Category: Corona Virus

New York Police Department officers in masks stand during a service at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, last October. Mark Lennihan/AP hide caption

New York Police Department officers in masks stand during a service at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, last October.

Thousands of New York municipal workers, including police officers and firefighters, have chosen unpaid leave rather than getting inoculated against COVID-19, as the city's vaccine mandate went into effect.

Speaking on Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, said he expected no disruptions as a result of some 9,000 city employees, out of a 378,000-strong workforce, getting put on unpaid leave for failing to get a shot. Those workers must show proof of at least one dose of a vaccination to return to work, according to the Oct. 20 order.

However, last-minute compliance with the order substantially reduced the number of employees who might have been affected, city officials said. De Blasio tweeted on Saturday that 2,300 city workers were immunized on that day alone.

"More than half of the workers who haven't been vaccinated yet have submitted exemption requests and those requests are being processed," he wrote on Twitter.

The eleventh-hour surge brought to 91% the percentage of those vaccinated, up from 86% late last week, de Blasio said.

By Sunday, the mayor's office said the rate of vaccination of Emergency Medical Services workers had risen to 87% from 74% on Thursday, while the fire department went to 77% on Friday from 64% the previous day, according to Reuters.

The city's fire and police unions have challenged the mandate in court, but the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York said last week that courts had rejected its requests for an emergency order to halt the mandate.

Uniformed Firefighters Association President Andrew Ansbro said the mandate would force dozens of fire companies to shut down. He urged city officials to give the union's members more time to comply with the mandate.

Meanwhile, city fire commissioner Daniel Nigro lashed out at some firefighters he said were using "bogus" sick time in response to the mandate deadline on Monday.

"Irresponsible bogus sick leave by some of our members is creating a danger for New Yorkers and their fellow firefighters," Nigro said in a statement. "They need to return to work or risk the consequences of their actions."

The mayor added on Monday, "People get really troubled really quick when people don't show up to do their job if they're not really sick, and we have every reason to believe there's a lot of people out there claiming to be sick when they're not. It's not acceptable."

More than 2,000 of the city's 11,000 uniformed firefighters have taken sick days in the week leading up to the mandate going into effect, the fire department's deputy commissioner for public information, Frank Dwyer, has said.

The vaccination rate on Monday for the New York Police Department, which was reported by de Blasio at 74% on Thursday, was not immediately available, according to Reuters.

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9,000 New York City workers are on unpaid leave for refusing to get vaccinated : Coronavirus Updates - NPR

The global tally for the coronavirus-borne illness climbed above 247 million on Tuesday, while the death toll edged above 5 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. continues to lead the world with a total of 46 million cases and 747,033 deaths. The U.S. is still averaging about 1,300 deaths a day, according to a New York Times tracker, although cases and hospitalizations are declining. A judge on Monday suspended a Dec. 31 deadline for Chicago police officers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 but didn't interfere with a requirement that they be regularly tested, the Associated Press reported. "The principal risk to those who are unvaccinated is to themselves and to others who choose to be unvaccinated," the judge said. The judge noted that COVID-19 has killed many officers nationwide."In light of that terrible sacrifice, the police unions' request just to have their grievances heard seems a pretty modest task," Mitchell said.India is second by cases after the U.S. at 34.3 million and has suffered 458,437 deaths. Brazil has second highest death toll at 607,922 and 21.8 million cases. In Europe, Russia has the most fatalities at 235,318 deaths, followed by the U.K. at 141,098.

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Coronavirus tally: Global cases of COVID-19 top 247 million and judge suspends vaccine deadline for Chicago police - MarketWatch

Treatment using the antidepressant Fluvoxamine, which is typically used to treat mental health conditions such as depression and OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), reduced the risk of hospitalization among high-risk COVID-19 patients, a study published in The Lancet Global Health medical journal found.Fluvoxamine, sold under the brand name "Luvox," is a serotonin inhibitor that helps restore serotonin levels in the brain. Developed in the 1990s, Fluvoxamine is known to have anti-inflammatory properties, researchers believed studying the drug's effects on COVID-19 symptoms could lead to breakthroughs in COVID treatments. Several more severe COVID symptoms are caused by inflammation, as the immune system overreacts to the infection.

The test group for the study was 1,500 immunocompromised people in Brazil who had been recently infected with COVID-19 and were in the high-risk category for serious illness. Half the group took fluvoxamine at home for 10 days, while the rest received a placebo.

Among participants who received the antidepressant (100 mg twice daily for 10 days), 11% needed hospitalization or extended medical care, compared to 16% of those who received a placebo marking a 32% decrease in relative risk.

The promising results could be a boon in lower-income nations, where vaccine distribution has not been as swift as it has in wealthier countries and existing COVID treatments remain too expensive for the general population.

We hope it will lead to a lot of lives saved, Dr. Edward Mills, who helped lead the research, told the Associated Press.

Questions remain, however, about the proper dosage amount of the antidepressant for COVID symptoms. Researchers will also continue studying the efficacy of Fluvoxamine mixed with other generic and lower-cost treatments. Researchers added that further evidence was needed to establish its benefit in vaccinated people, as most of the study's participants were unvaccinated.

The researchers have shared their results with the US National Institutes of Health and hope to also receive a recommendation from the World Health Organization (WHO) for Fluvoxamine treatment.

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COVID-19 hospitalization reduced by low-cost antidepressant - study - The Jerusalem Post

by: MARIA SANMINIATELLI Associated Press

FILE Italian sculptor Sergio Furnari poses for pictures in front of The Hero Monument heart sculpture that he made, a symbol of hope and love dedicated to health care workers around the world, Monday, Oct. 25, 2021, in Manhattans Grand Army Plaza in New York. The giant red heart sculpture installed this week as a tribute to health care workers and COVID-19 victims has been taken down an apparent casualty of confusion and red tape. Furnari says he was walking by the park Thursday, Oct. 28, afternoon with friends when he noticed that his Heroes Heart Monument was gone. (AP Photo/Dieu-Nalio Chery, File)

NEW YORK (AP) Have a heart, New York!

A giant red heart sculpture installed this week in Central Park as a tribute to health care workers and COVID-19 victims has been taken down an apparent casualty of confusion and red tape.

Italian sculptor Sergio Furnari says he was walking by the park Thursday afternoon with friends when he noticed that his Heroes Heart Monument was gone.

When he went to file a police report, he said, he was bounced from police station to police station until a police officer on Friday showed him video of people removing the 10-foot-tall, 3,000-pound (3-meter, 1,360 kilogram) monument and placing it on a truck.

They literally broke my heart, Furnari said when reached Friday night.

Furnari conceded he did not have a permit to place the heart in the park but considered a $4,000 grant he received from New York Citys government to be his permit for the temporary installation. He said he considered the removal of his memorial an abuse of power.

A message seeking comment was left with the Central Park Conservancy, the nonprofit that manages the park on behalf of the city. Furnari said he planned to go to the organization on Monday to find out what happened to his heart.

Furnari said he wanted the sculpture to be a place for emotional and spiritual solace in the bustling city and not just a popular spot for selfies, though he said he was cool with that, too.

The work was an extension of another piece he created earlier in the pandemic: a life-size sculpture of a health care worker kneeling with arms stretched to the sky.

In an interview prior to the sculptures removal, the artist explained his vision for the piece.

Everybody suffers in different ways and needs all different types of comfort, Furnari said. I hope this heart helps them remember their loved ones and cope with the grief. For a moment, they can forget about their problems.

Associated Press reporter Philip Marcelo in Boston contributed to this report.

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Heartless! Artist says tribute to COVID-19 victims removed in NYC permit snafu - WFLA

This story was updated at 8:10 p.m. Oct. 30, 2021, with new information about an indoor mask mandate being reinstated.

Montgomery Countys indoor mask mandate will be reinstated Wednesday unless the County Council, acting as the Board of Health, votes to change it Tuesday, according to the countys acting health officer.

On Saturday, James Bridgers, the acting health officer, sent a memo to County Council leadership and County Executive Marc Elrich. The notice says that because the county has entered substantial transmission, per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, the mask mandate would be reinstated, unless the Board of Health acts.

Effective November 3 at 12:01 a.m., subject to possible action by the Board of Health, all persons in Montgomery County over the age of two must wear a face covering in any location accessible to the public, Bridgers wrote, noting that there are exceptions to the mask mandate.

Those exceptions include:

The state reported 108 new positive cases of the coronavirus in Montgomery County on Saturday morning, which has the county in substantial transmission for the second straight day.

Senior officials said this week that the countys indoor mask mandate would be reinstated if the county sees just one day of substantial transmission.

An indoor mask mandate was lifted at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, after the county reported seven straight days of moderate transmission.

But County Council Vice President Gabe Albornoz told Bethesda Beat Friday evening that he and his colleagues were waiting on an order from Bridgers.

Council members passed the Board of Health order in early August, reinstating the mandate.

It was initially unclear on Friday whether the mask mandate would be reinstated by that Tuesday meeting, if at all. Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Earl Stoddard told Bethesda Beat on Friday the mandate would likely not be reinstated over the weekend.

Stoddard did not immediately respond to a voicemail left on his cellphone Saturday morning.

Per CDC guidelines, substantial transmission is 50 to 99.99 new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people, over a seven-day period. Moderate transmission is defined as 10 to 49.99 new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people, over a seven-day period.

The county enters substantial transmission when it hits 50 cases or more per 100,000 people, calculated over a seven-day period. As of Saturday evening, the countys rate is listed as 53.3.

County Council Member Andrew Friedson wrote in a text message on Saturday that he had been working on proposing potential changes to the Board of Health order before the county entered substantial transmission on Friday.

Both he and Albornoz said the proposed changes to the Board of Health order are meant to avoid a yo-yo effect of the mask mandate being lifted and reinstated multiple times in a short time frame.

County officials have previously said they need to confirm state and local data with CDC data before determining which state of transmission the county is in, so there is a delay in making pronouncements, even after new numbers are released.

According to the CDC, 91.1% of the countys eligible population those 12 years and older are fully vaccinated, as of Saturday. Of the total population, 77.3% are fully vaccinated, and 85.8% had received at least one dose of a vaccine.

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UDPATED: County mask mandate scheduled to go back into effect on Wednesday - BethesdaMagazine.com

Britain was last week presented with two differing pictures of Covid-19s spread across the country. Together they suggest infections have reached record levels since the pandemic began but have also raised hopes that the current high wave of cases across the UK may have peaked.

The first study is based on a random survey of households that showed about 1.28 million people in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were infected with Covid-19 for the week ending 22 October, the highest number of infections to be recorded since the pandemic began in the UK. Carried out by the Office for National Statistics, this weekly survey is rated as the most reliable measure of British infection levels.

But a second analysis based on Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) reports of new cases for the week ending 29 October suggested there had since been a 14% decline in case numbers. However, these reports are considered to be a less reliable measure of Covid-19s case numbers, leaving some uncertainty over the diseases progress in the UK.

Professor Paul Hunter of the University of East Anglia said it was too soon to say whether there was a real decline in infections, adding: If infections really are falling in line with the daily reports from the DHSC, then the earliest we would see any impact in the ONS dataset is Friday.

This point was backed by Professor Jim Naismith, director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute, Oxford, who said he expected the prevalence in England to have peaked or to be close to the peak, adding: And if England has peaked, then other numbers will start to fall. I certainly hope so 1,000 people every day are ending up in hospital and 1,000 a week are dying.

Simon Clarke, associate professor in cellular microbiology at Reading University, also warned that the health service remained badly stretched, saying: If the situation were to deteriorate further, we risk creating pressure in the healthcare system leading to reduced access to care for the most unwell. Anyone in a crash on the motorway or whose routine operation has taken a turn for the worse could find themselves without access to the intensive care unit at their local hospital.

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UK Covid infections are at record levels, but cases may have peaked - The Guardian

Thousands of under-15s will be offered the COVID-19 jab at school, with NHS teams visiting more than 800 schools.

Health teams are set to visit schools across England in the next week, as pupils return to school from half-term.

Jabs will be offered to unvaccinated 12-15-year-olds and students will be able to get the coronavirus vaccines at school, NHS England said.

Children can also make an appointment to visit a vaccine centre using the booking system.

More than 600,000 young people have been vaccinated since the jab rollout was extended to include 12-15-year-olds at the end of September, NHS England said.

Some 163,000 children in the age group took the jab in the week the booking system opened up for them on 22 October.

A further 140,000 have booked their jab for the next few weeks.

The government is making a push to get as many people vaccinated before the winter months set in.

Speaking from the G20 summit in Rome, Boris Johnson said that he does not anticipate another lockdown but urged over-50s to take the booster jab amid rising cases in England.

On 29 October, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) said the high number of cases in schools where only some are vaccinated "provide the ideal conditions" for a new variant to emerge.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: "The vaccines are safe and will help keep children in the classroom - I encourage everyone to come forward for their jab to protect themselves and the people around them."

Dr Nikki Kanani, GP and deputy lead for the NHS COVID-19 vaccine programme, said: "As our children return to the classroom, our efforts to vaccinate children will not stop - hundreds of more schools will be vaccinating this week.

"It's really important that we continue with the same enthusiasm if we want to ensure children get to stay in the classroom with their fellow pupils this winter, and so I encourage all parents and guardians to head online and read the information on vaccinating your child, so you can make an informed decision."

Pupils are also being urged to get tested for coronavirus before returning to school to minimise disruption to lessons and ensure families can "enjoy the best" of the festive season.

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COVID-19: NHS to visit hundreds of schools to offer coronavirus vaccine to 12-15-year-olds to 'help keep children in the classroom' - Sky News

While many states are poised to reopen, which includes non-essential businesses, the coronavirus has not yet been eradicated. Keeping up with the current happenings can be challenging, especially as guidelines change on when and how you can move around the community. Here is what you need to know about the COVID-19 outbreak today.

Proper Sanitation Is Still Essential

Reducing your exposure to germs and keeping surfaces clean remains the best way to avoid contracting and spreading COVID-19.

• Wash your hands frequently to destroy the coronavirus (and other germs).
• Use special coronavirus cleaning advice to keep your home safe and clean.
• If you are unable to clean your home, consider hiring a team of professionals.
• Handle deliveries and groceries carefully to avoid germ transmission.

Reducing Risk Means Staying Home

Though restrictions are lifting, choosing to avoid non-essential outings is still the safest option.

• Choose a grocery delivery service like Amazon Fresh to avoid the supermarket.
• Inquire about alternative ways to get your prescriptions instead of visiting the pharmacy.
• Order meals from no-contact food delivery services to reduce transmission risk.
• Wear a cloth face-covering in public settings where you can’t maintain social distancing.

People with Pre-Existing Conditions May Need Extra Precautions

The coronavirus can make anyone seriously ill, but people with pre-existing conditions may benefit from taking additional precautions.

• People with cancer, heart disease, and diabetes are at increased risk from COVID-19.
• You should maintain stringent social distancing if you are ill or receiving therapies such as stem cell treatment.
• Understand the symptoms of coronavirus so that you can receive help if you become ill.
• Those at higher risk of contracting coronavirus should wear a mask while around others.

Although many areas of the country continue to reopen, that doesn’t mean the coronavirus pandemic has ended. In fact, everyone — especially people with pre-existing conditions — should continue to be vigilant in protecting their health. Maintaining proper sanitation, continuing to stay home, and taking extra precautions are all smart strategies for staying safe.

Photo via Rawpixel

Illinois health officials on Friday reported 14,616 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, along with 183 additional deaths and over 348,196 new vaccine doses administered.

In all, 1,695,524 cases of coronavirus have been reported in the state since the pandemic began, according to the latest data from the Illinois Department of Public Health. The additional deaths reported this week bring the state to 25,771 confirmed COVID fatalities.

The state has administered 796,018 tests since last Friday, officials said, bringing the total to more than 35 million tests conducted during the pandemic.

The states seven-day positivity rate on all tests remained at 2.2% last week, officials said. The rolling average seven-day positivity rate for cases as a percentage of total tests dropped to 1.8% from 2% one week prior.

Over the past seven days, a total of 348,196 doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered to Illinois residents. The latest figures brought the states average to 49,742 daily vaccination doses over the last week, per IDPH data.

More than 15.5 million vaccine doses have been administered in Illinois since vaccinations began in December. More than 54% of Illinois resident are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with more than 69% receiving at least one dose.

As of midnight Thursday, 1,256 patients were hospitalized due to COVID in the state. Of those patients, 281 are in ICU beds, and 133 are on ventilators.

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Coronavirus in Illinois: 14,616 New COVID Cases, 183 Deaths, 348K Vaccinations in the Past Week - NBC Chicago

WASHINGTON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence agencies said on Friday they may never be able to identify the origins of COVID-19, as they released a new, more detailed version of their review of whether the coronavirus came from animal-to-human transmission or leaked from a lab.

The Office of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said in a declassified report that a natural origin and a lab leak are both plausible hypotheses for how SARS-COV-2 first infected humans. But it said analysts disagree on which is more likely or whether any definitive assessment can be made at all.

The report also dismissed suggestions that the coronavirus originated as a bioweapon, saying proponents of this theory "do not have direct access to the Wuhan Institute of Virology" and have been accused of spreading disinformation.

The report issued on Friday is an update of a 90-day review that President Joe Biden's administration released in August, amid intense political infighting over how much to blame China for the effects of the global pandemic rather than governments that may not have moved quickly enough to protect citizens.

Former Republican President Donald Trump - who lost his bid for re-election as the pandemic ravaged the U.S. economy - and many of his supporters referred to COVID-19 as the "China virus."

Some U.S. spy agencies had strongly favored the explanation that the virus originated in nature. But there has been little corroboration and over recent months the virus has spread widely and naturally among wild animals.

The ODNI report said four U.S. spy agencies and a multi-agency body have "low confidence" that COVID-19 originated with an infected animal or a related virus.

But one agency said it had "moderate confidence" that the first human COVID-19 infection most likely was the result of a laboratory accident, probably involving experimentation or animal handling by the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

U.S. spy agencies believe they will not be able to produce a more definitive explanation for the origin of COVID-19 without new information demonstrating that the virus took a specific pathway from animals to humans or that a Wuhan laboratory was handling the virus or a related virus before COVID-19 surfaced.

The report said U.S. agencies and the global scientific community lacked "clinical samples or a complete understanding of epidemiological data from the earliest COVID-19 cases" and said it could revisit this inconclusive finding if more evidence surfaces.

China has faced international criticism for failing to cooperate more fully in investigations of COVID's origins.

China's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reporting by Mark Hosenball; additional reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Writing by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Sandra Maler

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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U.S. spy agencies may never be able to identify origins of COVID-19 - Reuters