A nurse at a N.Y.C. vaccine center waits for a patient
Good morning. This is Jonathan Spira reporting. Here now the news of the pandemic from across the globe on the 1,380th day of the pandemic.
BRIEFLY NOTED
The world hit 700 million reported cases of SARS-CoV-2 at some point on Friday just as the United States crossed the 110 million mark.
In news we report today, the Royal College of Nursing issued a warning about infection control, the JN.1 subvariant is now responsible for 44% of new cases in the United States, and cases are rising in Singapore and India, among other locations.
UNITED STATES
The omicron subvariant JN.1 is now responsible for 44.2% of SARS-CoV-2 cases in the United States, according to data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It was just days ago that estimates showed that JN.1 was responsible for just 20% of all new cases. The World Health Organization named the sublineage a “variant of interest” on Tuesday, given how it has been rapidly increasing.
Wastewater levels of Covid are skyrocketing. Multiple testing sites in Vermont have reported dramatic increases in Covid-19 levels and several saw their highest levels since March of this year.
Similarly dramatic increases have been reported in Minnesota. The University of Minnesota wastewater dashboard, which monitors 38 treatment facilities across the state, shows double-digit increases in virus levels from almost all sites just within the last two weeks. Moreover, two sites – St. Cloud and Fergus Falls – posted 120% increases each.
GLOBAL NEWS
In Britain, the Royal College of Nursing warned of an increased risk of infection from SARS-CoV-2 among hospital staff and patients citing the failure of the National Health Service to follow World Health Organization guidelines about infection control during the current spike in cases.
In Singapore, health officials said that the number of new cases of SARS- CoV-2 admitted to hospitals and intensive-care units was the highest for the current year. The number of Covid patients admitted to hospitals jumped to 965 this past week from 763 one week prior.
Meanwhile, officials in India said that they had reported 614 new SARS-CoV-2 infections, the highest since May 21 of this year, while the number of active cases has increased to 2311.
GLOBAL STATISTICS
Now here are the daily statistics for Friday, December 22.
As of Friday morning, the world has recorded 700.07 million Covid-19 cases, an increase of 0.13 million from the prior day, and 6.96 million deaths, according to Worldometer, a service that tracks such information. In addition, just over 671.33 million people worldwide have recovered from the virus, an increase of 0.05 million.
The reader should note that infrequent reporting from some sources may appear as spikes in new case figures or death tolls as well as the occasional downward or upward adjustment as corrections to case figures warrant.
Worldwide, the number of active coronavirus cases as of Friday at press time is 21,779,510, an increase of 78,000. Out of that figure, 99.8%, or 21,743,627, are considered mild, and 0.2%, or 35,883, are listed as critical. The percentage of cases considered critical has not changed over the past 15 months.
Since the start of the pandemic, the United States has, as of Friday, recorded 110.01 million cases, a higher figure than any other country, and a death toll of 1.19 million. India has the world’s second highest number of officially recorded cases, 45.01 million, and a reported death toll of 533,328.
The newest data from Russia’s Rosstat state statistics service showed that, at the end of July 2022, the number of Covid or Covid-related deaths since the start of the pandemic there in April 2020 is now 823,623, giving the country the world’s second highest pandemic-related death toll, behind the United States. Rosstat last reported that 3,284 people died from the coronavirus or related causes in July 2022, down from 5,023 in June, 7,008 in May and 11,583 in April.
Meanwhile, France is the country with the third highest number of cases, with 40.14 million, and Germany is in the number four slot, with 38.72 million total cases.
Brazil, which has recorded the third highest number of deaths as a result of the virus, 708,237, has recorded 38.13 million cases, placing it in the number five slot.
The other five countries with total case figures over the 20 million mark are South Korea, with 34.57 million cases, as number six; Japan, with 33.8 million cases placing it in the number seven slot; and Italy, with 26.53 million, as number eight, as well as the United Kingdom, with 24.81 million, and Russia, with 23.54 million, as nine and ten respectively.
CURRENT U.S. COVID STATISTICS AT A GLANCE
In the United States, in the week ending December 16, 2023, the test positivity rate was, based on data released on December 22 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was 11.7%, and the trend in test positivity is +0.2% in the most recent week. Meanwhile, the percentage of emergency department visits that were diagnosed as SARS-CoV-2 was 2.2%, and the trend in emergency department visits is +6.6%.
The number of people admitted to hospital in the United States due to SARS-CoV-2 in the same 7-day period was 25,577, a figure that is up 10.4% over the past 7-day period. Meanwhile, the percentage of deaths due to SARS-CoV-2 was 3.0%, an increase of 3.4% from the prior 7-day period.
VACCINATION SPOTLIGHT
Some 70.6% of the world population has received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine by Friday, according to Our World in Data, an online scientific publication that tracks such information. So far, 13.53 billion doses of the vaccine have been administered on a global basis and 6,375 doses are now administered each day.
Meanwhile, only 32.9% 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 at or below 10%.
In addition, with the beginning of vaccinations in North Korea in late September, Eritrea remains the only country in the world that has not administered vaccines in any significant number.
Anna Breuer contributed reporting to this story.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
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