Category Archives: Covid-19

1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have now passed 75 million globally, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The number of confirmed deaths stands at more than 1.66 million.

Two-thirds of England will be under the country's toughest 'Tier 3' COVID-19 measures from Saturday to tackle a rising number of infections.

Northern Ireland to set to enter six-week COVID-19 lockdown on December 26 to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases.

A new study from Singapore has shown that pregnant women don't get sicker than the wider population. It also found that babies born to infected mothers have antibodies against the virus.

A second wave of infections is hitting West and Central Africa with experts are warning it could be worse than the first, as cooler weather descends on the region.

Johnson & Johnson has enrolled 45,000 people into the first late-stage trial of its COVID-19 single-dose vaccine candidate. J&J plans to submit an emergency use authorization application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in February if the data from the study is safe and effective.

South Korea has reported 1,062 new coronavirus cases, its second-highest ever daily tally.

Early data from the Phase I and II trials of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine found it provoked a good immune response when a two full-dose regime is used.

The United States Food and Drug Administration is set to grant emergency approval to the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

Cases continue to rise in many countries.

Image: Our World in Data

Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic requires global cooperation among governments, international organizations and the business community, which is at the centre of the World Economic Forums mission as the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.

Since its launch on 11 March, the Forums COVID Action Platform has brought together 1,667 stakeholders from 1,106 businesses and organizations to mitigate the risk and impact of the unprecedented global health emergency that is COVID-19.

The platform is created with the support of the World Health Organization and is open to all businesses and industry groups, as well as other stakeholders, aiming to integrate and inform joint action.

As an organization, the Forum has a track record of supporting efforts to contain epidemics. In 2017, at our Annual Meeting, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) was launched bringing together experts from government, business, health, academia and civil society to accelerate the development of vaccines. CEPI is currently supporting the race to develop a vaccine against this strand of the coronavirus.

2. French President, Emmanuel Macron, tests positive for COVID-19

French President, Emmanuel Macron, tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday and has gone into quarantine.

He joins a list of world leaders who've contracted the virus, which includes UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

Macron will cancel all upcoming trips, and the news has prompted track-and-trace efforts after recent meetings with leaders from across the EU.

3. EU states to start COVID-19 vaccinations

European Union states will start vaccinations against COVID-19 from 27 December, EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has confirmed. The bloc is home to some 450 million people.

EU member states have been waiting for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. The EMA is expected to make an announcement on 21 December.

The EMA has also said it was speeding up efforts to approve the Moderna vaccine. It will bring forward a review to 6 January from 12 January.

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COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 18 December - World Economic Forum

Health care workers at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston face another full-throttle workday last week. Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Health care workers at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston face another full-throttle workday last week.

The federal government on Monday released an updated set of detailed hospital-level data showing the toll COVID-19 is taking on health care facilities, including how many inpatient and ICU beds are available on a weekly basis.

Using an analysis from the University of Minnesota's COVID-19 Hospitalization Tracking Project, NPR has created a tool that allows you to see how your local hospital and your county overall are faring. (Jump to look-up tool.)

It focuses on one important metric how many beds are filled with COVID-19 patients and shows this for each hospital and on average for each county.

The ratio of COVID-19 hospitalizations to total beds gives a picture of how much strain a hospital is under. Though there's not a clear threshold, it's concerning when that rate rises above 10%, hospital capacity experts told NPR.

Anything above 20% represents "extreme stress" for the hospital, according to a framework developed by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

If that figure gets to near 50% or above, the stress on staff is immense. "It means the hospital is overloaded. It means other services in that hospital are being delayed. The hospital becomes a nightmare," IHME's Ali Mokdad told NPR.

Use the look-up tool below the map to find details about hospitals in your county.

Thomas Wilburn contributed to this report. This story was originally published on Dec. 9, 2020.

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Is Your Hospital Overwhelmed With COVID-19 Patients? Find Out With This Tool : Shots - Health News - NPR

TheWest Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reportsas of 10:00 a.m., November 26, 2020, there have been 1,079,066 total confirmatory laboratory results receivedfor COVID-19, with 44,180 total cases and 712 deaths.

DHHRhas confirmed the deaths of a 79-yearold male from Berkeley County, a 50-year old male from Mason County, an 89-yearold female from Jefferson County, a 69-year old male from Cabell County, an 86-yearold female from Kanawha County, a 74-year old female from Putnam County, a 75-yearold male from Taylor County, an 85-year old female from Marshall County, a 57-yearold male from Raleigh County, an 81-year old female from Mineral County, a 47-yearold female from Wyoming County, a 70-year old male from Marshall County, a 98-yearold male from Cabell County, a 69-year old male from Preston County, a 57-yearold male from Jackson County, an 85-year old female from Cabell County, and a 68-yearold male from Doddridge County.

During the holiday season, we feel the lossof loved ones with a deeper pain, said Bill J. Crouch, DHHR Cabinet Secretary.Each person lost to this virus is loved and remembered, not only today, butevery day.

CASESPER COUNTY: Barbour (384), Berkeley (2,945),Boone (619), Braxton (108), Brooke (596), Cabell (2,756), Calhoun (69), Clay(106), Doddridge (117), Fayette (1,094), Gilmer (199), Grant (320), Greenbrier(432), Hampshire (299), Hancock (620), Hardy (240), Harrison (1,259), Jackson(684), Jefferson (1,263), Kanawha (5,480), Lewis (238), Lincoln (407), Logan(1,028), Marion (810), Marshall (1,104), Mason (403), McDowell (602), Mercer(1,286), Mineral (1,131), Mingo (966), Monongalia (3,202), Monroe (360), Morgan(252), Nicholas (322), Ohio (1,438), Pendleton (102), Pleasants (86),Pocahontas (152), Preston (541), Putnam (1,830), Raleigh (1,492), Randolph(677), Ritchie (145), Roane (162), Summers (265), Taylor (311), Tucker (126),Tyler (134), Upshur (471), Wayne (961), Webster (61), Wetzel (390), Wirt (95),Wood (2,361), Wyoming (679).

Please note that delaysmay be experienced with the reporting of information from the local healthdepartment to DHHR. As case surveillance continues at the local healthdepartment level, it may reveal that those tested in a certain county may notbe a resident of that county, or even the state as an individual in questionmay have crossed the state border to be tested. Such is the case of Clay County in this report.

Please visit the dashboard located at http://www.coronavirus.wv.gov for more information.

Upcoming free COVID-19 testing events:

November 27, 2020

Cabell County

9:00 AM 1:00 PM, Cabell-Huntington Health Department, 703 Seventh Avenue,Huntington, WV

November 28, 2020

Jackson County

9:00 AM 1:00 PM, Jackson County Health Department, 504 Church Street South,Ripley, WV

November 30, 2020

BerkeleyCounty

12:00 PM 4:00 PM, Martinsburg High School, 701 South Queen Street,Martinsburg, WV

4:30 PM 8:00 PM, Dorothy McCormack Building, 2000 Foundation Way,Martinsburg, WV

Boone County

10:00 AM 3:00 PM, Boone County Health Department, 213 Kenmore Drive,Danville, WV

Hampshire County

1:00 PM 6:00 PM, Hampshire High School, 157 Trojan Way, Romney, WV

Jefferson County

9:00 AM 1:00 PM, Jefferson County Health Department, Front Parking Lot,1948 Wiltshire Road, Kearneysville, WV

2:30 PM 6:30 PM, Shepherd University, Parking Lot beside Wellness Center,164 University Drive, Shepherdstown, WV

Marshall County

10:00 AM 3:00 PM, Marshall County Health Department, 513 6thStreet, Moundsville, WV

Ohio County

11:00 AM 4:00 PM, Valley Grove Volunteer Fire Department, 355 Fire HouseLane, Valley Grove, WV

11:00 AM 4:00 PM, Warwood Fire Station 9, 1301 Richland Avenue, Wheeling,WV

11:00 AM 4:00 PM, Wheeling Island Fire Station 5, 11 North Wabash Street,Wheeling, WV

Wirt County

Wood County

WyomingCounty

11:00 AM 3:00 PM, Old Board of Education, 19 Park Street,Pineville, WV

Please visit https://dhhr.wv.gov/COVID-19/pages/testing.aspx for more testing locations including the new locator map. Newsites are added daily.

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COVID-19 Daily Update 11-26-2020 - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

People across the country have the opportunity to sign up for health insurance until Dec. 15 when the open enrollment period comes to a close. But despite a few programs here meant to aid people sign up for coverage, a large percentage of the Rio Grande Valleys population remains underinsured.

One of the likeliest barriers to getting people to sign up for health insurance is one culprit weve heard so much about in the last few years misinformation.

I think that, obviously in the Valley, we have the same problem we always have with how do you get the word out with accurate information to people, and thats not easy, said Anne Dunkelberg, associate director of left-leaning Every Texan, an Austin-based nonprofit policy research and advocacy organization, formerly named the Center for Public Policy Priorities.

Frankly it requires people to be able to get information from somebody they trust, Dunkelberg said. And then it requires for the people they trust to have good information to give them.

Getting correct information is vital for people in mixed-status households who worry that trying to coverage for one family member who is a U.S. citizen could affect another family member who is undocumented or who is a permanent resident.

This is not by any means isolated to the Valley, Dunkelberg said. (But) its as big an issue in the Valley as it is anywhere else in Texas.

She explained that if parents are undocumented, their status doesnt affect the eligibility of their U.S. citizen children for Medicaid of the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

But families dont necessarily know that and they have lots of fears about immigration consequences that may keep a whole family from getting coverage when, in fact, maybe almost everybody in the family could qualify for coverage, or at least all the kids, Dunkelberg said.

Now, I dont want to oversimplify that problem because its not just a problem of misinformation, Dunkelberg added, weve also have had four years of a federal administrationits been very anti-immigrant and has deliberately changed federal policies to actually make it harder for families to access benefits and, specifically, has changed them in ways that make it even more confusing and that increase the amount of fear and misinformation.

Roxanne Pacheco, the interim executive director of Hope Family Health Center in McAllen, said she agreed that those fears played a role.

We hear it from our clients, Pacheco said. Many of them that may be going through the legalities of becoming a resident, they have this intense fear and its a valid, real fear as far as them not seeking any sort of help for themselves. However, what happens is they generalize it to the whole family.

Hope Family Health Center is a nonprofit organization that provides medical, counseling, behavioral and other services to the uninsured in the Valley.

To try to combat those fears among their clients and the rest of the uninsured population, Pacheco believed it was about education and increasing health literacy.

For example, often times what I hear back from people is Oh, I didnt know that you all saw the uninsured and this is a nonprofit thats been around for 24 years, she said.

Another key, she said, is learning to speak their language, both literally and figuratively.

A lot of these are Spanish-speaking people and were not speaking in their language, Pacheco said. Were not telling them or validating that yes, your fear may be valid, however, this is a portion that youre not being informed about.

Validating and normalizing, she said, is important so that their fears can subside and they can feel strong enough to pursue those benefits for either themselves or their families.

This year, the uninsured rate is expected to be higher than previous years because of the COVID-19 pandemic which has caused people to lose health care coverage they received through their employer or left the unable to afford insurance in the health insurance marketplace.

Many of our patients, they were working and now they find themselves barely able to make ends meet, Pacheco said. We have had patients who previously, for example, were donors for the food bank and now theyre the recipients of what they used to donate to.

The pandemic has also diminished the Hope centers ability see patients and simultaneously discouraged people from seeking health services.

As a precautionary measure, many of the clinics volunteer physicians have foregone seeing patients or theyre only seeing them virtually through telemedicine which Pacheco said really discouraged people from attending.

On the other hand, though, the use of tele-health has driven up the number of counseling appointments which Pacheco said was likely due to the fact that seeing a therapist privately, without leaving the house, circumvents the cultural shame or stigma that could accompany that.

The clinic has about 8,000 appointments on a yearly basis. This year, appointments for medical services have decreased by at least 25% while counseling appointments increased by about 30%, according to Pacheco.

But the pandemic has caused the clinic to lose important funds, endangering the safety net they provide for the uninsured.

Their annual fundraising event held in August, the Fishing for Hope tournament, was cancelled this year, causing them to lose out on the estimated $300,000 it brings in annually.

Those $300,000 goes to direct services for our patients, Pacheco said. That is how were able to do lab work, diagnostic testing, and this means that already going into 2021, which we anticipate is going to be a great year for need of care, we are already at a disadvantage.

Realistically, she said they expect they wont have the same capacity.

We are anticipating that there will be a greater opportunity for grants for the coming year as a new administration comes in, she said. So were relying heavily on hope literally on hope and faith to get us through but, realistically speaking, we also know that the challenge is going to be great.

Anyone interested in supporting Hope Family Health Center can make donations through their website at hopefamilyhealthcenter.org.

Pacheco said they also welcome organizations who would like to set up an information booth at their clinic to assist people who may qualify for insurance.

So if theres anybody that would like a space, by all means, we do open up that space, Pacheco said, and that would help both the uninsured that may not know what is available for family members and hopefully that will kind of just close the gap as far as that education piece is concerned.

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Misinformation, COVID-19 create barriers to healthcare coverage - Monitor

TheWest Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reportsas of 10:00 a.m., November 24, 2020, there have been 1,048,077 total confirmatory laboratory results receivedfor COVID-19, with 42,083 total cases and 682 deaths.

DHHRhas confirmed the deaths of a 94-yearold male from Wayne County, a 78-year old female from Cabell County, a 70-yearold male from Fayette County, an 80-year old male from Mineral County, a 74-yearold female from Marshall County, a 90-year old female from Mineral County, a 35-yearold female from Ohio County, an 84-year old female from Marion County, an 87-yearold female from Wood County, a 92-year old female from Ritchie County, a 79-yearold male from Wood County, a 70-year old female from Kanawha County, an 81-yearold male from Kanawha County, a 70-year old male from Mineral County, and an 83-yearold male from Mingo County.

Our thoughts arewith the families who have lost loved ones, said Bill J. Crouch, DHHR CabinetSecretary. Now, more than ever, we must be diligent in our efforts to controlthe spread of this virus for the health of our loved ones if not for ourselves.

CASESPER COUNTY: Barbour (357), Berkeley (2,799),Boone (593), Braxton (103), Brooke (566), Cabell (2,640), Calhoun (62), Clay(107), Doddridge (114), Fayette (1,065), Gilmer (192), Grant (307), Greenbrier(412), Hampshire (288), Hancock (569), Hardy (212), Harrison (1,156), Jackson(667), Jefferson (1,206), Kanawha (5,316), Lewis (226), Lincoln (385), Logan(1,006), Marion (757), Marshall (1,070), Mason (367), McDowell (585), Mercer(1,252), Mineral (1,028), Mingo (939), Monongalia (3,107), Monroe (342), Morgan(238), Nicholas (309), Ohio (1,357), Pendleton (100), Pleasants (76),Pocahontas (107), Preston (479), Putnam (1,710), Raleigh (1,441), Randolph(646), Ritchie (133), Roane (152), Summers (260), Taylor (279), Tucker (112),Tyler (127), Upshur (454), Wayne (930), Webster (54), Wetzel (378), Wirt (92),Wood (2,236), Wyoming (618).

Please note that delaysmay be experienced with the reporting of information from the local healthdepartment to DHHR. As case surveillance continues at the local healthdepartment level, it may reveal that those tested in a certain county may notbe a resident of that county, or even the state as an individual in questionmay have crossed the state border to be tested. Such is the case of Lincoln County in this report.

Please visit the dashboard located at http://www.coronavirus.wv.gov for more information.

Free COVID-19 testing is available today in Barbour, Berkeley, Boone, Cabell,Grant, Hancock, Jackson, Jefferson, Lincoln, Logan, Marshall, Mason, Mineral, Mingo,Morgan, Ohio, Putnam, Ritchie, Taylor, Wayne, Wood, and Wyoming counties.

BarbourCounty

8:00 AM 12:00 PM, Myers Clinic, 3 Health Care Drive, Philippi, WV

12:00 PM 4:00 PM, Belington Clinic, 56 N. Brandenburg Street, Belington,WV

1:00 PM 5:00 PM, Junior Volunteer Fire Department, 331 Row Avenue,Belington, WV

BerkeleyCounty

12:00 PM 4:00 PM, Hedgesville High School, 109 Ridge Road N.,Hedgesville, WV

1:00 PM 5:00 PM, Shenandoah Community Health, 99 Tavern Road,Martinsburg, WV

4:30 PM 8:00 PM, Dorothy McCormack Building, 2000 Foundation Way,Martinsburg, WV

BooneCounty

10:00 AM 3:00 PM, Boone County Health Department, 213 Kenmore Drive,Danville, WV

BrookeCounty

9:00 AM 4:00 PM, Brooke Middle School, 5 Bruin Drive, Wellsburg, WV

CabellCounty

9:00 AM 2:00 PM, Cabell-Huntington Health Department, 703 Seventh Avenue,Huntington, WV

GrantCounty

10:00 AM 3:30 PM, Union Education Complex, 52 Tiger Drive, Mt. Storm, WV(School at Mt. Storm)

HancockCounty

9:00 AM 1:00 PM, JD Rockefeller Vo Tech, 80 Rockefeller Circle, New Cumberland,WV

JacksonCounty

1:00 PM 5:00 PM, Ravenswood Senior Center, 511 Washington Street,Ravenswood, WV

JeffersonCounty

9:00 AM 11:00 AM, Shepherd University, 164 University Drive,Shepherdstown, WV

12:30 PM 3:30 PM, Jefferson County Health Department, 1948Wiltshire Road, Kearneysville, WV

4:30 PM 6:30 PM, Washington High School, 300 Washington PatriotDrive, Charles Town, WV

LincolnCounty

10:00 AM 2:00 PM, Lincoln County Health Department, 8008 Court Avenue,Hamlin, WV

11:00 AM 3:00 PM, Whites Plaza, Hamlin Piggly Wiggly, Hamlin, WV

LoganCounty

3:00 PM 7:00 PM, Tracy Vickers Community Center,68 Boise Street, Chapmanville, WV

Marshall County

10:00 AM 2:00 PM, Marshall County HealthDepartment, 513 6th Street, Moundsville, WV

Mason County

10:00 AM 12:00 PM, Wahama High School, 1 WhiteFalcon Way, Mason, WV

10:00 AM 12:00 PM, RC Byrd Locks, Apple Grove, WV

Mineral County

9:00 AM 12:00 PM, Mineral County Fairgrounds,Route 28, Fort Ashby, WV

2:00 PM 5:00 PM, Mineral County VoTech, 981 HarleyO Staggers Drive, Keyser, WV

Mingo County

9:00 AM 12:00 PM, Mount Hope Freewill BaptistCollege, Old County Road, Dingess, WV

9:00 AM 2:00 PM, Williamson Health and Wellness,173 East 2nd Avenue, Williamson, WV (Under tent)

10:00 AM 3:00 PM, Hurley Drug Company, 210 LoganStreet, Williamson, WV (by appointment; call 304-235-3535)

1:30 PM 5:00 PM, Chattaroy Volunteer FireDepartment, 1 Firefighter Lane, Williamson, WV

Morgan County

12:00 PM 7:00 PM, Warm Springs Middle School, 271Warm Springs Way, Berkeley Springs, WV

OhioCounty

11:00 AM 4:00 PM, Valley Grove Volunteer FireDepartment, 355 Fire House Lane, Valley Grove, WV

11:00 AM 4:00 PM, Warwood Fire Station 9, 1301Richland Avenue, Wheeling, WV

11:00 AM 4:00 PM, Wheeling Island Fire DepartmentStation 5, 11 North Wabash Street, Wheeling, WV

Putnam County

10:00 AM 2:00 PM, Teays Valley Church of God, 185 Connection Point, ScottDepot, WV

Ritchie County

11:00 AM 6:00 PM, Ritchie County High School, RitchieCounty School Road, Ellenboro, WV (pre-registration: http://www.ipsumcovidresults.com)

Taylor County

12:00 PM 2:00 PM, First Baptist Church of Grafton,2034 Webster Pike US Route 119 South, Grafton, WV

Wayne County

10:00 AM 2:00 PM, Wayne County Health Department,217 Kenova Avenue, Wayne, WV

Wood County

12:00 PM 4:00 PM, Parkersburg High School, 2101Dudley Avenue, Parkersburg, WV (pre-registration: http://www.ipsumcovidresults.com)

Wyoming County

11:00 AM 4:00 PM, Council on Aging at Maben, 695 MountaineerHighway, Mullins, WV

Please visit https://dhhr.wv.gov/COVID-19/pages/testing.aspx for more testing locations including the new locator map. Newsites are added daily.

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COVID-19 Daily Update 11-24-2020 - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

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Portland Reverend reacts to Governor Brown's new COVID-19 guidance, says he won't hold in-person service - KPTV.com

Three weeks later, while the county's number of infections crept upward, the home went into lockdown.

Every single one of the 61 residents in the home tested positive for the virus. At least 21 have since died of Covid-19, according to Mapes.

"When we started to see some of our people passing away from this, I mean, that really hit us hard," says Reva Benien, a lifelong Norton resident. "People that we grew up with, that were family friends or church members."

In a nearby prison facility, another crisis at the same time: The virus, likely seeping into the facility through a staff member, according to a corrections department spokesman, was spreading like wildfire, infecting hundreds of inmates in just a matter of weeks.

Some say part of understanding what went wrong lies in better understanding the surrounding community's response to Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, when for long, Norton remained virtually untouched by the virus.

"I think early on people just thought, 'Well, we're either going to get it or we're not going to get it,' or 'I'm not ever going to wear a mask,'" Benien said.

As the nation now grapples with the devastating fall Covid-19 surge, Norton County has become emblematic of the pandemic's deadly grip on Midwestern rural communities that were spared by earlier surges. But it also offers a glimpse into the diverse opinions that persist around the virus and the patchwork of safety measures used to curb its spread.

'Norton normal'

For Norton County, home to less than 6,000 people -- a community of ranchers and farmers, as the locals say -- the coronavirus was nothing but a nuisance for months after the pandemic's start.

Over the summer, as the virus again ran rampant across the country, crippling hospital systems and claiming hundreds of American lives daily, active Covid-19 cases in Norton County only reached the double digits briefly in mid-July.

Residents settled into to a lifestyle resembling the normalcy that is now, for many other Americans, just a memory.

"We didn't overreact," says Pastor Timm O. Meyer, of the Redeemer Lutheran Church. "We went on like pretty much as normal with just a few adaptations. That's what I call the 'Norton normal.'"

A day before the order went into effect, Norton's police chief announced on Facebook officers would not be enforcing it.

Meyer says it's the freedom to do the right thing, not being forced to, that was key for Nortoners.

"Out here, people are independent and if you give them a choice, they're going to do the right thing, they are concerned about others," Meyer says.

It's that choice that he says both residents and travelers -- especially from cities or states with mask mandates -- enjoyed over the summer months. Some, he says, have described Norton as an "oasis."

"An oasis in the desert, where we can do what we want... because this is still America and we still have our freedoms and we don't like to give them up much," he says.

Cases climbed in the fall, but little changed

Then came the fall.

"That really made people go, 'Wow, I guess this stuff is real and it's serious,'" Meyer said. "But it didn't, I don't think it changed people's patterns."

"You would think, 'Well everybody's going to stay home,'" he added. "They don't. They still go out to work and they come back and they still go out to eat."

The nursing home outbreak landed the small community in national headlines, but many felt the cases were contained in the two facilities -- the home and the prison. There was still no "big fear" of the virus, 72-year-old resident Cindy McMullen said.

"There's probably a little more fear since we had such a big outbreak," she says. "They're a little bit more fearful than they were three months ago. But I don't think anybody's in a panic."

"Cases in communities like Norton are higher because of outbreaks in jails and nursing homes, but there is also wider community spread," she had said. "Outbreaks are not isolated incidents."

Community spread is "the top predicator" of Covid-19 outbreaks in nursing homes, the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) wrote to CNN in an email.

"The virus' ability to spread through asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic carriers makes it extremely difficult to prevent it from getting into our facilities when there is high spread in the surrounding community,"AHCA/NCAL wrote.

"Rural areas are seeing higher COVID rates and, unfortunately, many individuals in these communities are not following CDC guidance on wearing masks and practicing social distancing," it said.

In facilities, some failed to wear masks

An October report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) alleged failures by the Andbe Home which placed "residents in immediate jeopardy." The report said staff members didn't wear masks at all times and at least one was seen with their mask "pulled down around their chin." Infected residents were found to be living with Covid-19 negative roommates with "only a curtain between them," the report alleged, and communal dining did not stop until two days after the facility's first positive antigen tests in residents.

"This meets the requirements as directed by our state governing agent," the post read. "We love our residents and are doing the best we can to take care of them."

Of the 61 residents who tested positive since October, a total of 21 residents have died. Forty have recovered while one resident remained hospitalized for a non-Covid-19 related reason, Mapes told CNN on November 23.

"Every time I look at the numbers of those who we have lost... I am struck by the fact that each represents an individual person, with a life and a history, and connections to other people," Mapes wrote to CNN earlier in November. "Please know what a sad time this has been for our staff, and that we have mourned every life lost."

Throughout the pandemic, Mapes had said in an initial email, "We have strived to be in compliance with guidelines issued by CMS, the CDC and the state."

Following the outbreak, Mapes said the home was assigned temporary new management and that new measures, including a strict no in-person visitation policy, were in place.

"After our recent inspection we knew we needed to make significant improvements, and that's exactly what we have done now with the assistance of clinical experts on our temporary management team," Mapes wrote. "We have re-educated all of our staff on clinical best practices -- and we are all committed to doing the right thing and providing the best possible care for our residents going forward."

This is an "insidious virus," she added.

"Nursing homes all over the country are experiencing outbreaks due to the spread in the surrounding community and a lack of resources," Mapes said. "What we now know is that prioritizing nursing homes in emergency situations is key, and we need to focus on a collaborative, not punitive, approach to help nursing homes respond to the pandemic."

In Norton Correctional Facility, it was most likely staff who brought in the virus before numbers began exploding, according to Randy Bowman, the executive director of public affairs for the Kansas Department of Corrections.

"It always originates in the community somewhere so our staff ... whatever they're doing in the community, they're the ones that are bringing it in," he said.

And while Bowman says there are required mask protocols for both staff and inmates, he added, "I think what we're seeing is fatigue."

"People are not always compliant with that but those protocols have been in place."

Local and state officials across the US say the politicization of both the virus and face masks has gotten in the way of helping curb the spread.

Jeff Johnston, McMullen's brother, agrees. Johnston grew up in Norton and now lives in Sacramento County, California, where "you wouldn't dream of being out in public without a mask on." He says he is still in touch with Norton residents, including childhood friends who live there.

"If you were to admit that you thought wearing a mask was a good thing, you would be a suspected Democrat," he says of his hometown.

"If you ever tried to say, I believe in science, so I think we need to treat this like a communicable disease .. and whether I like Trump or not, I think we should be wearing masks, you would be ostracized," Johnston added. "You either fit in or you're heavily branded the unusual person."

His sister doesn't think so.

"I don't feel like it's Democrat or Republican wearing a mask. I don't think that has anything to do with it at all," she says, adding she believes President Donald Trump "did as good as anybody with warning the people once he realized how serious of an issue it was."

McMullen sometimes opts to just keep her distance instead, for reasons of convenience.

"It's hard for me to breathe through those masks and I wear glasses, so then they fog up," she told CNN earlier in November. "I wear them where I absolutely have to, but if I don't have to, I just try to keep my distance. I haven't worried about it."

Benien, who spent the majority of her professional life working as a nurse, says she's still baffled at the resistance against masks.

"Nobody likes to wear a mask. As a nurse, I didn't say I'm not going to wear a mask when I go take care of that patient, because they have an infection or they have a compromised immune system. For whatever reason, I was wearing a mask," she says.

For her, wearing one to protect herself and others remains a priority.

"Once a nurse, always a nurse," she says.

The county's number of active community cases are now at the highest levels they've ever been. And across Kansas, the governor has sounded the alarm on a concerning spike of cases.

Less than a week later, Norton County's board of commissioners passed a resolution to adopt the governor's orders until December 31, rescinding a previous resolution prohibiting a mask mandate in the county. No enforcement details are listed in the county's resolution.

The state now holds the country's fifth highest seven-day positivity rate and on Thursday it reported record high hospitalization numbers, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

Many Norton residents seemed to have traditional Thanksgiving plans, Benien said, something she worries will in a few weeks translate to more cases.

"If there's one hope I have for our community, because we are a supportive and loving community in a lot of ways and we just need to be kind to each other, you know, wear the mask, follow the protocols so that we can get through this and have it behind us."

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For months, a rural Kansas community watched the Covid-19 pandemic unfold from afar. Then, a deadly outbreak landed right on their doorstep - CNN

Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon has been placed on a ventilator as he continues to battle COVID-19 a week after being hospitalized by the novel coronavirus, his daughter said Saturday.

Tiffani Jackson, Napoleon's daughter, said the sheriff was placed on a ventilator Friday to slow his breathing. She added reports of his condition worsening were untrue.

Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon.(Photo: David Guralnick, The Detroit News)

"It has become imperative that I put a few rumors to rest," Jackson said on her father's Facebook page. "Unfortunately, some have spread misinformation concerning my father and his fight against COVID-19. Despite what you all may be hearing he is not losing his fight.

"Last night, the doctors placed my father on a ventilator to assist him with slowing his breathing and allowing his body to begin healing. He still has the ability to breath(e) on his own, however, he needs time to rest because his body was working extremely too hard. My father was alert and played an intricate part in making the decision to be placed on the ventilator.

"We are not hopeless. We still have hope in the ultimate physician; Jesus. This is not the end! Our God's Word cannot return void.

"If you all choose to post an update on my dad, please repost this post as others may contain information that is inaccurate. I am grateful for all of your prayers. Please continue to bombard heaven on his behalf."

Napoleon, 65, reportedly has hadlow oxygen levels while hospitalized. The Wayne County Sheriff's Office announced Napoleon's diagnosis on Nov. 19, and he was hospitalized the following day.

The virus has hit the sheriff's office hard. In May, Donafay Collins, commander of the division 2 jail, died at 63 after contracting it. Two deputies and two doctors who worked at the jail also died after contracting the virus.

Sheriff's office employees are tested daily, downtown at the division 1 facility, and in Hamtramck at its division facility.

In March, Napoleon's brother, Hilton, who is Highland Park's chief of police, caught the virusand was hospitalized for 71 days. Detroit Police ChiefJames Craig had the virus in March.

charrison@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @Casey_Harrison1

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Wayne County Sheriff Napoleon put on ventilator amid bout with COVID-19 - The Detroit News

PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) A record number of COVID-19 deaths were reported on Saturday as South Dakota surpassed more than 900 deaths due to the virus, according to the update from the state department of health.

Fifty-four new COVID-19 deaths were reported, bringing the total to 942. There have been 527 deaths reported since Nov. 1. The new deaths were 23 women and 31 men listed in the following age ranges: 80+ (25); 70-79 (13); 60-69 (11); and 50-59 (5). The new deaths were listed in the following counties: Aurora (2), Beadle (1), Brown (1), Buffalo (2), Charles Mix (1), Codington (4), Davison (4), Day (2), Faulk (2), Grant (1), Gregory (1), Hamlin (1), Hanson (1), Hutchinson (1), Jackson (2), Lincoln (2), Minnehaha (11), Oglala Lakota (2), Pennington (4), Roberts (2), Tripp (2), Turner (2), Union (2) and Walworth (1).

On Saturday, 819 new total coronavirus cases were reported bringing the states total case count to 79,099, up from Friday (78,280). Total recovered cases are now at 61,051, up from Friday (61,010).

Active cases increased to 17,106 from Friday (16,382).

Current hospitalizations are at 539, down from Friday (569). Total hospitalized are now at 4,400, up from Friday (4,353).

Total persons tested negative is now at 246,277, up from Friday (245,204).

There were 1,892 new persons tested reported on Saturday. The new person test positivity rate for Saturday is 43-percent.

The latest 7-day all test positivity rate, reported by the DOH, is 13.8%. The DOH calculates that based on the results of the PCR test results but doesnt release total numbers for how many PCR tests are done daily. The DOH 1-day PCR test positivity rate is reported at 12.8%.

Only four of South Dakotas 66 counties are not listed as having substantial community spread.

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COVID-19 in South Dakota: 819 total new cases; Death toll rises to 942; Active cases at 17,106 - KELOLAND.com

Topline

President-Elect Joe Biden on Saturday announced three new additions to his coronavirus advisory board who contrast with the current White House coronavirus task force in their medical backgrounds and diversity.

WILMINGTON, DELAWARE - NOVEMBER 09: President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris ... [+] receive a briefing from the transition COVID-19 advisory board on November 09, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. The COVID-19 Advisory Board is comprised of 13 doctors and scientists and will be led by Dr. David Kessler, former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, Dr. Vivek Murthy, former U.S. Surgeon General, and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, a professor at Yale University. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Trumps coronavirus task force primarily consists of political appointees, including Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, economic adviser Larry Kudlow and National Security Advisor Robert OBrien, and is 81% white men.

The preliminary members of the Biden transitions coronavirus advisory board announced earlier this month were primarily disease experts and medical professionals, and the list was far more saturated with women and people of color.

The board is chaired by former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. David Kessler, former Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy and Yale University dean Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, a professor of internal medicine and a health equity researcher.

The new board-members include Jane Hopkins, a nurse who specializes in mental health and a leader of several nurses unions who immigrated to the U.S. from Sierra Leone in 2000.

Also added to the board in Jill Jim, the executive director of the Navajo Nation Department of Health whose leadership, the transition said in a statement, has been essential to the Covid-19 response on the Navajo Nation.

The final addition is David Michaels, an epidemiologist and professor of environmental and occupational health at George Washington University who served as an OSHA administrator in the Obama administration and an assistant secretary of energy in the Clinton administration.

Among the members of Bidens board are two former Trump administration officials, including Rick Bright, who was ousted as the federal governments vaccine chief in April. Bright alleged he was pushed out over his criticism of hydroxychloroquine, an unproven coronavirus treatment touted by Trump.

68%. Thats the share of registered voters who said in a Politico/Morning Consult poll released Tuesday that controlling the spread of coronavirus should be a top priority for Biden in his first 100 days. 67% said a Covid-19 vaccine plan and a coronavirus aid package should be a top priority, while 64% said stimulating the economy should be.

Biden has said he plans to keep on Dr. Fauci, the nations top infectious disease experts and the most popular face of the federal governments coronavirus response. Fauci, likewise, told McClatchy he expects to stay in his role but said he would seriously consider a cabinet position.

Full coverage and live updates on the Coronavirus

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Biden Creates Diverse Covid-19 Advisory Board To Contrast With Trump - Forbes