Covid 19

On Friday afternoon, Oregon Governor Kate Brown announced a two-week "pause" in state counties with the highest rates of COVID-19 transmission. The pause will begin on November 11, Veterans' Day, and go until November 25, the day before Thanksgiving. The pause comes one day after Oregon reached its highest-ever daily toll of new coronavirus cases, reporting 790 cases on Thursday, November 5. Overall, the state has reported 48,608 COVID-19 cases and 716 COVID-related deaths since March 20. The governor's pause urges businesses to allow as many employees as possible to work from home and tells long-term care facilities like nursing homes to forbid outside visitors. It also asks all indoor dining, bars, and recreation facilities, like museums and gyms, to reduce their maximum capacity to 50 people. Additionally, Brown asked individuals to limit house gatherings to no more than six people, to reduce the frequency of home gatherings to no more than once every two weeks and encouraged … [Read more...] about Oregon governor orders 2-week “pause” of counties with rising COVID-19 cases

KUALA TERENGGANU: There are individuals who are willing to be injected with distilled water just to get fake Covid-19 vaccination certificates from a doctor at a private clinic in Marang. In revealing the matter, Terengganu police chief Datuk Rohaimi Md Isa said so far, 23 individuals of various backgrounds have had their statements taken to assist in the investigation into the matter. He said all the individuals had admitted that they did not receive the actual Covid-19 vaccine shots. "Some of them admitted to taking injections of distilled water or saltwater on the grounds that they still get the shots even though they were not the Covid-19 vaccine," he told a press conference at the Terengganu contingent police headquarters here on Thursday (Jan 20). He was commenting on the development of the investigation into a case involving a doctor at a private clinic in Marang, who was nabbed for allegedly issuing fake Covid-19 vaccination certificates. Rohaimi said investigations … [Read more...] about Fake Covid-19 vaccination certs: Individuals willing to be injected with distilled water, say cops

Nearly 1 million children were infected with COVID-19 in the last week according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, four times the rate of the peak of last winters’ surge. For the week ending Jan. 13, more than 981,000 child COVID-19 cases were reported, a 69 percent increase over the 580,000 cases reported the week ending Jan. 6, and a tripling of case counts from the two weeks prior. Nearly 9.5 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, and 10 percent of all cases have been added just in the past week. ADVERTISEMENT Since the pandemic began, children represented nearly 18 percent of total cases in the U.S. For the week ending Jan. 13, children were 21.4 percent of reported weekly COVID-19 cases For the 23rd week in a row, there are more than 100,000 child COVID-19 cases. Since the first week of September, there have been over 4.4 million additional child cases. The American Academy of Pediatrics said it relies on … [Read more...] about Nearly 1 million child COVID-19 infections reported in past week

Michigan's state health department is requiring nursing homes to provide on-site COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots to residents. The order , issued on Thursday by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), says nursing homes must begin offering the shots within 30 days. It does not require nursing home residents to be vaccinated but orders nursing homes to document whether each resident offered a vaccine accepted or refused their dose. Should a resident be unable to make their own medical decisions, nursing home staff must contact the person legally responsible for their care and make them aware of the option to receive the shot on-site, MDHHS said. ADVERTISEMENT "With the Omicron variant rapidly spreading across our state and cases of COVID-19 continuing to remain high, we want to make sure our most vulnerable Michiganders are protected from the virus," Elizabeth Hertel, the MDHHS director, said in a statement . "The COVID-19 vaccine is … [Read more...] about Michigan nursing homes required to offer COVID-19 booster shots on-site

India recorded 3,43,535 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, a 30% increase from a week ago. The total number of infections has reached 3.84 crore, and the number of active cases has crossed the 19.7 lakh mark. The figures are based on the State bulletins released until 9.30 p.m. on Thursday. However, Ladakh, Tripura, Jharkhand and Lakshadweep had not yet released data for the day. Karnataka recorded 47,754 infections on Thursday, followed by Kerala (46,387) and Maharashtra (46,197). On Thursday, 682 deaths were recorded in India, double the average levels recorded in the last week. The total number of recorded fatalities has reached 4,88,280 Kerala reported the most deaths with 341 fatalities (309 of them are due to a backlog), followed by Delhi (43) and Tamil Nadu recorded 39 deaths. On Wednesday, 19.3 lakh tests were conducted, the highest on a single day in the ongoing wave. The test positivity rate was 17.7%. As of Thursday, 90.6% of the eligible population has been … [Read more...] about COVID-19 | Active cases breach 19.7 lakh mark

France announced on Thursday that it would be implementing new COVID-19 restrictions in the country while loosening other restrictions beginning in February. French officials said that entry into public places such as museums, bars and restaurants would not be allowed for most people who do not show recent recovery from COVID-19 or proof of vaccination beginning on Monday, The New York Times reported . French health minister Olivier Véran said during a Thursday news conference that the vaccine pass would be applied “as long as necessary, but no longer than necessary,” though officials did not offer definite details regarding that timeline, the newspaper noted. ADVERTISEMENT However, other COVID-19 restrictions in the country are expected to be lifted next month. Among some of the first restrictions to be lifted would be capacity limits in public places, requirements for outdoor masking and — for some companies — mandates for remote work, The Times reported. … [Read more...] about France to loosen COVID-19 restrictions in February

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Wednesday expressed disappointment with the finance minister's announcements, saying the Centre's COVID-19 economic stimulus package has nothing for lakhs of poor and hungry migrant workers who have been walking to their home. Addressing a press conference through video conferencing, he said the central government announced Rs 3.6 lakh crore of collateral-free loans for small businesses, but 'where is the remaining Rs 16.4 lakh crore?' "Except for the modest MSME package, we are disappointed with today's announcements," Chidambaram said, adding there was nothing for the poor or the middle class in the package. Asked if the measures announced would help propel demand, he said, "I do not find anything in this package that could stimulate the demand. The former finance minister also said changes in labour laws by some BJP-ruled states was done at a wrong time, saying they have set a 'wrong precedent'. He said Union Finance Minister Nirmala … [Read more...] about Centre’s Covid-19 Economic Package Has Nothing for Migrant Workers: Chidambaram

The White House on Friday launched a new phone line that Americans can use to order free at-home coronavirus tests, in an effort to reach those who cannot easily access the internet. Starting Friday, Americans who cannot put in an order for the COVID-19 tests on the website launched by the White House earlier this week can call 1-800-232-0233 to do so, the White House said. The call line, which serves those speaking English, Spanish and over 150 additional languages, is open 8 a.m. until midnight EST, seven days a week. The Biden administration has also set up a text-based line for hearing impaired callers at 1-888-720-7489. ADVERTISEMENT The White House said the resources are meant to make the process of ordering the free tests as easy as possible and ensure that Americans with low literacy, those who have challenges accessing the internet and those who need additional support can access the tests. The White House also said that the administration is working with … [Read more...] about White House launches call line for free COVID-19 test orders

Salem district on Friday reported 1,009 fresh cases of COVID-19, which took the overall tally to 1,09,487. As many as 509 persons were discharged after treatment, and the district had 4,735 active cases as on Friday. Erode district reported 973 new cases, and the overall tally rose to 1,15,031. While 437 persons were discharged, 4,949 persons were under treatment. Namakkal district reported 559 fresh cases, which took the overall tally to 58,165. While 328 persons were discharged, 2,402 persons continue to be under treatment. Krishnagiri recorded 748 new cases on Friday. A total of 357 persons were discharged after treatment and the district had 3,73 active cases on Friday. The district’s overall case tally stood at 48,905. Dharmapuri recorded 344 fresh cases on Friday. A total of 134 persons were discharged and the district had 1,521 active cases on Friday. As on date, a total 31,173 cases were reported in Dharmapuri. … [Read more...] about Salem reports 1,009 new COVID-19 cases

Collector V. Jayachandra Bhanu Reddy reviewed the COVID-19 protocols followed by the industrial units in the district. Industrial establishments were directed to make thermal screening mandatory and isolate persons with temperature and symptoms of infection. The units must also ensure that the workers wore masks and practised physical distancing. All units were instructed to ensure full vaccination of the workforce and to urge workers to have their families fully vaccinated. Persons who have completed 39 weeks since the second dose of vaccination are eligible for the booster dose, the Collector said. The workspaces should have sanitisers and occupancy in the dining rooms should not be over 50% at any given point in time. Industrial units with over 10,000 sq.ft space were mandated to have their own medical committees and a health inspector to monitor the health of the workers. … [Read more...] about Krishnagiri Collector reviews COVID-19 protocols in industrial units