Category Archives: Corona Virus

Illinois health officials on Friday reported 30,319 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, along with 178 additional deaths and over 185,000 new vaccine doses administered as the state continues to see a surge fueled by the delta variant.

In all, 1,538,324 cases of coronavirus have been reported in the state since the pandemic began, according to the latest data from the Illinois Department of Public Health. The additional deaths reported this week bring the state to 24,067 confirmed COVID fatalities.

The state has administered 609,585 tests since last Friday, officials said, bringing the total to more than 29.1 million tests conducted during the pandemic.

The states seven-day positivity rate on all tests dropped to 5% from 5.7% last week, which was up from 6.1% the week before, officials said. The rolling average seven-day positivity rate for cases as a percentage of total tests rose to 5.4% from 5.2% the week before, which was down slightly from 5.3% two weeks prior.

Over the past seven days, a total of 185,014doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered to Illinois residents - up from around 168,000 the week before and 235,000 two weeks prior. The latest figures brought the states average up to 26,431 daily vaccination doses over the last week, per IDPH data.

More than 14 million vaccine doses have been administered in Illinois since vaccinations began in December. More than 61% of adult residents in the state are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with more than 78% receiving at least one dose.

As of midnight Thursday, 2,286 patients were hospitalized due to COVID in the state. Of those patients, 551 are in ICU beds, and 302 are on ventilators. All metrics are a reported increase since last Friday.

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Coronavirus in Illinois: 30,319 New COVID Cases, 178 Deaths, 185K Vaccinations in the Past Week - NBC Chicago

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With at least 13,790 COVID-19 patients, most of them unvaccinated, hospitalized in Texas on Thursday, the state marked a week hovering at just below the record set in January for hospitalizations during the pandemic, according to numbers released by the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The states previous pandemic peak of 14,218 hospitalized COVID-19 patients was reported Jan. 11 during the deadliest wave of infections the state had seen since the virus was first reported in Texas in March 2020.

During the current summer surge, the largest number of COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals has been 13,932 on Aug. 25. But with just a couple hundred fewer patients statewide than the record and a much more exhausted and depleted workforce than they had over the winter hospitals have been operating at or above capacity for weeks.

The surge has put unprecedented pressure on the states health care system as the delta variant spreads largely uncontrolled at a rate up to eight times faster than previous versions of the virus. Medical professionals say the situation could have been prevented with wider acceptance of the vaccine.

In recent weeks, the state has already seen a record number of hospitals reporting that they had run out of staffed ICU beds available for new patients. Particular pressure is being felt by large metropolitan systems that have put elective surgeries on hold and report having to turn away ambulances due to overflowing emergency and intensive care departments.

Much of the problem, hospital officials say, is a severe shortage of nurses and other staff to take care of patients after large numbers of health workers quit or retired due to COVID-related during the pandemic. Health care workers who remain are expensive and in high demand.

During the winter surge, state health and emergency management leaders sent tens of thousands of relief nurses from across the state and nation to relieve the pressure on overwhelmed hospitals.

After vaccinations were made widely available in the spring and hospitalizations dropped, the state-supported nurse program ended in May. But vaccinations began to slow around that time as well, when just about a quarter of Texans had gotten injections.

That opened the door for the delta variant to spread more quickly starting around June; hospitalizations started surging later that month.

Experts say the best way to flatten the curve is to ramp up social distancing, mask-wearing and hand-washing, proven methods for stopping COVID-19's spread, while the state works to get more of Texas 29 million residents vaccinated.

But Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has stood fast against any state or local mandates that proponents say would push Texas toward more vaccinations and slower community spread.

A strong opponent of lockdowns in the wake of widespread Republican criticism of his pandemic-era rules last summer, Abbott dropped statewide business capacity restrictions and mask mandates in March.

Through a series of executive orders and legislation, Abbott and Texas lawmakers also banned Texas businesses from requiring customers to show proof of vaccination, local governments and school districts from requiring masks and public sector employers from requiring their workers to be vaccinated.

Those bans remain in legal limbo as they move through the courts.

Last week, Abbott issued an executive order saying that his bans would remain in place even after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave Pfizer's vaccine full approval for people ages 16 and up on Monday. Abbott's previous orders had applied only to vaccines that had only emergency use authorization.

Meanwhile, most Texas school districts have started classes almost entirely in person, many with mask requirements in place in defiance of Abbotts stance against them, in an effort to stop the quickening spread of the delta variant among Texas children.

Just under 48% of Texans have been fully vaccinated, which experts say protects them from serious illness, hospitalization and death.

Those who arent vaccinated constitute upward of 90% of the hospitalized patients, officials report. Cities, counties, universities and private companies are offering incentives for vaccinations, and the state has reported a small upswing in the number of daily shots being given in recent weeks.

But while that number begins to climb from its low point late July, officials are seeking to solve the hospital staffing problem.

So far, the state has paid to hire more than 8,000 contract health care workers for Texas hospitals that are under the most pressure, many of which have already seen admission rates close to or higher than they were seeing in January when they had more staff to take care of those patients.

The state-funded relief nurses have been arriving at hospitals for the last few weeks. Meanwhile, some counties are considering using or have already agreed to tap federal stimulus money to add more workers to further handle the crush of patients.

More Texas doctors are also turning to monoclonal antibody therapies for COVID-19 patients who qualify, saying that the treatment gives them a better chance of staying out of the hospital and could lower statewide hospitalization rates until more people become vaccinated.

Mandi Cai contributed to this report.

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COVID-19 hospitalizations in Texas level off just below the pandemic's winter peak - The Texas Tribune

A hiring sign gets displayed in a store window in New York City in August. Last month saw a sharp slowdown in hiring from previous months as the pandemic wears on and creates uncertainty. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption

A hiring sign gets displayed in a store window in New York City in August. Last month saw a sharp slowdown in hiring from previous months as the pandemic wears on and creates uncertainty.

Hiring slowed sharply in August as a new surge in coronavirus infections slammed the brakes on the economic recovery.

U.S. employers added just 235,000 jobs last month, a sharp slowdown from the torrid pace of hiring in June and July.

"The labor market recovery has downshifted," said Nela Richardson, chief economist for the payroll processing company ADP. "The U.S. economy is facing increasing headwinds as the pandemic wears on and the delta variant creates uncertainty."

The unemployment rate fell to 5.2% in August from 5.4% in July.

Confirmed coronavirus infections have jumped nearly 20% in the last two weeks, while COVID-19 deaths have nearly doubled during that period. The worsening public health outlook threw a late-summer speed bump in the recovery, making people more cautious about traveling and eating out and reducing the need for workers.

Restaurants and bars cut 42,000 jobs in August after adding 253,000 in July.

Retailers cut 29,000 jobs last month.

Homebase, which makes scheduling software for small businesses, saw a notable decline in hours worked last month especially in the entertainment and hospitality industries.

"We are hearing anecdotally from our customers that absolutely it is a result of COVID," Homebase CEO John Waldmann said. "We are seeing similar trends in the data from what we saw last year and January of this year. It would be hard-pressed to say this is not COVID-related."

The slowdown in the Homebase data was particularly pronounced in the Southeast, where COVID-19 cases are especially high. New England, where case counts are lower, fared somewhat better.

The spike in new cases has also discouraged some people from returning to work. And it threatens to disrupt in-person schooling, which could make it harder for parents to hold down jobs.

"All of us who care about small businesses really wanted to be optimistic that a lot of the things keeping people from work were going to start to heal themselves into the fall," Waldmann said. "Unfortunately, it looks like we're going to be dealing with challenges here for a little bit longer."

The slowdown in hiring comes just as emergency unemployment benefits that Congress authorized earlier in the pandemic are about to expire. In mid-August, more than 12 million people were receiving some form of jobless aid. Most will receive their final payments next week.

Warehouses and delivery services added 53,000 jobs last month as the online retail business continues to expand.

Manufacturing is another bright spot in the economy, with new orders and output both accelerating in August. But factories continue to struggle to find enough parts and workers.

Factories added 37,000 jobs last month, up from 27,000 a month earlier.

"Companies want to hire more people," said Tim Fiore, who oversees a monthly survey of factory managers for the Institute for Supply Management. "There's no doubt that demand is calling for more people, and they can't get them."

Fiore said many factories are facing increased turnover as workers depart for higher wages elsewhere.

Wages have been rising, especially in restaurants and hotels. But prices have been climbing, too, eroding workers' buying power. Private sector wages in August were up 4.3% from a year ago. But they are not keeping pace with inflation, which was 5.4% in July matching the highest rate in nearly 13 years.

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U.S. Hiring Slows Sharply As Latest Coronavirus Surge Slams The Brakes On The Economy - NPR

MONTGOMERY Governor Kay Ivey on Friday reallocated $12.3 million of the Coronavirus Relief Fund to secure qualified, out-of-state, travel nurses to work in Alabama hospitals in a temporary capacity.

Im pleased to see more folks getting vaccinated, but we are still in the thick of COVID-19 and our hospitals are overwhelmed, Governor Ivey said. In consideration of the current surge of the virus and the strain on our dedicated healthcare professionals, I have directed the $12.3 million of CARES Act funding be reallocated to recruit more trained staff to our nursing corps. Until our vaccination rates rise and our COVID-19 hospitalization rates fall, we will need the extra support these nurses provide.

In consultation with the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH), State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris designated the nursing shortage Alabamas most urgent need. ADPH will work with the Alabama Hospital Association to develop a process to recruit these travel nurses.

ADPH would like to express its gratitude to Governor Ivey and State Finance Director Poole for providing this support to Alabama hospitals, which are seeing unprecedented numbers of patients infected with Covid-19 Dr. Harris said. This funding comes at a crucial time and will make a tremendous difference in increasing the nursing workforce in our state.

The $12.3 million reallocation is from CARES Act funds that were previously obligated but not reimbursed among the various approved expenditures.

The Alabama Legislative Leadership, House Speaker Mac McCutcheon and Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Reed, also support Alabama hospitals thru the reallocation of CARES Act funding.

The on-going coronavirus pandemic has presented struggles for many across the state, but perhaps no group has faced as many challenges or stood taller than the frontline medical workers in hospitals, clinics, and physicians offices across the state, Speaker Mac McCutcheon said. Our nurses are forced to set aside concerns and worries about their own health as they tend to the patients who are fighting a highly-contagious virus that has already taken so many from us.It seems altogether fitting that Alabama is devoting a portion of its CARES Act dollars to a group that has demonstrated it cares the most the nurses who provide aid to the sick and injured in the most remote rural communities and the largest urban centers alike.

The coronavirus pandemic has created an unprecedented need for quality nurses at hospitals across our state. Alabamas nurses, working on the front lines to save lives and care for those struggling with this virus, have been nothing short of heroic throughout this pandemic, Sen. Reed said. I have heard from leaders across our state especially from those in harder hit areas that this is a critical, much-needed resource. I am glad that these relief dollars will go towards alleviating some of the stress put on our hospital system and provide hospitalized Alabamians with the care they need.

Alabama received approximately $1.9 billion of federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) funding to respond to and mitigate COVID-19. Alabama Act 2020-199 designated:

$300 million to reimburse state agencies for expenses directly related to the coronavirus outbreak;

$250 million to reimburse counties and cities for coronavirus expenses;

$250 million to deliver health care and related services to residents;

$300 to support citizens, businesses, and non-profit and faith-based organizations impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

$53 million for remote work and public access expenses incurred by state government, including the Legislature.

$300 million for technology and infrastructure expenses related to remote learning;

$200 million for reimbursement of costs to the Department of Corrections incurred because of the outbreak;

$10 million to the reimbursement of costs to ensure access to courts during the pandemic;

$5 million to reimburse the State General Fund for supplemental appropriations to the Alabama Department of Public Health.

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Governor Ivey Announces Reallocation of $12.3 Million in CARES Act Funds for COVID-19 Nursing Shortage - Office of the Governor of Alabama - Governor...

The Oregon Health Authority reported 2,449 coronavirus cases and 27 deaths on Thursday, while also noting that 84% of the cases between Aug. 22 and Aug. 28 were unvaccinated people.

With 1,131 hospitalizations, the state saw its first drop in weeks with 47 fewer patients in hospitals a potential sign Oregon could be nearing the peak of whats been a brutal delta variant surge. The decline included 50 fewer patients in intensive care units statewide.

Also on Thursday, OHSU predicted the number of hospitalizations could peak at a record 1,208 as early as Monday, beginning to flatten and then decline in October or November. Yet other forecasters have pinned the peak later in September.

While thats good news, many Oregonians remain wary of more spread from the highly contagious delta variant over the holiday weekend and as schools begin to open for in-person classes across the state. On the Oregon Coast, where cases and deaths are surging, many residents voiced concern about how much more their small hospitals can take.

Where the cases are by county: Baker (19), Benton (18), Clackamas (180), Clatsop (27), Columbia (43), Coos (43), Crook (26), Curry (11), Deschutes (149), Douglas (146), Grant (9), Harney (13), Hood River (8), Jackson (202), Jefferson (22), Josephine (119), Klamath (38), Lane (175), Lincoln (51), Linn (131), Malheur (16), Marion (247), Morrow (14), Multnomah (248), Polk (28), Sherman (3), Tillamook (29), Umatilla (84), Union (22), Wallowa (3), Wasco (22), Washington (238) and Yamhill (65).

Who died: Oregons 3,222nd death linked to COVID-19 is a 95-year-old Clatsop County woman who tested positive Aug. 20 and died Aug. 22 at her residence.

The 3,223rd fatality is a 97-year-old Clatsop County woman who tested positive Aug. 10 and died Aug. 21 at her residence.

Oregons 3,224th death is a 95-year-old Clatsop County man who tested positive Aug.12 and died Aug. 22 at his residence.

The 3,225th fatality is a 44-year-old Clatsop County man who became positive Aug. 3 and died Aug. 11. State officials are confirming where he died.

Oregons 3,226th death is a 91-year-old Clatsop County woman who tested positive Aug. 4 and died Aug. 25 at her residence.

The 3,227th fatality is a 41-year-old Columbia County man who tested positive Aug. 12 and died Aug. 28 at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center.

Oregons 3,228th death is an 80-year-old Gilliam County man who tested positive Aug. 12 and died Aug. 24 at Good Shepherd Medical Center.

The 3,229th fatality is a 67-year-old Douglas County woman who tested positive Aug. 26 and died Sept. 1 at Mercy Medical Center.

Oregons 3,230th death is a 45-year-old Douglas County woman who tested positive Aug. 24 and died Sept. 1 at Mercy Medical Center.

The 3,231st fatality is an 83-year-old Jackson County woman who tested positive Aug. 29 and died Aug. 29 at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center.

Oregons 3,232nd death is a 101-year-old Jackson County woman who tested positive Aug. 11 and died Aug. 18 at her residence.

The 3,233rd fatality is a 69-year-old Jackson County man who tested positive Aug. 3 and died Aug. 31 at Providence Medford Medical Center.

Oregons 3,234th death is a 62-year-old Jackson County woman who tested positive July 30 and died Aug. 30 at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center.

The 3,235th fatality is a 75-year-old Lane County man who tested positive Aug. 19 and died Aug. 31 at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at Riverbend.

Oregons 3,236th death is an 82-year-old Josephine County man who tested positive Aug. 21 and died Aug. 31 at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center.

The 3,237th fatality is a 64-year-old Josephine County man who tested positive Aug. 5 and died Aug. 31 at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center.

Oregons 3,238th death is a 75-year-old Josephine County man who tested positive Aug. 16 and died Aug. 20 at his residence.

The 3,239th fatality is a 59-year-old Josephine County man who tested positive Aug. 12 and died Sept. 1 at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center.

Oregons 3,240th death is a 76-year-old Josephine County man who tested positive Aug. 12 and died Aug. 20 at his residence.

The 3,241st fatality is a 62-year-old Lane County man who tested positive Aug. 16 and died Sept. 1 at McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center.

Oregons 3,22nd death is a 64-year-old Lane County man who tested positive Aug. 15 and died Aug. 31 at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at Riverbend.

The 3,243rd fatality is a 75-year-old Lincoln County woman who tested positive Aug. 27 and died Aug. 30 at Samaritan Pacific Community Hospital.

Oregons 3,244th death is a 69-year-old Marion County man who tested positive Aug. 14 and died Aug. 31 at Salem Hospital.

The 3,245th fatality is a 76-year-old Multnomah County woman who tested positive Aug. 4 and died Sept. 1 at Legacy Mt. Hood Medical Center.

Oregons 3,246th death is a 26-year-old Multnomah County man who tested positive Aug. 20 and died Aug. 2 at Legacy Mt. Hood Medical Center.

The 3,247th fatality is a 76-year-old Multnomah County man who tested positive Aug. 4 and died Sept. 1 at Legacy Mt. Hood Medical Center.

Oregons 3,248th death is a 71-year-old Union County man who tested positive Aug. 21 and died Aug. 31 at Grande Ronde Hospital.

Each person had underlying health conditions or state officials were confirming the presence of underlying conditions.

Hospitalizations: 1,131 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 are hospitalized, down 47 from Wednesday. That includes 308 people in intensive care, 50 less than Wednesday.

Vaccines: Oregon reported 11,496 newly administered doses, which includes 5,113 given Tuesday and the remainder from previous days.

Since it began: Oregon has reported 281,513 confirmed or presumed infections and 3,248 deaths, among the lowest per capita numbers in the nation. To date, the state has reported 5,052,939 vaccine doses administered, fully vaccinating 2,411,810 people and partially vaccinating at least 2,641,129 people.

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

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Coronavirus in Oregon: 2449 cases, 27 deaths and a drop in hospitalized patients - OregonLive

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 219 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths stands at more than 4.54 million. More than 5.41 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.

Viet Nam could face a lengthy battle against COVID-19, its prime minister has warned. "The COVID-19 pandemic is evolving in a complicated and unpredictable manner and may last for a long time," Pham Minh Chinh said.

Thailand has said its COVID-19 vaccine regimen of a dose of Sinovac followed by AstraZeneca was safe and successfully boosted immunity among its first 1.5 million recipients.

Just over 10% of Venezuelans have been vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a doctors group.

The Philippines' Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 12 to 17.

Australia is set to receive 4 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in a swap deal with Britain. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it should speed up the country's reopening.

Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei has announced new transport and social restrictions in a bid to tackle surging COVID-19 cases and alleviate pressure on hospitals.

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

Image: Our World in Data

The United States plans to invest $3 billion in the vaccine supply chain, White House COVID adviser Jeffrey Zients told a news conference.

"The investments we are making, the $3 billion, are in US companies that will expand their capacity for critical supplies," Zients said.

The funding - which will start to be distributed in the coming weeks - will focus on manufacturers of the inputs used in vaccine production as well as facilities that fill and package vaccine vials, he added.

Areas of focus will include lipids, bioreactor bags, tubing, needles, syringes and personal protective equipment, Zients explained.

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:

South Korea has extended social distancing restrictions for several weeks to contain COVID-19 outbreaks across the country. It comes ahead of a thanksgiving holiday later this month.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said the toughest level 4 restrictions in greater Seoul and level 3 curbs in the rest of the country would run through to 3 October.

However, restaurants and cafes in the greater Seoul area would be allowed to close an hour later and families would be allowed to gather in groups of up to eight people in the week of the 21 September Chuseok holiday. At least four of the eight will need to be fully vaccinated.

"We fear a spike in outbreaks from increased movement around the Chuseok holiday," Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol told a briefing.

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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 3 September - World Economic Forum

Democratic Virginia gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe rolled out a new ad on Friday tying his Republican opponent, Glenn Youngkin, to former President TrumpDonald TrumpH.R. 4 carries forward the legacy of Congressman John Lewis Trump says he 'probably won't' get COVID-19 booster shot Retiring GOP senator urges party not to nominate Trump in 2024 MORE's stances on coronavirus restrictions.

The ad, titled "Seriously," was first seen by The Hill.

"Like Donald Trump, Glenn Youngkin refuses to take coronavirus seriously," the ad's narrator says, citing Youngkin's opposition to vaccine and mask mandates.

The spot is the latest effort from Democrats to tie Youngkin to Trump, who lost the state in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. The former president endorsed Youngkin shortly after he won the Republican convention earlier this year.

The ad comes as McAuliffe and his Democratic allies seek to make the debate over vaccine and mask mandates in Virginia a cornerstone part of their campaign messaging ahead of November's election.

While McAuliffe has called for vaccine and mask mandates, Youngkin has stopped short of calling for the measures but hastouted the importance of vaccinations.

Youngkin responded to McAuliffe in a tweet on Friday, highlightingan ad released last month titled Keep Virginia Open, urging voters to get vaccinated but adding that he respects individuals making their own decision on the matter.

"This is silly. I released a PSA weeks ago highlighting the fact that the COVID vaccine saves lives, I chose to get the COVID vaccine, and asking Virginians to join me in getting vaccinated," Youngkin tweeted. "Why hasnt Terry McAuliffe done that?"

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McAuliffe releases new ad tying Youngkin to Trump on coronavirus | TheHill - The Hill

Passengers queue up at Greece's Thessaloniki Makedonia Airport on Sept. 2. Recommendations about physical distancing prove hard to follow at airports and in the jetway leading to the plane. Konstantinos Tsakalidis/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

Passengers queue up at Greece's Thessaloniki Makedonia Airport on Sept. 2. Recommendations about physical distancing prove hard to follow at airports and in the jetway leading to the plane.

Each week, we answer frequently asked questions about life during the coronavirus crisis. If you have a question you'd like us to consider for a future post, email us at goatsandsoda@npr.org with the subject line: "Weekly Coronavirus Questions." See an archive of our FAQs here.

I waited until I was vaccinated and the CDC had OK'd non-essential travel to plan a trip but that was before the delta era. Now I have a flight scheduled in September, and cases are skyrocketing. What are the rules for flying this fall? Should I cancel?!

That depends.

The decision to travel rests on both your personal risk tolerance and on public health considerations, say medical and travel experts. If you have a flight booked for the next few weeks, now is the time to reevaluate. Ask yourself these questions, suggests Dr. Jill Weatherhead, an assistant professor of adult and pediatric infectious diseases at Baylor College of Medicine:

So when should you cancel a trip?

This is a particularly challenging moment of the pandemic to make decisions, our experts acknowledge, because there's just a lot we don't know about the coming months.

"We don't know what direction things will go; it's hard to predict right now," Weatherhead says. "Delta is a new variable, and some areas are not using the same mitigation strategies they used last year."

The governor of Hawaii has even asked all tourists to stay away until at least the end of October, while hospitals are at capacity.

"Given all that, my best advice is that everyone's travel threshold should be a bit higher right now," Wu says. "With this wave being so serious it is wise to scale back on activity that increases exposure risk."

Instead of canceling, however, consider postponing.

"It makes sense to wait if travel can be delayed," Wu says. "I would say delay until there's more certainty or maybe change it to a road trip" to a safer destination.

The good news is that most major airlines are still waiving change fees. One thing that hasn't changed, however? The telephone hold time. You could be waiting around 2 hours to talk to a human.

If you go:

If you do fly, the rules haven't changed for domestic flights: You're still required to mask up in airports, and you'll still reduce your risk by keeping a physical distance from others as much as possible and removing your mask as infrequently as possible. Although many people dropped some of the layering strategies after they got vaccinated, they still work and are particularly essential when you're in riskier-than-usual situations, Wu says such as the jet bridge between the airport and the airplane.

"I traveled this summer and I think the most dangerous part was the jet bridges, which still get backed up and crowded," he says. "There's not a lot you can do, but keep your mask on. The more you can avoid that crowd the better."

The snack cart presents another potentially risky situation, so take your snack to go (save it for your destination) or eat it quickly when others have their masks on, Wu and Weatherhead suggest.

Logistically, travelling domestically remains fairly straightforward: There are no temperature checks or verification systems to check your vaccination or COVID-19 testing records. (Once you get to your destination, however, your vaccination card may be required to eat at restaurants or go to concerts.)

If you're travelling overseas, things are now a little more complex: The European Union took the U.S. off its "safe list" this week, meaning individual countries may impose quarantine and testing restrictions in order to visit. Be sure to check the requirements of the country you're travelling to as well as the CDC's list of countries not to travel to.

While the CDC doesn't officially recommend testing after you're back home] if you're vaccinated, "if you have risk factors or around folks who may be frail or unvaccinated, I don't think it's a bad thing to be extra careful and get tested," Wu says.

What if you're not vaccinated?

Like most activities involving other people, travelling while unvaccinated is a lot riskier. In fact, this week the CDC asked all unvaccinated people to avoid travel over the Labor Day holiday.

"If you're going to travel anyway and not be vaccinated, then really do your best and follow protocols [masking and physical distancing] for your own safety and those around you," Wu says. And, he says, quarantine or get tested after your trip!

A simpler solution? Weatherhead and Wu say if you're eligible, get vaccinated.

Sheila Mulrooney Eldred is a freelance health journalist in Minneapolis. She's written about COVID-19 for many publications, including Medscape, Kaiser Health News, Science News for Students and The Washington Post. More at sheilaeldred.pressfolios.com. On Twitter: @milepostmedia.

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Travel In The Delta Variant Era: What You Should Know To Stay Safe : Goats and Soda - NPR

Nurses work at a COVID-19 testing day for students and school faculty at Brandeis Elementary School on in Louisville, Ky. Jon Cherry/Getty Images hide caption

Nurses work at a COVID-19 testing day for students and school faculty at Brandeis Elementary School on in Louisville, Ky.

Not long ago, Denver Public Schools nurse Rebecca Sposato was packing up her office at the end of a difficult school year. She remembers looking around at all her cleaning supplies and extra masks and thinking, "What am I going to do with all this stuff?"

It was May, when vaccine appointments were opening up for the majority of adults and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were loosening mask guidance.

"I honestly thought we were trending down in our COVID numbers, trending up in our vaccine numbers," she says. "And I thought the worst was over."

Now, four months later, the pandemic is already upending the new school year across the country, as the highly transmissible delta variant continues to cause a spike in cases. In Arizona, coronavirus outbreaks are forcing thousands of children and teachers to quarantine. In Georgia, many districts that began classes in-person without mask mandates switched back to remote learning after the virus spread. And in Oregon, some districts delayed the start of the school year after teachers were exposed to possible infection.

School nurses are tasked with caring for the health and safety of children at schools, and managing a third school year in a pandemic has put even more strain on those in a profession already facing staffing shortages.

Katherine Burdge is a school nurse in Tampa, Fla., where classes started at the beginning of August amid a struggle between school districts and Gov. Ron DeSantis, who threatened to cut state funding for public schools that required students and staff to wear masks.

A judge ruled that DeSantis' executive order banning mask mandates was unconstitutional, but Burdge says school nurses are "dealing with the repercussions" of the back and forth. Her district of Hillsborough County had to isolate or quarantine more than 13,000 students and staff in just the last month over 2,500 of whom tested positive for the coronavirus.

"We're dealing with COVID on the front lines every day," she says. "It's a serious manifestation that is just overwhelming the district, the state, everybody."

Eileen Gavin, a school nurse in Monmouth County, N.J., also says it's been overwhelming and cites a beat up and faded "Parking For School Nurses Only" sign as a visual representation for how she and other school nurses are feeling.

"It's kind of like Groundhog Day: another year of contact tracing and vaccinating and kind of leading the kids back to school safely," Gavin says. "So, I do think we are traumatized."

Gavin says nurses continue to show up and do their jobs, but are feeling the strain of a workload that has expanded beyond what they could have predicted.

"It really is a lot to bear," she says. "We are the only healthcare professional in the schools and we have input and weigh in on so many things."

Gavin says she spends a lot of time talking with parents to help them sift through "the noise and the misinformation and give them valid resources" on dealing with the coronavirus.

"We assist in giving them the information so they can make an informed decision to keep their child healthy and safe," she says.

Burdge, who's also the President-elect of Florida's School Nurses Association, similarly says that school nurses want to be a resource for parents, but that the fight over masks between public officials in her state has caused some grief.

"We don't want to have those nasty words or fights or debates or anything along those lines with them," Burdge says. "We are a resource for them, and open communication, I think, is key at this point."

Sposato says that where she is in Denver is "very pro mask." She thinks Burdge's experience dealing with outbreaks likely intensified by DeSantis' order to eliminate mask mandates indicate "why we need to be following the health guidelines and scientific evidence on this," she says. "The health guidelines work."

Sposato says her greatest fear heading into this new school year "is that one of the mutations is going to outflank the vaccine, and we will see steeper, higher numbers of COVID being present in our community."

Gavin says her biggest fear is over school closures. "Kids need to be in school. We need to be in school," she says. She hopes that putting layers of protection in place will allow the year to commence safely. "We need to kind of stand firm with that so that we can keep our schools open for our kids.

Burdge says school closures are on everyone's minds, but that she's also concerned "for our nurses and their safety and well-being that we are going to get burnt out."

"Our school nurses are exhausted," Gavin says. "I think last year I had said school nurses felt like the weight of the pandemic was on their shoulders. We're on our knees now, with the weight of the pandemic on our shoulders."

Elena Burnett and Amy Isackson produced and edited this story for broadcast. Cyrena Touros adapted it for the web.

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School Nurses Are Overwhelmed Entering A 3rd School Year Affected By COVID-19 : Back To School: Live Updates - NPR

Scientists have warned the coronavirus will keep evolving as it spreads around the world, and there are now multiple new variants being watched closely by global research teams.

One of those, B.1.621, also known as mu, has been dubbed the latest variant of interest by the World Health Organization (WHO). Another, C.1.2, is the subject of headline-making new research exploring how it behaves. Other variants are likely waiting in the wings, yet to be detected.

So why do these new variants matter, what are they capable of, and how much should Canadians care?

Right now, the highly-contagious delta variant deemed a variant of concern by the WHO back in May is dominating Canada's COVID-19 cases, making up more than 90 per cent of reported recent infections according to federal data.

But that doesn't mean other emerging variants don't warrant close observation.

"Looking at this virus, it's obvious that we will have new variants," said Alyson Kelvin, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) at the University of Saskatchewan.

"What we need to do is to be ready for identifying cases as well as other variants that are inevitably going to start emerging around the world."

Here's what Canadians need to know:

B.1.621 is the latest variant of interest, according to the WHO, and was given the designation and a catchier Greek alphabet-based name, "mu" on August 30.

"The mu variant has a constellation of mutations that indicate potential properties of immune escape," reads the WHO's latest weekly epidemiological update.

That means those with some level of immunity to earlier strains, either by previous infection or vaccination, mightbe susceptible to infection from mu but that's only according to preliminary data and "needs to be confirmed by further studies," the update continued.

The variant was first detected in Colombia back in January, and since then, the country has experienced hundreds of cases and the variant has also been reported in 39 other countries around the world.

Here in Canada, it's barely making a splash: Mu cases have been reported for weeks, but so far, the variant hasn't made up more than three per cent of cases in any given week and recently totalled just 0.3 per cent though federal data since mid-July is still accumulating and could change.

The variant C.1.2 isn't deemed a variant of interest or concern yet by the WHO, but researchers are pushing the organization to watch it closely.

A team of scientists from South Africa detected the new variant, which was first observed in May and has since spread to seven other countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and Oceania, according to a preprint study that hasn't yet been peer-reviewed.

"It's still not clear where this came from," noted Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious diseases specialist with McMaster University in Hamilton. "It was first identified in South Africa but people need to know that South Africa has actually quite good sequencing networks and so it may not be the origin."

Richard Lessells, an infectious disease specialist and one of the authors of the research on C.1.2, told Reuters the variant may have even more immune-evasion properties than delta, based on its pattern of mutations, and that the findings had been flagged to the WHO.

However, it's not known yet if the variant is actually more contagious,or more capable of evading the immunity provided by either vaccines or a prior coronavirus infection.

"These things need time to see," Chagla said. "Delta is incredibly fit, and incredibly virulent and replaces [other strains] aggressively. We still haven't seen suggestions of this yet [with C.1.2]."

WATCH | Herd immunity harder to achieve thanks to variants, says government scientist:

Given that delta makes up the lion's share of Canada's COVID-19 cases and there's still much we don't know about mu or C.1.2 concerns over emerging variants need to be put into context.

Chagla said it's important to keep studying and monitoring the C.1.2 variant, but "there's no need for panic yet."

There has been an increased spread of C.1.2, and it's a rising percentage of sequenced cases in various countries outside of South Africa, Chagla said, but nothing on the scale of delta and it remains to be seen if we'll experience more global spread.

"It's still not clear whether or not that just means there's a lot of local spread amongst particular groups that just seems to be over-represented or if it's a legitimate growth pattern," he added.

"We still don't know, if you put things in the same pool, whether or not delta is going to be much more virulent."

Chagla says that much like other variants that have emerged over the course of the pandemic including variants of concern like alpha, beta, lambda and, now, mu they could either be overtaken by delta or "burn themselves out over time."

"Right now, it seems that there aren't a large number of cases for [C.1.2]," Kelvin said. "But now that we have this identified, then surveillance centres around the world can start to determine, are they seeing numbers of these cases as well?"

To figure out how often variant cases are appearing here, the Public Health Agency of Canada works with the provinces, territories,and the Canadian COVID Genomics Network (CanCOGen)to sequence a percentage of all positive COVID-19 test results.

Sequencing reveals the genetic code of the virus, showing which variant was involved in a specific case of COVID-19, and those results are reported each week.

Dr. Catalina Lopez-Correa, chief scientific officer at Genome Canada and executive director ofCanCOGen, said there is still "very little data" from the real world on the increased threat of the variant.

"The key message for Canada is that we are actively monitoring for this variant," she said."It has not been detected yet here and we are also actively following up all the data that is published and shared across the globe."

New variants have emerged throughout the pandemic in populations with low vaccine coverage that have been hit hard by unchecked COVID-19 transmission including India, South America and Africa and experts say this trend is likely to continue until more of the world is vaccinated.

"This is an incredibly big reminder even if this is a false alarm of what global vaccine equity means," said Chagla.

"Many of us starting to see the delta wave in Sub-Saharan Africa were very, very worried about what could come of that."

WATCH | WHO calls for vaccine equity:

Chagla says the region has low vaccination levels, poor quality healthcare systems and a large population of immunocompromised individuals, with rates of HIV in some countries as high as 15 to 20 per cent of the adult population.

"That was kind of a mixing pot of bad scenarios to lead to the development of a variant so I don't think we can be surprised to see that something seems to have shown up," he said.

"And we kind of just watch it happen in that sense,and we continue to watch it happen."

It's also clear these variants don't stay put.

Even if they emerge in one area of the world, cases later appearelsewhere meaning other countries,including Canada, are eventually impacted yet again by this ever-evolving virus.

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From mu to C.1.2, here are the latest coronavirus variants scientists are watching closely - CBC.ca