A Lufthansa Airbus A380 at San Francisco International Airport
Good morning. This is Jonathan Spira reporting. Here now the news of the pandemic from across the globe on the 851st day of the pandemic.
In news we cover today, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned of “trouble” for the unvaccinated with BA.5, President Biden finally was cleared to leave isolation, and the Covid March to Remember took place.
Here’s a look at what has taken place over the past 24 hours.
UNITED STATES
The Covid March to Remember took place in numerous cities including New York, Atlanta, Houston, and San Juan. Marchers included coronavirus survivors, individuals with Long Covid, and family members who lost loved ones to the virus. In New York, the marchers crossed the Brooklyn Bridge to raise awareness about ongoing and urgent pandemic needs.
Tourists from Asia aren’t returning to the Bay Area this summer. Flight data from the U.S. Department of Commerce shows that far more international flights are coming from Europe this season. When compared with pre-pandemic data from 2019, Asian travelers comprised the bulk of overseas visitors.
In the nation’s capital, President Joseph Biden left Covid isolation after testing negative for the virus twice and being symptom-free. He headed for Rehoboth on the Delaware shore where he was reunited with his wife, Jill, whom he hadn’t seen since he first contracted the virus on July 21. After testing negative for the first time on July 27, he experienced a rebound and tested positive again on July 30.
Finally, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned of “trouble” with the BA.5 omicron subvariant for those who are not up-to-date with their Covid vaccines including boosters. Speaking on Los Angeles radio station’s KNX News, Fauci said that non-vaccinated individuals and those with underlying conditions are at greatest risk.
“If they don’t get vaccinated or don’t get boosted, they’re going to get into trouble,” the nation’s leading infectious disease specialist said.
GLOBAL
Chinese aviation regulators shortened the suspension time for inbound international flights on routes found to have Covid-19 cases starting on August 7. In a statement, they said that flights on a route with an identified coronavirus case will be suspended for one week if 4% of passengers on that flight test positive, and for two weeks if 8% test positive.
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, health officials cut the mandatory hotel quarantine time from seven days to three plus an additional four days of “home medical surveillance.” Travelers placed in home surveillance who test negative in days 4 through 7 will, however, be allowed to go to the office and shops and take public transit but will not be allowed into high-risk areas or to participate in non-masked activities,
TODAY’S STATISTICS
Now here are the daily statistics for Monday, August 8.
As of Monday morning, the world has recorded 589.7 million Covid-19 cases, an increase of 0.5 million cases, and almost 6.44 million deaths, according to Worldometer, a service that tracks such information. In addition, 561.2 million people worldwide have recovered from the virus, an increase of 0.9 million.
Worldwide, the number of active coronavirus cases as of Monday is 22,037,844, a decrease of 425,000. Out of that figure, 99.8%, or 21,994,086, are considered mild, and 0.2%, or 43,758, are listed as critical. The percentage of cases considered critical is unchanged over the pat 24 hours.
The United States reported 10,081 new coronavirus infections on Monday for the previous day, compared to 10,568 on Sunday, 131,914 on Saturday, 164,117 on Friday, and 217,844 on Thursday, 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 117,153. 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 117,564, an 8% 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 494, an increase of 11% over the same period, while the average number of hospitalizations for the period was 43,692, a 1% increase.
In addition, since the start of the pandemic the United States has, as of Monday, recorded almost 93.9 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 44.2 million, and a reported death toll of 526,899.
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, 34.07 million, although Brazil has recorded the third highest number of deaths as a result of the virus, 680,051, and has recorded almost 31.02 million cases, placing it in the number four slot.
Germany is in the number five slot with over 31.2 million cases.
The other three countries with total case figures over the 20,000 mark are the United Kingdom, with almost 23.4 million cases, in sixth position, and Italy, with almost 21.3 million, in the number seven slot. South Korea hit the 20 million mark last Wednesday, and has had a total of over 20.5 million cases since the start of the pandemic.
VACCINATION SPOTLIGHT
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that, as of Monday, 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 223.2 million people, have received two doses of vaccine, and the total number of doses that have been dispensed in the United States is now 604.2 million. Breaking this down further, close to 90% of the population over the age of 18 – or 232.2 million people – has received at least a first inoculation and 77.1% of the same group – or 198.9 million people – is fully vaccinated. In addition, 51.4% of that population, or 102.2 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 the updated information on Thursdays by 8 p.m. EDT, a statement on the agency’s website said.
Some 67.2% of the world population has received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine by Monday, according to Our World in Data, an online scientific publication that tracks such information. So far, 12.4 billion doses of the vaccine have been administered on a global basis and 6.65 million doses are now administered each day.
Meanwhile, only 20.2% 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.
Paul Riegler contributed reporting to this story.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
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