Category Archives: Corona Virus

When we breathe, we exhale CO2, as shown by this infrared camera. Outdoors, the CO2 is rapidly diluted and the risk of transmission is very low because we dont breathe any air that has previously been exhaled by another person.

In closed spaces with no ventilation, such as this car, a meter shows that parts-per-million (ppm) of CO2 accumulate to the extent that within 15 minutes we re-inhale 4% of the air we have already breathed.

If the car is shared and there is no ventilation, within the space of 10 minutes, 8% of the air we breathe in will have already been exhaled by the other passenger. That means we are sharing the air with another person and the risk of transmission is high.

If one of the two people in the car is Covid-positive, the risk of the other catching the virus is 30% in 30 minutes or 71% in an hour.

If both people open their windows just five centimeters, cross-ventilation can renew the air up to nine times every minute. The exhaled air disappears and the probability of transmission is low.

Humanity has been fighting an invisible enemy for more than a year. Of course we do not see the coronavirus and, in many cases, we do not even know if we are in contact with an asymptomatic case. But it is not the first time that an invisible threat has been fought using an indirect approach: think of the canaries that were once taken down the coal mines to detect gas leaks.

During this pandemic, it has been shown that poorly ventilated buildings are the most dangerous environments of all because particles containing the virus can linger in the air until someone breathes them in. And although we do not have a device that can show these particles, we can measure the air quality and CO concentration using a meter. The higher the concentration of CO, which is exhaled when we breathe, the worse the rooms ventilation. A simple measurement allows us to know if the room is loaded with air exhaled by other people or if it is well ventilated, thereby drastically reducing the risk of infection.

Because of its reduced dimensions, the interior of a car serves as a microcosm of what happens in larger rooms. When a person gets into a car where there is one other person and the windows are closed, the concentration of CO soars, as a percentage of what is breathed in has already been exhaled by the other passenger. However, simply by opening the windows just a few centimeters and generating cross-ventilation, the air gets constantly refreshed. In a house, a bar or a classroom, the premise is basically the same.

Link between CO2 and breathed air

The air we breathe outside contains an average of 412 parts-per-million (ppm) of CO2. If we observe this figure on a meter, the air has not been exhaled by anyone.

WHO limit for healthy air quality

*Harvard and IDAEA-CSIC-LIFTEC recommended guidelines

Link between CO2 and breathed air

The air we breathe outside contains an average of 412 parts-per-million (ppm) of CO2. If we observe this figure on a meter, the air has not been exhaled by anyone.

WHO limit for healthy air quality

*Harvard and IDAEA-CSIC-LIFTEC recommended guidelines

Link between CO2 and breathed air

The air we breathe outside contains an average of 412 parts-per-million (ppm) of CO2. If we observe this figure on a meter, the air has not been exhaled by anyone.

WHO limit for healthy air quality

*Harvard and IDAEA-CSIC-LIFTEC recommended guidelines

Link between CO2 and breathed air

The air we breathe outside contains an average of 412 parts-per-million (ppm) of CO2. If we observe this figure on a meter, the air has not been exhaled by anyone.

WHO limit for healthy air quality

*Harvard and IDAEA-CSIC-LIFTEC recommended guidelines

While the virologist Margarita del Val keeps an eye on the levels of CO in cars that she uses with her own meter because it is an indirect indication that helps us to ventilate correctly, she is not in favor of promoting its use in the daily lives of normal people. She is, however, in favor of it being regulated and its use promoted as a tool for the authorities. In many stable environments, such as schools, it is not necessary to have one installed; just a few measurements and you know what is required to maintain good air renewal, notes Del Val, who is in charge of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) platform for Covid-19. And that includes limiting exposure to the cold, because sometimes it is enough to open the windows just a little.

Last week, Del Val and 100 other scientists and health professionals sent a letter to the Spanish authorities in which they demanded that urgent measures be taken to prevent transmission caused by poor ventilation. Among the measures advocated was the use of CO concentration as a benchmark by which to measure air quality. Another of the letters signatories, Javier Ballester of the University of Zaragoza, is critical of the fact that the government is doing little to tackle existing confusion on the issue. Its not enough to provide information via Twitter, he says. Its all very complex biology and behavior but there are two indisputably effective factors: ventilation and masks. Just as the government regulates the quality of masks, it should provide information on how to properly ventilate. There have been many anecdotes describing how some individuals and educational centers ventilate prior to occupancy, leaving the room freezing cold, then close the windows as soon as people arrive, which is when the risk exists. If they dont know this, they wont open the windows, or they wont sit by the window in the bar: individual awareness is decisive, says Ballester.

Risks entering closed spaces

and how to avoid them

Entering a closed space occupied by others entails a risk if we dont know if it contains air that has already been exhaled.

Both CO2 and the coronavirus can linger for hours in an unventilated closed space.

If we are going to enter a closed space that does not have a CO2 meter, it is essential to ventilate it first.

Leaving two car windows open several centimeters while we drive allows for cross-ventilation that constantly renews the air.

Source: Calculations of air renewal obtained by David Higuera, an industrial engineer and expert in installations, using an anemometer.

Risks entering closed spaces

and how to avoid them

Entering a closed space occupied by others entails a risk if we dont know if it contains air that has already been exhaled.

Both CO2 and the coronavirus can linger for hours in an unventilated closed space.

If we are going to enter a closed space that does not have a CO2 meter, it is essential to ventilate it first.

Leaving two car windows open several centimeters while we drive allows for cross-ventilation that constantly renews the air.

Source: Calculations of air renewal obtained by David Higuera, an industrial engineer and expert in installations, using an anemometer.

Risks entering closed spaces and how to avoid them

Both CO2 and the coronavirus can linger for hours in an unventilated closed space.

Entering a closed space occupied by others entails a risk if we dont know if it contains air that has already been exhaled.

If we are going to enter a closed space that does not have a CO2 meter, it is essential to ventilate it first.

Leaving two car windows open several centimeters while we drive allows for cross-ventilation that constantly renews the air.

Source: Calculations of air renewal obtained by David Higuera, an industrial engineer and expert in installations, using an anemometer.

Risks entering closed spaces and how to avoid them

Leaving two car windows open several centimeters while we drive allows for cross-ventilation that constantly renews the air.

Both CO2 and the coronavirus can linger for hours in an unventilated closed space.

Entering a closed space occupied by others entails a risk if we dont know if it contains air that has already been exhaled.

If we are going to enter a closed space that does not have a CO2 meter, it is essential to ventilate it first.

Source: Calculations of air renewal obtained by David Higuera, an industrial engineer and expert in installations, using an anemometer.

Scientist Pedro Magalhes de Oliveira, from Cambridge University, has studied how infected aerosols the suspended viral particles exhaled when talking, singing or breathing work. To calculate optimum conditions for daily scenarios, Oliveira has developed an online tool called airborne.cam. The potential for measuring indoor CO levels has been largely overlooked, he says. Health authorities could do this to identify high-risk locations and better inform the people who manage them. He does point out, however, that even in a well-ventilated space, there could be short-range transmission when viral particles are breathed in soon after a positive Covid case exhales if there is not enough time for the aerosols to be diluted. Thats why its so important to wear a mask and keep a safe distance, even outdoors, he says.

Some authorities have taken note. For example, the regional government of Navarre in northern Spain includes the measurement of CO as a important tool for the hospitality sector. A document advising on measures to be taken during the Easter holidays states: Ventilate as much as possible and measure air quality, using CO meters If the concentration of CO exceeds 800 parts per million, increased ventilation is recommended or decreased attendance until it [CO] falls below that indicator. In the event, the region has opted to ban indoor drinking and dining altogether over the Easter period.

Effectiveness of constant ventilation

Measurements of air quality in more than 20 educational centers show that only constant ventilation in closed spaces, whether natural or mechanical, keeps the risk of transmission low.

Constant ventilation maintains the concentration of exhaled air outside the risk zone.

Every time the windows are closed, the levels of CO2 shoot up.

Effectiveness of constant ventilation

Measurements of air quality in more than 20 educational centers show that only constant ventilation in closed spaces, whether natural or mechanical, keeps the risk of transmission low.

Constant ventilation maintains the concentration of exhaled air outside the risk zone.

Every time the windows are closed, the levels of CO2 shoot up.

Effectiveness

of constant

ventilation

Measurements of air quality in more than 20 educational centers show that only constant ventilation in closed spaces, whether natural or mechanical, keeps the risk of transmission low.

Constant ventilation maintains the concentration of exhaled air outside the risk zone.

Every time the windows are closed, the levels of CO2 shoot up.

Effectiveness of constant ventilation

Measurements of air quality in more than 20 educational centers show that only constant ventilation in closed spaces, whether natural or mechanical, keeps the risk of transmission low.

Every time the windows are closed, the levels of CO2 shoot up.

Constant ventilation maintains the concentration of exhaled air outside the risk zone.

Meanwhile, countries such as Germany, Canada and the UK include CO monitoring in their pandemic guidelines. Last summer, the Harvard School of Public Health published a guide for reopening schools that became a reference. The guide points to these monitors as a key tool for calculating the air quality of classrooms. The CSIC also included them in its recommendations. And the World Health Organization has just released its own detailed manual for adequate ventilation against Covid.

Mechanical Air Extraction

and Natural Ventilation

Measurements of CO2 carried out in a bar occupied by almost 100 people on January 21 showed the effectiveness of mechanical air extraction and natural ventilation in reducing the risks of breathing shared air.

Extraction and

air conditioning

Despite the mechanical air extraction and ventilation, the high number of customers maintained the concentration of CO2 at high-risk levels

Source: Measurements of CO2 coordinated by Javier Ballester, professor of Fluid Mechanics at the University of Zaragoza and LIFTEC researcher

Mechanical Air Extraction

and Natural Ventilation

Measurements of CO2 carried out in a bar occupied by almost 100 people on January 21 showed the effectiveness of mechanical air extraction and natural ventilation in reducing the risks of breathing shared air.

Extraction and

air conditioning

Despite the mechanical air extraction and ventilation, the high number of customers maintained the concentration of CO2 at high-risk levels

Source: Measurements of CO2 coordinated by Javier Ballester, professor of Fluid Mechanics at the University of Zaragoza and LIFTEC researcher

Mechanical Air Extraction

and Natural Ventilation

Measurements of CO2 carried out in a bar occupied by almost 100 people on January 21 showed the effectiveness of mechanical air extraction and natural ventilation in reducing the risks of breathing shared air.

Extraction and air conditioning

Despite the mechanical air extraction and ventilation, the high number of customers maintained the concentration of CO2 at high-risk levels

Source: Measurements of CO2 coordinated by Javier Ballester, professor of Fluid Mechanics at the University of Zaragoza and LIFTEC researcher

Mechanical Air Extraction

and Natural Ventilation

Measurements of CO2 carried out in a bar occupied by almost 100 people on January 21 showed the effectiveness of mechanical air extraction and natural ventilation in reducing the risks of breathing shared air.

Extraction and air conditioning

Despite the mechanical air extraction and ventilation, the high number of customers maintained the concentration of CO2 at high-risk levels

Source: Measurements of CO2 coordinated by Javier Ballester, professor of Fluid Mechanics at the University of Zaragoza and LIFTEC researcher

But Del Val highlights a major drawback in CO measurement, namely that it does not distinguish between scenarios in which masks are worn or taken off. Measuring CO in a bar where you can uncover your mouth and talk and shout should not be the same as in a theater or a museum, where you are quiet all the time and wearing a mask, she says. Del Val believes that the benchmark CO levels for premises where the mask can be removed should be stricter. It would be a perfect tool for the hospitality industry, to get them on our side, she says. You have to support the bars, but first there needs to be a good understanding of what a lower-risk environment consists of, if using these tools.

Read more:

Avoiding coronavirus infection in indoor spaces: don't breathe other people's air - EL PAS in English

GENEVA The SARS-CoV-2 virus likely originated from human exploitation of wildlife, according to todays findings from a World Health Organization-led investigation.

The report, based on a mission to China by WHO-appointed experts, explored several theories about the pandemics cause. While no definitive conclusions were reached, the report calls for further research into wildlife and domestic animal farms in China and the global wildlife and domestic animal trade through which the virus could have been imported into the country. The report noted that all hypotheses for the pandemics origin remain under consideration.

The report comes as U.S. lawmakers consider the Preventing Future Pandemics Act, a bipartisan bill that would shut down the trade in live terrestrial wild animals for human consumption, close wildlife markets and spur international action to curtail future pandemics.

This report highlights the urgent need to curb wildlife exploitation and signals that wildlife trade could have led to the pandemic, said Tanya Sanerib, international legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity. Disease risk is a global threat. Whether a bat is captured for food in southeast Asia or to make a paperweight for a desk in the United States, peoples demand for wildlife anywhere in the world creates a risk of new diseases emerging.

Based on the mission results, the report highlights the grave risk wildlife and domestic animal farms pose for disease spillover. It specifically calls for further investigation into fur farms. The report notes that mink, a species commonly farmed for fur, could be the source of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

We know the conditions at factory farms, especially those involving wild animals like mink, create perfect breeding grounds for highly contagious diseases that can mutate and spread between people and animals, said Lori Ann Burd, environmental health director at the Center. Now the only question is, will we act on this knowledge to help prevent the next pandemic, or will we sit back and let it happen all over again?

The report analyzed 38,515 livestock and poultry samples and 41,696 wild animal samples gathered from 31 provinces in China from 2018 to 2020, but none were positive for the coronavirus. The United States lacks such a surveillance system for disease risk but drives wildlife exploitation by consuming roughly 20% of the global wildlife trade. Without tighter restrictions, the U.S. will continue to fuel disease risk.

Despite extensive surveillance of livestock and wildlife in China, the pandemic wasnt stopped. Its clear that surveillance isnt the answer. Lawmakers need to curtail wildlife exploitation to halt new diseases from emerging, said Sanerib. Its time to pass the Preventing Future Pandemics Act and for the U.S. to lead the world in conserving and restoring wildlife populations and natural ecosystems. Human salvation rests in the preservation of nature.

The current pandemic is a symptom of the ongoing extinction crises. Exploitation of wildlife is the primary driver of the loss of marine species and the secondary driver of the loss of terrestrial species, according to global experts. Curtailing the exploitation of wildlife and nature to curb future pandemic risk will also help mitigate biodiversity loss.

In Oregon legislation has been introduced to phase out Oregons mink farming industry and provide training and support to the mink farmers adversely affected by the virus. If passed into law, that legislation, S.B. 832, will take a vital step towards protecting communities and wildlife against future pandemic threats.

More:

WHO Report: Wildlife Exploitation Likely Caused COVID-19 Pandemic - Center for Biological Diversity

Philly to begin Phase 2 vaccinations by May

Philadelphia plans to begin vaccinating people in Phase 2 no later than May 1, officials said.

Farley says residents can expect an update later this week on when Philadelphia will move to Phase 1C.

The city currently has 226 vaccine provider sites. This is up from 200 such sites last week, according to Farley.

The city is still operating in Phase 1B, which is for people aged 65 and over, qualified essential workers, and people with certain pre-existing medical conditions.

The federally-supported site at the Convention Center is currently administering second doses of the Pfizer vaccine and will be doing that for two more weeks. After that, the site will be offering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for the last two weeks of its originally scheduled run. Health department officials project that 84,000 additional people will be fully vaccinated through that avenue.

It is still unclear whether the site will remain operating after its eight-week run.

We have requested for the federal government to have it stay longer, and we dont have an answer yet as to whether thats possible, Farley said.

Although its future is undecided, the Convention Center will be getting some company in the form of another federally supported Type 2 Site.

That is a high-volume site that is not quite the volume of the site at the Convention Center that will start either late next week or early the following week, Farley said.

It will be located near the Esperanza Academy Charter High School at 5th Street and Hunting Park Avenue, which is in the Hunting Park area.

The sites location is of great interest to the Health Department.

It also is at the center of the area of the city where we have the most under vaccinated zip codes, Farley said. In addition that site provides easy access to a large Hispanic population in the city. We know that Hispanics are the most under vaccinated group in the entire city.

Farley expects the site to vaccine at least 1,000 people per day during its eight-week stint.

Philadelphians in the hospitality industry can still apply for relief.

The deadline for businesses to apply to the Pennsylvania COVID-19 Hospitality Industry Recovery Program, or CHIRP, has been extended one extra week. The new deadline for businesses to submit their application is 11:59pm on Monday, April 12, Mayor Jim Kenney said. So there are now about two weeks left to apply.

More information about the program can be found here.

Pa. updates school recommendations in line with CDC

In order to match the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, the Wolf administration has announced that students can now stand three feet apart.

However, in counties where substantial transmission continues to occur, middle and high school students should be six feet apart unless cohorting is possible, said Dr. Wendy Braund, the states COVID-19 Response Director.

Under previous guidance, the required distance between students was six feet. Under these new recommendations, there are several instances where six feet of physical distancing should be maintained.

These include between adults in the building, and between adults and students, when masks cant be worn, such as when eating, during activities where increased exhalation occurs, such as singing, shouting, band, sports or other physical activity. These activities should occur outdoors or in large well ventilated spaces. And the last is in common areas, such as school lobbies and auditoriums, Braund daid.

Additionally, the new guidance from the state gives schools updated directions on how to deal with COVID-19 cases.

For example, the length of in-person learning closures in some cases has also been reduced. A full list of scenarios can be found here.

We recognize the critical importance of in-person instruction, and hope that this step, along with updates to our recommendations for responding to positive COVID-19 cases will foster greater flexibility for school communities as they serve students each day, said. Matthew Stem, a deputy secretary in the states Education Department.

The summer camp guidance is mostly unchanged from last summers guidance.

In general, the summer camp guidance doubles down on the importance of health and safety plans being in place in our summer camp type programs, and it also talks about the importance of following all the mitigation strategies listed in the CDC suggestions for youth in summer camps, Stem said.

View post:

Pa. coronavirus update: Farley says pandemic 'returning to where it began a year ago' - WHYY

Soccer practices conducted in gyms or on tennis courts. Home games played off campus. Games canceled because of coronavirus protocols.

Fall Season II is well under way, as Section II soccer, football and volleyball teams are currently competing during months normally considered the offseason. Football season is in the third week of five regular-season contests prior to a pair of playoff weeks. Six of the eight area soccer leagues that pushed play back from the fall are competing and volleyball is rolling along as well.

Talking with Shaker senior safety John Graney after his team's season-opening football victory over Shenendehowa, you could feel his sincerity when he stated he did not know if that contest would be his last as scholastic athletes around the state continue to navigate all of the complexities of competing during the coronavirus pandemic.

One aspect that struck me, no matter sport it is, regards the level of play being put forth despite limited practice time. All things considered, play has been top-notch.

It has very difficult, especially without the spectators and having to wear the masks," Fort Ann soccer standout Justin Zeh said. "We've had to practice in the gym. That is a lot different than doing it on the turf (for games). We didn't think we were going to play at all, so every game we play now is special."

"Sometimes we don't give these kids enough credit," La Salle boys' soccer Matt Michaud said. "They have gone through a ton of adversity just to get to this point. I am not surprised by anything they do. ... They appreciate things and realize nothing is promised."

"Truth be told, I think the pandemic has matured a lot of our young people. They have all been through a lot of crap," Holy Names girls' soccer coach Chukwuma Asala said. "There are different parts of life, whether it is losing a family member, being at home, having to take virtual school or having chores to do. They have all had to grow up and appreciate so much of this year."

"If we had 10 feet of snow on the ground, these kids would want to play," Schalmont boys' soccer Vito Urbano said. "They have been waiting for this all year. They don't care what the rules are. They have been really good about it and are enjoying it."

In the first two weeks of the Class AA football schedule, Shaker played the two teams that played in the 2019 Section II Class AA Super Bowl. The Blue Bison went to Steuerwald Stadium in Week 1 and posted a 20-0 victory over 2019 Class AA champion Shenendehowa. Friday, Shaker improved to 2-0 by holding off a late rally by Guilderland to post a 35-25 triumph. The Dutchmen upset Shaker in the 2019 sectional semifinals.

The Blue Bison look to move to 3-0 Saturday in a road game against Saratoga."We are going to keep getting better and treat each game like it is our toughest," Shaker senior defensive end Ghassan Chehade said.

Shaker managed to build a 28-10 cushion through three quarters against Guilderland, then watched Guilderland senior quarterback Logan Broomhall engineer a pair of scoring drives he capped with touchdown runs.

Facing a third-and-9 situation, the Blue Bison responded as senior running back Connor Strand busted off a 50-yard touchdown run.

"What we're going to take away is there is always something we can improve upon, and there were some little mistakes that could use some fixing," Strand said.

"It is a seven-game season. You know the end is Week 7," Shaker coach Greg Sheeler said. "There are no states. There is nothing after that. The goal is to be our best in Week 7."

View original post here:

Navigating coronavirus pandemic has not been easy for Section II teams - Times Union

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a new expansion of COVID-19 vaccine eligibility in New York. Beginning Tuesday, March 30 at 8 a.m., all New Yorkers 30 years of age and older will be eligible to receive the vaccine. Beginning April 6, universal eligibility goes into effect and all New Yorkers 16 years of age and older will be eligible to receive the vaccine.

Additionally, the Governor announced more than 2 million total COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered at New York State-run and FEMA-assisted mass vaccination sites. Statewide, more than 9 million total doses have been administered across all vaccination sites.171,419doses have been administered across the state's vast distribution network in the last 24 hours, and more than 1.3 million doses have been administered over the past seven days. Delivery of the week 16 allocation begins mid-week.

"Today we take a monumental step forward in the fight to beat COVID. Beginning March 30, all New Yorkers age 30 or older will be able to be vaccinated, and all New Yorkers age 16 or older will be eligible on April 6, well ahead of the May 1 deadline set by the White House,"Governor Cuomo said."As we continue to expand eligibility, New York will double down on making the vaccine accessible for every community to ensureequity, particularly for communities of color who are too often left behind. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but until we get there it is more important than ever for each and every New Yorker to wear a mask, socially distance and follow all safety guidelines."

New York's vast distribution network and large population of eligible individuals still far exceed the supply coming from the federal government. Due to limited supply, New Yorkers are encouraged to remain patient andare advisednot to show up atvaccinationsites without an appointment.

The'Am I Eligible'screening toolhas beenupdatedfor individuals with comorbidities and underlying conditions with new appointments released on a rolling basis over the next weeks. New Yorkers can use the following to show they are eligible:

Vaccinationprogramnumbers below are for doses distributed and delivered to New York for the state'svaccinationprogram, and do not include those reserved for thefederal government's Long Term Care Facilityprogram. A breakdown of the databased on numbers reported to New York State as of 11 AM today is as follows.

STATEWIDE BREAKDOWNTotal doses administered -9,056,970Total doses administered over past 24 hours -171,419Total doses administered over past 7 days -1,319,740Percent of New Yorkers with at least onevaccinedose -29.6%Percent of New Yorkers with completedvaccineseries - 16.8%

People with at least onevaccinedose

People with completevaccineseries

Region

Cumulative

Total

Increase over past

24 hours

Cumulative

Total

Increase over past

24 hours

Capital Region

357,394

3,877

200,958

8,021

Central New York

311,758

4,284

194,857

6,867

Finger Lakes

368,859

3,160

203,175

6,570

Long Island

701,770

14,940

383,896

8,407

Mid-Hudson

591,167

8,028

297,557

6,725

Mohawk Valley

157,251

2,026

95,271

3,855

New York City

2,650,332

30,475

1,550,456

46,616

North Country

166,341

1,612

110,527

2,739

Southern Tier

200,871

2,372

109,912

2,980

Western New York

392,535

4,186

212,587

4,606

Statewide

5,898,278

74,960

3,359,196

97,386

1st doses fully delivered to New York Providers

2nd doses fully delivered to New York Providers

TOTAL

CUMULATIVE

Week 1

Doses arriving 12/14 - 12/20

163,650

0

163,650

163,650

Week 2

Doses arriving 12/21 - 12/27

452,125

0

452,125

615,775

Week 3

Doses arriving 12/28 - 01/03

227,395

0

227,395

843,170

Week 4

Read the original here:

Governor Cuomo Announces New Yorkers 30 Years of Age and Older Will Be Eligible to Receive COVID-19 Vaccine - ny.gov

Heres what you need to know:A pharmacist in Little Rock, Ark., administering a dose of Modernas Covid-19 vaccine earlier this month to Jane Black, while her husband, Thomas Black, waited for his shot.Credit...Rory Doyle for The New York Times

The U.S. vaccination campaign is accelerating rapidly, with more than 91 million people roughly a third of the adult population having received at least one shot of a Covid-19 vaccination by Saturday. And nearly every state has announced that it will meet President Bidens directive to make all adults eligible by May 1.

But as of Saturday afternoon, two states Arkansas and New York still had not declared a timeline for their residents, according to a New York Times vaccine rollout tracker.

A third state, Wyoming, has also not said when all adults would be able to get the shot, but eligibility in the state expands on a county-by-county basis, a spokeswoman for the states Department of Health said, and 20 of the states 23 counties now allow all adults to get vaccinated. She said she expected full access quite soon.

In Arkansas, where a Times database shows that about 13 percent of the population of three million has been fully vaccinated, Gov. Asa Hutchinson this week extended eligibility to military veterans who are at least 18 years old. That decision came soon after appointments opened up for additional essential workers and adults between 16 and 64 who have some health conditions.

The state has moved to Phase 1C of its expansion, making almost one million new people eligible for the vaccine, and the state department of health anticipates opening up eligibility to all adults by early May, if not sooner, a spokeswoman said.

I want to ask everyone, when its your turn, get a shot, Mr. Hutchinson said at a news briefing this week. Get that shot in your arm, because it helps our entire state to completely move out of this pandemic and so we need everybody to get vaccinated.

At the news conference, Mr. Hutchinson said there were parts of the state where eligible residents were still unable to book an appointment, particularly in the northwest and several urban areas. Additionally, not all inmates, who are included in the list of those already eligible, have been vaccinated, he said.

But stay tuned, Mr. Hutchinson said, adding that he expected the state to expand eligibility to all adults in the near future.

In New York, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said at a news briefing this week that other states were setting dates based on allocation projections coming from the federal government. But Mr. Cuomo said he wanted to make sure that the allocation projections that were getting from the feds are right before setting a specific date for eligibility expansion.

I would rather get the specific allocation number and then tell the people of the state, Mr. Cuomo said, so we dont have to change advice and we dont create pandemonium for the scheduling operation.

When the pandemic began, the nations governors suited up for a new role as state bodyguards, issuing emergency orders to shutter schools, close cinemas and ban indoor dining in an effort to curb a mushrooming threat.

But not everyone likes killjoys, no matter how well-intentioned.

Now, state legislatures saying the governors have gone too far are churning out laws aimed at reining in the power of their executives to respond to the pandemic and emergencies like it.

A Kansas bill that became law this week requires Gov. Laura Kelly to suspend all emergency orders and give legislators the option to void any that she reissues. Mask mandates are likely to be among the first to fall. Ohio legislators overrode Gov. Mike DeWines veto this week, limiting his powers to make emergency declarations. Utah lawmakers voted for an April 10 end to mask requirements and to rein in powers of the governor and state health officials to deal with crises; the bill became law on Wednesday.

Those are but some of the 300-odd proposals to curb governors emergency powers that have won approval or are awaiting action in State House and Senate chambers although most will, as usual, be winnowed out in committee and never come to a vote.

All but a handful have been written by Republicans, many of whom have regarded restrictions from the start as bad for business and infringements on personal freedom. If that suggests that the issue of emergency power is partisan, however, thats not entirely true: Legislation takes aim at the powers wielded by governors of both parties.

A list of bills by the National Conference of State Legislators shows that the gamut of the proposals is both broad and inventive. An Arkansas state senator wanted fines for violating coronavirus restrictions refunded to violators. Lawmakers in six states, including Georgia and Oregon, want to stop governors from imposing limits on attendance at church services. A measure in Maine would circumvent restrictions on businesses by declaring all businesses to be essential in any emergency.

Most proposals, however, are more straightforward attempts to give lawmakers a say, often by limiting the duration of emergency declarations and requiring legislative approval to extend them. The nonpartisan Uniform Law Commission is reviewing state emergency statutes to see if they need updating in light of the coronavirus crisis. But the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative pro-business group that has spent years cultivating ties with state legislators, has beaten them to the punch, circulating a so-called model law that is the basis for many state proposals.

Some experts call that a mistake. The time for legislatures to address emergency declarations isnt in the middle of an emergency, but before or after one, said Jill Krueger, the director of the northern region of the Network for Public Health Law, in Edina, Minn.

Indeed, practically every state has at least one measure targeting a governor, either in a legislative committee or in the lawbooks.

The Republican governor of Indiana, Eric J. Holcomb, has backed more lenient coronavirus restrictions than have governors of some neighboring states, giving businesses more generous occupancy limits based on the severity of Covid-19 outbreaks in each county. That did not stop the Republican-controlled legislature from filing 21 bills aimed at loosening his emergency powers, the most of any state surveyed by the Conference of State Legislatures, including a resolution calling for the statewide emergency to be scrapped immediately.

The resolution appeared to be gathering serious momentum until Tuesday, when the governor sought to address critics by lifting a statewide mask mandate and turning business regulations over to local governments.

Both actions go well beyond the easing of restrictions taken in most other states that have relaxed regulations, although local governments retain the right to impose stiffer rules.

His middle-of-the-road approach has resonated with people, said Andrew Downs, an associate professor and expert on Indiana politics at Purdue University-Fort Wayne. That said, he added, people out on the extreme are upset with him, and they recognized the need to recapture some of the power the governor has been using.

A district judge in Texas has allowed Austin and the surrounding Travis County to keep requiring masks, weeks after Gov. Greg Abbott ended the states mask mandate.

Ken Paxton, the states attorney general, sued local officials earlier this month for refusing to comply and said that county leaders must not be thinking clearly.

A state district judge, Lora Livingston, denied the states request on Friday to quash a local order allowing officials to keep enforcing mask-wearing in Austin and Travis County. She ruled that the state did not meet its burden to demonstrate the right to the relief it seeks, according to a decision letter.

Mr. Paxton is expected to appeal the ruling, which means that officials could be forced to lift the mandate later.

Still, some local officials took the judges ruling as a victory, extending the amount of time the county can require customers and employees to wear masks inside businesses.

Todays court ruling allowing the Health Authoritys rules to remain in place and keep the mask requirements for businesses puts the health and safety of our public above all else during this pandemic, the Travis County judge, Andy Brown, said in a statement on Friday.

Mr. Abbott, a Republican, lifted the mandate on March 10 and said that all businesses in the state could operate with no capacity limits, even as the states vaccinations trailed the national average. The move was met with sharp criticism from President Biden, who called the lifting of statewide mask mandates a big mistake that reflected Neanderthal thinking.

The ending of the mandate also frustrated some frontline workers in Texas who said they were worried about the risk of being exposed to maskless customers and crowds, as they had not been vaccinated yet.

Reported coronavirus cases and deaths have steadily dropped nationwide after a post-holiday surge at the end of last year, though progress is starting to stall and health officials have warned about the spread of more contagious variants. The United States is still reporting an average of 60,000 new cases daily, according to a New York Times database.

Last May, the city of Los Angeles turned a fabled baseball park into a mass testing site for the coronavirus. At its peak, Dodger Stadium was testing 16,000 people a day for the virus, making it the biggest testing site in the world, said Dr. Clemens Hong, who oversees coronavirus testing in Los Angeles County.

But in January, the city pivoted, converting the stadium into an enormous, drive-through vaccination site. Local demand for coronavirus testing has plummeted, Dr. Hong said. He said that he saw the evidence firsthand recently when he visited a community hospital: The testing site had three people and the vaccine site had a line around the block.

Los Angeles is not an anomaly. Across the nation, attention has largely shifted from testing to vaccination. The United States is now conducting an average of 1.3 million coronavirus tests a day, down from a peak of 2 million a day in mid-January, according to data provided by the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

In some ways, the decline is good news, and can be attributed, in part, to falling case numbers and the increasing pace of vaccination. But the drop-off also worries many public health experts, who note that the prevalence of Covid-19 remains stubbornly high. More than 50,000 new cases and 1,000 deaths are being tallied every day and just 14 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated.

We are very much worried about resurgence, said Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University. Everybody mentally moved on to vaccines. Obviously, vaccines are quite important. But as long as the majority of us are not protected, then testing remains essential.

Yale plans to hold a version of in-person graduation for the class of 2021 in May with no guests allowed. Harvard is not even calling its commencement a commencement. It plans to hold virtual degree-granting ceremonies and, for the second year in a row, will postpone traditional festivities.

The universities of South Florida, Southern California, Pennsylvania, North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt, Rochester and Kentucky, among others, are holding in-person commencements, but with differing rules about guests.

So it goes in this second graduation season of the pandemic. Day by day, another university announces commencement plans, and given the uncertainty created by the coronavirus, the decisions are breaking in opposite ways.

Prairie View A&M in Texas plans to hold live commencements, even as, somewhat surreally, the president of the college, Ruth Simmons, will be delivering the principal address at Harvards virtual commencement.

In the United States, reported coronavirus cases and deaths have fallen significantly after a post-holiday surge, according to a New York Times database. Vaccinations have also picked up, averaging about 2.5 million shots a day, as eligibility expands in several states.

Eligible only in some counties

Eligible only in some counties

Eligible only in some counties

Experts warn, however, that dangerous variants could lead to a spike in cases and states that lift restrictions could be acting prematurely.

Many universities are stipulating that in order to participate in graduation, students must have tested negative for the coronavirus before the ceremony and have a good record of adhering to campus policies created to guard against infection.

Peter Salovey, the president of Yale, said in a statement this month that the university would be recognizing graduation by holding in-person gatherings on or around May 24, if public health conditions permit. Students studying both on campus and remotely are invited, but not their guests. Mr. Salovey said Yale was excluding families because it seemed unlikely that everybody would be vaccinated by graduation day.

Harvard was one of the first universities to evacuate its campus in mid-March last year, and it is still in caution mode. In an email to students on Feb. 26, its president, Lawrence Bacow, said that postponing live commencement for two years running was deeply disappointing, but public health and safety must continue to take precedence.

Like other universities, though, Harvard promised to bring the classes of 2020 and 2021 back to celebrate at some future date.

Some universities plan to hold their commencements in outdoor stadiums. Notre Dame, which was aggressive about bringing students back to campus last fall, is planning to accommodate all 3,000 graduates and a limited number of guests in its 79,000-seat stadium. Health officials have authorized the use of up to 20 percent of the seating.

The University of Southern California will hold in-person ceremonies for the classes of 2021 and 2020 in May. The ceremonies will take place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and graduates will be allowed to invite two guests, although they must be California residents.

Northeastern University in Boston will host five commencement ceremonies in Fenway Park in May. Officials are aiming to allow each graduate to invite one guest, though they are still evaluating total capacity with physical distancing.

The University of South Florida in Tampa said this month that its commencement would take place at nearby Tropicana Field, which can hold about 40,000 people. The university set a tentative date of May 7 to 9. Students will be allowed to bring two guests and must register in advance.

Some schools are holding ceremonies without guests, in what will be largely empty stadiums.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison will hold in-person ceremonies in its Camp Randall Stadium, which can hold about 80,000 people. The university will hold two ceremonies on May 8, but graduates cannot bring guests.

Princeton plans to hold an outdoor commencement at its stadium for students who have taken part in the testing program and who live on or near campus. It is also considering extending the invitation to students learning virtually.

Princeton is still deciding whether to allow guests at its in-person ceremony, and summed up the uncertainty this way: Families are encouraged not to make nonrefundable travel arrangements.

Some universities are moving forward with entirely virtual commencements. Columbia is planning a virtual ceremony, but has held out some hope of smaller outdoor events. New York University and Stanford University have also announced plans to hold virtual celebrations.

More than 2.7 million people have died from the coronavirus, a tangible count of the pandemics cost. But as more people are vaccinated, and communities open up, there is a tally that experts say is harder to track: the psychological toll of months of isolation and global suffering, which for some has proved fatal.

There are some signs indicating a widespread mental health crisis. Japan saw a spike in suicide among women last year, and in Europe, mental health experts have reported a rise in the number of young people expressing suicidal thoughts. In the United States, many emergency rooms have faced surges in admissions of young children and teenagers with mental health issues.

Mental health experts say prolonged symptoms of depression and anxiety may prompt risky behaviors that lead to self-harm, accidents or even death, especially among young people.

Some public figures, like Yuval Noah Harari, a prominent Israeli historian, have asked the authorities to weigh the risks of depression if they impose new virus restrictions. And public health officials in some areas that have seen a surge of adolescent suicides have pushed for schools to reopen, although researchers say it is too early to conclusively link restrictions to suicide rates.

In Europe, with the crippled economy and the aftermath of the restrictions, the psychological fallout of the pandemic could unfold for months, or even years, public health officials say, with young people among the most affected.

Bereaved families of young people who have died during the pandemic are haunted by questions over whether lockdowns which not only shut stores and restaurants but required people to stay home for months played a role. They are calling for more resources for mental health and suicide prevention.

Lily Arkwright, a 19-year-old history student at Cardiff University in Wales, was self-confident, outgoing and charismatic in public, her friends and family said, but as she went back to school in September, she began to struggle with the effects of lockdown. She died by suicide in October.

Lockdown put Lily in physical and emotional situations she would never have in normal times, said her mother, Annie Arkwright.

Its OK for a young child to fall over and let their parents know that their knee hurts, Ms. Arkwright said. This same attitude needs to be extended to mental health.

BUENOS AIRES Argentina is delaying the administration of the second dose of Covid-19 vaccines for three months in an effort to ensure that as many people as possible get at least one dose amid a sluggish vaccination drive.

The move seeks to vaccinate the largest number of people possible with the first dose to maximize the benefits of vaccination and diminish the impact of hospitalizations and mortality, the government said in announcing the decision on Friday.

The country has been applying Russias Sputnik V, Chinas Sinopharm and Covishield, the Indian version of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Since its vaccination campaign began in December, Argentina, a country of 45 million people, says it has administered a total of 3.5 million doses of the vaccine, which includes more than half a million people who have received the two doses called for in the protocols for all three vaccines.

Several countries are considering delaying second doses, including Britain, which pursued a plan to separate doses by up to three months. And federal health authorities in the United States have indicated flexibility on expanding the gap between first and second doses to six weeks.

Argentinas decision to delay second doses comes amid increasing concerns of the possibility of a new wave of Covid-19 cases and deaths, fueled by new variants that have engulfed several of Argentinas neighbors, particularly Brazil, but also Chile and Paraguay.

Argentina is canceling all direct flights with Brazil, Chile and Mexico starting on Saturday. It had already blocked flights from Britain and Ireland, and recently required international travelers to take a mandatory coronavirus test on arrival and to quarantine in a hotel if the result came back positive.

India, racing to contain a second wave of the coronavirus, on Sunday reported its biggest single-day spike since October 62,258 cases in the past 24 hours.

The uptick, which was especially high in the state of Maharashtra, home to Mumbai, comes as more people ease up on public health measures like wearing masks and social distancing.

Officials say the relaxed attitude could be one factor in the increase. Single-day figures sometimes contain anomalies, but the countrys seven-day average of new cases, a more reliable gauge, has been rising sharply since early March.

The resurgence of the coronavirus, which was once seemingly in retreat, is prompting health officials and law enforcement agencies to review and adopt more stringent measures to try to stem the spread. Health care workers are particularly worried as people gather to celebrate festivals like Holi and crowd at bazaars.

India has directed regional governments to deploy law enforcement officials to ensure that people are wearing masks and maintaining distance. And the country has also curtailed exports of Covid-19 vaccines, inciting a setback for inoculation drives in other countries, especially in poorer ones that do not have the infrastructure to produce their own.

India is desperate for all the doses it can get. Infections are soaring, topping 50,000 per day, more than double the number less than two weeks ago. And the Indian vaccine drive has been sluggish, with less than 4 percent of Indias nearly 1.4 billion people getting a jab, far behind the rates of the United States, Britain and most European countries.

The latest surge is crippling life in several regions of Maharashtra, which has recorded the highest number of cases in the country 2.6 million. The state is home to densely populated Mumbai, the countrys financial hub, where millions live, sometimes in very close quarters. The Dharavi slum was sealed off for nearly two months during the first wave of infections.

Even as cases rose in the city, business continued as usual in some pockets. But entire districts of the state have gone back into lockdown, and the government in Maharashtra is imposing a nightly curfew starting Sunday. Malls will also close at 8 p.m.

As of Sunday morning, India had reported more than 11.9 million cases and 161,240 deaths, according to a New York Times database. Sachin Tendulkar, one of Indias cricketing legends, and the Bollywood star Aamir Khan were among those who have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent days.

The European Unions stumbling Covid-19 vaccination drive, badly shaken by the recent AstraZeneca safety scare, got a boost Friday from the European Medicines Agency, which approved new AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccine production sites.

The agency, an arm of the European Union and Europes top drug regulator, approved sites in the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. It also loosened regulations for how long the Pfizer vaccine must be stored at ultralow temperatures.

The moves could speed up the Continents lagging vaccine production and distribution, which have been plagued by delays and setbacks.

Though the European Union is flush with cash, influence and negotiating heft, only about 10 percent of its citizens have received a first dose, compared with 26 percent in the United States and 44 percent in Britain. The bloc of 27 nations was comparatively slow to negotiate contracts with drugmakers, and regulators were cautious and deliberative in approving some vaccines. And it has been stymied by supply disruptions and shortages.

Europe also experienced a scare over the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine and distribution in several countries was temporarily halted. Most of those countries have resumed using it, after the E.U. drug agency vouched for its safety. But public confidence in the shot has been severely undermined.

The hitches in Europes vaccine rollout come as some countries, like Germany, are facing a spike in new cases. The next few weeks will decide whether we can get the pandemic under control in the foreseeable future, Helge Braun, an aide to Germanys chancellor, Angela Merkel, told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag. If the number of infections rises rapidly at the same time as the vaccination, the risk increases that the next virus mutation will become immune to the vaccine.

The agency said a new warning label would be added to the vaccine so that people in the medical community could watch for rare complications that could lead to blood clots and brain bleeds.

Trust in the AstraZeneca vaccine is essential to fighting the pandemic worldwide. The shot is more easily stored and less expensive than Pfizers or Modernas, and for now, it is sold without the goal of earning a profit.

The European Union has exported more vaccine doses than it has administered. On Wednesday, it revealed emergency legislation that would curb exports of Covid-19 vaccines manufactured in its countries for the next six weeks.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, posted on Twitter on Thursday that the European Union had shipped out 77million doses since early December, that 88million were expected to be distributed internally by the end of the week and that 62million shots had been administered within member nations.

Bryan Pietsch contributed reporting.

Its called smell training, and it is suddenly in big demand.

According to one study, as many as 77 percent of people who have had Covid-19 were estimated to have lost their sense of smell to some degree as a result of their infections.

People who experience a loss of smell may also develop parosmia, a disturbing disorder in which previously normal scents register as unpleasant odors.

Read more from the original source:

Covid-19: About a Third of U.S. Adults Have Received at Least One Dose of a Vaccine - The New York Times

A former top U.S. health official says he thinks the coronavirus originated in a lab in Wuhan, China, and began spreading as early as September 2019.

Robert Redfield, who led the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, told CNN in a clip aired Friday that he thinks that scenario is more likely than any alternative, including that the virus erupted after transferring from animals to humans or in a live-animal market.

The most likely origin was from a laboratory -- you know, escaped, said Redfield, who served during former President Donald Trumps administration. Other people dont believe that. Thats fine. Science will eventually figure it out.

Redfield added that he was not implying any intentionality, or accusing China of purposefully releasing the virus, and that he guesses it started transmitting somewhere in September, October, in Wuhan.

Trump frequently assigned blame to China for the pandemic, calling it the China Virus and even Kung Flu, offensive descriptions that have been criticized as helping to spawn a barrage of attacks on Asian Americans.

The origin of the virus remains unclear and is a matter of dispute. Anthony Fauci, one of President Joe Bidens top health advisers, said Friday that Redfields view isnt held by a majority of health officials.

The World Health Organization is due to release a report on its origins this month, informed by a team of 17 international scientists. There are four main theories, including that it came from a lab, but research by the scientists involved shows the most likely is that the virus was transferred to humans after spreading, and adapting, from bats to an intermediary host species. Its not clear what species that was.

The U.S. has been concerned about a lack of transparency and data in the preparation of that report, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Friday. She declined to say whether Biden had a view on where the virus originated, adding that the report is due soon.

They actually delayed the release of that report, which we were encouraged by. Well have to take a look at it and make sure we have access to the underlying information, Psaki said. She reiterated a call for an international investigation into the pandemic and the lack of transparency from the Chinese.

Where Are We in Hunting for the Coronaviruss Origin?: QuickTake

The WHO research also found no evidence that the virus spread before December 2019, suggesting the first cases probably began no earlier than late November -- a more recent time line than Redfield suggests.

Redfield said the viruss strength, in how easily it spreads, suggests it was developed in a lab. If it had come from animals, it would have likely taken more time to adapt to spreading between humans, he said.

I do not believe this somehow came from a bat to a human -- and, at that moment in time, the virus came to the human, became one of the most infectious viruses that we know in humanity for human-to-human transmission, Redfield said. It takes a while for it to figure out how to become more and more efficient in human-to-human transmission. I just dont think this makes biological sense.

He was asked whether he believes the lab was working to specifically make the virus more efficient. Lets just say, I have a coronavirus, and Im working on it -- most of us in the lab are trying to grow virus, he said. We try to make it grow better and better and better and better, so we can do experiments and figure out about it. Thats the way I put it together.

Fauci -- the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who worked with Redfield but remains in his post -- said Redfield was expressing an opinion that isnt widely shared.

The alternative explanation, which most public health individuals go by, is that this virus was actually circulating in China, likely in Wuhan, for a month or more before they were clinically recognized at the end of December, Fauci said at a press briefing Friday. That means the virus clearly could have adapted itself during that time.

The current CDC director, Rochelle Walensky, declined to comment at the same press briefing on Friday, saying she didnt have any information for or against any hypothesis. We are looking forward to a WHO report that should be coming out soon that examines the origins of this pandemic, she said.

Discussion of a labs potential role in breeding the coronavirus first centered on whether the pathogen was synthetically made or modified, said Stanley Perlman, a University of Iowa virologist who specializes in coronaviruses. Thats probably too complicated to be done deliberately with standard genetic techniques, he said.

Redfield now seems to have suggested that growing the virus in cells made it better adapted to human tissues, and that perhaps such a version escaped from the lab. The problem with this theory, Perlman said, is that culturing viruses in tissues normally makes them less virulent, because they become adapted to an environment that lacks the immune forces -- T cells and antibodies -- that normally keep invaders under control.

While there are many examples of viruses that have been made less dangerous by growth in human cells, he said, I cant think of an example where someone has made a virus more virulent this way.

With assistance by John Lauerman

(Updates with Psaki starting in eighth paragraph.)

Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.

The rest is here:

Former CDC Chief Says He Thinks Virus Came From Wuhan Lab - Bloomberg

Facts, not fear: We're tracking the latest numbers from the coronavirus pandemic in San Antonio and across Texas.

SAN ANTONIO We're tracking the latest numbers from the coronaviruspandemic in San Antonio and across Texas. Here are the latest numbers reported by Bexar and surrounding counties:

More county case information is available through theTexas Department of Health Services COVID-19 dashboard.

How Bexar County is trending

We've tracked how many coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Bexar County from the time officials began reporting cases in March 2020. The graphic below shows the number of cases since June and charts those daily case numbers along a 7-day moving average to provide a more accurate picture of the overall coronavirus case curve in our area and the direction we're trending amid the pandemic.

On Thursday, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg reported an additional 210 coronavirus cases in Bexar County. At least 203,191 county residents have been diagnosed with the virus, and the seven-day rolling case average rose to 179.

Three new virus-related fatalities were reported; the local death toll rose to 3,076.

31 patients were admitted into area hospitals in the last 24 hours; 188 concurrent patients are receiving treatment for COVID as hospitals rose for a second straight day Thursday. Of those 188 patients, 39 are on ventilators and 69 are in intensive care.

Monday's weekly update of the Warning Signs and Progress Indicators for Bexar County saw Bexar County holding steady at the low-risk level. The positivity rate dropped to 2.3 percent, which is the lowest rate since April 2020, when Metro Health began tracking data.

Coronavirus in Texas

The total number of novel coronavirus cases in the state since the pandemic began grew by 3,234 on Thursday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. That total includes 2,167 new confirmed cases, 788 new probable cases, and a backlog of 279 cases. More details can be found on this page.

Thursday's figures bring the total number of Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 to more than 2.759 million.

Meanwhile, state health authorities reported an additional 132 deaths from coronavirus complications in Texas. In all, 46,868 Texans have died from COVID-19 complications.

The number of concurrent hospitalizations across the state, dropped by 51 over the last 24 hours to 3,410 COVID-19 patients receiving treatment for their symptoms across the state, as of Thursday.

The state, meanwhile, estimates that about 2.607 million Texans have recovered, while 98,916 Texans remain ill with COVID-19.

The latest update from the Texas Education Agency showed that there have been at least 194,936 cumulative cases among staff and students on Texas public school campuses through March 14. That number comprises 127,196 positive student cases and 67,740 staff cases. More information can be found here.

The TEA typically releases new data on school cases on Fridays.

Latest Coronavirus Headlines

Coronavirus symptoms

The symptoms of coronavirus can be similar to the flu or a bad cold. Symptoms include fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Most healthy people will have mild symptoms. A study of more than 72,000 patients by the Centers for Disease Control in China showed 80 percent of the cases there were mild.

But infections can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death, according to the World Health Organization. Older people with underlying health conditions are most at risk.

Experts determined there was consistent evidence these conditions increase a person's risk, regardless of age:

Human coronaviruses are usually spread...

Help stop the spread of coronavirus

Find a Testing Location

City officials recommend getting a COVID-19 test if you experience fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, or diarrhea.

Here's a Testing Sites Locatorto help you find the testing location closest to you in San Antonio.

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Coronavirus Tracker: Hospitalizations on the rise for a second straight day - KENS5.com

On Wednesday, Mr. Draghi said that differing approaches by the regions to vaccinating people over the age of 80 was unacceptable, adding that some neglect their elderly to favor groups who claim priority based probably on some contractual power.

March 26, 2021, 12:43 a.m. ET

In Tuscany, a region usually admired for its health care system, only about 6 percent of people over the age of 80 have been fully vaccinated, prompting a public letter from leading citizens.

Inefficiency, they wrote, produces deaths.

Matteo Villa, a researcher at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies who has studied the coronavirus pandemic, said that Italys strategy of first vaccinating only health care workers had resulted in a bottleneck that made the virus more deadly.

When the delays came, he said, we still had a lot of elderly people to vaccinate.

Guido Bertolaso, the former head of Italys civil protection agency who is now in charge of the vaccine campaign in Lombardy, said the country had failed to act on emergency footing.

He blamed pharmaceutical companies not making good on their promised deliveries for Italys problems. When you plan, you must know where you get the vaccine, at what time, which amount, on a weekly basis, he said. In any case, he added, In Italy with planning, we are not very good.

Avoidable organizational and logistical problems have slowed the rollout and infuriated Italians. In Lombardy, a wealthy northern region at the center of Italys outbreak, intensive care wards are still packed with older and dying Italians, making it an emblem of Italys missteps.

Every time the phone rings, I hope its them, said Ester Bucco, 84, from Castiglione Olona, in the Lombardy region, who registered two months ago to get vaccinated but has yet to get an appointment. She walks around the house carrying her home phone and said she had started taking anti-anxiety pills to cope. I really want to see my grandchildren.

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Why Supply Isnt the Only Thing Stymying Europes Coronavirus Vaccine Rollout - The New York Times

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Coronavirus (COVID-19) hospitalizations in the borough rose on Friday to its highest level in more than a month.

At the same time, four more Staten Islanders succumbed to the disease, while 204 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus were reported here over the past 24 hours, city Health Department data shows.

As of Friday afternoon, 190 coronavirus patients were being treated in the boroughs two hospital systems, an increase of five.

There had been 185 patients on Thursday, 181 on Wednesday and 184 on Tuesday, continuing a fluctuating pattern that has extended throughout the month.

COVID-19 hospitalizations this year had most recently peaked over two months ago on Jan. 18 at 302 patients before dipping to a low of 154 on Feb. 27.

Fridays total was the most since Feb. 18, when there were 197 coronavirus patients.

Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH) was treating 149 patients, said Jillian OHara, a spokeswoman. That number was up three from 24 hours earlier.

Richmond University Medical Center was caring for 41 patients, a boost of two from Thursday, Alex Lutz, a spokesman, said.

Meanwhile, as of 1 p.m. Friday, 1,674 borough residents are believed to have died from complications related to the coronavirus, according to the most recent data available.

The fatalities include 1,469 borough residents with confirmed COVID-19 cases, an uptick of four from Thursday.

In addition, 205 fatalities were in the probable category, the same number for several days.

A death is classified as probable if the decedent was a city resident who had no known positive laboratory test for the coronavirus, but the death certificate lists COVID-19 or an equivalent as a cause of death.

According to city Health Department data, the vast majority of confirmed coronavirus deaths in the five boroughs occurred in individuals with underlying medical issues.

Those conditions can include lung disease, asthma, heart disease, a weakened immune system, obesity, diabetes, kidney disease, liver disease and cancer.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

Also, as of Friday afternoon, 54,018 confirmed cases of the disease have been recorded in the borough since the beginning of the pandemic over a year ago.

That tally was 204 higher than Thursdays figure of 53,814.

A Health Department source has said all data is preliminary, subject to change and can reflect lags in collection.

Across the five boroughs, 686,899 confirmed coronavirus cases have been reported as of Friday afternoon.

That total represents a jump of 2,857 from Thursdays tally of 684,042.

Citywide, the suspected coronavirus death count has reached 30,898.

The fatalities consist of 25,861 individuals who were confirmed coronavirus cases.

There were 5,037 others whose deaths were deemed as probable COVID-19 cases.

With respect to testing, the data shows 11,344 of every 100,000 Staten Islanders or more than 1 in 9 have received positive results for the coronavirus, according to 2018 Census data projections and the Health Departments Friday afternoon tally.

Staten Islands infection rate is the highest, per capita, among the five boroughs.

Officials, however, stress the examinations do not necessarily reflect the full spread of the virus.

The Bronxs infection rate is second highest.

In that borough, 9,442 residents per 100,000 have tested positive. The Bronx has had 135,216 confirmed cases.

Queens has the third-highest rate of confirmed coronavirus cases in the city with 8,807 residents per 100,000 testing positive. There have been 200,693 cases in that borough, the second-most populous.

Brooklyn, the borough with the largest population, has the fourth-lowest rate of infection per 100,000 residents 7,778.

However, Brooklyns 200,893 cases are the now the most among the five boroughs, having overtaken Queens on Friday.

Manhattan has the lowest infection rate in the city with 5,896 per 100,000 residents testing positive.

There have been 96,035 positive cases in Manhattan, the data said.

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COVID hospitalizations on Staten Island highest in over a month - SILive.com