Category Archives: Corona Virus

by: Caroline Bleakley, Nexstar Media Wire

A man swabs his nose at a COVID-19 testing on the Martin Luther King Jr. medical campus Monday, Jan. 3, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently revised its guidelines on coronavirus, raising questions about who should quarantine or isolate and for how long.

Last week, the CDC shortened its COVID-19 isolation and quarantine recommendations and clarified that the guidance applies to kids as well as adults.

Isolation restrictions for asymptomatic Americans who catch the coronavirus were cut from 10 to five days and similarly shortened the time that close contacts need to quarantine.

There is a difference between quarantine and isolation. You should quarantine if you come into contact with someone who has coronavirus and you think you have it. You should isolate if you confirm you have coronavirus even if you dont have symptoms.

If you come into close contact with someone with COVID-19, you should quarantine if:

If you come into close contact with someone with COVID-19, you do not need to quarantine if:

The CDC suggests a person quarantine for five days following their last contact with an infected person. Your day of exposure is day 0. Stay home and away from other people. If you are around people at home, wear a well-fitting mask. You should watch for a fever, shortness of breath, or other COVID-19 symptoms. If symptoms develop, get tested immediately and isolate until you receive the results.

If you test positive, the CDC suggests you follow guidelines for isolation. If you do not develop symptoms after five days and you receive a negative test, you can leave your home, but you should continue to wear a mask until it has been 10 days since the exposure.

People in isolation should stay home in a specified sick room to be separated from others and wear a well-fitting mask if they must be around others in the home. You should isolate a full five days. Day 0 is the first day of symptoms or the date of the positive test for a person with no symptoms. You can end isolation after a full five days if you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of medication and other symptoms have improved. However, you should wear a mask for an additional five days while in public.

You can find more detailed information on the CDC website.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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COVID-19: When to quarantine or isolate? Whats the difference? - fox4kc.com

There appears to be yet another layer to America's coronavirus testing chaos: People may not test positive on rapid nasal tests until after they're infectious, which would make the tests an unreliable measure of whether it's safe to gather.

The big picture: Rapid tests have been hailed as a way to weather the Omicron surge without mass disruption to everyday life. But they've been in short supply for weeks, and now new research along with loads of anecdotal evidence suggests there may be significant limitations to their usefulness with this variant.

Driving the news: A small preprint study released Wednesday found that, among a case study of 30 people who took nasal rapid antigen tests and saliva PCR tests at the same time, four of them transmitted the virus following a false negative rapid antigen test.

State of play: The study builds on emerging evidence that saliva swabs may be better for detecting Omicron than nasal swabs.

Our thought bubble: Almost everyone I talk to professionally or personally knows someone who tested negative on a rapid antigen test but positive on a PCR test (the gold standard), or who tested negative on rapid tests while symptomatic for days before getting a positive test, or who attended a gathering where someone had a negative rapid test ahead of time but went on to infect others with COVID.

What they're saying: "We have seen far too many people who are clinically ill who are in their third and fourth day of negative antigen tests but test positive by PCR," said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.

The bottom line: If you can get ahold of a rapid test, and you test negative on it, that may still not mean it's safe to visit your elderly grandparents or that you can go to work without worrying about spreading the virus.

Read more:

Rapid nasal COVID tests feared to be returning false negatives - Axios

The latest:

Canada's chief public health officer is urging those who haveyet to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to take that step as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus continues to strain health-care systems across the country.

"Currently, we still need millions more Canadians to increase their protection with #COVID19 vaccines, including almost 7 million eligible people who need a 1st or 2nd dose," Dr. Theresa Tam tweeted on Saturday.

Tam also urged those who havehad both shots to book a booster dose if they're eligible, citing "accumulating evidence" that a third shot provides protection against severe illness from Omicron.

"This may feel like a double marathon we didn't sign up for, but we can draw strength knowing the ground we've covered so far to stay on track and work together to get where we need to go," Tam said.

Her comments come as provinces struggle with Omicron-driven surges.

In Ontario, the number of people hospitalized continued its upward trend, reaching a new pandemic high of 2,594on Saturday.

Health officials reported13,362new lab-confirmedcases, although the actual dailycount is likely much higher given that the province hasreduced access to PCR testingfor most people.

The province also reported31 additional deaths related to COVID-19 on Saturday.

A total of 385 people were undergoing treatment for the illnessin intensivecare units, up by 47 from the previous day.

New Brunswick also saw a record forhospitalizations, with that figure reaching 80 on Saturday, up 11 from the day before.

InQuebec,thenumber ofCOVID-19-related hospitalizations rose by 163 for a total of2,296 on Saturday. Health officials reported 245 patients in intensive care, an increase of 16 from Friday.

The province also reported44 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus on Saturday, the highest daily death toll in nearly a year.

With lab-based testing capacity deeply strained and increasingly restricted,experts say true case counts are likely far higher than reported. Hospitalization data at the regional level is also evolving, with several provinces saying they will reportfiguresthat separatethe number of people in hospital because of COVID-19 from those in hospital for another medical issue who alsotest positive for COVID-19.

For more information on what is happening in your community including details on outbreaks, testing capacity and local restrictions click through to the regional coverage below.

You can also read more from thePublic Health Agency of Canada, whichprovides a detailed look at every regionincludingseven-day averagetest positivity ratesin itsdaily epidemiological updates.

In British Columbia,officials announcedchildren will return to in-class learning on Monday, despite a surge in transmission caused by Omicron.Education Minister Jennifer Whitesidesaid there will be enhanced safety measures in place and schools will have access to three-layered masks, despite calls from the B.C. Teachers Federation to distribute N95s instead.

In the Prairies, the Saskatchewan government is decliningto limit gatherings despite a warning from the chief medical health officer; more than 900 health-care workers in Manitoba tested positive over the holidays, according to the provincial health organization; andprojections from Alberta Health Services'early warning system suggestthe current wavecould,within a couple of weeks, sendmore people to hospital than at any point in the pandemic.

In the Atlantic provinces, visitor restrictions have been expanded to in-patients and long-term care residents at several hospitals in Nova Scotia's northern zone, as the province continues to report high daily COVID-19 case counts. The new restrictions in N.S. comeas Prince Edward Island announcedanoutbreak at acare facility inMiscouchethat has so far affected three staff and eight residents.Meanwhile,labour groups inNewfoundland and Labrador are demanding 10 days of mandatory paid sick leave for workersas thousands across the province are sick with COVID-19 or self-isolating.

In the North,there's a mixture of relief, resignation and disappointment from students, parents and teachersas schools across theNorthwest Territoriesreturn to online learning this week.

As of Saturday,more than 303.5million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University's coronavirus tracking tool. The reported global death toll stood at more than 5.4 million.

In Europe,U.K. government advisers have recommended against giving a fourth dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to nursing home residents and people over 80 because data shows that a third shot offers lasting protection against admission to the hospital.

In the Americas, Mexico set a new record for daily caseson Saturday with 30,671, according to official data. Mexico has confirmed more than 4.1 million cases since the start of the pandemic and has the world's fifth highest confirmed death toll at more than 300,000.

In theAsia-Pacific region, the United States has agreed toimpose stricter COVID-19 measures at its military bases inJapan, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Sunday, amid concerns that outbreaks at bases have fuelled infection inlocal communities. Japan reintroduced coronavirus restrictions in three regionsthat host U.S. military bases, the first such emergency controls since September.

In Africa,the African Cup of Nations the continent's top soccer tournament will finally open in Cameroon on Sunday after a three-year delay, with only fully vaccinated fans and those with proof of a negative test allowed to attend.

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Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Jan. 8 - CBC News

On Thursday, the Journal of the American Medical Association(JAMA)published three opinion articles by six former advisers to the Biden administration. They were part of the transition team about a year ago when President Biden took office and include people likeLuciana Borio, a former acting chief scientist at the Food and Drug Administration and oncologist, and former adviser in the Obama administrationEzekiel Emanuel, who is a medical ethicist andprofessorat theUniversity of Pennsylvania.

Each opinion article addresses a different aspect of a national strategy:a new normal life with COVID-19, testing and mitigation, andvaccines and therapeutics.In the first piece outlining a new normal, the authors write, In delineating a national strategy, humility is essential. The precise duration of immunity to SARS-CoV-2 from vaccination or prior infection is unknown.

They continue, It is imperative for public health, economic, and social functioning that US leaders establish and communicate specific goals for COVID-19 management, benchmarks for the imposition or relaxation of public health restrictions, investments and reforms needed to prepare for future SARS-CoV-2 variants and other novel viruses, and clear strategies to accomplish all of this.

The experts write that the goal for a new normal is not eradication of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, or what other countries are calling "zero COVID." They call for the recognition that this coronavirus is one of many types of viruses that circulate regularly in our population, saying we should focus instead on the aggregate risk of all respiratory virus infections.

Our country is in a historic fight against the coronavirus. Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.

In theJAMApiece about testing, surveillance and mitigation strategies,the experts call for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to "collect and disseminate accurate real-time, population-based incidence data on COVID-19 and all viral respiratory illnesses.They say the U.S. needs a comprehensive testing and reporting system and needs to be linked to sociodemographic, vaccination, and clinical outcomes data.The authors also point out the need forlow-costtesting, such as rapid at-home antigen tests. The Biden administration does have plans to distribute 500millionof these, but experts question whether it will be enough and whether the process for getting the tests will be clear and equitable.

Regarding surveillance, the experts highlight the need for environmental surveillance with wastewater and air sampling. They also call for more genomic surveillance tomonitor fornew variants. The US needs to establish a real-time, opt-out digital surveillance system to monitor all vaccinated individuals for the frequency and severity of adverse effects, postvaccination infections, and waning immunity, write the authors. Two years into the pandemic, the US is still heavily reliant on data from Israel and the UK for assessing the effectiveness and durability of COVID-19 vaccines and rate of vaccine breakthrough infections.

The former advisers think that updated vaccines will eventually be necessary, but they also say that the government will need to do more for the developmentand efficient deployment of them. Achieving 90% population vaccination coverage will require mandates write the authors. Few countries have ever achieved such levels of coverage of any vaccine without vaccination requirements.

TheseJAMAopinion articles were shown to White House officials before they were published, and the authors say that they wrote them partly because discussions with them had not led anywhere, according to The New York Times.Borio says, according to the Times,From amacroperspective, it feels like we are always fighting yesterdays crisis and not necessarily thinking what needs to be done today to prepare us for what comes next.

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Health experts want to focus on 'new normal' with the coronavirus | TheHill - The Hill

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy provided Albany Countys latest update Sunday on county-wide progress pertaining to vaccinations and controlling the spread of the Coronavirus. As of yesterday, 79.4% of all Albany County residents have received at least the first dose of the vaccine, and 72% have been fully vaccinated.

County Executive McCoy announced that the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Albany County is now at 48,226 to date, with 1,448 new positive cases identified since yesterday. The countys seven-day average of new daily positive cases is now up to just over 868. Albany Countys most recent seven-day average of cases per 100,000 is up to nearly 212 and the Capital Regions average of cases per 100,000 is now up to approximately 220.

There are now 6,644 active cases in Albany County, up from 5,771 yesterday. The number of individuals under quarantine increased to 7,192 from 6,386. So far, 41,582 of those who tested positive have now recovered, an increase of 555 additional recoveries.

County Executive McCoy reported that there were 19 new hospitalizations since yesterday, and there are now 116 county residents currently hospitalized with the Coronavirus. Fourteenof those hospital patients are in ICUs, up from 13 yesterday. There are no new COVID deaths to report and the death toll for Albany County stands at 476 since the outbreak began.

We knew we would see increased positive cases after holiday gatherings and that is what is happening now with another record high today of over 1,400 new cases, said County Executive McCoy. I hope that people have listened to what we have said about getting vaccinated and getting tested if they show signs or symptoms of the virus. There are many places to get a vaccination and local mass testing sites at Crossgates Mall and SUNY Albany to be tested. Please do the right thing to stop the spread and protect yourself, your loved ones and our community.

County Executive McCoy continues to encourage Albany County residents to report the results of positive at-home COVID tests on the county website, using its online at-home test reporting form.

Residents can receive free Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines (including booster shots) Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. 3 p.m., each week at the Albany County Department of Health, 175 Green Street. Aside from Wednesdays, appointments are now required, which can be madeon the Albany County Department of Healths website. Anyone eligible to receive a COVID vaccine booster dose and would like to receive one from the Albany County Department of Health will be required to provide their vaccination card or the Excelsior Pass Plus in order to view the formula type, lot number and date of the inoculation.

Residents who want a shot from a state-run facility should use thestates website at the link hereor call the state vaccine hotline at 1-833-697-4829. For general information on the vaccine, residents can also dial the United Way of the Greater Capital Regions 2-1-1 hotline or the Albany County Department of Health at (518) 447-4580.

COVID-19 testing sites are still in operation across the Capital Region and New York State as a whole. Help finding a testing site near you can be found on New York States website, and in Albany County on their interactive online map.

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Another record-high daily COVID-19 case increase reported in Albany County, January 9 - NEWS10 ABC

(THE CONVERSATION) The omicron variant quickly took over the global coronavirus landscape after it was first reported in South Africa inlate November 2021. The U.S. became the24th country to reporta case of omicron infection whenhealth officials announcedon Dec. 1, 2021, that the new strain had been identified in a patient in California.

How do scientists know what versions of the coronavirus are present? How quickly can they see which viral variants are making inroads in a population?

Alexander SundermannandLee Harrisonare epidemiologists who studynovel approachesforoutbreak detection. Here they explain how the genomic surveillance system works in the U.S. and why its important to know which virus variants are circulating.

What is genomic surveillance?

Genomic surveillance provides an early warning system for SARS-CoV-2. The same way a smoke alarm helps firefighters know where a fire is breaking out, genomic surveillance helps public health officials see which coronavirus variants are popping up where.

Labs sequence the genome in coronavirus samples taken from patients COVID-19 tests. These are diagnostic PCR tests thathave come back positive for SARS-CoV-2. Then scientists are able to tell from the viruss genome which coronavirus variant infected the patient.

By sequencing enough coronavirus genomes, scientists are able to build up a representative picture of which variants are circulating in the population overall. Some variants have genetic mutations that have implications for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. So genomic surveillance can inform decisions about the right countermeasures helping to control and put out the fire before it spreads.

For example, theomicron variant has mutations that diminishhow well existing COVID-19 vaccines work. In response, officialsrecommended booster shotsto enhance protection. Similarly, mutations in omicron reduce the effectiveness of some monoclonal antibodies, which are used both to prevent and treat COVID-19 in high-risk patients. Knowing which variants are circulating is therefore crucial for determining which monoclonal antibodies are likely to be effective.

How does genomic surveillance work in the US?

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention leads a consortium called the National SARS-CoV-2 Strain Surveillance (NS3) system. It gathers around 750 SARS-CoV-2-positive samples per week from state public health labs across the U.S. Independent of CDC efforts, commercial, university, and health department laboratories sequence additional specimens.

Each type of lab has its own strengths in genomic surveillance. Commercial laboratories can sequence a high number of tests, rapidly. Academic partners can provide research expertise. And public health laboratories can supply insight into local transmission dynamics and outbreaks.

Regardless of the source, the sequence data is generally made publicly available and therefore contributes to genomic surveillance.

What data gets tracked?

When a lab sequences a SARS-CoV-2 genome, it uploads the results to a public database that includes when and where the coronavirus specimen was collected.

The open-access Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID) is an example of one of these databases. Scientists launchedGISAIDin 2008 to provide a quick and easy way to see what influenza strains were circulating across the globe. Since then, GISAID has grown and pivoted to now provide access to SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences.

The database compares a samples genetic information to all the other samples collected and shows how that particular strain has evolved.To date, over 6.7 million SARS-CoV-2 sequences from 241 countries and territories have been uploaded to GISAID.

Taken together, this patchwork of genomic surveillance data provides a picture of the current variants spreading in the U.S. For example, on Dec. 4, 2021, the CDC projected that omicron accounted for 0.6% of the COVID-19 cases in the U.S. Theestimated proportionrose to 95% by Jan. 1, 2022. Surveillance gave a stark warning of how quickly this variant was becoming predominant, allowing researchers to study which countermeasures would work best.

Its important to note, however, that genomic surveillance data is often dated. The time between a patient taking a COVID-19 test and the viral genome sequence getting uploaded to GISAID can be many days or even weeks. Because of the multiple steps in the process, themedian time from collection to GISAIDin the U.S. ranges from seven days (Kansas) to 27 days (Alaska). The CDC uses statistical methods to estimate variant proportions for the most recent past until the official data has come in.

How many COVID-19 samples get sequenced?

Earlier in 2021, the CDC and other public health laboratories were sequencing about 10,000 COVID-19 specimens per week total. Considering thathundreds of thousands of caseshave been diagnosed weekly during most of the pandemic, epidemiologists considered that number to betoo small a proportionto provide a complete picture of circulating strains. More recently, the CDC and public health labs have been sequencing closer to around60,000 cases per week.

Despite this improvement, there is still a wide gap in the percentages of COVID-19 cases sequenced from state to state, ranging from a low of 0.19% in Oklahoma to a high of 10.0% in North Dakotawithin the past 30 days.

Moreover, the U.S. overall sequences a much smaller percentage of COVID-19 cases compared to some other countries: 2.3% in the U.S. compared to the 7.0% in the U.K., 14.8% in New Zealand, and 17% in Israel.

Which COVID-19 tests get sequenced?

Imagine if researchers collected COVID-19 tests from only one neighborhood in an entire state. The surveillance data would be biased toward the variant circulating in that neighborhood since people are likely transmitting the same strain locally. The system might not even register another variant that is gaining steam in a different city.

Thats why scientists aim to gather a diverse sample from across a region. Random geographically and demographically representative sampling gives researchers a good sense of the big picture in terms of which variants are predominant or diminishing.

Why dont patients in the US get variant results?

There are a few reasons patients are generally not informed about the results if their specimen gets sequenced.

First, the time lag from specimen collection to sequence results is often too long to make the information clinically useful. Many patients will have progressed far into their illness by the time their variant is identified.

Second, the information is often not relevant for patient care. Treatment options are largely the same regardless of what variant has caused a COVID-19 infection. In some cases, a doctor might select the most appropriate monoclonal antibodies for treatment based on which variant a patient has, but this information can often be gleaned fromfaster laboratory methods.

As we begin 2022, it is more important than ever to have a robust genomic surveillance program that can capture whatever thenext new coronavirus variantis. A system that provides a representative picture of current variants and fast turnaround is ideal. Proper investment ingenomic surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogensand data infrastructure will aid the U.S. in fighting future waves of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

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From delta to omicron, heres how scientists know which coronavirus variants are circulating in the US - KRQE News 13

The UK has recorded 141,472 new COVID-19 cases and a further 97 deaths in the latest 24-hour period.

The latest government figures compare to 146,390 infections and 313 fatalities recorded on Saturday, which took the UK's total COVID-related death toll to more than 150,000.

This time last week, 151,663 cases were reported along with 73 deaths.

Follow the latest COVID updates from the UK and around the world

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 150,154 people have died within 28 days of testing positive for the virus.

A total of 47,677,951 people have now been double jabbed after 45,468 received their second dose - which is 82.9% of the population aged 12 and over.

Another 225,541 people were given a booster or third dose, bringing the total to 35,499,486 - 61.7% of eligible people in the country.

Cabinet minister in favour of cutting self-isolation period

Meanwhile, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi has told Sky News he is in favour of reducing the COVID-19 self-isolation period from seven days to just five.

At the moment, people in England who test positive can come out of isolation if they receive a negative lateral flow test on days six and seven - with the tests taken 24 hours apart.

If they still test positive, they have to continue to isolate for 10 days.

Mr Zahawi said the possible reduction is being looked at by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and stressed the government would have to be "careful" about making the change.

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"It would certainly help mitigate some of the pressures on schools, on critical workforce and others," Mr Zahawi told Trevor Phillips on Sunday.

"But I would absolutely be driven by advice from the experts, the scientists, on whether we should move to five days from seven days.

"What you don't want is to create the wrong outcome by higher levels of infection."

No plans to scale back free lateral flow tests

It comes following a report in The Sunday Times that the government is looking to scale back free lateral flow tests to high-risk settings - something Mr Zahawi said is "absolutely not" where ministers are at.

He confirmed that there were no plans to stop handing out tests free of charge, adding he did "not recognise" the story that they could be limited to care homes, hospitals, schools and people with symptoms.

Following the newspaper's report, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warned the UK government about scaling back tests, saying it would be "utterly wrongheaded".

"Hard to imagine much that would be less helpful to trying to 'live with' COVID," she tweeted.

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COVID-19: UK records 141,472 new cases and further 97 coronavirus-related deaths - Sky News

Cases are soaring, hospitals are filled, people are lining up at testing sites, and yet, after nearly two years of living with COVID-19, the pandemic has fundamentally changed.

And how we track and measure the pandemic is shifting, too.Its as if we have to set aside everything weve learned since March 2020 and learn a new way of thinking about the pandemic.

How we interpret the current numbers number of cases, hospitalizations, positivity rates has to change as the epidemic itself evolves, said Joshua Michaud, associate director of global health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, a national health policy think tank.

Unlike earlier versions of the virus, the omicron variant is changing the nature of the pandemic. Omicron now causing an estimated 95 percent of all COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is much different than delta and previous variants, in its genetic structure and its behavior.

Some of its mutations make it far more contagious, fueling fears of even more hospital patients and worsened staffing shortages. But it also appears less severe, with research indicating it is more likely to stay in the upper respiratory tract and not migrate to the lungs, where it can cause more respiratory distress and the potential for long-term lung scarring.

Things are worse, but also better.

Everything is really different than it was just a few weeks ago, said Dr. Dora Anne Mills, chief health improvement officer at MaineHealth.

The ways we have measured the virus daily case counts, 7-day averages and positive tests are less useful now. Even the number of hospitalized patients the new gold standard of tracking data must change to keep up with omicron, according to some experts.

And some health experts are calling for an entirely new approach to omicron.

A NEW APPROACH

A team of Biden health care advisers published a series of health policy articles Thursday in the Journal of the American Medical Association arguing that public health policy should adjust to a new normal in the pandemic.

The new normal requires recognizing that (COVID-19) is but one of several circulating respiratory viruses that include influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and more. COVID-19 must now be considered among the risks posed by all respiratory viral illnesses combined, according to the report.

But with omicron being so much more contagious, the health system is dealing with a lot more disease all at once, again threatening hospital systems that are struggling to preserve enough capacity to care for COVID-19 patients.

Omicron is so extremely contagious it is like having a field thats completely on fire, Mills said. With delta, theres a lot of fires here and there but you could walk through the fields and not get burnt. Now the whole field is on fire.

FUTURE IS MURKY

COVID-19 has been unpredictable from the start. Now omicron is making it even more difficult to see the future.

According to some predictions by public health experts, omicron will peak in mid- to late-January or early February and then quickly subside, similar to what happened or is happening in South Africa, the U.K. and Denmark.

But there are still many unknowns because of differences in vaccination levels and demographics between Maine, the rest of the United States and other countries.

With about 75 percent of its population vaccinated, Maine has one of the highest rates of immunization in the U.S., and those who are vaccinated are about nine times less likely to be hospitalized if they fall ill with COVID-19, according to U.S. CDC research. But Maine also has uneven vaccination rates, with some areas like Cumberland County and other coastal counties nearing or topping 80 percent vaccinated, while more rural and interior areas have vaccination rates 20 percentage points lower.

The crystal ball over the next few weeks is very murky, Mills said.

Officially, 8.75 percent of samples from positive tests in Maine were found to be from omicron in late December, but public health officials believe the percentage is much higher now. With omicron causing exponential growth, public health officials expect it will soon be the dominant strain in Maine, if it is not already.

BEYOND CASE COUNTS

Case counts, long a staple of measuring the pandemic, are becoming less relevant.

The number of cases is important to know, but its not anymore a good reflection of what is happening in the pandemic. This is especially true of omicron, Michaud said.

It was always true that some cases went uncounted, whether because an infected person never had symptoms or because they recovered at home and never got tested. But with the proliferation of at-home testing, the official daily count is even less reflective of the actual number of cases. With home-tests combining with a milder version of the disease that can mimic the common cold in some cases, omicron is likely resulting in a growing undercount of daily cases.

Also, because there are so many confirmed infections, the Maine CDC has had a persistent backlog of cases some are several days to a week old before they are reported in the daily case count. That wasnt happening when there were 100 cases a day, but with more than 10 times that amount needing to be verified, its backing up the agency workers who release the daily count.

Dr. Nirav Shah, Maine CDC director, said the importance of the daily announcement of new cases has waned as even experts seek a better understanding of whats happening.

Were just searching for metrics that better and more granularly tell us whats really going on on a day-to-day basis, Shah said during Wednesdays media briefing. Whats a signal, and whats noise?

POSITIVE TESTS LOSE RELEVANCE

Positivity rates, another metric often used to measure how much virus was circulating, are also less telling.

The positivity rate measures the percent of tests that come back positive. Earlier in the pandemic, experts considered it a key indicator for when to tighten or loosen health safety guidelines and recommendations. Now, however, the wider availability of at-home tests is skewing the metric. Those are not included in positivity rates.

The testing shortage is also affecting positivity rates, Michaud said. With a shortage of testing appointments causing longer wait times, fewer asymptomatic people who think they may have been exposed to COVID-19 are likely to bother seeking a test. Gov. Janet Mills administration said Friday it is attempting to address the test shortage by purchasing 250,000 rapid tests from Abbott Labs to distribute to pharmacies and other places.

It is harder to draw conclusions based on the positivity rate compared to previously in the pandemic, Michaud said.

Shah said the Maine CDC now looks at positivity rates from one or two incubation periods ago 14 to 28 days but does not compare the rates to several months ago or a year ago, because so much has changed.

Maines positivity rate is 18.05 percent, about double what it was two weeks ago and higher than at any point during the pandemic. But because many people are not getting tested or are testing but not being counted, those comparisons no longer mean what they once did.

HOSPITALIZATIONS WATCHED CLOSELY

Shah said last week that hospitalizations are now a better metric to focus on.

We focus on the metrics that really tell us whats going on, Shah said. Our team really focuses on things like hospitalizations, intensive care unit utilization and ventilator utilization.

Hospitalizations reached a new peak Saturday, with 399 patients throughout Maine. But the number of intensive care patients has flattened this week, and stood at 106 on Saturday.

That decoupling of hospitalizations with ICU patients has been seen in the U.K., Denmark and so far in some hospitals in the U.S. where communities have been hit with earlier omicron waves, such as New York City. Hospitalizations increase with omicron, but with the average patient getting less sick, the number of people admitted to ICUs and on ventilators remains flat, according to some research and on-the-ground experience at hospitals.

But that may not be the case in Maine this winter, Dr. Mills warns. Thats because Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont were in the midst of delta variant surges, which had subsided in other states before omicron started taking over. The potential of a longer overlap with both delta and omicron patients in the hospital could be dangerous for the state.

Were going to be seeing more disease in our hospitals, Mills said. The next four weeks were just going to have to take everything hour by hour and day by day.

HOSPITALIZED WITH VERSUS FOR COVID

Some experts are even calling for a new way of counting hospitalizations because of omicron.

As hospitals fill with patients, hospital officials in other states are noticing a difference compared to the delta and other previous surges. With omicron, more patients in the hospital for other reasons such as a broken ankle or cancer treatment are then testing positive for COVID-19. That happened far less often with the delta variant.

The U.K. and New York state now have separate categories for these patients, one for those admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 and another for those hospitalized with COVID-19 because they tested positive after being admitted for another reason.

Some U.S. hospitals experiencing an omicron surge including in New York, California and Washington state are reporting 50 to 75 percent of their COVID-19 patients were hospitalized for another reason.

Michaud, the Kaiser Family Foundation health expert, said that as omicron sweeps through the nation, he could see more states separating COVID-19 patients into the different categories rather than lumping them all together.

I do think its an important distinction, especially with omicron, Michaud said.

New York state Friday released statistics showing that 57 percent of COVID-19 patients statewide were admitted to hospitals for COVID-19, while for the remaining 43 percent COVID-19 was not included as one of the reasons for admission.

Maine officials say they see drawbacks to separating the counts, however.

Shah said given the pressures from the surge, hes not sure that devoting limited resources to categorize patients with and for COVID-19 is necessary. All patients with COVID-19 in a hospital use up more resources than patients without the disease because of the safety protocols and personal protective equipment requirements for health care workers. And some medically vulnerable patients, such as cancer patients, could end up very ill with COVID-19, even if that wasnt the original reason they were admitted.

From a health system utilization perspective, the difference between with and for doesnt matter when our hospitals are under such great strain, Shah said. On some level, this is a distinction without a difference.

In England, about 70 percent of hospitalized COVID-19 patients are being treated primarily for COVID-19, with the remaining 30 percent testing positive after being admitted for another reason, according to government statistics.

John Bell, a University of Oxford medicine professor, told the BBC in late December that hospitals are also seeing an entirely different kind of COVID-19 patient.

They dont need high-flow oxygen, average length of stay is apparently three days, he said. This is not the same disease as we were seeing a year ago.

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How omicron is changing what we know about COVID-19 - Press Herald

Parks and Recreation (PARCS): All City parks and dog parks are open to the public from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. City park drinking fountains are temporarily turned off in accordance with State and County guidelines.

All Splash Pads are open 7 days a week; from 10:00 am to 8:00 p.m. (Martin Ray Reilly, Inspiration, Mosqueda, Dickey, Figarden, Melody, Todd Beamer). City swimming pools are open from 12:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m., for community swim 7 days a week (Frank H Ball, Mary Ella Brown, Mosqueda, Einstein, Fink White, Pinedale, Quigley, and Romain). Fresno Unified School District pools at Roosevelt and Edison High schools are open on weekends from 12:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m., for community swim.

Community Recreation centers and skate/BMX parks are open from 3:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. Airways and Riverside Golf Courses are open to the public, as is the Disc Golf Course at Woodward Park. The Regional Sports Complex is open from 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m., Saturdays through Tuesdays, and from 8:00 a.m. 10:00 p.m., Wednesdays through Fridays for tournament play. (Park may stay open longer on weekends to accommodate scheduled tournaments.)

Senior congregate meals are temporarily suspended by order of the Fresno-Madera Agency on Aging. For information about senior meals, please click the Food Delivery tab.

Applications for Special Event permits have resumed. Reservations for park shelters, indoor facilities, or athletic fields have resumed. Please call (559) 621-2900 for Special events, park shelter, indoor facility, or athletic field reservations.

Camp Fresno and Camp Fresno Jr. are also open for private reservations. Please call (559) 621-2905 to make your reservation.

All parks are sanitized daily to ensure the health and well-being of park patrons. Park patrons are encouraged to limit family gatherings to household members while social distancing. Guidelines for social distancing, masking, etc., are posted at the park. For more information, please visit thePARCS websiteor call(559) 621-2900.

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City of Fresno | Corona Virus (COVID-19)

CHAMPAIGN The stretch before New Years is usually a productive one for Black Dog Smoke and Ale House in downtown Champaign. Family and friends reunite there after returning to town for the holiday season.

Thats what owner Mike Cochran was gearing up for until he received calls, day and night, from employees whod gotten sick from COVID-19 or other illnesses.

Black Dog offered less seating, but it surprisingly met demand. Cochran said business was down 25 to 35 percent from what he expected last week probably from customers getting sick and being careful, he said.

When it comes to the pandemic and its effects, our crystal ball broke a long time ago, and the new one has been on back-order due to shipping delays, Cochran joked.

A new year has brought new precautions. State Farm Center is requiring vaccine or test to enter. Drivers facilities are closed for two weeks. The Esquire Lounge bar, with heavy hearts closed at 4 p.m. on New Years Eve.

A year out from the advent of several effective vaccines 204 million Americans, around 62 percent, have gotten their shots. Roughly 30 percent of those vaccinated have received a booster, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Yet the emergence of the delta and omicron variants in fall and winter, both known for their transmissibility, have wreaked havoc this holiday season.

Hours-long testing lines have snaked across the country, while states and counties, including Champaign, are setting new case records 21 months and change into the pandemic. COVID-19 patients majority unvaccinated are absorbing health-care resources.

Our health-care staff are exhausted and really feeling the strain of the surge in our community right now with more people than ever in our hospitals, emergency rooms and ICUs, said Carle Chief Medical Officer Dr. Charles Dennis. This can have a critical impact on our ability to deliver timely, non-COVID-19-related care, especially in our more rural locations.

So the question is: where do we go from here? What could the third calendar year of dealing with this virus have in store?

We asked Dennis and local epidemiologists Rebecca Smith and Awais Vaid to lay out their best- and worst-case scenarios for COVID-19 in 2022.

First, the hopeful: Omicron could burn itself out and prove to be less pathogenic, Smith said, and we could see cases lull near the start of spring.

Perhaps the emergency-use authorization to vaccinate the youngest children will be approved earlier than expected, and the Biden administrations proposed rollout of rapid tests will go smoothly and help contain spread, she added.

We are probably experiencing the worst-case scenario with the current wave, the pandemic however will end, said Vaid of the C-U public health district.

Conversely, the omicron spike could continue to grow if we throw caution to the wind. Despite its seemingly milder nature and widespread vaccination, the sheer volume of new cases could continue to overwhelm healthcare providers across the country.

Vaccinations could stagnate, Smith said, and a delay in vaccine authorization for young children may persist, leading to more cases and spread in schools and daycares.

A poor testing rollout, with technical glitches and/or low uptake, could combine with the CDCs new shortened asymptomatic isolation policy to result in more people working while infected, eventually shutting down businesses more due to sickness than would have been solely due to the 10-day isolation, Smith said.

Regardless of how the current surge pans out the last few COVID-19 spikes have petered within four to eight weeks endemic COVID-19, where cases remain in certain areas at a stable rate, will stay with us for a very long time, Vaid said.

In the short-term, vaccinations and boosters, indoor masking, testing and staying home, improved ventilation and personal hygiene are still our primary defense system. No variant so far has changed that.

Without everyones commitment to taking the preventative measures we know it will continue to be a challenge to stop the spread, Dennis said. We dont want to let this virus continue freely mutating and continuing to infect people and impact our way of life.

These days, Pastor Matt Matthews of First Presbyterian Church preaches behind a pane of Plexiglas, to a masked audience in the pews and dozens more watching a live-stream of the service at home.

He opts for it for the congregation members who are hearing-impaired, and wouldnt be able to understand him otherwise.

I look like the President behind bulletproof glass, he said. But change is the name of the game.

For other churches, businesses, schools and more, looking ahead has often proved to be a futile exercise.

On the recommendation of the churchs own COVID-19 response team, led by a retired doctor, First Presbyterian has vowed not to have congregation-wide dinners until cases are far lower or until people of all ages have access to a vaccine.

We want to include all our children, for us thats an extension and a natural part of our baptismal vows we take, Matthews said. We raise them in the faith and support them. We would not be doing that if we had a congregation-wide dinner, and exposed them to COVID.

The Stephens Family YMCA has had to adapt its exercise programming constantly to keep up with pandemic-era adjustments. Its mask mandate was temporarily lifted for fully vaccinated individuals, until cases rose again and state guidance changed.

Could more health precautions be on the way?

Obviously there are things being discussed like requiring vaccination for entry, vaccinating staff or testing, reservations for classes and pool usage, said Stephens YMCA CEO Jeff Scott. We arent excited about any of these options, but we will do them if it is absolutely necessary to help keep the community safe.

Rising cases havent quelled local interest in their facility: In the last 2 months, nearly 500 families have signed up for YMCA memberships. More aquatic classes were offered once it became clear that pool environments posed less of a risk for spread, Scott said.

Still, sports communities especially school teams are playing on pins and needles. Monticellos high school basketball and wrestling teams have managed to evade COVID-19 pauses or cancellations, but after this weeks tournaments? Who knows.

If you think back, we thought 1,200 cases in the state was a lot, and everyone was getting shut down, said Monticello Athletic Director and Assistant Principal Dan Sheehan. Now theres 22,000 cases, and its like, OK were playing basketball.

I wake up every day thinking Oh, great, were going to get an announcement, theres going to be some new statewide rules. You dont know whats coming next, and thats whats kind of scary.

Espresso Royale General Manager Aaron Bradley would usually be on break right now, if it werent for staff members at a different location testing positive and going into quarantine.

As a business, its about straddling that line between taking it very seriously and adapting to our new reality, Bradley said. We cant put the toothpaste back in the tube, the name of the game now is learning how to live in this world where COVID is a thing.

What hes concerned about, outside of the university community he usually serves, is how COVID-19 will continue to distort our information economy, or expose its flaws.

We cant move on to higher level problems, if were still talking about what two plus two equals, Bradley said. The pandemic wouldve been fixed if we didnt have this problem.

The grief of these last few years is incalculable. The virus has claimed more than 5 million lives worldwide, including more than 820,000 in the U.S.

Vaid, too, has lost close family and acquaintances to the virus. But even he can find reasons for optimism.

Our scientific community is collaborating and innovating at scale never imagined or done before in history, he said. We are much better prepared and have many more tools to respond as compared to March of 2020.

To some, the pandemic exposed cracks in institutions that needed upheavals.

There were some parts of our educational systems that needed to be changed in certain ways and benefited from the sense of urgency that our pandemic caused, said Franklin STEAM Academy Principal Sara Sanders, days before her school reopens.

Beyond health measures, officials across the board preached kindness. The mental health toll of this pandemic has been pervasive.

While we dont have the power to change what has happened, we do have the power to be humane to one another while we work through the debris of this pandemic, Sanders said.

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Coronavirus response | Where could the virus take us in 2022? - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette