Category: Corona Virus

Next up: the claim that vaccination is ineffective. If the booster shots work, why dont they work? tweeted Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee.

What they were getting at, presumably, is the fact that Omicron is producing a number of breakthrough infections, while carefully ignoring the overwhelming evidence that even when vaccinated Americans do get infected they are far less likely than the unvaccinated to be hospitalized or die.

Finally, theres the claim that its all about freedom, that remaining unvaccinated should be treated simply as a personal choice. For example, the administration of Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas has used that argument as the basis for a lawsuit seeking to block federal vaccine mandates. The Abbott administration has also appealed for federal aid to help Texas which has a strikingly low vaccination rate in part because Abbott has prevented private businesses from imposing vaccine requirements cope with a surge in Covid cases and hospitalizations. Need we say more?

Alert readers will have noticed that these Republican claims, in addition to being false, contradict one another in multiple ways. We can ignore Covid thanks to vaccines, which by the way dont work. Vaccination is a personal choice, but giving people the information they need to make that choice wisely is a vile attack on their dignity. Its all about freedom and free markets, but this freedom doesnt include the right of private businesses to protect their own workers and customers.

So none of this makes any sense not, that is, unless you realize that Republican vaccine obstructionism isnt about serving a coherent ideology, it was and is about the pursuit of power. A successful vaccination campaign would have been a win for the Biden administration, so it had to be undermined using any and every argument available.

Sure enough, the anti-vaccine strategy has worked politically. The persistence of Covid has helped keep the nations mood dark, which inevitably hurts the party that holds the White House so Republicans who have done all they can to prevent an effective response to Covid have not hesitated, even for a moment, in blaming Biden for failing to end the pandemic.

And the success of destructive vaccine politics is itself deeply horrifying. It seems that utter cynicism, pursued even at the cost of your supporters lives, pays.

Read more:

Opinion | The Viral Lies About Covid That Keep Killing Us - The New York Times

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Breckenridge Recreation Center coronavirus testing site closed through Jan. 7 - Summit Daily

Illinois leaders urge vaccinations as hospitalizations continue to surge

CHICAGO (AP) - Chicago will require proof of a COVID-19 vaccine for indoor venues starting Monday.

That includes restaurants, bars, gyms and other indoor venues like sport entertainment arenas.

READ MORE: Pritzker to provide COVID-19 update Monday. Here's how you can watch

The rules apply to everyone age 5 and older, but doesn't apply to those in the venue less than 10 minutes, like those getting takeout.

Also starting Monday, all Illinois Secretary of State offices, including driver services, will be closed until at least Jan. 18.

The country is seeing a surge in COVID-19 cases to the highest levels on record.

Also, Gov. J.B. Pritzker is urging Illinois hospitals to delay elective surgeries and non-emergency procedures to keep more beds open, anticipating a wave of COVID-19 patients.

Go here to read the rest:

COVID-19 closures and rules take effect Monday in Illinois - WREX-TV

When the pandemic began, Mark Finazzo was working in a Columbus, Ohio, beer brewery, a job he lost to lockdown measures that plunged him, like many Americans, into terrifying months of isolation, anxiety and helplessness, with little more to do than watch the coronavirus rage across the TV news.

Today Mr. Finazzo, 35, is in his first semester at Ohio State University. He is getting his second bachelors degree, this one in microbiology, hoping to become a research scientist like the people striving to create a vaccine he watched and read about as he sat on his couch in the pandemics earliest, darkest days.

When I saw footage of hospital tents being erected in Central Park, it was like, Wow, life is fragile and precious, Mr. Finazzo said, referring to the field hospitals New York City mustered in the spring of 2020. I should probably do something to help out besides make a delicious poison that we like to drink.

The viruss toll cannot be overstated: It has stolen over 800,000 American lives, and millions globally. Efforts to thwart it have swept away livelihoods, altered childhoods, and left lasting emotional tolls. At the start of yet another year of Covid-19 in our midst, its latest variant rising, there is for many a sense of familiar foreboding.

But all along, in the valley of the shadow of the virus, there has been remarkable resilience. It can be seen in the lightning-fast creation of vaccines that have largely defanged Covid-19, and in recent findings that the methods used now may show promise in the fight against H.I.V. and AIDS. It is in every pivot made by a canny entrepreneur that saved a business, and each government agency that pushed innovative change during chaotic times.

And it is in individuals, like Mr. Finazzo, who in the face of seismic societal shifts have not shattered, but shifted too.

The experience of the pandemic has shown we are more resilient than conventional wisdom would suggest, said George A. Bonanno, a professor of clinical psychology at Columbia University Teachers College and author of The End of Trauma, a book about the psychology of human resilience.

And while many continue to grapple with grief and trauma, the key to resilient outcomes in the face of disaster is threefold, Dr. Bonanno said: First, distill exactly what is causing distress, then come up with a possible solution. Finally, remain flexible to find a new remedy if that doesnt work.

I see time and time again that people are resilient, he said. The pandemic has shown this in spades.

In the field of medicine, the onslaught of the sick stretched thin hospitals and burned out many medical professionals. But it has also revolutionized some parts of the field, said Dr. Rita A. Manfredi, a clinical professor at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and a co-author of The silver linings of COVID-19: Uplifting effects of the pandemic in Academic Emergency Medicine, a medical journal.

One example: telemedicine, which officials greatly expanded permissions for during the pandemic, made getting care easier for many people, Dr. Manfredi said. It is likely here to stay.

In any big tragedy, there is always a positive side, Dr. Manfredi said. The negative side is obvious, but there is always a positive side.

The coronavirus vaccine itself, made under wartime conditions, may go on to fight other intractable diseases: A study published in December successfully used the same mRNA technology used by the coronavirus vaccine to reduce the infection risk of an H.I.V.-like virus in rhesus macaques perhaps a glimmer of hope in the fight against AIDS.

This is a promising new finding, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and co-author of the study, said in an interview.

We are infinitely better off now than we were in 2020, Dr. Fauci continued. If this were 2020 and we had this kind of a surge of Omicron superimposed upon a Delta surge we would likely have had to shut down the entire country, because we would have no other tools to prevent the spread. Now, we feel we can continue to function as a society.

He added: Things will get better. It is not going to go on forever.

For some people with disabilities, cultural shifts the pandemic forced, like flexible and remote work for which they long advocated have already improved their lives: The employment rate for disabled people is currently at an all-time high, though still profoundly below that of people without disabilities, according to the nonprofit Kessler Foundation, which tracks data that relates to people with disabilities.

For Jon Novick, who has achondroplastic dwarfism, office settings can be burdensome. Mr. Novick, 30, said his small stature is not accommodated by standard-issue chairs and desks. Because of his physique, he must get business-professional attire customized, often at an extra expense. In the fall, he got a new job at a Manhattan-based creative agency, but is able to work from his apartment in Astoria, Queens.

I am living in a world that is not quite built for me, Mr. Novick said. My perfect office is my home.

The benefit comes alongside frustration for many disabled people like him, that it took a pandemic to make something their community has long pushed for and was frequently denied into a norm.

People with disabilities can contribute so much to the work force; we can contribute even more when the playing field is level, Mr. Novick said.

Changed habits forced entire metropolises to change: To give residents of hard-hit New York City space to mingle at a social distance, in May 2020 the citys Department of Transportation began temporarily closing streets to cars at over 250 locations. The program has faced criticism that the street closures create traffic and take away parking spaces. But for many, the open streets, as they are known, were a welcome new use for the citys thousands of miles of pavement when they were cooped up at home. The program is now permanent.

On 120th Street in Harlem, Tressi Colon, a retired New York Police Department sergeant, helps oversee programming on the open street that includes al fresco community suppers and free lectures from neighbors who work in academia on topics like gentrification. We were intentional that in the midst of this pandemic that something good will come out of it, Ms. Colon said. That was the key.

Across many industries, necessity forced norms to change, often for the better. In the fashion world, where resale was once a synonym for used or unwanted clothing and unsold merchandise sometimes burned, the clogging of supply chains and growing conversation around sustainability caused some designers to reuse fabrics long abandoned on storeroom shelves.

Burberry, for example, which before the pandemic got in trouble when it was revealed in 2018 that it incinerated approximately $37 million of unsold product, has now partnered with a luxury rental and resale platform to put its stamp of approval on older garments and accessories sourced from customers, rather than lose them to the secondhand market or let them be thrown away. For her spring 2022 collection, the French designer Marine Serre, a champion of upcycling, made old tabletop linens, toweling and even cutlery into neat suiting and jewelry that was one of the hits of Paris Fashion Week.

Book sales rose during the pandemics first year of lockdown, but today, even with schools open and more options for entertainment, reading habits seem to have stuck: From January to November 2021, sales of consumer books increased 13 percent over the same period the year before, according to the Association of American Publishers. At least 172 new independent bookstores opened in 2021, the American Booksellers Association said.

When Jason Innocent was furloughed from his job as a restaurant kitchen manager, he began to read for pleasure for the first time in his adult life, powering through 1984, Macbeth, A Raisin in the Sun and more. Now back at work, he kept the habit plus practicing new words he reads. A few days before the New Year, Mr. Innocent, 26, stood in a line in downtown Manhattan waiting for a coronavirus test, studying vocabulary.

A lot of people, the pandemic made them upset, but I took a bad situation and turned it into a positive, Mr. Innocent said, flicking through his vocabulary list. Even if another shutdown happened, Im going to find a way to survive.

After watching a television segment on new technology to sterilize N95 masks to combat a national shortage, Mr. Finazzo, the former brewery worker, applied for a job with the company. The satisfaction of helping out cemented his growing interest in a career in science.

I was thinking to myself: Would I want to go and tell my kids or grandkids that I survived the Covid pandemic of 2020 by sitting alone in my apartment getting drunk? Mr. Finazzo said. Or did I want to go and utilize this opportunity to be able to help people?

Vanessa Friedman and Elizabeth A. Harris contributed reporting.

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Book Sales, Open Streets and Science: Some Find Success in the Pandemic - The New York Times

A 8-year-old looks out her bedroom window during self-quarantine with her family due to COVID-19. John Moore/Getty Images hide caption

A 8-year-old looks out her bedroom window during self-quarantine with her family due to COVID-19.

Each week, we answer frequently asked questions about life during the coronavirus crisis. If you have a question you'd like us to consider for a future post, email us at goatsandsoda@npr.org with the subject line: "Weekly Coronavirus Questions." See an archive of our FAQs here.

I see that the CDC has set new guidelines for isolation and quarantine. Can you explain what those two terms mean exactly? And also, can you review the guidelines?

Those two pandemic-related terms were in the headlines this week as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance about what to do if exposed to or stricken with COVID basically shortening the number of days you should keep to yourself.

So why are there two terms and what do they mean exactly?

Okay, let's go to the CDC dictionary.

According to the CDC, isolation refers to what you should do when you suspect or confirm that you have COVID-19 even if you don't have symptoms. Here are the steps to take:

Quarantine refers to staying away from others after being exposed to someone with COVID-19 when you don't know whether you've been infected or not. The current definition of exposure: being in contact with that COVID-stricken person for more than a total of 15 minutes in a single day and at a distance of 6 feet or less, although it is possible that the nature of the omicron variant could lead to changes in that definition).

You don't have to barricade yourself in your room as you would if you test positive for COVID but you should wear a mask around others in your household and stay away from those housemates, especially if they're at higher risk of getting very sick from COVID-19, according to the CDC.

Watch for fever (100.4F or higher), cough, shortness of breath or other symptoms of COVID-19. And if you develop symptoms, immediately head to the isolation rules (see above).

Now that we've clarified the terminology, let's review the changes that CDC made in deference to the highly transmissible omicron variant,

Isolation

After five days, if you're asymptomatic or your symptoms have largely resolved (no fever for 24 hours per CDC), you can end isolation so long as you continue to wear a mask around others, even in your home, for an additional five days.

Quarantine

Vaccinated with Pfizer or Moderna within the last six months? Vaccinated with Johnson & Johnson within the last two months? Boosted? If any of these conditions apply to you, then no need for a precautionary quarantine after an exposure to COVID. However, CDC wants you to wear a mask for 10 days following the exposure and recommends a COVID test on day 5.

Watch for fever above 100.4, cough, shortness of breath or other symptoms of COVID-19 and if they occur, isolate and pursue a test to see if you have COVID. If yes, the isolation rules above kick in.

But if you don't fall into any of those vaccination or booster categories, quarantine does apply per the new CDC rules. You should quarantine for five days following your exposure. After five days, you should get tested, if you can, and continue masking around others through day 10.

"The vast majority of viral transmission happens in those first five days, somewhere in the 85 to 90% range," said CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. But you could be infectious up to ten days, generally the upper limit, so a ten- day mask regimen can protect others you come in contact with, explains Dr. Abraar Karan, an infectious disease fellow at Stanford. He also advocates using a high-filtration mask if possible, like an N95 or KN95

If you can't quarantine because, say, your family's income depends on your going to work or you have roommates in a small apartment, "it's really important that you wear a mask at all times around others for 10 days after your exposure and get a test at day 5," says Walensky. "And if you develop symptoms of COVID-19 during your quarantine period or your 10 days after exposure, you should get a test and isolate until your test results return. Then isolate if you get a positive result."

But there are criticisms of this new guidance.

"While new CDC isolation guidelines are reasonable, here's what I would have done differently," tweeted Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. "1. Required a neg[ative] antigen test after 5 days [to end isolation]. 2. Had different guidelines for vaccinated (contagious for shorter time) versus unvaccinated. 3.Specified higher quality masks.

"I think it's really important for people to understand that the CDC guidelines were issued out of necessity," says Dr. Leana Wen, research professor of health policy and management at George Washington University in Washington, DC and former Baltimore health commissioner. "We are facing the possibility of the US surpassing more than one million COVID cases every single day," says Wen. "At that level we would not be able to sustain our critical infrastructure and the CDC issued the guidelines to keep our society functioning."

"That doesn't mean, though," says Wen, "that five days of isolation is ideal, so if someone has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and they are, for example, planning to visit an older person in a nursing home, my recommendation is that they isolate until they are able to get a negative test if it's within ten days, or wait ten days [from testing positive]."

Of course, all of the testing advice depends on the availability of tests a topic we covered here.

Fran Kritz is a health policy reporter based in Washington, D.C., who has contributed to The Washington Post and Kaiser Health News. Find her on Twitter: @fkritz

Excerpt from:

Quarantine! Isolation! What's the difference when it comes to COVID? : Goats and Soda - NPR

With more than 580,000 cases, the United States shattered its own record for new daily coronavirus cases beating a milestone it already broke just the day before.

Thursdays count, according to The New York Timess database, toppled the 488,000 new cases on Wednesday, which was nearly double the highest numbers from last winter. The back-to-back record-breaking days are a growing sign of the viruss fast spread and come as the world enters its third year of the pandemic.

Hospitalizations and deaths, however, have not followed the same dramatic increase, further indication that the Omicron variant seems to be milder than Delta and causes fewer cases of severe illness. In the past two weeks, deaths are down by five percent, with a daily average of 1,221, while hospitalizations increased by just 15 percent to an average of 78,781 per day.

Across the country, airlines canceled thousands of flights, leaving would-be travelers stranded, while others waited in line for hours to get their hands on a coronavirus test.

The high numbers are even more striking considering that experts associate the holiday season with major disturbances in testing and data reporting. The rise of at-home tests could also mean some cases arent making into the official count.

Last year, the so-called holiday curve showed a major decline in cases after Thanksgiving and Christmas, which underreported the spike in cases that actually took place. Its likely that this season many more people have the virus than whats being accounted for; just how many may not be clear for another few weeks.

The worldwide surge is being propelled by the new variant, Omicron. And while it is more infectious, research shows that cases with the variant are milder. Vaccinations are already proven to reduce the severity of the virus.

The majority of Americans, 62 percent, are fully vaccinated, according to The New York Timess database. Nearly three-quarters of people have received at least one dose. And 68.8 million of those fully vaccinated have also received a third dose, or booster shot, since Aug. 13, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Excerpt from:

U.S. Breaks Its Single-Day Case Virus Record For Second Day in a Row - The New York Times

The winter coronavirus wave is worsening, with case counts both in California and across the country rocketing toward some of the highest levels ever in the nearly two-year-old pandemic.

But as worrying as those raw infection totals are, some health officials say another metric is even more alarming: the test positivity rate.

That metric has more than tripled in Los Angeles County since mid-December, indicating surging transmission, officials said.

As of Tuesday, the seven-day average countywide positivity rate was 14.5%. Statewide, the seven-day average positivity rate has risen to 9.7%, up from 2.3% just two weeks ago.

With transmission this widespread, officials say its vitally important to take steps to avoid potentially infecting others.

These recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention apply to everyone, regardless of whether theyve been vaccinated:

If you have symptoms, the isolation rules are different.

According to the L.A. County Department of Public Health, if you have symptoms and test positive for COVID-19, or your doctor thinks that you have COVID-19, you must stay home until:

Health officials also say those who have tested positive should closely monitor their symptoms. If you do have to leave your house, officials say to avoid public transportation.

Here are some other tips from the public health department on isolating:

Local isolation rules can be stricter than federal guidelines. California has adopted the new CDC guidelines.

Federal officials this week reduced the recommended isolation and quarantine period for those who are infected with the coronavirus but have no symptoms from 10 days to five.

The change is motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the one-two days prior to onset of symptoms and the two-three days after, the CDC said in a statement. Therefore, people who test positive should isolate for five days and, if asymptomatic at that time, they may leave isolation if they can continue to mask for five days to minimize the risk of infecting others.

The CDC has faced criticism from some doctors for not requiring asymptomatic, infected people to test negative with a rapid test if they want to end their isolation five days after their first positive test.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, in an interview on CBS Mornings, said her agency did not recommend such a test to end isolation on the fifth day after the first positive test because its not clear whether a negative rapid test would provide meaningful information on whether a person is no longer contagious. She said a person can limit the small chance of infecting others by wearing a mask between the sixth and 10th day after the first positive test.

Using a PCR test, which requires a nasal or saliva swab to be sent to a lab to get results, is also not an option to determine if someone is no longer contagious, Walensky said. PCR test results are so sensitive they can show a person is positive for the virus for perhaps as long as 12 weeks after they are initially infected, long after they have stopped being contagious.

You should stay away from other people and pets in your home as much as possible. Health officials recommend staying in a separate room and using a separate bathroom, if feasible, and wearing a mask when around others.

Those who have recently tested positive should also tell their close contacts that they may have been exposed.

Additionally, if you work or study in a setting where you could have gotten COVID-19 or passed it on to others, you should inform your school or workplace so they can advise others to test and/or quarantine as necessary, according to the L.A. County Department of Public Health.

If youve been in close contact within 6 feet of someone for 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period you should quarantine yourself for at least five days to see if you develop illness if you are unvaccinated or if you havent received a booster shot and had been eligible for one, according to CDC recommendations.

If you still havent developed symptoms, you can leave the quarantine if you wear a mask around others for five additional days.

If the five-day quarantine isnt feasible, the exposed person should wear a well-fitting mask around others for 10 days after the exposure.

The CDC says people who have received the booster do not need to quarantine after being exposed to the virus, but should wear a mask 10 days after exposure.

The CDC suggests anyone exposed get a coronavirus test on the fifth day after exposure. If symptoms occur, they should immediately isolate.

Local quarantine orders may be different from the federal recommendations.

Those who have or think they may have been exposed can find a testing site at covid19.ca.gov/get-tested. Many retail pharmacies also offer testing appointments.

This week, President Biden said his administration has also worked with Google, so you can now search COVID test near me on Google to find a location.

Many testing sites offer PCR tests, which entail collecting nose or saliva swabs and sending them to a lab for analysis. Results typically come back a day or two later.

Here is more information on getting tested in:

Many pharmacies and retailers sell over-the-counter antigen tests that can be taken at home and provide results in about 15 minutes.

Such rapid tests are highly recommended just before entering a holiday party or other gathering including among vaccinated people, who are at risk of breakthrough infections from the Omicron variant.

However, demand for those tests has surged along with cases, making the kits hard to come by during the holiday season and prompting some sellers to limit how many a customer can buy at once.

If a rapid test turns up positive, you must consider yourself infected and isolate immediately, said Dr. Dawn Terashita, associate director of L.A. Countys Acute Communicable Disease Control program, at a recent town hall.

Rapid tests may result in a small number of people getting a negative test result when theyre actually positive, Terashita said. If theres concern about the possibility of a false negative test, the test can be repeated 24 hours later, she said.

People who are symptomatic and get a negative rapid coronavirus test result should retest and get a [PCR] test to confirm that you do not have COVID, Terashita said.

PCR tests are often used to confirm the results of a rapid test and are less likely to result in inaccurate results, Terashita said.

Coronavirus cases are once again surging across the United States.

The CDC reported Tuesday that the nationwide average number of daily cases over the last week has climbed to 240,000, exceeding the peak of 160,000 during the summer Delta surge and approaching the all-time high of 250,000 reported last winter.

For the seven-day period that ended Monday, California logged 133,610 new coronavirus cases higher than in any seven-day period during the summer Delta surge, which peaked at 107,000 cases recorded in a week.

L.A. County has reported at least 6,500 new cases every day for the last week, including 9,473 on Tuesday.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are also once again on the rise in California. As of Tuesday, 4,759 coronavirus-positive patients were hospitalized statewide a nearly 33% increase from a week ago.

While we all wish that 2022 would begin without the continued tragedy of serious illness and death associated with COVID, we are instead facing the prospect of an alarming surge that requires every person to act with intentionality: Get vaccinated and boosted, get tested, and please, always wear a mask around others, L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. These are the tools we have to try to keep each other safe over the holidays.

Times staff writer Colleen Shalby contributed to this report.

See original here:

What should I do if I test positive for the coronavirus? - Los Angeles Times

CLEVELAND Ohio has made a top 10 list and it's not one to brag about.

As of Thursday, the Buckeye State ranks No. 2 for the daily average of hospitalizations and No. 7 nationwide for the daily average number of cases over the last week, according to Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish. Additionally, Ohio is ranked No. 4 for daily average of deaths over the last seven days.

Today, the Ohio Department of Health reported 19,774 cases, up from the 21-day average of 11,166. Nearly 500 people were hospitalized over the last 24 hours and 43 people were admitted into the ICU. A total of 28,780 Ohioans have died from the disease.

Ohio Department of Health

Ohio has seen its fair share of surges, but this one, brought on by delta and omicron and causing the most harm to unvaccinated individuals, is by far the worst. It's expected for Ohio to break 2 million cases tomorrow as the numbers continue to climb.

According to Budish, Cuyahoga County now leads the state in daily cases, having overtaken Franklin County. Nearly 11,000 people in the county have been hospitalized with COVID-19 and around 2,800 people have died. Cuyahoga County leads the state in the number of hospitalizations, cases and deaths reported.

"The unprecedented number of COVID cases we have seen over the last couple of weeks has put an extraordinary strain on our already overwhelmed hospital systems," Budish said.

Ohio Department of Health

It's a dire message and not something to be taken lightly; a message echoed by county health officials.

Cuyahoga County is experiencing an unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases and our medical systems are sadly suffering the effects.Over the last 7 days, our case rate has been over 17 times the CDC threshold for high transmission and our positivity rate has reached 34%.These are historic highs for our community since the start of the pandemic.We are off the charts, even when compared to our brutal COVID-19 winter surge in 2020.Were sounding the alarm, urging our community to take every precaution to prevent further transmission that could pile on to our hospital systems, which are already bursting at the seams," said Cuyahoga County Board of Health Commissioner Terry Allan.

He continued, "About 60% of the county is currently vaccinated, leaving almost 500,000 Cuyahoga County residents still vulnerable to serious health effects from the virus.Only about 24% of our children aged 5-11 have started vaccination and about 43% of our vaccinated population has received an additional or booster dose.We can and must do better.The Omicron variant, which is highly contagious, is spreading widely and quickly, in addition to Delta.It is anticipated that Omicron will become the dominant strain in Ohio and elsewhere, even as Influenza cases are increasing.Our community is staring this 'triple threat' right in the face."

With the coming holiday, health officials are urging residents to avoid gatherings and to get vaccinated. Statewide, around 6.4 million Ohioans or around 55% of the population have been fully vaccinated. As far as boosters go, about 2.6 million Ohioans have received one.

Ohio Department of Health

"This is serious business," Allan said. "Unvaccinated and unmasked means that you will be exposed to the virus in the coming days.Gathering with large groups of people for New Years celebrations only compounds these formidable risks.We are urging you to avoid these large gatherings, get vaccinated, get boosted and mask up to protect the ones you love.Our choices over the next 48 hours will mean the difference between life and death for some of our residents. Help us work toward a brighter 2022, for everyone.

Despite the unprecedented increase in cases, Gov. Mike DeWine said Wednesday that he has no plans of mandating masks across the state. However, he did advise school districts to bring those requirements back where needed.

Local schools deciding on remote or in-person learning

Schools across Northeast Ohio are working to determine if they will resume in-person classes, switch to hybrid or go remote altogether. The Cleveland Metropolitan School District, which is the largest district in Northeast Ohio, announced Wednesday it will start the new year remotely and reassess in the following week.

Other districts, such as Garfield Heights City Schools, will return to in-person learning but with a mask mandate.

You can read the list of local districts and their return to school plans, here.

Download the News 5 app for free to easily access local coronavirus coverage, and to receive timely and limited news alerts on major COVID-19 developments. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.

See complete coverage on our Coronavirus Continuing Coverage page.

Vaccinating Ohio - Find the latest news on the COVID-19 vaccines, Ohio's phased vaccination process, a map of vaccination clinics around the state, and links to sign up for a vaccination appointment through Ohio's online portal.

See data visualizations showing the impact of coronavirus in Ohio, including county-by-county maps, charts showing the spread of the disease, and more.

Rebound Northeast Ohio News 5's initiative to help people through the financial impact of the coronavirus by offering one place to go for information on everything available to help and how to access it. We're providing resources on:

Getting Back to Work - Learn about the latest job openings, how to file for benefits and succeed in the job market.

Making Ends Meet - Find help on topics from rent to food to new belt-tightening techniques.

Managing the Stress - Feeling isolated or frustrated? Learn ways to connect with people virtually, get counseling or manage your stress.

Doing What's Right - Keep track of the way people are spending your tax dollars and treating your community.

We're Open! Northeast Ohio is place created by News 5 to open us up to new ways of thinking, new ways of gathering and new ways of supporting each other.

View a map of COVID-19 testing locations here.

Visit Ohio's Coronavirus website for the latest updates from the Ohio Department of Health.

View a global coronavirus tracker with data from Johns Hopkins University.

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Ohio eclipsed by COVID-19: State ranks in the top 7 nationwide for daily cases - News 5 Cleveland

What type of mask should I be wearing? (AP Illustration/Peter Hamlin)

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) As coronavirus cases continue to rise in the state of Florida, counties, cities and other locations are once again requiring masks within their facilities.

8 On Your Side is keeping track of these locations in the area and will update this list as more information comes in to our newsroom.

Hillsborough County is requiring masks to be worn inside all county buildings.

The number of COVID-19 coronavirus cases in Hillsborough County is on the rise again, and County officials are adjusting guidelines in accordance with their Administrative Directive to reduce transmission risk, the county said in a press release.

Masks will be required indoors at county buildings, including libraries, recreation centers, and Frederick B. Karl County Center, the county said. Kids under five, as well as children with physical or intellectual disabilities are exempt from the face mask requirement.

Effective Dec. 29, City of Tampa employees will be required to wear face coverings indoors in city facilities when moving about in common areas and when meeting or interacting with others.

City employees will also be required to wear face coverings in city vehicles when there is more than one person in the same vehicle.

Temple Terrace officials have decided to implement mask requirements yet again in city buildings.

These buildings include City Hall, Omar K. Lightfoot Center, the Temple Terrace Public Library and the Family Recreation Complex.

Universal Orlando Resort is once again requiring masks to be worn indoors by all guests and team members, regardless of vaccination status.

Face coverings are also required at all attractions from the moment guests enter thequeue to when they exit the experience. Based on these updates, guests are expected to bring a face covering with them for their visit, a statement from Universal Orlando read.

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COVID-19 surge: Where are masks once again required in Tampa Bay? - WFLA

Airlines have been preparing for the holiday season for months, reviewing plans and readying reserves of workers. But that wasnt enough to mitigate the effects of the fast-spreading Omicron coronavirus and of heavy snow and strong winds in the West.

The impact continued to be felt on Thursday, with more than 1,200 cancellations of flights to, from or within the United States by afternoon, according to the air travel data site FlightAware. The site also showed more than 640 cancellations for Friday.

The continued disruption comes as the country is averaging more than 260,000 new coronavirus cases a day, greater than the peak levels from last winter. Infection rates are especially high in parts of the Northeast and Midwest. Caseloads have continued to increase rapidly as the Omicron variant spreads, though deaths and hospitalizations have remained relatively steady.

The surge has disrupted far more than air travel. New York City has slowed to a crawl as the virus thins the ranks of subway workers and emergency personnel. Cincinnati declared a state of emergency on Wednesday to help the city deal with labor shortages within the citys Fire Department amid a spike in coronavirus cases that coincided with scheduled holiday vacations. Many cities have canceled or limited New Years celebrations. More broadly, the pandemic has caused months of havoc in supply chains.

The air carriers hit hard on Thursday included JetBlue, with 17 percent of its total flights canceled. JetBlue said Wednesday that it was reducing its schedule through Jan. 13. In a statement, the airline said it had seen a surge in sick calls because of the Omicron variant, hampering its ability to staff its flights suitably even though it started the holidays with more workers than at any point since the pandemic began.

We expect the number of Covid cases in the Northeast where most of our crew members are based to continue to surge for the next week or two, the company said. This means there is a high likelihood of additional cancellations until case counts start to come down.

Alaska Airlines, whose primary hub is Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, canceled 14 percent of its flights. Relentless snowfall and record low temperatures in the Pacific Northwest grounded planes last week, and it snowed again in Seattle on Thursday.

Looking to relieve its staffing squeeze, the airline industry pushed for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to shorten its recommended isolation period for Americans infected with Covid-19. The agency had previously recommended that infected patients isolate for 10 days after a positive test. But on Monday, it reduced that period to five days for those without symptoms and those without fevers whose other symptoms were resolving.

Delta Air Lines was one of the first companies to adapt to the updated guidance. Its new policy, dated Tuesday, provides five days of paid leave for vaccinated workers who test positive for the coronavirus to isolate, according to an internal communication to company leaders obtained by The New York Times.

The policy encourages, but does not require, a Covid test to go back to work going a step further than the C.D.C. guidance, which does not include a recommendation for additional testing and Delta is offering two additional days of paid time off for workers who test positive on Day 5. But the airlines protocols make no mention of whether returning employees should have improving symptoms, as suggested by the C.D.C.

Megabus, a long-distance bus operator, said Thursday that it is offering free rides on routes in the U.S. and Canada to travelers whose flights are canceled between Dec. 27 and Jan. 7.

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JetBlue, Alaska Airlines and Others Cancel More Flights - The New York Times