Category: Corona Virus

Rupal Thakkar, the 48-year-old mother of a two-year-old, tested COVID-19 positive on April 13. She was rushed to a posh hospital in the city on April 16 night after her condition deteriorated. Within a few hours of admission, she died. The Shalby Hospital, in the death certificate, mentioned sudden cardiac arrest as the cause of death.

In Gujarat, there are several such cases of COVID-19 patients missing from the list of those infected as hospital authorities mention other conditions as the primary cause of death and not COVID-19.

Coronavirus | High Court concerned over Gujarat governments COVID-19 management

For example, on April 16, as per the State health bulletin, total deaths were 78. But from seven cities Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Gandhinagar, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar 689 bodies were either cremated or buried following COVID-19 protocols on the disposal of bodies. From Ahmedabads 1,200-bed COVID-19 designated Civil Hospital, almost 200 bodies were moved out on Friday (April 16) from the morgue, a source in the hospitals mortuary told The Hindu. Similarly, from Surats two main hospitals, officials said that around 190 bodies were sent for cremation.

From the beginning of this month, on average two dozen bodies are sent daily from the Guru Gobind Singh hospital, Jamnagar, a local official said. The hospital caters to patients from Jamnagar district as well as neighbouring Porbandar and Dwarka districts.

Like Thakkars case, a 58-year-old man died in a private hospital in Ahmedabad but the hospital mentioned kidney failure as the cause of death. My father, 58, died after he was infected with coronavirus. The hospital, however, mentioned that he died as his kidneys failed due to chronic diabetes, said Maulin Panchal.

Coronavirus | Situation in Gujarat is turning grimmer by the day

The State, overwhelmed by the second wave of the pandemic, is witnessing a tale of two sets of data: one from by the Health Department and the other emerging from hospitals and crematoria/burial grounds. And there is a massive mitsmatch between the numbers.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has said Gujarat follows the ICMR guidelines in counting COVID-19 deaths.

According to sources, the government has formed a death audit committee in every district to determine the primary cause of deaths. After the first wave in 2020, the State government issued an order directing an audit of all COVID-19 deaths. Only cases where the primary reason of death is determined to be COVID-19 would be classified as COVID-19 deaths, the order stated. The committee, consisting of civil hospital doctors and others, does not count any comorbid death as a COVID-19 death. Only those deaths where the cause is viral pneumonia is considered as a COVID death and counted in the official figures. But in this disease, we have noticed that a large number of deaths occur due to sudden cardiac arrest or heart failure, brain stroke and multiple organ failures and they are not considered, a government official said.

Also read | Gujarat COVID-19 surge overwhelms health infrastructure

Since the second wave started in the last week of March, municipal and district administrations have ramped up crematoria capacity as bodies are piling up due to waiting periods of five to 12 hours. In Surat, the civic administration has started using three crematoria that were in disuse for several years. In Ahmedabad, in several cremation grounds, multiple bodies are burnt on open grounds to cope with the inflows.

Across the State, fatalities due to COVID-19 have been rising steadily since the last week of March. On April 18, the State health bulletin mentioned 110 deaths but officials in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara said the actual number could be above 500. In Rajkot alone, as per local media reports, 69 deaths occurred in 24 hours ending on April 18 morning.

We are working practically round the clock to save as many people as possible. But we have to make a distinction between those who can be saved and those who cant, and we have to work accordingly, a top official told The Hindu.

The rest is here:

COVID-19 deaths in Gujarat far exceed government figures - The Hindu

Coronavirus hug image named World Press Photo of the Year  KARE11.com

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Coronavirus hug image named World Press Photo of the Year - KARE11.com

The number of new coronavirus cases in New York City has remained alarmingly, and stubbornly, high for weeks, even as tens of thousands of people are vaccinated daily.

A likely reason is that more contagious variants have displaced the original forms of the virus, public health officials have said, accounting for more than 75 percent of new cases, according to a recent analysis.

Each week, the Health Department releases the results of a sampling of up to 1,500 sequenced cases, providing a citywide snapshot of which variants are on the rise.

Until this week, the city had not said which variants were more common in which neighborhoods. But newly available ZIP code-level data provides some insight into the mix of variants circulating in the area.

The information serves as a vivid reminder that the dynamics of New Yorks epidemic have changed over the past few months, and that the original forms of the virus are increasingly unusual across the city.

It makes something thats been pretty abstract and maybe less accessible that much more tangible to people, Dr. Denis Nash, an epidemiologist at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, said of the data. The landscape is changing quickly.

A variant first discovered in New York, B.1.526, has spread more widely in the city than all of the others so far. There has also been a significant increase in cases linked to the B.1.1.7 variant, which was first detected in Britain last year and now makes up nearly 30 percent of new cases sequenced in New York City.

The B.1.1.7 variant has driven new surges of sickness from Poland to Michigan. It is estimated to be 60 percent more contagious and two-thirds more deadly than the original form of the virus. This variant is now the main source of new infections across the United States and in Europe.

But not in New York City, where B.1.526 remains the most prevalent variant, comprising about 45 percent of cases sequenced from the fourth week of March.

Many questions about B.1.526, such as whether it causes more severe illness or can evade the protection granted by the vaccines, remain unanswered.

As to which is more contagious B.1.1.7 or B.1.526 health officials are not yet sure. We dont have enough information to discern this at this moment, said the citys health commissioner, Dr. Dave Chokshi.

In Queens, Manhattan and Brooklyn, the B.1.526 variant made up more than 50 percent of all the cases sequenced between March 16 and April 1. In the Bronx, the share of B.1.526 was 61 percent.

One of the few places where B.1.1.7 appears responsible for the majority of cases was along the southern tip of Staten Island, which has struggled with high case loads for months and currently has some of the highest positivity rates in the city.

Across Staten Island, B.1.1.7 made up 40 percent of new cases sequenced between March 16 and April 1. In Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan, B.1.1.7 represented a smaller share, making up 26 to 29 percent in these boroughs. In the Bronx, B.1.1.7 represented only 23 percent of the cases sequenced.

Despite the dominance of variants, hospitalizations have not been rising in the city in recent weeks, and are actually on a slight decline. And cases have been stable, though at a high level. To me that is reassuring, said Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, an epidemiologist at Columbia Universitys Mailman School of Public Health. We may be seeing the beginnings of a vaccine effect.

April 17, 2021, 6:20 p.m. ET

In a given week, about one to two thousand positive coronavirus cases in New York City are sequenced that is, the genetic material of the virus is examined for mutations. That represents roughly between four and eight percent of New York Citys new cases. The majority of those cases are sequenced at a laboratory in Long Island City operated by Opentrons, a robotics company.

At the request of The Times, the companys chief executive, Jonathan Brennan-Badal, shared ZIP code-level data for about 7,500 sequenced cases, explaining that the information could help identify where the need for more resources including testing and vaccinations was greatest.

The city Health Department uses the sequences from this laboratory, known as the Pandemic Response Lab, as the basis for its weekly sample gauging the prevalence of each variant.

But even with thousands of samples sequenced, the data still has significant limitations. Most of its coronavirus samples come from the citys public hospital system and city-sponsored testing sites. It receives lots of samples from some neighborhoods, but few from others.

The limited number of variants sequenced up till now make it difficult to arrive at conclusions as to whether some neighborhoods are more severely affected than others, Dr. El-Sadr said.

Each dot on the density maps above is placed in the ZIP code of a New Yorker whose coronavirus sample was sequenced at the Opentrons lab. But neighborhoods with lots of dots do not necessarily correspond with coronavirus hot spots. The density of dots can often be explained by the presence of a city testing center nearby.

On the other hand, neighborhoods with few dots are not necessarily free of variants. It just means few coronavirus samples from there reached the lab.

There are blind spots across the Bronx, Queens and the southern half of Manhattan. In some ZIP codes too few samples have been sequenced to draw any solid conclusions. In Roosevelt Island, for example, only one case has been sequenced.

The city on Monday separately released a report based on ZIP-code level data from the Pandemic Response Lab, as well as from the citys own lab. It also showed the proportion of B.1.1.7 and B.1.526 cases growing rapidly.

The report said that B.1.526 cases have been detected in all five boroughs, but were slightly more common in the Bronx and parts of Queens. B.1.1.7 cases were also found citywide, but were slightly more common in southern Brooklyn, eastern Queens and Staten Island.

City officials said that the maps showed widespread transmission of the variants, and that they were an important reminder for people not to let their guards down in any neighborhood.

The single best way we can address this threat is by vaccinating everyone as quickly as possible, said Dr. Jay Varma, a senior adviser on public health in the mayors office. The reality is you are at risk of any of these no matter where you are.

Dr. Chokshi said that the geographic breakdown of variants illustrated where the variants had been detected and how widespread they were across the city, questions health officials had been asking for weeks.

Monitoring clusters in certain neighborhoods could lead to insights about variants that so far have remained somewhat of a mystery to health officials.

Because B.1.526 appears to have emerged locally in New York City, Dr. Nash said he would expect that it would circulate more in areas with high levels of community transmission.

Throughout the pandemic, these have tended to be poorer swaths of the city, where living conditions are more crowded and jobs have required showing up in person. The map largely bears that out.

In ZIP codes where more than 20 percent of the population lives in poverty, there were about three times as many B.1.526 cases sequenced as B.1.1.7 cases between March 1 and April 1. In ZIP codes with less poverty, B.1.526 cases were just twice as numerous as B.1.1.7.

In an inverse effect, vaccination rates also tend to be lower in harder hit neighborhoods that have had more community transmission during the pandemic. Some of this is because of vaccine hesitancy, and some because of access issues. The city has been trying to address this with targeted vaccination campaigns.

Scarcity is the enemy of equity, said Dr. Tom Frieden, a former city health commissioner.

The abundance of variants being detected in the city has created a complicated challenge for health officials.

Some variants such as the ones first found in Brazil, P.1, and South Africa, B.1.351, that are now popping up in small numbers in New York carry a mutation that appears to allow the virus to partially evade antibodies from prior infection. The variant first found in South Africa also appears to make vaccines less effective.

The variant first detected in New York, B.1.526, appears to come with two forms of mutation.

More than half of the B.1.526 circulating in New York City now carries a mutation similar to ones carried by the variants discovered in South Africa and Brazil, according to the New York City Health Department.

Another version of the variant, researchers say, contains a different mutation, which may help the virus bind more tightly to human cells and may make it more contagious. However, there is no real-world evidence yet that B.1.526 results in more severe infection, or is more likely to evade antibodies from prior infections or vaccines, though it is being studied, city officials said.

The P.1 variant, which has been linked to a surge of cases in Brazil, has been detected about two dozen times in New York City between March 16 and April 1, mainly in Queens. A handful of cases of B.1.351 have been found mostly on Staten Island in recent weeks.

Its just a reminder that not only are we interconnected in the city, but we are interconnected around the world, said Dr. Nash, and what happens there can happen here too, if we are not careful.

Lauren Leatherby contributed research.

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How the Coronavirus Variants Are Spreading in New York City - The New York Times

You could run into a situation where you just got unlucky with where you chose to target your test, and something popped up there that then made your test less effective, said Nathan Grubaugh, a virologist at Yale University.

The gene for the viruss characteristic spike protein, known as the S gene, has been particularly prone to mutation, and tests that target this gene may miss certain variants. For instance, Thermo Fishers TaqPath test fails to detect the mutated S gene of the B.1.1.7 variant, which was first identified in Britain and is now spreading rapidly through the United States.

But the test does not rely on the S gene alone; it has three targets and can still return accurate results by detecting two other stretches of the coronavirus genome.

Just 1.3 percent of molecular tests rely solely on an S gene target, according to calculations performed by Rachel West, a postdoctoral associate at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. The rest either target more stable regions of the genome, which are less likely to mutate, or have multiple target sequences, which makes them less susceptible to failure. Its very unlikely that youre going to get mutations in all of them, Dr. Lillis said.

The F.D.A. has listed four different molecular tests whose performance could be impacted by the variants, but notes that the tests should still work. Three of the tests have multiple targets; a fourth may be slightly less sensitive when the virus has one particular mutation and is present at very low levels. (The four tests are the TaqPath Covid-19 Combo Kit, the Linea Covid-19 Assay Kit, the Xpert Xpress and Xpert Omni SARS-CoV-2, and the Accula SARS-CoV-2 Test.)

We dont think that those four assays are significantly impacted, said Dr. Tim Stenzel, who directs the F.D.A.s office of in vitro diagnostics and radiological health. It was more out of an abundance of caution and transparency that we made that information public.

Antigen tests are less sensitive than molecular tests, but they are typically cheaper and faster, and they are being deployed widely in coronavirus screening programs. These tests detect specific proteins on the outside of the virus. Some genetic mutations could change the structure of these proteins, allowing them to escape detection.

The rest is here:

What the Coronavirus Variants Mean for Testing - The New York Times

And unlike the original strain of the novel coronavirus, the more contagious B.1.1.7 strain is hitting young people particularly hard.

"(Covid-19) cases and emergency room visits are up," said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We are seeing these increases in younger adults, most of whom have not yet been vaccinated."

Now doctors say many young people are suffering Covid-19 complications they didn't expect.

And it's time to ditch the belief that only older adults or people with pre-existing conditions are at risk of severe Covid-19.

Why B.1.1.7 is more contagious

Viruses mutate all the time, and most mutations aren't very important. But if the mutations are significant, they can lead to dangerous new variants of a virus.

"The B.1.1.7 variant has mutations that allow it to bind more" to cells, said Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a CNN medical analyst and professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University.

"Think of this mutation as making the virus stickier."

Coronavirus latches onto cells with its spike proteins -- the spikes surrounding the surface of the virus.

With the original strain of the novel coronavirus, "you need a certain inoculum -- a certain amount of virus -- in order for the infection to basically stick," Reiner said.

"So these new variants, particularly the UK variant, seem to be stickier. So the notion is that it's more contagious, so to speak, because potentially you don't need as much of an inoculum to get sick."

What this means in real life: "You can be in a place and maybe have a briefer exposure or have a smaller exposure -- more casual exposure -- and then get infected," Reiner said.

And because B.1.1.7 is stickier, "you may indeed have a higher viral load."

"If you have a higher number of viral particles in your respiratory tract, then it's going to be easier to spread it to other people," Ranney said.

That's another reason why it's so important for young adults to get vaccinated.

More young people are being hospitalized with Covid-19

B.1.1.7 cases have now been reported in all 50 states, the CDC said.

"What we're seeing in a bunch of places now is sick, young people -- hospitalized young people. Whereas earlier on in the pandemic, it was primarily older people," Reiner said.

"The reason for this might be as simple as the older population in this country has either been exposed to this virus, killed by the virus, or now vaccinated against the virus."

"The unvaccinated -- those are the people who are getting infected -- we're seeing a large number of young people, and they're the ones we're seeing in hospitals now."

In March, New Jersey saw a 31% jump in Covid-19 hospitalizations among young adults ages 20 to 29, the state health commissioner said. And the 40-49 age group saw a 48% increase in Covid-19 hospitalizations.

Ranney said she's also noticed a stark change in who's getting hospitalized.

"Looking at the week of December 26 or January 2, age 65-plus would be, say, 3,000 (hospitalizations). And then everything else together is 3,000. More than 50% were age 65-plus."

But by March 27, "it was about one-third (ages) 18 to 49 ... about one-third ages 50 to 64, and then about one-third 65-plus," Ranney said.

As an emergency room doctor, Ranney said she regularly sees young, previously healthy patients struggling with coronavirus.

"I see at least a few people on every ER shift that I work who are there because they are having persistent trouble breathing or other side effects as a result of Covid-19," she said.

Ranney said she generally defines "young people" as those under 50. But "no matter which age cutoff you use, right now, we're seeing more B.1.1.7 than the older variants."

"We're certainly seeing it more in 20s and 30s as well," she said. "And people in their 20s and 30s are less likely to be vaccinated and more likely to be out and about."

The vast majority of positive coronavirus tests don't go through genomic sequencing to figure out whether it's B.1.1.7 or another strain. But as genomic sequencing increases nationwide, health experts say there's no doubt B.1.1.7 is fueling more hospitalizations among young people.

Dr. Justin Skrzynski is a Covid hospitalist -- or specialist in the care of Covid-19 patients -- at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak in Michigan. He said the facility sends a portion of its coronavirus samples to the state for DNA analysis.

"Right now, the regular Covid test we do -- that's still just showing Covid (or) no Covid," Skrzynski said.

"But we do send a lot of those out to the state, and we are seeing something like 40% of our patients now (with) B.1.1.7."

Reiner said he thinks both human behavior and the "stickiness" of B.1.1.7 are leading to more Covid-19 hospitalizations among young people.

"It may be simply because of just (more young people) getting infected ... and perhaps the inoculum (viral load) is higher," he said.

Sometimes, young people can be victims of their own strong immune systems.

As B.1.1.7 keeps spreading, it's possible the number of young people with cytokine storms will increase, Reiner said.

As more young people get infected, doctors are worried they'll see more of a disturbing trend they've noticed for months -- long-term complications.

"I cannot tell you how many people I've taken care of in the ER who are in their 20s, 30s and 40s, who are never sick enough to end up in the ER with Covid, but who now have long-lasting respiratory difficulties," Ranney said.

"Or they have persistent loss of taste and smell, and they're losing weight because there's no joy from eating. Or they have that kind of brain fog that we hear about with long Covid. And it's not universal. It's not every person who gets Covid who's going to get that. But there is the reality that this disease is not benign -- regardless of whether they get hospitalized or in the ICU," she said.

"So I think there's this false sense of both 'I'm immune to it just because I'm young,' and 'Even if I catch it, I'll be fine.' You may be lucky. And that may be true, that if you catch it, you'll be fine. But there's also a chance that you won't."

Reiner said some long-haul symptoms in young people have lasted roughly a year now -- "debilitating symptoms that have come in the aftermath of their coronavirus infection," he said.

"So what I would say to young people is that Covid-19 doesn't have to kill you to wreck your life."

Health experts say it's critical to keep practicing Covid-19 safety precautions until many more people get vaccinated. Yet some states have ditched mask mandates or reopened bars to full capacity just as B.1.1.7 was spreading rapidly.

"They're the people going out to the bars. They're the people meeting for brunch. The older people in this country have been hunkered down for a year because they've been worried about dying from this virus. Young people in this country haven't worried so much about dying from this virus. And there's a lot of pandemic fatigue."

Reiner said he understands many businesses have been devastated and need to fully reopen once it's safe to.

"But easing the mask mandate makes zero sense," he said. "There is no economic hardship, and there's no personal hardship to require a person to wear a mask when they're out in public."

Ranney said young people may misinterpret the lifting of safety mandates.

"When you hear that ... as a regular person who's not following the day-to-day (data), you think, 'Well, my governor wouldn't open it if it's not safe,'" she said. "So I think there is that mixed message."

"Absolutely, we are seeing a higher number of kids test positive for B.1.1.7 than we have seen for the other virus types," Ranney said.

"It's not necessarily that kids are more susceptible to B.1.1.7. But it's just that they're more likely to be exposed to it both because they're out and about, and because this version is more transmissible."

While classroom learning is relatively safe when the right safety precautions are taken, health officials say after-school activities -- such as youth sports and other extracurriculars -- are causing more children to get Covid-19.

The good news about B.1.1.7: We don't need a new playbook to fight it. But we do have to follow the existing playbook closely to snuff out this highly contagious variant.

"Even though it is more transmissible, every piece of data that we have supports that we can still stop it using the same techniques that we have used for other variants," Ranney said.

"So it's still about masks and physical distancing and ventilation and vaccines. And our current vaccines -- and this is really critical -- the current vaccines work really well against B.1.1.7."

But here's the catch: The longer a virus circulates, the more opportunities it has to develop new mutations. And if the mutations are significant, they can lead to more problematic variants -- including some that might evade vaccine protection.

"To me, this is a warning sign. This is a shot across the bow of what could happen," Ranney said.

B.1.1.7 "does spread more easily. It is increasing the number of cases. We're seeing some increases in hospitalizations, probably due to the B.1.1.7 spread. But the vaccines work against it," she said.

Read more:

More young people are getting hospitalized as a 'stickier,' more infectious coronavirus strain becomes dominant - CNN

Nikkei Asia is tracking the spread of the coronavirus that was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

Cumulative global cases have reached 139,939,103, according to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The worldwide death toll has hit 2,999,020.

For more information about the spread of COVID-19 and the progress of vaccination around the world, please see our interactive charts and maps.

-- Global coronavirus tracker charts

-- Status of vaccinations around the world

-- World map of spreading mutated strains

-- Distribution, duration, safety: challenges emerge in vaccine race

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UPDATES CLOSED

Saturday, April 17 (Tokyo time)

11:00 a.m.China reports 15 new cases for Friday, up from 11 cases a day earlier. One of the new cases was a local infection reported in southwestern Yunnan province, which discovered a new cluster in late March in a city on the border with Myanmar.The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, fell to 19 from 31 cases a day earlier.

Friday, April 16

10:26 p.m.As India battles a massive second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, its government says the monthly production capacity of indigenously developed Covaxin vaccine is to be ramped up to nearly 100 million doses by September, from 10 million doses at present.

"The current production capacity will be doubled by May-June 2021 and then increased nearly 6-7 fold by July-August 2021,"the Ministry of Science and Technology saysin a statement.

1:33 p.m. India reports 217,353 cases in the last 24 hours, the highest-ever daily spike and the second straight day with over 200,000 cases. Fatalities jumped to 1,185, raising the total to 174,308. Cases are rising exponentially as a vicious second wave of the pandemic finds fertile grounds at a giant religious gathering of hundreds of thousands in the north and at mass election rallies in other regions.

11:41 a.m. South Korea's Huons Global will lead a consortium to produce 100 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine per month as Moscow ramps up production for supplies abroad. The announcement comes after South Korean biotech firm GL Rapha signed a deal with Russia's sovereign wealth fund late last year to make more than 150 million doses of Sputnik V per year. Huons said the consortium will begin producing sample batches in August and respond flexibly to supply demands from the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

11:06 a.m. Soaring exports helped China's gross domestic product grow a record 18.3% in the first quarter of 2021, rebounding from the 6.8% contraction in the same period last year at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, government data shows. China's GDP growth for January-March followed a 6.5% gain in the final quarter of 2020.

10:13 a.m. China reports 11 new mainland COVID-19 cases on Thursday, up from 10 on Wednesday. The National Health Commission said one of the new cases was a local infection in the southwestern Yunnan Province, where a new cluster was discovered in late March at a city on the border with Myanmar.

10:00 a.m. A fundraising event organized by the Gavi vaccine alliance and the United States secures more than $300 million worth of fresh funds and COVID-19 doses for the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility, USAID Acting Administrator Gloria Steele said on Thursday. "Investment in COVAX is a prerequisite for recovery. ... Ending the acute phase of the pandemic is currently the best economic decision for any country," Jose Manuel Barroso, chairman of the Gavi vaccine alliance, said after the three-hour event.

Nikkei has learned that Japan, the U.S. and European nations will take part in an online summit in June to discuss expanding free vaccines for developing countries.

5:20 a.m. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surpasses 34,000 for the first time, buoyed by strong economic data. The S&P 500 gains 1% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq advances 1.3%.

4:20 a.m. People will "likely" require a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccination within 12 months of being fully vaccinated, Pfizer's CEO Albert Bourla tells CNBC.

"It is extremely important to suppress the pool of people that can be susceptible to the virus," Bourla says during an event with CVS Health, adding the vaccines will be an important tool in the fight against highly contagious variants.

4:00 a.m. About 5,800 people who have been vaccinated against coronavirus have become infected anyway, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tells CNN.

Some became seriously ill and 74 people died, the CDC says. It said 396 -- 7% -- of those who got infected after they were vaccinated required hospitalization.

"So far, about 5,800 breakthrough cases have been reported to CDC. To date, no unexpected patterns have been identified in case demographics or vaccine characteristics," CNN quotes the CDC as saying via email.

Thursday, April 15

5:30 p.m. The Indian capital of Delhi imposes new coronavirus restrictions including a weekend curfew and the shutting of malls, gyms, spas and auditoriums to "break the chain of transmission" of the COVID-19 virus. The city, which has been under a nighttime curfew for over a week, reported more than 17,000 cases in the last 24 hours, the highest daily count since the onset of the pandemic last year.

5:10 p.m. Osaka, in western Japan, reports 1,208 new infections, up from 1,130 a day earlier and marking a new daily high for the third day in a row. New daily cases in Osaka have been higher than in Tokyo for the past 17 days.

4:03 p.m. Thailand reports 1,543 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the sharpest increase since the start of the pandemic and the fourth record rise this week. When asked whether lockdowns would be imposed, a senior health official said measures were being formulated based on case numbers in each area and would be proposed to the coronavirus taskforce for approval on Friday.

3:00 p.m. Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike asks non-Tokyo residents to avoid the capital unless they are doing essential work in a bid to halt surging infections. Koike also asked people to halt or postpone travel during the Golden Week holidays in late April to early May, while urging businesses in shopping areas to refrain from holding sales during the holidays. The capital has reported 729 cases on the day, up from 591 on Wednesday.

1:56 p.m. Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, says canceling the Olympics could be an option if the coronavirus spreads further, although a senior government official later told Nikkei that "it is impossible to cancel the Olympics."

1:14 p.m. India hits a single-day high of 200,739 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the country total to 14.1 million while deaths jumped by 1,038 to 173,123 -- the second straight day with over 1,000 fatalities. The country case total lags behind only the U.S., which has 31.4 million infections.

10:38 a.m. South Korea reports 698 cases, down from 731 the previous day, bringing the country total to 112,117 with 1,788 deaths. The Bank of Korea kept its key rate unchanged at 0.5% as the central bank expected uncertainties to remain high due to the pandemic.

10:00 a.m. Cambodia has decided to lock down the country's capital Phnom Penh for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak began. The decision was made after infections were confirmed across the capital earlier this week, which followed the first community outbreaks at a garment factory and a market. While infections had been among the lowest in the world, Cambodia now reports a total of over 4,800 infections with 35 deaths.

9:29 a.m. Mainland China reports 10 cases for Wednesday, down from 12 a day earlier. All new cases were imported infections from overseas.

7:46 a.m. Johnson & Johnson's vaccine remains in limbo as a U.S. health panel called for more data before making a decision on how and whether to resume use of the one-dose shot, putting off a vote for at least a week. The panel is reviewing six reported cases of rare brain blood clots in women who received the J&J vaccine.

4:14 a.m. Turkey reports 62,797 cases and 279 deaths for Wednesday, both single-day highs.

Wednesday, April 14

10:43 p.m. Denmark will halt use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, the country's heath authority confirms.

"The Danish Health Authority has decided to continue the vaccination against COVID-19 without the vaccine from AstraZeneca," it said in a statement.

5:10 p.m. Osaka reports 1,130 new infections, up from 1,099 a day earlier and posting a record number of new daily cases for the second day in a row. The western Japan prefecture has recently seen a surge in COVID-19 cases -- about double the numbers for Tokyo. Hyogo, neighboring prefecture, also registered a record high of 507 new cases.

3:10 p.m. Tokyo reports 591 new cases, up from 510 a day earlier, bringing the seven-day average of new infections in the capital to 497, 19.2% higher than a week ago.

2:30 p.m. India's infections hit a new daily high as crowds of pilgrims gather for a religious festival despite oxygen shortages and strict curbs in other areas. The country reported 184,372 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the county total to 13.9 million while deaths rose by 1,027 to 172,085.

2:00 p.m. Thailand reports 1,335 cases -- the biggest single-day rise since the start of the pandemic and the third record spike this week -- as the country struggles with a new wave of infections. The new cases bring the country total to 35,910 with deaths remaining at 97.

12:40 p.m. New Zealand has started administering COVID-19 vaccinations to athletes ahead of their departure for the Tokyo games, the country's Olympics chief says. "We're really satisfied the government was able to put us in that category of national significance, so that's now underway and athletes have been worked through according to when they might be departing," New Zealand Olympic Committee Chief Executive Kereyn Smith said. More than 200 athletes are expected to represent New Zealand at the July 23-Aug. 8 games.

10:44 a.m. With the Summer Olympics just 100 days away, Japan is rushing to put together effective COVID-19 countermeasures as the world casts a wary eye. Winning the trust of participating nations will be the utmost challenge in Japan's attempt to host a massive sporting event in the middle of a pandemic.

10:19 a.m. New infections in South Korea jump to 731 from 542 a day ago, marking a three-month high. The country's total infections have reached 111,419, with 1,782 deaths. Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said cluster infections are spreading through bars, churches and private tutoring institutions. But the country's job market is rebounding, adding 314,000 jobs in March from a year ago, led by strong exports and investment as well as a recovery in private consumption.

10:00 a.m. China reports 12 new cases for Tuesday, up from nine a day earlier. One of the new cases was a local infection reported in southwestern Yunnan Province, where a city on the border with Myanmar reported a cluster of infections in late March. The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, fell to 12 from 18 a day earlier.

9:10 a.m. Japan's core private-sector machinery orders fell 8.5% in February from the previous month, government data shows. The orders, which exclude those for ships and from electricity utilities due to their volatility, totaled 769.8 billion yen ($7 billion), according to the Cabinet Office. They fell for the second straight month following a 4.5% drop in January.

4:00 a.m. India's state of Maharashtra, an economic powerhouse that is home to Mumbai, will impose restrictions on business and social activity for 15 days until April 30 to combat rising coronavirus infections.

The order from the chief minister affects all factories, except some involved in exports and essential products. Deliveries for online orders will also be restricted to essentials.

Tuesday, April 13

9:20 p.m. U.S. health officials have recommended a temporary halt in coronavirus vaccinations with the single-shot Johnson & Johnson jab, following reports of recipients developing a blood clot disorder.

An advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is to hold a meeting on Wednesday to review the six reported cases, and the Food and Drug Administration will conduct its own review of the findings, the agencies say.

6:30 p.m. Britain has offered all over-50s who have asked a first dose of vaccine and launched the Moderna shot in England, the government says, putting it on track to vaccinate all adults by the end of July. The government has offered at least one shot to priority cohorts 1 to 9, which include all adults over 50, the clinically vulnerable, and health and social care workers, ahead of a target to do so by Thursday.

5:00 p.m. India says it will fast-track emergency approvals for COVID-19 vaccines made overseas that have been granted emergency authorization in other countries, as infections surge. "The first 100 beneficiaries of such foreign vaccines shall be assessed for seven days for safety outcomes before it is rolled out for further immunization program within the country," the health ministry said in a statement.

3:30 p.m. The Tokyo Olympics can host fans safely at up to 50% capacity, Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto says in an interview with Nikkei. Hashimoto brought up the capacity limit, citing efforts by Japan's professional baseball league to find a balance between attendance and safety. Olympic organizers have decided to exclude overseas fans from the games due to COVID-19 concerns.

3:17 p.m. Tokyo reports 510 new infections, up from 306 a day earlier. The seven-day average of new cases in the capital rose 24% from a week ago to 492.

1:19 p.m. India reports 161,736 new cases for the past 24 hours, slightly down from the record 168,912 of the previous day and marking the third straight day with over 150,000 infections, pushing the country's total to 13.69 million. Fatalities rose by 879 to 171,058.

1:05 p.m. Daily infections in Osaka Prefecture are set to top 1,000 for the first time, sources tell Nikkei. Osaka took quasi-emergency measures on April 5, asking restaurants and bars to close by 8 p.m., but the current wave of infections continues to surge. Highly contagious variants of the virus have been gaining ground, and health authorities worry the increasing number of cases is putting further stress on hospitals.

12:40 p.m. China's exports grew at a robust pace in March in another boost to the nation's economic recovery as global demand and countries' vaccination drives picked up. Import growth surged to its highest level in four years. Exports in dollar terms soared 30.6% in March from a year earlier, but at a slower pace from the record 154.9% growth in February. Imports increased 38.1% year-on-year last month, the most since February 2017.

11:25 a.m. Torchbearers for the Tokyo Olympics ran through an empty park in Osaka after the relay was re-routed from public roads due to a sharp rise in coronavirus infections. Runners carried the flame for about 200 meters each. The site was closed to the public.

10:30 a.m. A highly contagious variant of COVID-19 first identified in Britain does not cause more severe disease in hospitalized patients, according to a study published in the medical journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases on Monday. The strain, known as B.1.1.7, was identified in Britain late last year and has become the most common strain in the U.S.

10:20 a.m. Australia has no current plans to add Johnson & Johnson's one-dose coronavirus vaccine to its immunization drive, as it moves away from procuring vaccines under review over blood clots. J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines use an adenovirus, a harmless class of common-cold viruses, to introduce coronavirus proteins into cells and trigger an immune response. Both are under review by Europe's drug regulator after it found rare cases of blood clots among some adult vaccine recipients.

10:14 a.m. South Korea reports 542 cases, down from 587 a day ago, bringing the country total to 110,688 with 1,775 deaths. Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said the government will simplify the administrative process to supply more vaccines as early as possible.

9:30 a.m. China reports nine cases for Monday, down from 16 a day earlier. One of the new cases was reported in Yunnan Province, which is dealing with a cluster that emerged in Ruili city on the border with Myanmar. The number of asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, rose to 18 from 12 a day earlier.

5:00 a.m. India has approved Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, the Russian Direct Investment Fund says. India overtook Brazil to become the nation with the second-highest number of infections after the U.S. as it battles a second wave. India has administered 105 million doses among a population of 1.4 billion.

Monday, April 12

7:52 p.m. People who have been vaccinated in Hong Kong will be able to form "vaccination bubbles" and gather in larger numbers, Chief Executive Carrie Lam says. The city has made progress toward establishing a travel bubble with Singapore, she also says, adding that further details will be announced soon.

6:00 p.m. Five South Korean companies have launched clinical trials for their coronavirus vaccines, aiming to enter the third phase of trials in the second half of this year, the health ministry says. The five are SK Bioscience, EuBiologics, Cellid, Genexine and GeneOne Life Science. The government plans to provide 68.7 billion won ($61.1 million) to support the companies' vaccine development.

3:30 p.m. Tokyo reports 306 cases, down from 421 a day earlier but up from 363 a week ago. Tokyo, along with Kyoto and Okinawa prefectures, enhanced its responses to the pandemic on Monday, asking restaurants and bars to close by 8 p.m. and limiting attendance at large events to 5,000 under what is regarded as a quasi-state of emergency. The steps will last through May 5 for Kyoto and Okinawa, and May 11 for Tokyo.

2:00 p.m. Thailand reports 985 cases, marking a daily high for the second straight day, as the country deals with a third wave of infections and a highly contagious variant. Thailand has now recorded 33,610 cases while deaths stayed unchanged at 97.

1:42 p.m. India records another daily record with 168,912 cases in the last 24 hours, pushing the country total to over 13.5 million and overtaking Brazil to become the world's second-most affected nation. Fatalities jumped by 904 to 170,179. The nation's capital of Delhi is seeing a fourth wave of infections with officials urging residents to stay home. By mid-March, cases in the city had dropped to less than 200 per day, but the latest single-day count shows 10,732 infections, the capital's biggest daily spike.

11:55 a.m. China's top disease control official said the country is considering mixing vaccines as a way of boosting efficacy, according to Reuters. Data shows Chinese vaccines lag behind others including Pfizer and Moderna in terms of efficacy. Giving people doses of different vaccines is one way to improve vaccines that "don't have very high rates of protection," said Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, without specifying whether he was referring to foreign or domestic vaccines. "Inoculation using vaccines of different technical lines is being considered," Gao told a conference in the Chinese city of Chengdu on Saturday.

10:40 a.m. South Korea reports 587 cases, down from 614 a day ago, bringing the country total to 110,146 with 1,770 deaths. President Moon Jae-in will host an emergency meeting with health-related ministers at 2 p.m. to discuss how to control rising cases and stabilize vaccine supplies. It is the first time in four months that Moon will convene such a meeting.

9:50 a.m. China reports 16 cases for Sunday, up from 10 a day earlier. Of the new cases, 14 were imported infections from overseas while two were from the southwest province of Yunan. The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, fell to 12 from 22 a day earlier.

9:30 a.m. Japan starts vaccinating elderly people, the second group to be inoculated following health care workers, as concern over a fourth wave of infections grows. The government plans to secure enough Pfizer shots for roughly 36 million people aged 65 or older and deliver them to municipalities by late June.

8:30 a.m. The governors of Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa enhance their response to the pandemic amid surging infections less than a month after Japan lifted a second state of emergency. The measures include asking restaurants and bars in densely populated areas to close by 8 p.m. and limiting attendance at large events to 5,000 -- similar to those under the state of emergency -- and will last through May 5 for Kyoto and Okinawa, and May 11 for Tokyo.

8:27 a.m. Australia has abandoned a goal to vaccinate nearly all its population by the end of 2021 following advice that people under the age of 50 receive Pfizer's vaccine rather than AstraZeneca's. Australia, which had banked on AstraZeneca for the majority of its shots, had no plans for completing its vaccination program, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a Facebook post on Sunday.

3:50 a.m. China's failure to provide access to global health experts made the pandemic worse than it had to be, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Sunday, and it was important to "get to the bottom" of the origin of the coronavirus. China did not give access to international experts or share information in real time to provide true transparency, Blinken said in an interview with American broadcaster NBC. As a result, the virus "got out of hand faster and with, I think, much more egregious results than it might otherwise," Blinken said.

Sunday, April 11

10:34 p.m. The director of the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Saturday that currently available vaccines "don't have very high rates of protection" and that China is formally considering mixing vaccines. Data shows Chinese vaccines lag behind others including Pfizer and Moderna in terms of efficacy, but require less stringent temperature controls during storage.

6:36 p.m. Thailand reports 967 cases, its biggest daily jump, but no new deaths as the country deals with a third wave of infections and a highly contagious variant.

4:27 p.m. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has approved placing the capital region and four adjacent provinces under a less restrictive community quarantine status from April 12, according to his spokesman. Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna and Cavite, which have been in a strict lockdown, will be under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine status until April 30, spokesman Harry Roque says.

3:59 p.m. Cases in India surge to a record of 152,879 as the country battles a second wave of infections by pushing for faster vaccinations, with some states considering tougher restrictions to slow the virus spread.

2:13 p.m. South Korea says it will move ahead with a second-quarter vaccination drive starting Monday after deciding to continue AstraZeneca's vaccine for all eligible people at least 30 years of age.

Saturday, April 10

7:07 p.m. Thailand plans to install 10,000 field-hospital beds in Bangkok, a health official says, as the country strains to cope with a third wave of COVID-19 infections.

At least a dozen hospitals in the capital say they had stopped testing for the coronavirus as of Friday due to a lack of kits or capacity. Hospitals are reluctant to test because they must admit people if they test positive, authorities say.

Meanwhile, the country reports 789 new cases and one death, taking the total number of infections to 31,658, with 97 deaths.

2:20 p.m. India reports a record 145,384 new COVID-19 cases and the highest number of deaths in more than five months, as it grapples with an overwhelming second-wave of infections that has forced the state of Maharashtra, where Mumbai is located, to impose a weekend lockdown. Deaths rose by 794 to 168,436, health ministry data shows. India's overall case load has swelled to 13.21 million, the third-highest globally, behind the United States and Brazil.

10:22 a.m. Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech ask U.S. regulators to allow the emergency use of their vaccine among 12- to 15-year-olds. The vaccine is currently authorized for emergency use in the United States for people aged 16 and up.

---

To catch up on earlier developments, see the last edition of latest updates.

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Coronavirus: Week of Apr. 11 to Apr. 17, South Korea to increase production of Sputnik V - Nikkei Asia

Sputnik V, a host of coronavirus mutations and a rocket stack  Nature.com

Continued here:

Sputnik V, a host of coronavirus mutations and a rocket stack - Nature.com

DETROIT The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan has risen to 764,519 as of Wednesday, including 16,621 deaths, state officials report.

Wednesdays update includes a total of 7,955 new cases and 35 additional deaths. On Tuesday,the state reported 756,564 total cases and 16,586 deaths.

Testing has been steady around 35,000 diagnostic tests reported per day on average, with the7-day positive rate above 15%as of Tuesday, near the highest weve ever recorded.Hospitalizations have increased over the last several weeks, now near the highest point of the pandemic.

More:16 things to know from recent talk about Michigan COVID restrictions, workplace rules, vaccines

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Michigan continues to lead the nation in new COVID-19 cases. The states7-day moving average for daily caseswas 7,014 on Tuesday -- the highest since November. The 7-day death average was 43 on Tuesday, slightly higher than the last two weeks. The states fatality rate is 2.2%. The statealso reports active cases,which were listed at 154,000 on Tuesday. More than 587,000 have recovered in Michigan.

Michiganhas reportedmore than5.3 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administeredas of Tuesday, with 41.9% of residentshaving received at least one dose.

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More:CDC: Michigans response to rising COVID cases should be to shut things down

According to Johns Hopkins University, more than31 million cases have been reported in the U.S., with more than562,000 deathsreported from the virus.

Worldwide, more than136 million people have been confirmed infectedand more than2.9 million have died. More than77 million have recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University. The true numbers are certainly much higher, because of limited testing, different ways nations count the dead and deliberate under-reporting by some governments.

Michigan COVID-19 vaccinations: How to find appointments, info on phases

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Coronavirus headlines:

VIEW: Tracking Michigan COVID-19 vaccine doses

VIEW: Tracking coronavirus cases, outbreaks in Michigan schools

The director of the CDC said the answer to Michigans alarming rise in COVID-19 cases isnt to vaccinate our way out of it, but to shut things down like the state did last spring and summer.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, spoke Monday about the COVID-19 situation in Michigan.

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On Friday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called Michigan a COVID hotspot and called on the federal government to surge additional vaccines here in response to rising case numbers.

Read more here.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the state health department are asking residents to follow certain voluntary COVID-19 restrictions, such as avoiding indoor dining, suspending sports and returning to remote learning.

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On Friday, Whitmer and Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, spoke about the alarming COVID-19 trends in Michigan.

I am quite concerned with what we are seeing in our data, Khaldun said We are on track to potentially see a surge in cases thats even greater than the one we saw in the fall.

The city of Detroit is launching eight neighborhood COVID-19 vaccination sites, adding to an expansion at TCF Center, to combat surging cases and hospitalizations in the city.

Detroits vaccination rate, 21% as of Monday, is far below neighboring areas and overall state average, which is 35%. The city is expanding options for residents with an urgent message: Get vaccinated.

Next week, the city will be offering eight additional locations throughout the week, in addition to its Community Saturdays and other outreach programs, to provide Detroiters with the opportunity to get vaccinated in a convenient and familiar location close to home.

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Read here.

All Michigan residents age 16 and up became eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine on April 5, nearly a month before the May 1 date pledged by President Joe Biden.

People age 16 to 49 with certain medical conditions or disabilities will qualify starting March 22, when 50- to 64-year-olds can begin getting shots under a previous announcement. Two days later, March 24, a federally selected regional mass vaccination site will open at Detroits Ford Field to administer an additional 6,000 doses a day for two months.

Learn more here.

MORE: Michigans updated COVID-19 vaccination schedule: Who is eligible and when

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The COVID-19 variant detected in Brazil has been identified in Bay County. That variant is known as the P1 strain and it is more contagious and more than 50% able to reinfect.

The person infected in Bay County and the people theyve been in contact with will need to quarantine for 14 days. Its unclear what effect, if any, it will have on those, including seniors, who have already been vaccinated as there isnt enough research to know exactly.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer released a statement Tuesday after White House officials announced that there will increase COVID-19 vaccine doses available for Michigan starting next week.

According to a press release, next weeks shipment will increase by 66,020 bringing the total number of doses to 620,040 -- a weekly record for the state. Officials said the allocation includes 147,800 doses of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

This comes after Whitmer recently requested for more vaccines as the state is seeing a rise in COVID numbers.

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The CDC said that Michigan is leading the country in new cases of COVID-19 per population.

On Tuesday, officials reported 5,177 new COVID cases and 48 additional deaths, including 20 from a Vital Records review. On Monday, the state reported 660,771 total cases and 16,034 deaths.

Local 4s Dr. Frank McGeorge said hes seen a very clear increase in COVID patients at the hospital where he works.

Many of them need to be hospitalized. I would honestly say, this feels worse to me here in Southeast Michigan than it was during the wave that started in November. Now, the most concerning trend is the number of middle-aged people with severe COVID, McGeorge said.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced that the first case of the COVID-19 variant B.1.351 has been identified in a child in Jackson County.

The health department did not say how the boy was infected but a case investigation is underway to determine close contacts and if there are additional cases associated.

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This new variant was originally detected in South Africa in October 2020 and shares some mutations with the B117 variant. The first case of the B117 variant -- originally detected in the United Kingdom -- was identified in Washtenaw County.

Michigan COVID-19 daily reported cases since March 15:

March 15 -- 1,572 new cases

March 16 -- 2,048 new cases

March 17 -- 3,164 new cases

March 18 -- 2,629 new cases

March 19 -- 3,730 new cases

March 20 -- 2,660 new cases

March 21 -- 2,400 new cases

March 22 -- 2,401 new cases

March 23 -- 3,579 new cases

March 24 -- 4,454 new cases

March 25 -- 5,224 new cases

March 26 -- 5,030 new cases

March 27 -- 4,670 new cases

March 28 -- 4,101 new cases

March 29 -- 4,101 new cases

March 30 -- 5,177 new cases

March 31 -- 6,311 new cases

April 1 -- 6,036 new cases

April 2 -- 5,498 new cases

April 3 -- 8,413 new cases

April 4 -- 5,146 new cases

April 5 -- 5,147 new cases

April 6 -- 4,964 new cases

April 7 -- 8,015 new cases

April 8 -- 7,819 new cases

April 9 -- 7,834 new cases

April 10 -- 6,892 new cases

April 11 -- 4,837 new cases

April 12 -- 4,837 new cases

April 13 -- 8,867 new cases

April 14 -- 7,955 new cases

Michigan COVID-19 daily reported deaths since March 15:

March 15 -- 5 new deaths

March 16 -- 27 new deaths (6 from vital records)

March 17 -- 0 new deaths

March 18 -- 25 new deaths (24 from vital records)

March 19 -- 15 new deaths

March 20 -- 47 new deaths -- (39 from vital records)

March 21 -- 3 new deaths

March 22 -- 3 new deaths

March 23 -- 16 new deaths (8 from vital records)

March 24 -- 16 new deaths

March 25 -- 49 new deaths (30 from vital records)

March 26 -- 20 new deaths

March 27 -- 22 new deaths

March 28 -- 4 new deaths

March 29 -- 4 new deaths

March 30 -- 48 new deaths (20 from vital records)

March 31 -- 10 new deaths

April 1 -- 49 new deaths (33 from vital records)

Link:

Coronavirus in Michigan: Heres what to know April 14, 2021 - WDIV ClickOnDetroit

As a risk factor for serious COVID-19 disease, physical inactivity was surpassed only by advanced age and a history of organ transplant.

Among COVID-19 patients, a lack of exercise is linked to more severe symptoms and a higher risk of death, according to a study covering nearly 50,000 people who were infected with the virus.

People physically inactive for at least two years before the pandemic were more likely to be hospitalised, to require intensive care, and to die, researchers reported on Tuesday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

As a risk factor for serious COVID-19 disease, physical inactivity was surpassed only by advanced age and a history of organ transplant, the study found.

Indeed, compared to other modifiable risk factors such as smoking, obesity or hypertension, physical inactivity was the strongest risk factor across all outcomes, the authors concluded.

The pre-existing conditions most associated with severe COVID-19 infection are advanced age, being male, and having diabetes, obesity or cardiovascular disease.

But up to now, a sedentary lifestyle has not been included.

To see whether a lack of exercise increases the odds of severe infection, hospitalisation, admission into an intensive care unit (ICU), and death, the researchers compared these outcomes in 48,440 adults in the United States infected with COVID-19 between January and October 2020.

The average age of patients was 47, and three out of five were women. On average, their mass-body index was 31, just above the threshold for obesity.

Around half had no underlying illnesses, such as diabetes, chronic lung conditions, heart or kidney disease, or cancer. Nearly 20% had one, and more than 30% had two or more.

All of the patients had reported their level of regular physical activity at least three times between March 2018 and March 2020 at outpatient clinics.

Some 15% described themselves as inactive (0-10 minutes of physical activity per week), nearly 80% reported some activity (11-149 minutes/week), and 7% were consistently active in keeping with national health guidelines (150+ minutes/week).

After allowing for differences due to race, age and underlying medical conditions, sedentary COVID-19 patients were more than twice as likely to be admitted to hospital as those who were most active.

They were also 73% more likely to require intensive care, and 2.5 times more likely to die due to the infection.

Compared to patients in the habit of doing occasional physical activity, couch potatoes were 20% more likely to be admitted to hospital, 10% more likely to require intensive care, and 32% more likely to die.

While the link is statistically strong, the study which is observational, as opposed to a clinical trial cannot be construed as direct evidence that a lack of exercise directly caused the difference in outcomes.

The findings also depend on self-reporting by patients, with a potential for bias.

Read the original:

COVID-19 patients with sedentary habits more likely to die, finds study - The Hindu

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WFLA) Officials are requiring that all fans and staff members be fullyvaccinated against COVID-19in order to attend Buffalo Bills games this fall.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announcedduring a press conference Tuesdaythat officials want fans to return to Highmark Stadium. However, he says in order to do that there must be a vaccination requirement.

I want to see that stadium full. I know the Bills want to see that stadium full. We want to return fans back to the stadium, said Poloncarz. Our plan is that unless you are vaccinated you will not have entry to the stadium. It is easy. It is safe.

Poloncarz says that county leaders want to see 70,000+ people attending games and that you can be one of those people by getting vaccinated.

He adds that there is no need to do masscoronavirustesting to buy tickets for games.

Poloncarz says attendees can download theNew York State Excelsior Pass appwhich allows residents to show that they have been fully vaccinated. The app reportedly features a QR code that will be scanned and used to allow access to the venue.

We want to ensure that if you want to go to a Bills game you can buy and ticket and you can enter by showing that you are vaccinated, he said.

Erie County officials say the same policy will be required for entry into KeyBank Center for Buffalo Sabres games.

Our goal is to have a 100% full house for the Bills and the Sabres starting in the fall and thats ensuring everybody who enters that facility the fans, the staff are fully vaccinated, Poloncarz said.

Those with questions about the vaccination policies are encouraged to reach out to the teams or Erie County officials for more information.

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Coronavirus vaccination required to attend Buffalo Bills games, officials say - WFLA