Good morning. This is Jonathan Spira reporting. Here now the news of the pandemic from across the globe on the 845th day of the pandemic.
It’s been noted by many that time has both sped up and slowed down during the pandemic.
Now we have some scientific evidence of this.
June 29 was the shortest day on our planet since the 1960s, the time when scientists began measuring the earth’s rotation using atomic clocks.
Earth’s rotation on its own axis takes approximately 24 hours and that period marks one day on earth. On June 29, midnight, according to the atomic clocks, came 1.59 milliseconds early.
As the pandemic continues, if time still feels different, simply blame it on the earth’s rotation… or the pandemic… or whatever comes to mind.
In other news we cover today, Apple is dropping mask requirements in some offices and Covid cases in New York State are in decline.
Here’s a look at what has taken place over the past 24 hours.
UNITED STATES
Another member of Congress has tested positive for the coronavirus. Senator John Cornyn of Texas announced in a social media post that he had contracted the virus.
“After dodging it for 2+ years I’ve tested positive for Covid-19,” he wrote. “I’m fully vaccinated and boosted, and doing fine.”
Meanwhile, case figures in New York State, home to one of the earliest epicenters of the pandemic, fell 15% last week, a strong indication that the BA.5 wave is receding, although the Empire State posted an increase in both hospitalizations and deaths.
The Knickerbocker State reported 44,235 new cases for the week ending this past Sunday, down from 52,115 cases in the preceding period.
TECH
Apple said it would drop its face mask requirement for corporate employees “in most locations,” according to an internal memorandum viewed by this publication.
“In light of current circumstances, wearing a face mask will no longer be required in most locations,” the company’s “Covid-19 Response Team” wrote in the memo.
TRAVEL
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moved three destinations, namely Romania, Moldova, and Miquelon, to Level 3, its highest-risk category.
Miquelon is a French archipelago off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
The Travel Health Notice system provides coronavirus risk ratings for non-U.S. destinations.
Levels 3, 2, and 1 are primarily determined by 28-day incidence of Covid, and, as of mid-April, Level 4, previously the highest category, is reserved for “special circumstances, such as rapidly escalating case trajectory or extremely high case counts, emergence of a new variant of concern, or healthcare infrastructure collapse.”
TODAY’S STATISTICS
Now here are the daily statistics for Tuesday, August 2.
As of Tuesday morning, the world has recorded 583.3 million Covid-19 cases, an increase of 0.8 million cases, and 6.42 million deaths, according to Worldometer, a service that tracks such information. In addition, 553.9 million people worldwide have recovered from the virus, an increase of 1.1 million.
Worldwide, the number of active coronavirus cases as of Tuesday is 23,028,005, a decrease of 247,000. Out of that figure, 99.8%, or 22,985,878, are considered mild, and 0.2%, or 42,127, are listed as critical. The percentage of cases considered critical is unchanged over the pat 24 hours.
The United States reported 176,728 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday for the previous day, compared to 10,865 on Monday, 11,967 on Sunday, 139,296 on Saturday, and 148,149 on Friday, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The 7-day incidence rate continues to be over 100,000 and is now 125,601. Figures for the weekend (reported the following day) are typically 30% to 60% of those posted on weekdays due to a lower number of tests being conducted.
The average daily number of new coronavirus cases in the United States over the past 14 days is 121,413, a 4% decrease, based on data from the Department of Health and Human Services, among other sources. The average daily death toll over the same period is 446, an increase of 4% over the same period, while the average number of hospitalizations for the period was 43,653, a 5% increase.
In addition, since the start of the pandemic the United States has, as of Tuesday, recorded 93.2 million cases, a higher figure than any other country, and a death toll of almost 1.06 million. India has the world’s second highest number of officially recorded cases, almost 44.1 million, and a reported death toll of 526,430.
New data from Russia’s Rosstat state statistics service showed at the end of May that the number of Covid or Covid-related deaths since the start of the pandemic there in April 2020 is now 812,890, giving the country the world’s second highest pandemic-related death toll, after the United States. Rosstat reported that 11,583 people died from the coronavirus or related causes in April, down from 35,584 in March and from 43,543 in February.
Meanwhile, France is the country with the third highest number of cases, 33.86 million, although Brazil has recorded the third highest number of deaths as a result of the virus, 678,792, and has recorded 33.85 million cases, placing it in the number four slot.
Germany is in the number five slot with over 30.9 million cases.
The other two countries with total case figures over the 20,000 mark are the United Kingdom, with over 23.3 million cases, in sixth position, and Italy, with almost 21.1 million, in the number seven slot.
VACCINATION SPOTLIGHT
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that, as of Friday, over 261.6 million people in the United States – or 78.8% – have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Of that population, 67.2%, or 223.2million people, have received two doses of vaccine, and the total number of doses that have been dispensed in the United States is now 603.7 million. Breaking this down further, 90% of the population over the age of 18 – or 232.3million people – has received at least a first inoculation and 77.1% of the same group – or 199.2 million people – is fully vaccinated. In addition, 51.5% of that population, or 102.7 million people, has already received a third, or booster, dose of vaccine.
Starting on June 13, 2022, the CDC began to update vaccine data on a weekly basis and publish it on Tuesdays by 8 p.m. EDT, a statement on the agency’s website said.
Over 67% of the world population has received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine by Tuesday, according to Our World in Data, an online scientific publication that tracks such information. So far, 12.35 billion doses of the vaccine have been administered on a global basis and 6.83 million doses are now administered each day.
Meanwhile, only 19.9% of people in low-income countries have received one dose, while in countries such as Canada, China, Denmark, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States, at least 75% of the population has received at least one dose of vaccine.
Only a handful of the world’s poorest countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia and Nepal – have reached the 70% mark in vaccinations. Many countries, however, are under 20% and, in countries such as Haiti, Senegal, and Tanzania, for example, vaccination rates remain in the single digits, if not lower.
In addition, North Korea and Eritrea are now the only two countries in the world that have not administered vaccines.
Anna Breuer contributed to this story.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
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