Category: Corona Virus

The virus that causes COVID-19 could gain a permanent place in the population without global vaccination, warns the U.S. governments top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Weve got to get the whole world vaccinated, Fauci told reporters Monday during the International AIDS Societys COVID-19 conference. If we dont get a global effort, without a doubt, this is not going to go away.

Vaccine supply greatly lags demand, and access has been uneven around the world. Recent results on two candidate vaccines suggest they may work less well against some virus variants, especially one first detected in South Africa, but they are still extremely good at preventing serious illness or death, Fauci said.

The impact of vaccines on the pandemic depends not just on how well they work but how quickly and completely theyre distributed, he added. Vaccines and public health measures such as wearing masks, keeping social distance, avoiding crowds and washing hands are the best way to prevent more cases and further mutations of the virus, he and other experts at the conference said.

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Fauci: Global coronavirus vaccination effort needed or this is not going to go away - KTLA Los Angeles

Facts not fear: We're tracking the latest numbers from the coronavirus pandemic in San Antonio and across Texas.

SAN ANTONIO We're tracking the latest numbers from the coronavirus pandemic in San Antonio and across Texas. Here are the latest numbers reported by Bexar and surrounding counties:

More county case information is available through theTexas Department of Health Services COVID-19 dashboard.

How Bexar County is trending

We've tracked how many coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Bexar County from the time officials began reporting cases in March 2020. The graphic below shows the number of cases since June and charts those daily case numbers along a 7-day moving average to provide a more accurate picture of the overall coronavirus case curve in our area and the direction we're trending amid the pandemic.

On Sunday, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg reported an additional 174 new coronavirus cases in Bexar County, a low number which he attributed to a likely weekend lag in reporting. He also reported a backlog of 3,292 older cases. In all, 173,154 Bexar County residents have been diagnosed with the virus.

Nirenberg also reported 11 new coronavirus-related deaths, and a backlog of 72 fatalities raised the county's death toll to 2,143 since the pandemic began. In January alone, 466 Bexar County residents' deaths have been reported, making the month the deadliest of the pandemic. In August, 460 residents were reported to have died due to virus-related complications.

Sunday, meanwhile, saw hospitalizations continue their week-long plummet. 21 fewer coronavirus hospitalizations were reported on Sunday in comparison to Saturday, bringing the day's concurrent total to 1,169. That's the lowest number of patients hospitalized due to the virus since January 2.

The number of patients in intensive care fell to 385 patients, while 247 patients are on ventilators.

Coronavirus in Texas

The total number of novel coronavirus cases in the state since the pandemic began grew by 11,490 on Sunday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. That total includes 14,969 new confirmed cases, 1,252 new probable cases, and a backlog of 335. More details can be found on this page.

Sunday's figures bring the total number of Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 to more than 2.360 million.

Meanwhile, state health authorities reported another 171 deaths from coronavirus complications in Texas. In all, 36,491 Texans have died from COVID-19.

The number of COVID-19 patients receiving treatment for their symptoms throughout Texas decreased on Sunday by over 250. The concurrent total stands at 11,220.

The state estimates that about 1.947 million Texans have recovered, while 359,752 Texans remain ill with COVID-19.

The latest update from the Texas Education Agency showed that there have been at least 146,963 cumulative cases among staff and students across the state through January 24. That number comprises 93,542 positive student cases and 53,421 staff cases. More information can be found here.

The TEA releases new data on school cases on Fridays.

Latest Coronavirus Headlines

Coronavirus symptoms

The symptoms of coronavirus can be similar to the flu or a bad cold. Symptoms include fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Most healthy people will have mild symptoms. A study of more than 72,000 patients by the Centers for Disease Control in China showed 80 percent of the cases there were mild.

But infections can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death, according to the World Health Organization. Older people with underlying health conditions are most at risk.

Experts determined there was consistent evidence these conditions increase a person's risk, regardless of age:

The CDC believes symptoms may appear anywhere from two to 14 days after being exposed.

Human coronaviruses are usually spread...

Help stop the spread of coronavirus

Find a Testing Location

City officials recommend getting a COVID-19 test if you experience fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, or diarrhea.

San Antonio operates several no-cost testing locations, including two walk-up locations open Monday-Sunday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.:

Cuellar Community Center5626 San Fernando St.San Antonio, TX 78237

Ramirez Community Center1011 Gillette Blvd.San Antonio, TX 78224

Additionally, Freeman Coliseum offers drive-through no-cost testing from Monday through Sunday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. An appointment is required and can be made either onlineor by calling (833) 213-0643.

Here's a Testing Sites Locatorto help you find the testing location closest to you in San Antonio.

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Coronavirus Tracker: January becomes deadliest month of the pandemic in San Antonio - KENS5.com

This is one of a series of articles in which reporters from WHYYs Health Desk Help Desk answer questions about vaccines and COVID-19 submitted by you, our audience.

Even as hospitals and clinics distribute COVID-19 vaccines all over the country, new and more contagious variants are beginning to travel across the globe.

Today, we focus on one key issue: What do we need to know about those coronavirus variants?

First things first: What is a virus variant, and where does it come from?

All viruses mutate: chickenpox, flu, even the common cold. The virus that infects one person is not going to be 100% identical to the virus that infects someone else.

Thats because in order to spread, viruses have to make copies of their own genetic material and when they make those copies, they sometimes make small mistakes or changes. As those small changes build up, they can also change the way a virus acts, making it more contagious, or less dangerous, etc.

The new COVID-19 variants identified in Brazil, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and now potentially California are essentially new versions of the virus that have collected small changes over time. Because of that, theyre now more contagious than the version of the coronavirus were used to.

That brings us to our question, from a WHYY listener in Philadelphia named Cynthia Olds. Shes concerned about the variants but says she hasnt really heard about them in the context of Philadelphia or Pennsylvania have they identified any cases here?

Yes. On Jan. 15, officials identified a case of the U.K. variant in a woman from both Philadelphia and Bucks counties. The city Department of Public Health said she had started having symptoms of the coronavirus in late December, was briefly hospitalized, and was recovering.

But we dont yet know for sure whether people in our area are being widely infected by the new variant. Thats because in order to identify which cases are which, scientists have to take samples from each case and compare the virus to itself kind of like a spot-the-difference game, albeit much more complex.

One way to do that is through something called viral whole genome sequencing, where scientists isolate the RNA from viral samples and compare them side by side, to determine which changes have occurred.

Rick Bushman, who teaches microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania and serves as co-principal investigator of the universitys new Center for Research on Coronaviruses and Other Emerging Pathogens, leads a team thats already started sequencing samples from patients at Penn Medicine hospitals. His team was the one that identified the Philadelphia/Bucks County womans case.

For the U.K. strain, for example, it has multiple changes in this protein on the outer surface of the viral particle the spike protein, Bushman told WHYY. And theres increasing evidence that those changes can affect how the virus binds to cells and helps them get into human cells so that it may allow the virus to spread more commonly between people.

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What do I need to know about the new coronavirus variants? - WHYY

PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) Active cases of COVID-19 in South Dakota remain below 3,000, as no new deaths were reported by the South Dakota Department of Health.

2,828 active cases of COVID-19 were reported in the state on Monday.

According to the latest update, 65 new total coronavirus cases were announced bringing the states total case count to 108,315, up from Sunday (108,250). Total recovered cases are now at 103,709, up from Sunday (103,639).

No new COVID-19 deaths in South Dakota were reported on Monday. The death toll remains at 1,778.

Current hospitalizations are at 126, up from Sunday (125). Total hospitalizations are at 6,294.

Total persons negative is now at 294,568, from Sunday (294,363,).

There were 270 new persons tested reported on Monday. Mondays new person tested positivity rate is 24%.

The latest seven-day all test positivity rate reported by the DOH is 7.9%. The DOH calculates that based on the results of the PCR test results but doesnt release total numbers for how many PCR tests are done daily. The latest one-day PCR test positivity rate is 10.2%.

Vaccine tracking is now being reported by the state. As of Monday, 47,455 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 53,593 doses of the Moderna vaccine have been administered to 71,362 total persons.

According to the South Dakota Department of Health, 13,545 people have received the second dose of the Moderna vaccine, while 16,141 people have completed the Pfizer vaccine series.

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COVID-19 in South Dakota: 65 total new cases; Death toll remains at 1,778; Active cases at 2,828 - KELOLAND.com

Another five Mainers have died as health officials on Monday reported 219 more coronavirus cases across the state.

The number of coronavirus cases diagnosed in the past 14 days statewide is 5,667. This is an estimation of the current number of active cases in the state, as the Maine CDC is no longer tracking recoveries for all patients. Thats down from 5,765 on Sunday.

It marked a slight uptick in new cases from those reported Sunday. But Maine has overall been seeing new cases trending down over the past two weeks as virus transmission slows both here and nationally.

Five Cumberland County residents have succumbed to the virus, bringing the statewide death toll to 595.

Mondays report brings the total number of coronavirus cases in Maine to 39,543, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Thats up from 39,324 on Sunday.

Of those, 31,853 have been confirmed positive, while 7,690 were classified as probable cases, the Maine CDC reported.

The new case rate statewide Monday was 1.64 cases per 10,000 residents, and the total case rate statewide was 295.45.

Maines seven-day average for new coronavirus cases is 357.1, down from 363 a day ago, down from 455.1 a week ago and down from 478.9 a month ago. That rate has been steadily falling since Jan. 14, when it peaked at 625.6.

The most cases have been detected in Mainers in their 20s, while Mainers over 80 years old make up the majority of deaths. More cases and deaths have been recorded in women than men. For a complete breakdown of the age and sex demographics of cases, hospitalizations and deaths, use the interactive graphic below.

So far, 1,394 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus. Of those, 164 Mainers are currently hospitalized, with 51 in critical care and 28 on ventilators. Out of 392 critical care beds, 92 are currently available. Meanwhile, 217 out of 320 ventilators are available. Currently, 443 alternative ventilators are available.

The total statewide hospitalization rate on Monday was 10.42 patients per 10,000 residents.

Cases have been reported in Androscoggin (4,345), Aroostook (1,146), Cumberland (11,263), Franklin (775), Hancock (784), Kennebec (3,124), Knox (578), Lincoln (474), Oxford (1,922), Penobscot (3,439), Piscataquis (205), Sagadahoc (787), Somerset (1,093), Waldo (517), Washington (634) and York (8,452) counties. Information about where an additional five cases were reported wasnt immediately available.

For a complete breakdown of the county by county data, use the interactive graphic below.

An additional 2,171 Mainers have been vaccinated against the coronavirus in the past day. As of Monday, 115,087 Mainers have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, with 38,894 who have received two doses.

New Hampshire reported 333 new cases on Monday and 15 deaths. Vermont reported 134 new cases and one death, and Massachusetts reported 2,665 new cases and 46 deaths.

As of Monday afternoon, the coronavirus had sickened 26,278,706 people in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Isl

ands, as well as caused 442,710 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine. Thats an increase of 187,584 cases and 2,616 deaths since Sunday.Nationwide, 31.8 million doses of the vaccine have been administered, an increase of 1.3 million doses since Sunday, according to Bloomberg.

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5 more Mainers die and another 219 coronavirus cases are reported across the state - Bangor Daily News

The CDC recommends taking basic precautionary steps to prevent the spread of germs and respiratory viruses.

The CDC advises the use ofcloth face coveringswith two or more layers to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others. Wear cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.

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Coronavirus (COVID-19) | Safety and Risk Management - Edinboro University

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy on Monday announced her office is dismissing more than 1,600 ordinance violations and misdemeanor citations involving violations of Gov. Gretchen Whitmers coronavirus emergency orders that were later determined to violate the Michigan Constitution.

Police throughout Michigan began enforcing various emergency orders that limited social gatherings, commerce and other activity under the authority of emergency orders issued by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer between April and October, when the state Supreme Court ruled a 1945 law underpinning the orders was unconstitutional.

As a result of the Michigan Supreme Court ruling (the Wayne County Prosecutors Office) conducted a review of the cases and it was determined that there is not a legal basis to proceed with them, Worthys office said in a statement Monday. (The Wayne County Prosecutors Office) will be dismissing all adjudicated cases and all pending cases.

It is important to note that the dismissal of these cases is not a reflection upon the conduct of any law enforcement agency, since the applicable law was followed at the time of the alleged offenses.

Wayne County Prosecutors Office spokesperson Maria Miller said any refunds related to fines or fees will be determined and ordered by the respective courts.

More than 1,600 of the citations or ordinances violations occurred in Detroit. Dearborn, with 71 cases, had the second most in Wayne County.

The Michigan Supreme Court ruled in a split decision on Oct. 2 that Whitmer didnt have authority under the states emergency statutes to continue extending the coronavirus state of emergency without the support of the Legislature.

The court declared Whitmer did not have authority under the 1976 Emergency Management Act, and found the 1945 Emergency Powers of the Governor Act that she used to support her unilateral emergency orders was unconstitutional.

We conclude that the Governor lacked the authority to declare a state of emergency or a state of disaster under the EMA after April 30, 2020, on the basis of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, we conclude that the EPGA is in violation of the Constitution of our state because it purports to delegate to the executive branch the legislative powers of state government-- including its plenary police powers-- and to allow the exercise of such powers indefinitely, wrote Justice Stephen J. Markman in the majority opinion.

As a consequence, the EPGA cannot continue to provide a basis for the Governor to exercise emergency powers.

Shortly after the emergency orders were rescinded, similar rules were reissued by former Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon under emergency state public health laws.

The public health law states that if the health director determines control of an epidemic is necessary to protect the public health, the director by emergency order may prohibit the gathering of people for any purpose and may establish procedures to be followed during the epidemic to insure continuation of essential public health services and enforcement of health laws.

That law has been the basis for ongoing coronaviurs restrictions.

More on MLive:

Public heath orders are legal

Whitmer disagrees with court ruling

Gov. has no authority to continue state of emergency, Michigan Supreme Court rules

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Wayne County dismisses 1,600-plus violations of Whitmers overturned coronavirus orders - mlive.com

It was only a matter of time until a new, possibly more contagious, variant of SARS-CoV-2 showed up in Washington state.

The newer coronavirus strain, which was first identified in September in the United Kingdom, has been confirmed in two people in Snohomish County and one in Pierce County.

The variant found in Snohomish County was detected through local public health case and contact tracing and genome sequencing at the UW Medicine Clinical Virology Lab.

What does it mean for the pandemic in Washington now that the strain is present? How can people protect themselves and those around them from catching and spreading the more contagious variant known as B.1.1.7? Should people double up on masks?

Some questions and answers:

What is the new coronavirus variant and why is it more contagious?

The B.1.1.7 variant has been found in 24 states, including Washington, and has become the dominant strain in the U.K.

The emergence of the strain isnt a surprise because viruses are always changing, looking for a more secure toehold in our cells.

Weve reached a point one year on and in certain parts of the world where the density of natural immunity is sufficient so that the variants that have got a fitness advantage are more likely to emerge and spread, Wendy Barclay, the head of infectious diseases at Imperial College London, told Stat News.

A single mutation rarely makes major changes to the virus. When a number of mutations happen, a new variant of the virus occurs, which can make the virus more transmissible and more dangerous, but not always.

The variant identified in Pierce and Snohomish counties appears to be more transmissible than most other strains. Public health officials believe it could become the dominant strain later this year.

When a variant of a virus such as B.1.1.7 emerges and takes root, as it did in the U.K., it is partly because a number of mutations gave it an advantage. The B.1.1.7 variant has a mutation to one of the spike proteins that better allows it to attach to and invade its hosts cells.

Scientists are still studying the variant but it doesnt appear to cause more severe infections, unlike earlier coronaviruses SARS and MERS, which were not as contagious but caused much harsher infections.

While the B.1.1.7 variant is worrisome, Dr. Wes Van Voorhis, director for emerging and reemerging infectious diseases at the University of Washington School of Medicine, is more concerned about a variant identified in South Africa.

Early reports about that variant, B.1.351, show that people have been reinfected by the variant and plasma taken from recovered people hasnt neutralized the new variant, Van Voorhis said.

The B.1.351 strain has infected two people in South Carolina, state officials announced Thursday. Neither had traveled recently.

Another variant that was first identified in Brazil shares a mutation called E484K with the variant from South Africa, which could help the virus hide from neutralizing antibodies. The Brazilian variant, P.1, was detected in a resident of Minnesota who had traveled to Brazil.

The E484K mutation has shown up in the U.S. but hasnt led to major outbreaks, Trevor Bedford, a computational biologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center who has been tracking genetic changes in the virus since the start of the pandemic, told The Seattle Times a couple of weeks ago.

It appears that just having the (E484K) mutation isnt enough to make a huge difference to the virus, he wrote in an email. However, in combination with the 10 or more other mutations in the South Africa and Brazil variants, it is spreading rapidly.

So far, it appears the various variants arent different enough to completely evade the effects of the coronavirus vaccines, Van Voorhis said.

Its not an issue yet, but its something were all closely following, he said.

What can be done to better protect against new coronavirus variants?

Public health officials and doctors are urging people to continue doing what has been done so far to curb the spread of the coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19: Practice good hand hygiene, continue social distancing and wear face coverings.

Wearing masks properly and having multiple layers can help protect the wearer and those around them, said Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer at Public Health Seattle & King County.

Two or three layers of fabric and a snug fit are very important, along with using the mask consistently whenever around others outside the home, Duchin wrote in an email. If air leaks out around the sides or your glasses fog up, or if its not worn reliably, its not going to be very effective. I think layering two cloth masks on one another or on top of a surgical mask to improve filtration and fit are reasonable strategies to improve protection.

Double-masking likely does help protect against the variant strains and, it just makes common sense that it would be more effective, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said last week.

Beyond tried and true preventive measures, people need to get vaccinated once they can, Van Voorhis said.

Bottom line is, get vaccinated early, and itll probably help against all these variants, he said.

The rest is here:

What does the more contagious strain of coronavirus in Washington state mean, and what can be done? - Yakima Herald-Republic

CLEVELAND, Ohio - As coronavirus hospitalizations and new cases continue to dip in Ohio, preliminary reporting from January also serves as a reminder that the pandemic is still taking a deadly toll. January was at least the third deadliest month for the virus in Ohio.

See update: This map and data post has been updated at this link.

To date, the state has reported11,230 deaths, 46,438 hospitalizations and 899,079 cases, meaning 1-in-13 Ohioans is now known to have been infected with the virus.

* At least 1,196 people died from the virus in January, a total that will continue to climb as rulings on deaths arrive over the next few weeks at the Ohio Department of Health.

* The 3,287 new cases reported Monday and 3,011 reported Sunday marked the first consecutive days with fewer than 3,300 cases since Oct. 27-28.

* The 2,521 coronavirus patients reported hospitalized across Ohio on Monday means the patient count has been cut more than half since the record of 5,308 on Dec. 15.

Heres a closer look at this weeks trends. A chart with county-by-county details can be found at the bottom of this story.

Ohio's trends for new coronavirus cases and patients hospitalized have improved dramatically this year.Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Hospitalizations have been on the decline in Ohio for weeks after the rapid spike in the fall, yet remain far above summer and early fall levels, according to daily surveys by the Ohio Hospital Association.

There were 590 patients on the first day of fall, Sept. 22. The total then went up to over 5,000 by the end of November. The trend then largely leveled out for two weeks, setting a record on Dec. 15 of 5,308, before turning down sharply.

Among the 2,521 patients reported Monday, 652 were in intensive care units. This is down from the record of 1,318 on Dec. 15.

About 33% of the states hospital beds were vacant Monday, including 30% of the ICU beds.

The hospital patient count for coronavirus has been cut more than in half since mid-December, according to daily surveys by the Ohio Hospital Association.Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Ohio reported 30,423 cases in the last week, an average of 4,346 a day. This is down sharply from an average of 5,370 a week ago and from close to 6,700 a day at the end of December.

The seven-day total through Monday was lower than at any point since Nov. 7.

The declines have come while many Ohioans have yet to receive vaccines. The 853,965 vaccinations started through reporting on Monday is up from 626,877 at the same time last week, 444,511 two weeks ago, and 304,976 three weeks ago.

About 9% of Ohio adults have received at least one vaccine shot.Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Yet this means only about 9% - or 1-in-11 Ohio adults - been vaccinated to date. These are estimates in large part because the Ohio data for vaccines includes some people from other states who work in Ohio - 20,339 so far - yet some Ohioans may have received vaccinations in other states.

The counties with the most cases are Ohios three largest counties - Franklin (105,102 cases), Cuyahoga (89,371) and Hamilton (67,394). Case rates per 100 residents, hospitalizations and deaths for every county in Ohio can be found in the chart at the bottom of this story.

The counties with the most vaccines started are Cuyahoga (90,628) and Franklin (89,463).

Ohio reported 3,287 coronavirus cases on Monday. This graphic shows the trend over the last three weeks.Rich Exner, cleveland.com

The 11,230 deaths reported to date are up from 10,768 and 10,281 the last two weeks. Reporting of deaths, however, often occurs well after a person died, as state health officials await confirmations for the cause of deaths.

So far, the state has reported 1,196 deaths that occurred in January, a number that is certain to rise as more reports arrive. However, even at this early stage, January exceeds all but two previous months for deaths.

A record 2,694 deaths so far have been reported to have occurred in December and 1,538 in November. The next highest months are May (1,184) and April (1,107).

Among the dead are at least 5,625 patients of nursing homes and other long-term facilities, according to the the states last update on Wednesday. Those deaths have slowed considerably since vaccinations began in mid-December, according to the weekly reports.

The counties with the most deaths are Cuyahoga (1,204), Summit (809), Franklin (709), Lucas (669), Stark (466) and Hamilton (460). This included the addition of 51 deaths in the last week for Cuyahoga County and 47 for Summit County, yet just two for Franklin County.

Death reporting by the state of Ohio lags often by weeks after the actual dates of death. This graphic shows coronavirus trends by the date of death, not when were reported.Rich Exner, cleveland.com

More than three-quarters of the deaths have been to people age 70 and older, breaking down this way: under age 20 (6), in their 20s (14), in their 30s (70), in their 40s (148), in their 50s (561), in their 60s (1,582), in their 70s (2,969) and at least 80 years old (5,880).

Those age 80 and up have accounted for 52% of the known coronavirus deaths, in comparison to 44% of all known Ohio deaths in 2018. Those in their 70s have accounted for 26% of the coronavirus deaths, in comparison to 21% of all Ohio deaths in 2018 ahead of the virus.

But for hospitalizations, the cases are more spread out age-wise: under age 20 (1,056), in their 20s (1,789), in their 30s (2,369), in their 40s (3,561), in their 50s (6,590), in their 60s (9,900), in their 70s (11,076) and at least 80 years old (10,097).

For the deaths in which race was reported, 83% of the people are white, and 13% are Black. For total cases, 74% are white and 13% Black. Ohios population is 82% white and 13% Black, census estimates say.

Older Ohioans make up more of a share of the COVID-19 deaths than they normally do for all deaths in the state.Rich Exner, cleveland.com

The first three cases were confirmed on March 9. The total topped 100,000 on Aug. 9, 250,000 on Nov. 8, 500,000 on Dec. 8, and 750,000 on Thursday, Jan. 7.

Among the cases reported to date are 115,921 listed as probable, those cases included by a wider variety of tests or identified through non-testing evidence. This total is up from 107,819 last week.

In the last week, the probable cases accounted for 27% of the new cases reported. This is down from 29% the week before Thanksgiving, despite a change soon after then to include more probable cases.

The state reported 8,9104,857 tests to date, including 290,623 in the last week. This was nearly unchanged from 298,589 from the previous week.

The chart below is based on the most recent case data from the Ohio Department of Health. Cleveland.com calculated the cases per 100 rates based on 2019 census population estimates.

Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics. Follow on Twitter @RichExner. See other data-related stories at cleveland.com/datacentral.

Some mobile users may have to use this link instead to see the county-by-county chart above.

Previous stories

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6 graphs and a map to illustrate Ohios coronavirus trends - vaccines, cases, hospitalizations, deaths; Febru - cleveland.com

The briefings, set for three times a week, are part of Bidens attempt to rebuild trust and mobilize Americans to follow health guidance on the coronavirus.

WASHINGTON The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are down in recent weeks, but three mutations that are causing concern have been detected in the U.S.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Monday at the White House coronavirus briefing that most of the dozens of U.S. cases of coronavirus mutations, or variants, involve the strain first detected in the United Kingdom.

But three cases involving a worrisome mutation first detected in South Africa have also been confirmed, as well as one case involving a strain first detected in Brazil.

The UK strain spreads more easily and is believed to be deadlier, but the South Africa strain is prompting even more concern because of early indications that vaccines may not be as protective against it.

Walensky urged Americans to get vaccinated as soon as shots become available to them, and stressed its no time to relax basic precautions such as wearing masks.

Participants in the 11 a.m. ET briefing included Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, Andy Slavitt, Senior Advisor to the White House COVID-19 Response Team, and Dr. Walensky. This is the second COVID-19 briefing under President Joe Biden since he took office a little less than two weeks ago.

During the first White House COVID-19 briefing, experts warned that there was a projection that as many as 90,000 more in the U.S. will die from the coronavirus in the next four weeks. The tone of the hourlong briefing was in line with President Joe Biden's promise to be straight with the nation about the state of the outbreak.

I know this is not news we all want to hear, but this is something we must say so we are all aware, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said last week. If we are united in action we can turn things around.

The new briefings, set for three times a week, are part of Bidens attempt to rebuild trust and mobilize Americans to follow health guidance on the coronavirus and to break down public resistance to the vaccine.

For most people, the new coronaviruscauses mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.

The United States has nearly 26 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

As of Monday, the U.S. had more than 441,000 deaths from the virus. Worldwide, there are more than 103 million confirmed cases with more than 2.2 million deaths.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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White House response team, health officials hold COVID-19 briefing - WLTX.com