ( +154 )Fauquier 6,776 ( +118 )Carroll 3,795 ( +103 )Albemarle 7,834 ( +102 )Scott 2,991 ( +101 )Warren 4,807 ( +101 )

City/County-by-County Breakdown of Cases (Oct. 9-15)

Accomack 3,970 ( +65 )Albemarle 7,834 ( +102 )Alexandria 14,019 ( +145 )Alleghany 2,058 ( +39 )Amelia 1,372 ( +36 )Amherst 4,252 ( +63 )Appomattox 2,335 ( +30 )Arlington 18,265 ( +175 )Augusta 9,884 ( +26 )

Bath 452 ( +16 )Bedford 9,670 ( +151 )Bland 1,045 ( +6 )Botetourt 3,703 ( +91 )Bristol 2,222 ( +24 )Brunswick 1,765 ( +20 )Buchanan 2,309 ( +67 )Buckingham 2,604 ( +25 )Buena Vista City 1,261 ( +43 )

Campbell 6,967 ( +89 )Caroline 3,776 ( +55 )Carroll 3,795 ( +103 )Charles City 670 ( +15 )Charlotte 1,239 ( +25 )Charlottesville 5,248 ( +50 )Chesapeake 28,299 ( +364 )Chesterfield 38,728 ( +551 )Clarke 1,319 ( +18 )Colonial Heights 2,548 ( +43 )Covington 741 ( +5 )Craig 527 ( +19 )Culpeper 6,296 ( +81 )Cumberland 702 ( +11 )

Danville 6,121 ( +91 )Dickenson 1,568 ( +40 )Dinwiddie 3,054 ( +48 )

Emporia 863 ( +7 )Essex 1,211 ( +34 )

Fairfax 90,382 ( +778 )Fairfax City 643 ( +5 )Falls Church 540 ( +11 )Fauquier 6,776 ( +118 )Floyd 1,368 ( +23 )Fluvanna 2,542 ( +28 )Franklin City 1,593 ( +20 )Franklin County 5,840 ( +96 )Frederick 11,285 ( +207 )Fredericksburg 3,007 ( +43 )

Galax 1,487 ( +32 )Giles 2,187 ( +48 )Gloucester 3,781 ( +45 )Goochland 1,955 ( +35 )Grayson 2,014 ( +40 )Greene 2,163 ( +47 )Greensville 1,861 ( +18 )

Halifax 3,786 ( +93 )Hampton 14,750 ( +156 )Hanover 11,479 ( +192 )Harrisonburg 8,128 ( +85 )Henrico 33,701 ( +394 )Henry 6,248 ( +96 )Highland 168 ( +3 )Hopewell 3,632 ( +35 )

Isle of Wight 4,350 ( +66 )

James City 6,859 ( +125 )

King and Queen 607 ( +14 )King George 2,533 ( +50 )King William 1,857 ( +35 )

Lancaster 1,046 ( +6 )Lee 3,605 ( +59 )Lexington 1,540 ( +16 )Loudoun 33,536 ( +304 )Louisa 3,098 ( +64 )Lunenburg 1,051 ( +17 )Lynchburg 11,594 ( +135 )

Madison 960 ( +18 )Manassas City 5,018 ( +57 )Manassas Park 1,264 ( +2 )Martinsville 1,989 ( +34 )Mathews 874 ( +8 )Mecklenburg 3,320 ( +53 )Middlesex 931 ( +16 )Montgomery 11,577 ( +97 )

Nelson 1,304 ( +25 )New Kent 2,310 ( +86 )Newport News 20,193 ( +270 )Norfolk 23,974 ( +279 )Northampton 1,135 ( +19 )Northumberland 1,182 ( +31 )Norton 544 ( +13 )Nottoway 2,544 ( +32 )

Orange 3,563 ( +68 )

Page 3,263 ( +51 )Patrick 1,967 ( +27 )Petersburg 5,158 ( +25 )Pittsylvania 7,884 ( +152 )Poquoson 1,308 ( +30 )Portsmouth 12,376 ( +142 )Powhatan 2,734 ( +43 )Prince Edward 2,886 ( +46 )Prince George 4,858 ( +62 )Prince William 54,059 ( +544 )Pulaski 3,980 ( +96 )

Radford 2,856 ( +24 )Rappahannock 559 ( +17 )Richmond City 23,458 ( +246 )Richmond County 1,707 ( +22 )Roanoke City 11,795 ( +174 )Roanoke County 11,520 ( +253 )Rockbridge 2,042 ( +27 )Rockingham 9,147 ( +188 )Russell 3,655 ( +82 )

Salem 3,340 ( +94 )Scott 2,991 ( +101 )Shenandoah 6,184 ( +154 )Smyth 4,678 ( +154 )Southampton 2,360 ( +23 )Spotsylvania 14,577 ( +263 )Stafford 15,574 ( +194 )Staunton 3,322 ( +32 )Suffolk 10,700 ( +157 )Surry 595 ( +15 )Sussex 1,536 ( +19 )

Tazewell 5,551 ( +78 )

Virginia Beach 48,959 ( +480 )

Warren 4,807 ( +101 )Washington 7,355 ( +138 )Waynesboro 3,551 ( +183 )Westmoreland 1,780 ( +51 )Williamsburg 1,125 ( +19 )Winchester 3,656 ( +14 )Wise 5,047 ( +132 )Wythe 4,347 ( +77 )

York 5,325 ( +97 )

VDH

Who's getting sick

The coronavirus first most impacted people aged 50 to 69, which currently accounts for 23.1% of cases in Virginia.

However, people in their 20s now account for 18.9% of cases in the state.

Additionally, people aged 30 to 49 are 30.9% of cases, data show.

And stats show children and teens account for 18.7% of cases.

More women have been infected by the virus at 466,153 cases versus the 430,169 cases reported in men. No gender was reported for 6,616 cases in the Commonwealth.

WTVR

Virginians age 12+ are eligible for COVID-19 vaccine. Pre-registration is no longer required, so go to Vaccine Finder to search for specific vaccines available near you or call 877-VAX-IN-VA (877-275-8343).

Have You Been Fully Vaccinated?

People are considered fully vaccinated:

Virginia Department of Health

How to Protect Yourself and Others When Youve Been Fully Vaccinated

COVID-19 vaccines are effective at protecting you from getting sick. Based on what we know about COVID-19 vaccines, people who have been fully vaccinated can start to do some things that they had stopped doing because of the pandemic.

Were still learning how vaccines will affect the spread of COVID-19. After youve been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, you should keep taking precautionslike wearing a mask, staying 6 feet apart from others, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spacesin public places until we know more.

These recommendations can help you make decisions about daily activities after you are fully vaccinated.

They are not intended for healthcare settings.Click here for more information from the Virginia Department of Health.

Depend on CBS 6 News and WTVR.com for the most complete coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read more from the original source:

County-by-county look at COVID-19 cases in Virginia; which areas saw biggest spikes this week - wtvr.com

Twomore Mainers have died as health officials on Saturday reported another 542coronavirus cases across the state.

Saturdays report brings the total number of coronavirus cases in Maine to 97,725,according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Thats up from 97,183 on Friday.

Of those, 69,647have been confirmed positive, while 28,078were classified as probable cases, the Maine CDC reported.

Two men in their 80s from Penobscot County have succumbed to the virus, bringing the statewide death toll to 1,095.

The number of coronavirus cases diagnosed in the past 14 days statewide is 6,257. This is an estimation of the current number of active cases in the state, as the Maine CDC is no longer tracking recoveries for all patients. Thats down from 6,456 on Friday.

The new case rate statewide Saturday was 4.05 cases per 10,000 residents, and the total case rate statewide was 730.16.

Maines seven-day average for new coronavirus cases is 402.6, down from 411.6 the day before, down from 498.9 a week ago and down from 455.6 a month ago. That average peaked on Jan. 14 at 625.3.

The most cases have been detected in Mainers younger than 20, while Mainers over 80 years old make up the majority of deaths. More cases have been recorded in women and more deaths in men.

So far, 2,653 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus. Of those, 169 are currently hospitalized, with 60 in critical care and 31 on a ventilator. Overall, 43 out of 340 critical care beds and 200 out of 305 ventilators are available.

The total statewide hospitalization rate on Saturday was 19.82 patients per 10,000 residents.

Cases have been reported in Androscoggin (10,339), Aroostook (3,653), Cumberland (21,238), Franklin (2,114), Hancock (2,591), Kennebec (9,299), Knox (1,833), Lincoln (1,719), Oxford (4,815), Penobscot (11,665), Piscataquis (1,260), Sagadahoc (1,889), Somerset (4,015), Waldo (2,275), Washington (1,702) and York (17,310) counties. Information about where an additional eight cases were reported wasnt immediately available.

An additional 2,077 vaccine doses were administered in the previous 24 hours. As of Saturday, 892,826 Mainers are fully vaccinated, or about 75.4 percent of eligible Mainers, according to the Maine CDC.

New Hampshire reported 626 new cases on Saturday and four deaths. Vermont reported 227 new cases and one death, while Massachusetts reported 1,649 new cases and 12 deaths.

As of Saturday afternoon, the coronavirus had sickened 44,903,846 people in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as caused 724,105 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.

More articles from the BDN

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2 more Mainers have died and another 542 coronavirus cases reported across the state - Bangor Daily News

The Franklin County commissioners have already committed millions of dollars in federal coronavirus-related relief forjob training, rental assistance and other initiatives aimed at helping residents, businesses and nonprofit groups recover from the ongoing pandemic.

And theyre eyeing tens of millions of dollars in additional assistance for affordable housing, broadband expansion and other programs to ensure Franklin County is best positioned for a rebound once COVID-19 is a distant memory.

This is a once-in-a-generation type of an opportunity, said Commissioner John OGrady, one of the three elected members of the county board of commissioners, which ultimately approves the disbursements. Its not every day you get these kinds of dollars to make a difference and make an influence in your community. We want to make sure were doing it right.

Franklin County will receive nearly $256million through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the federal coronavirus-relief legislation enacted earlier this year by Democrats without the support of any Republican U.S. Senator or U.S. House members.

Details about local spending are available on a new county website (https://commissioners.franklincountyohio.gov/arp), which includes a running list of allocations approvedby the commissioners.

Franklin County is receiving its total Rescue Plan allocation in two disbursements of about $128 million each. Of the initial amount, the commissioners have allocated more than $76 million, with another $51 million-plus remaining.

Of thattotal, the federal legislation anticipates the county willneed about $50 million for revenue losses expected because of the ongoing pandemic to help cover general county expenses. Those funds have not been formally allocated yet, just set aside in the countys books in anticipation of infrastructure and other costs.

Otherwise, the commissioners have signed off on about $25 million in other federal COVID relief money spendingthrough 20 different resolutions adopted at their regular weekly sessions. Among the notable expenditures:

$7 million to the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, to be used for a new 19,000-square-foot addition to its Grove City warehouse, expanding the type and quantities of food distributed to residents in need.

$5 million for area nonprofit groups, with grants to be awarded up to $50,000 and targeted, in part, to those groups providing services in qualified census tracts, meeting lower household income requirements.

$3 million in tourism, travel and hospitality aid to Huntington Park and the Columbus Clippers, the Triple-A minor league baseball affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. The Clippers are a nonprofit entity owned by the county.

$2.5 million for a new Women Back to Work program, including job training and other support and services to help women who are out of work, many because of the ongoing pandemic.

Nearly $2.4 million to the Columbus Urban Leagueto support workforce programs, helping out-of-work residents complete training and land full-time jobs.

Nearly $1.3 million to the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority for safety and health improvements at Nationwide Arena and the Greater Columbus Convention Centerto prevent the spread of coronavirus and other airborne diseases.

All of the allocations require detailed reporting to the U.S. Department of the Treasury to ensure the funds are being spent appropriately. County Administrator Kenneth Wilson said the county also is closely tracking whether the funds are having the desired outcome in the community.

We want to know what your results are, because this is a generational amount of federal dollars going into the economies across the nation, Wilsonsaid. In the end, we want to be identified as one of the local governments that made the most-effective use of (federal COVID relief funds)by being innovative and also being accountable in benefitting the community in both the short- and long-term.

In July, the commissioners hosted a public hearing and accepted written and other comments from residents about how the federal funds should be spent.

What havent I heard? OGrady said about ideas that have been provided to date. Everybody has their thoughts … everybodys in need …. Weve been listening to everybody, working with everybody.

Commissioner Kevin Boyce said there have been a lot of good ideas, but county officials are working to ensure the federal funds are used as intended, to assist in rebounding from the coronavirus pandemic.

Were thinking of projects and ways to use those resources that are directly related to the pandemic, from job creation to initiatives that allow people access to training and other resources, he said.

Commissioner Erica Crawley said she wants to make sure that some of the federal funding helps address health-equity issues, including ensuring all residents have access to coronavirus testing and vaccinations and safe places to quarantine if exposed to the virus, and making sure we have transportation available to get them to the doctors or get them tovaccinations.

OGradys priorities include outlays for expansions of affordable housing and broadband access throughout the county.

On housing, the commissioners have allocated federal coronavirus relief for rental assistance, and theyre planning to commit Rescue Plan Act funding for the construction of new affordable housing units.

How much were going to do? Were still working on that number, but it will be significant, OGrady said.

He separately added that, Peoples lives have been turned upside down, not just because of COVID and the impact of the disease, but its also had a major financial impact on peoples lives. Affordable housing is a gigantic need in this community, and its become an ever-growing need because of the financial impact that (COVID-19) had on peoples lives.

Deputy County Administrator Erik Janas said planned allocations willbolster the countys magnet fund, an affordable housing initiative unveiled in 2019 that helps to leverage tax credits and make new construction projects more feasible. The federal funding could help fund the construction of hundreds of additional housing units, plus support housing repair programs and other assistance efforts, he said.

We know that housing was already tight and housing was already expensive before the pandemic, said Tyler Lowry, the commissioners spokesman. Its only gotten worse since then. You cant help people recover if they dont have a place to live that is safe and secure and close to resources, close to jobs and close to good schools.

O'Grady said the pandemic also spotlighted digital inequities residents in parts of the county dont enjoy the same online access as others.

The need has always been there, he said. Theres parts of this community where there are kids who were sent home with Chromebooks that had no ability to be able to access because they didnt have Wi-Fiat home. … Where are they going to do their homework and have the ability to be able to access the internet?

Ultimately, all of the federal funding has to go to efforts to address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Boyce regularly questions recipients of funds on whether they have plans for covering costs of the efforts when pandemic relief is exhausted.

Those funds can help infuse some new initiatives and maybe spur some ideas, maybe even leverage those resources for other funding from the private sector or other layers of government, Boyce said. But, for now, we have to be thoughtful about our future, too, and make sure if we use those funds that the expectation isnt that were going to be funding from the general fund in the future.

Crawley agreed, saying that it is important in allocating federal COVID relief funds the commissioners "arent setting up organizations to implement new programs that they wont be able to sustain later on. We do not want to put organizations in a situation where we are helping to fund something that the county commissioners will be on the hook for later."

mkovac@dispatch.com

@OhioCapitalBlog

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Franklin County says jobs, housing, broadband among priorities for $256M in COVID relief - The Columbus Dispatch