Daily Archives: December 7, 2021

The omicron variant of the coronavirus has arrived in Texas, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a tweet on Monday night. A 40-year-old woman in Harris County with no recent travel history tested positive for the variant, Hidalgo said.

The woman is fully vaccinated and experienced COVID-19 symptoms, according to the Harris County Public Health Department.She has not required hospitalization.

The fact that the patient did not have a travel history means she picked it up in the community. So its here, it has been here probably for a week or two, said Catherine Troisi, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

Genetic sequencing tests this week showed that the womans recent COVID-19 case was the omicron variant, the Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed.

Dr. John Hellerstedt, a DSHS commissioner, said the variants arrival in Texas was unsurprising. Its normal for viruses to mutate, and given how quickly omicron spread in southern Africa, were not surprised that it showed up here, Hellerstedt said.

Getting vaccinated and continuing to use prevention strategies, including wearing a mask when you are around people you dont live with, social distancing, handwashing and getting tested when you have symptoms, will help slow the spread of the virus and help end the pandemic, he said.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and his aides did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. The Republican governor has refused so far to mandate any protective measures against COVID-19 and has forbidden state or local government entities from imposing their own mandates.

As of Monday, almost 65% of the Texas population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 55% have been fully vaccinated, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is well below the national average of 71% receiving at least one dose and 60% being fully vaccinated.

Troisi said theres no reason to panic. We need to protect ourselves, and we have ways of doing that, she said. She expects other large Texas cities will see their own cases soon, although the variant will likely take longer to spread to rural communities.

Dr. Philip Huang, director and health authority for Dallas County Health and Human Services, encouraged residents to get vaccinated and to receive their COVID-19 booster shots. He said residents should continue following coronavirus-related precautions, including social distancing, washing hands and wearing face coverings.

Huang urged people to consider family members who are at high risk for severe symptoms of COVID-19 before traveling for the holidays. We continue to work with the state to monitor for omicron and we also continue to get vaccinations out to the community and promote prevention messages to do everything we can to try to slow the spread of the virus, he said.

The omicron variant, first detected in South Africa, appears to have more than 30 mutations in the coronavirus spike protein, which could affect how easily it spreads to people.

Last Wednesday, the White House announced that a person in California who had been vaccinated against COVID-19 became the first in the U.S. to have an identified case of the omicron variant. Scientists continue to study the risks posed by the new virus strain. As of Monday, omicron has been detected in 19 U.S. states, including New York, Minnesota, Colorado, Hawaii, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Bidens chief medical adviser, told reporters that the person in California was a traveler who returned from South Africa on Nov. 22 and tested positive Nov. 29. Fauci said the person had been vaccinated but had not received a booster shot and was experiencing mild symptoms.

Its still unclear whether the genetic changes in the new variant will pose a public health threat. Some previous variants, like the beta variant, initially alarmed scientists but didnt end up spreading very far.

Fauci told Biden it would take about two more weeks before there was more information on the transmissibility, severity and other characteristics of the variant, but said he believed vaccines would continue to provide a degree of protection, The Washington Post reported.

Since being first detected, the variant has appeared in virus samples around the world. Cases have been identified in more than 40 countries, including Australia, Botswana, Britain, Belgium, Botswana, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy and the Netherlands, according to The Washington Post, The New York Times and the Associated Press.

Cecilia Tomori, director of global public health and community health at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, said Americans should first be worried about the continued spread of the delta variant. Delta has become the dominant variant in the U.S., accounting for more than 99% of all new cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

We are not adequately concerned by how bad our current surge is, Tomori said. We havent been adequately concerned about where weve been, which is a very high case number per day and a very high number of hospitalizations and deaths for a very, very long time.

She said she hopes concern over the omicron variant will push people to use strategies to prevent coronavirus transmission, like getting vaccinated.

Biden kicked off a more urgent campaign for Americans to get COVID-19 booster shots Thursday as he unveiled his winter plans for combating the coronavirus and its omicron variant with enhanced availability of shots and vaccines but without major new restrictions, the AP reported.

The plan includes requiring private insurers to cover the cost of at-home COVID-19 tests and tightening testing requirements for people entering the U.S. regardless of their vaccination status. But as some other nations close their borders or reimpose lockdowns, officials said Biden was not moving to impose additional restrictions beyond his recommendation that Americans wear masks indoors in public settings, the AP reported.

As of Monday, all travelers to the U.S., regardless of nationality or vaccination status, will need to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test within one day of boarding their flights. Thats down from three days right now for those who have been vaccinated, in an added precaution against the omicron variant. But the White House has shelved tougher options, like requiring post-arrival testing or requiring quarantines upon arrival in the U.S., the AP reported.

The New York Times reports that, in the U.S., omicron has been detected in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin, according to reporting by The New York Times, The Washington Post and the Associated Press.

The variant has been detected in South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as in travelers to Austria, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Reunion, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates, according to The New York Times. Omicron cases have also been reported in Australia, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, India, Israel, Norway, Portugal and Spain.

The omicron variant appears to have more than 30 mutations in the coronavirus spike protein, which could affect how easily it spreads to people, the Associated Press reported.

Sharon Peacock, who has led genetic sequencing of COVID-19 in Britain at the University of Cambridge, said the data so far suggest the new variant has mutations consistent with enhanced transmissibility, but said that the significance of many of the mutations is still not known.

Even though some of the genetic changes in the new variant appear worrying, its still unclear whether they will pose a public health threat. Some previous variants, like the beta variant, initially alarmed scientists but didnt end up spreading very far.

The variant was identified last week by researchers in South Africa. Much is still not known about it, including whether it is more contagious, more likely to cause serious illness or more able to evade the protection of vaccines, the Associated Press reported.

On Friday, scientists in South Africa said that omicron appears to spread more than twice as quickly as delta, which had been considered the most contagious version of the virus, The New York Times reported. Omicrons rapid spread results from a combination of contagiousness and an ability to evade the bodys immune defenses, the researchers said, but the contribution of each factor is not yet certain. The research has not been appeared in a scientific journal or been peer-reviewed.

Fauci told Biden it would take about two more weeks before there was more information on the transmissibility, severity and other characteristics of the variant, but said he believed vaccines would continue to provide a degree of protection, The Washington Post reported.

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said that there is no data yet that suggests the new variant causes more serious illness than previous COVID-19 variants, the AP reported.

I do think its more contagious when you look at how rapidly it spread through multiple districts in South Africa. It has the earmarks, therefore, of being particularly likely to spread from one person to another... What we dont know is whether it can compete with the delta variant, Collins said recently on CNNs State of the Union.

Collins said everyone should redouble their efforts to use the tools the world already has, including vaccinations, booster shots and measures such as mask-wearing, the AP reported.

Collins said that vaccination remains the first line of defense, saying that there are good reasons to believe, based on previous variants, that current vaccines will provide sufficient protection, The New York Times reported.

Please, Americans, if youre one of those folks whos sort of waiting to see, this would be a great time to sign up, get your booster, Collins said recently on Fox. Or if you havent been vaccinated already, get started.

While some experts say that early signs indicate that the omicron variant may cause only mild illness, its too early to assume that the variant will not cause severe illness, too, Dr. Richard Lessells, an infectious diseases specialist in South Africa, told The New York Times. Many of the early infections in South Africa were identified among younger people more likely to experience mild illness, he said.

CNN is maintaining a list of travel restrictions by country during the omicron variant outbreak, although it cautions that governments can change their regulations at a moments notice.

The European Union is restricting travel to and from seven countries in southern Africa Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe while the U.S. and South Korea have targeted those countries and Malawi, according to The New York Times. Britain has restricted travel with those eight nations and Angola and Zambia. Israel announced it was sealing its borders to all foreigners for 14 days after one case was confirmed in the country.

Many countries are introducing such bans, though they go against the advice of the World Health Organization, which has warned against any overreaction before the variant is thoroughly studied, the AP reported.

South Africas government responded angrily to the travel bans, which it said are akin to punishing South Africa for its advanced genomic sequencing and the ability to detect new variants quicker. It said it will try to persuade countries that imposed them to reconsider, the AP reported.

Some experts said the variants emergence illustrated how rich countries hoarding of vaccines threatens to prolong the pandemic, the AP reported.

Fewer than 6% of people in Africa have been fully immunized against COVID-19, and millions of health workers and vulnerable populations have yet to receive a single dose, the AP reported. Those conditions can speed up spread of the virus, offering more opportunities for it to evolve into a dangerous variant.

This is one of the consequences of the inequity in vaccine rollouts and why the grabbing of surplus vaccines by richer countries will inevitably rebound on us all at some point, said Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at Britains University of Southampton.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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The omicron variant of the coronavirus is now in Texas - The Dallas Morning News

Oregon posted a 50% increase in weekly coronavirus cases Monday, with the spike largely tied to a resurgence in testing following the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Oregon Health Authority recorded 6,435 cases in the past week, including 2,041 announced Monday for the preceding three days.

The jump in weekly cases corresponds with a roughly 44% increase in weekly testing. Both cases and tests plummeted during the Thanksgiving week, making the rapid climb less concerning, particularly given a continued decline in test positivity rates.

Oregon has seen weekly cases drop in 12 of the past 14 weeks, with no consecutive weeks of gains since August. Officials are expected to keep watch of any potential reversal in long-term trends, either from renewed spread of the delta variant or the new omicron variant, which has yet to be discovered in Oregon.

State health officials on Monday also announced 25 deaths.

Where the new cases are by county: Baker (7), Benton (69), Clackamas (214), Clatsop (18), Columbia (32), Coos (41), Crook (9), Curry (3), Deschutes (190), Douglas (84), Harney (4), Hood River (8), Jackson (111), Jefferson (17), Josephine (77), Klamath (11), Lake (7), Lane (132), Lincoln (20), Linn (115), Malheur (3), Marion (127), Morrow (6), Multnomah (351), Polk (22), Tillamook (18), Umatilla (11), Union (7), Wasco (11), Washington (276), Wheeler (2) and Yamhill (38).

Who died: State officials did not immediately disclose death details.

Hospitalizations: 418 people with confirmed COVID-19 infections are hospitalized, up 21 since Friday. That includes 115 people in intensive care, up 21 since Friday.

Vaccines: 10,214 people have been reported newly vaccinated since Friday.

Since it began: Oregon has reported 396,501 confirmed or presumed infections and 5,268 deaths, among the lowest per capita numbers in the nation. To date, the state has reported 6,227,271 vaccine doses administered, fully vaccinating 2,691,521 people and partially vaccinating 277,039 people.

To see more data and trends, visit https://projects.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/

-- Brad Schmidt; bschmidt@oregonian.com; 503-294-7628; @_brad_schmidt

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Coronavirus in Oregon: Weekly cases climb 50% as testing rebounds from holiday - oregonlive.com

We continue to monitor the number of COVID-19 cases in Arizona and share updates on any developments. This is the update for the week of Dec. 6, 2021.

ARIZONA, USA The number of coronavirus cases in Arizona is on the rise once again. We continue to track updates on any developments regarding COVID-19.

Heres a breakdown of the case numbers for the week of Dec. 6 and other updates on the coronavirus and COVID-19 vaccinations.

Daily update on COVID-19 cases in Arizona

Each day, we will post the updated numbers for daily coronavirus cases and other important metrics in this section. Please check this article for updates throughout the week.

Here are the coronavirus case and death updates in Arizona for the week of Dec. 6:

Mon., Dec. 6:3,022 new cases, 0 new deaths and 1,295,076 total cases

COVID-19 vaccine updates

Here are a few recent stories on the developments regarding coronavirus vaccinations.

Coronavirus in Arizona news

Weve curated the latest news surrounding the COVID-19 cases in Arizona and compiled important information for our readers. Here are a few headlines.

MORE:Visit 12news.com/coronavirus for the latest updates.

Health Department Resources

Click on the links below to find more information from each county's health department:

You can find even more coverage of the coronavirus in Arizona on 12news.com/coronavirus, 12news.com/vaccine and the 12 News app.

COVID-19 News and Updates

Subscribe to the 12 News YouTube channel to receive notifications on the latest videos about the latest information on the coronavirus.

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Coronavirus in Arizona: COVID-19 cases for the week of Dec. 6 - 12news.com KPNX

Catalina Dengel verifies patient information with testing specialist Wendy Carrio at the new Capstone Clinic COVID-19 drive-thru testing site at 4810 C Street on Dec. 1, 2021. (Bill Roth / ADN)

Alaska on Monday reported 558 COVID-19 cases for a three-day period over the weekend and no deaths as the number of people hospitalized with the coronavirus rose slightly.

The state reported 198 new cases for Sunday, 51 for Saturday, and 309 for Friday, according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. State officials said they didnt know of any data backlogs that would account for such a low number on Saturday.

The state on Monday reported 77 people hospitalized statewide with active infections, up from 71 patients at the end of last week. Just over 8% of all hospital patients in the state are COVID-positive. Those numbers dont include some people recovering from the disease who need continued care.

Those numbers represent a significant decrease from the high of more than 200 people hospitalized on average in September and October.

The states test positivity rate, which reflects the number of positive tests out of the total performed, was 4.84% as of Friday, dropping under 5% for the first time since July, when a surge linked to the delta variant started. That 5% threshold can indicate high transmission and not enough testing, epidemiologists say.

By Friday, Alaska ranked 29th among states for its seven-day COVID-19 case rate, with 255.1 cases per 100,000 people. New cases declined about 25% since last week.

Alaska health officials continue to monitor for the new omicron variant of the coronavirus thats raising questions and concerns around the world, state health officials say. Omicron has been detected in numerous states but not yet in Alaska.

State health officials at a briefing late last week encouraged Alaskans who want to protect themselves against the omicron variant to get vaccinated or get booster shots against COVID-19 and practice the same measures -- masking, social distancing, good hygiene -- known to help prevent the spread of existing variants.

About 62% of Alaskans 5 and older have received one dose of the shot while 56% are considered fully vaccinated. Alaska currently ranks in the bottom third of the nation at 32nd for its vaccination rate.

Between mid-January and the end of November, people who werent fully vaccinated accounted for 70% of all COVID-19 cases, 84% of hospitalizations and 81% of deaths among Alaskans 12 and older, according to state data.

Starting Monday, the state health department shifted to updating COVID-19 dashboards three times weekly, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

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Alaska reports 558 COVID-19 cases, no deaths and an uptick in hospitalizations over the weekend - Anchorage Daily News

ALBANY The state Department of Health is poised to direct a few dozen upstate hospitals to begin limiting elective surgeries this week, based on an executive order signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul late last month amid rising cases of COVID-19 and hospitalizations attributed to the virus.

Health department data indicates the order is expected to impact Albany Medical Center's system, and potentially the greater Capital Region, according to regional guidelines in the order.

"Elective surgeries" is a more limited term this time than during prior emergency declarations tied to the pandemic. Any facility selected on Monday by the health department to restrict elective surgeries would put the order into effect Thursday. It would be effective for at least two weeks.

The coronavirus has been impacting many upstate communities, particularly among the unvaccinated. Since the start of the fall, outside of the greater New York City metropolitan area, hospitals have reported nearly quadruple the amount of deaths attributed to COVID-19 than they did during the summer, according to a review of state data.

Hospital discharges attributed to the virus are roughly double this fall in upstate than they were in the summer, based on data of regions outside of New York City, Long Island and the Mid-Hudson Valley.

At the same rate, the availability of hospital beds is less than 10 percent in upstate New York, down from nearly 30 percent at the beginning of the summer which was central to Hochul declaring an emergency.

The data primarily reflects the influence of the COVID-19 delta variant, not the newly discovered, also highly contagious omicron variant. The state announced it confirmed its first five cases last week, with at least one case dating back to a late November infection.

Heading into last weekend, 31 hospitals would meet the state's threshold of less than 10 percent staffed acute care bed capacity. All of those hospitals are in upstate New York, according to the health department data.

Three of the hospitals are in the Capital Region: Albany Medical Center Hospital, Glens Falls Hospital and Saratoga Hospital, all of which are affiliated with Albany Medical Center.

"We have received the guidance but there is no final determination yet of which hospitals it effects," Albany Medical Center spokesman Matt Markham said in a statement Friday. "We will learn more on Monday."

The New York City metropolitan area is not experiencing a surge in cases or hospitalizations, but it also has higher vaccination rates and higher overall case counts from the first wave of the pandemic. That area, though, was the first to report confirmed cases of omicron variant.

The issue, Hochul has said, is also one exacerbated by a staffing crisis.

In upstate, the staffed bed capacity initially saw a substantial decline over the summer, before the governor's vaccination mandate for health care workers took effect. Between July 21 and 28, the available staffed beds in upstate dropped by 1,500, a 4 percent decline, according to state data.

Over the course of Hochul's vaccine mandate this fall, which has been opposed by some labor unions and lawmakers, staffed bed capacity continued to drop off by another 1,800 upstate. It is now around 35,000 beds in upstate that may not have staff to care for patients.

Hochul admitted last week that the decline is in part because of her mandate, but she was resolute in the purpose of it, which is to ensure a vaccinated person it taking care of a patient. Her position has been questioned by some who note vaccinated individuals may still carry the coronavirus, and many health care workers already had contracted the virus during the height of the pandemic, developing some level of immunity.

The mandate's effect also reduced capacity of nursing homes, group homes and other long-term care facilities, Hochul said. She told reporters last week that she was informed there are patients in hospitals who are waiting to be discharged to nursing homes, but the facilities do not have enough staff to appropriately care for thoseindividuals.

Hochul called on the National Guard to help mitigate the problem. The intended effect was to assist the facilities and free up bed capacity in area hospitals.

Medically trained National Guard members were initially deployed to 11 nursing homes, including one in the Capital Region, Shaker Place Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Colonie, according to the state health department. Last month, the Albany County-run facility had to repair water damage to at least 50 bathrooms.

Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an emergency declaration to help free up hospital bed capacity by limiting elective surgeries.

Elective surgeries this time around is not expected to mean the same thing it had previously in the pandemic.

Instead, the health department listed a number of surgeries that are now considered essential: cancer, including diagnostic procedure of suspected cancer; neurosurgery; intractable pain; highly symptomatic patients; transplants; trauma; cardiac conditions with symptoms; limb-threatening vascular procedure; dialysis vascular access; and patients that are at a clinically high risk of harm if their procedures are not completed.

"We are encouraged by at least the procedures they consider essential," said Dr. John DiPreta, president of the New York State Society of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

The approach this time around is "more thoughtful" than it was last year, added DiPreta, who works primarily out of the Albany Medical Center system. He noted that more is known about the transmission of the virus and there is more of an emphasis on ensuring that prioritizing one health issue doesn't lead to other severe complications.

The health system, from what DiPreta said he has seen, has generally caught up its prior backlog of surgeries. He emphasized the need to treat people with intractable pain to avoid them falling and breaking a bone or continuing to rely on opioid pain killers to cope with chronic pain.

The baseline for a hospital to limit elective surgeries is triggered when its staffed acute care bed capacity is less than 10 percent over the course of a week.

The details become even more nuanced, based on a detailed memo issued by new state health Commissioner Mary Bassett on Friday.

A facility with 5 percent or fewer of its staffed beds available, based on a seven-day average, would need to defer non-essential surgeries not only in its hospital, but also ambulatory procedures.

But there are also facilities that may meet criteria under the new health department directive to suspend in-patient and out-patient procedures, even if they are not at the 5 percent threshold. Procedures at ambulatory surgery centers likely could continue.

The health department's determination is not limited to a hospital's bed capacity. Facilities within a region with severely limited bed capacity could also be regulated by the order.

The department also can restrict elective surgeries at hospitals in a region where staffed acute care beds are between 85 and 90 percent full, based on a seven day average, and the COVID-19 hospital admission rate for the region over the prior week is greater than four per 100,000 people.

The Capital Region would fall into the range for staffed beds, but is just short of the hospital admission rate, according to state data. On Nov. 26 and 27, the region would have fallen into both target rates, meaning all seven hospitals in the region could be guided to limit elective surgeries, regardless of their individual capacity.

Ellis Hospital in Schenectady is not at the 10 percent threshold, but it said through a spokesman that it has "proactively delayed some non-essential procedures in our operating rooms to free up staff to cover essential cases."

"Long before this pandemic, capacity has always been fluid, determined by available staff and patient volume on a given day," Ellis spokesman Philip Schwartz said in a statement Friday. "This is not new: We surge and flex every single day."

The hospital has experienced a 65 percent increase in hospitalized COVID-19 patients over the last three weeks, Schwartz said. He added that last month, more than two-thirds of admissions were unvaccinated individuals.

St. Peter's and Samaritan hospitals are also above the 10 percent threshold.

"With cases on the rise locally and regionally, we are flexing and scaling back to respond to the current surge," St. Peter's Health said in a statement.

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Elective surgeries in the balance as coronavirus resurges - Times Union

EL PASO, Texas -- There were 30 El Pasoans who died from Covid-19 over the past week, the El Paso Department of Public Health announced Monday afternoon, marking a tripling in the coronavirus fatality tally from the prior week when there were just nine.

Officials said 29 of the latest victims had underlying health conditions and there were eight breakthrough deaths; the youngest of the deceased were three victims in their 20s and the entire list of victims includes:

The total number of breakthrough deaths involving those who were vaccinated now totals 47 and the cumulative count of all Covid deaths during the pandemic in El Paso County numbers 2,902.

Meanwhile, 4,069 new virus cases were reported over the past week in El Paso County, with 1,443 of those being breakthrough infections. Officials didn't indicate any new cases involving the highly-contagious Delta variant; the total number of those cases remained at 20. There were also no cases reported as yet of the new Omicron variant.

Active infections in El Paso County are currently at 7,361.

Health officials advised that the number of El Pasoans believed to have recovered from Covid-19 throughout the pandemic was 153,520. However, doctors say some recovered persons may still experience lasting health impacts from virus infection.

Complete El Paso health department data on Covid-19 can be found online atEPstrong.org.

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El Paso's Covid-19 weekly death toll soars to 30, with 3 victims in their 20s - KVIA El Paso