Category: Covid-19

When Cinequest was canceled midway through its 30th anniversary festival two years ago this month, nobody had any idea what the future of Silicon Valleys film and creativity festival would hold. Well, almost nobody.

Co-founder Halfdan Hussey knew Cinequest had the ability to stream movies and recreate the festival experience in a virtual setting it actually already had done it.

We were doing a virtual internet film festival in 2003, 2005, he said. In the early days, People were laughing at internet distribution of movies at that time, believe it or not.

The alpha version of a live, online festival launched that October when people were still reeling from the first big wave of the pandemic. Two more were held in 2021 and the fourth iteration will run April 1-17, with 132 movies and television shows including 82 world and U.S. premieres from 53 countries available to audiences. And special events are still a thing, including virtual red carpets spotlighting that evenings filmmakers and actors, online screening parties where groups can interact with each other after watching a movie, and a virtual VIP lounge where ticketholders can mingle with each other through avatars (though youre on your own for beer, wine and Titos vodka).

This challenge for us wasnt a bummer or a depressing one during COVID, Hussey said. It was an exhilarating challenge, so we called this experience Cinejoy because we wanted to bring people the joy of humanity, the joy of cinema, the joy of discourse that is positive and affirmative.

Cinejoys opening night film is 18, a 1970s-era Watergate conspiracy thriller and dark comedy directed by Slamdance Film Festival co-founder Dan Mirvish that stars Willa Fitzgerald, John Magaro, Bruce Campbell, Richard Kind and Jon Cryer. The screening will be proceeded by a conversation with the stars and filmmakers. In addition to the 15 Spotlight films that will be streamed on specific nights, you can also buy tickets for the other films on the showcase schedule, available to watch 24/7 anytime during the festival run. The easiest option is to pick up a festival pass for $129. You can view the lineup and buy tickets at http://www.creatics.org/cinejoy.

Gemma Arterton, who stars in the short film, Bump (April 10), is the first announced recipient of the Maverick Spirit Award this year. And while the award presentation will be virtual instead of at the palatial California Theatre, Hussey says that has its benefits. If we put Gemma Arterton on a stage, its going to be very electric, but only 1,100 people can see it, he said. And if you dont have a front-row seat, shes going to seem like shes quite a bit away from you.

The in-person version of Cinequest is expected to make a triumphant return to downtown San Jose in August, and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo has included a $75,000 funding request in his March budget message to help reboot the festival. But Hussey doesnt expect Cinejoy to disappear once audiences return to in-person screenings.

We feel this is a unique experience that were very excited about, he said. This was not a COVID substitution only. Were going to keep building out new super-cool experiences that fit the world of global access through the internet.

LOOKING FOR LIBRARY RESTORATION: The San Jose Public Library Foundation will be recognized at Tuesdays San Jose City Council meeting for its 35th anniversary. But while the group no doubt appreciates the commendation, it would also like to see something more from the city council: $2 million in funding to restore hours and staffing at the citys 25 library locations to pre-COVID-19 levels.

At a rally at the West Valley Branch Library, Foundation Executive Director Dawn Coppin said before the pandemic, the librarys branches were open 47 hours a week and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library downtown was open 77 hours week, collectively serving 6 million visitors.

What does this $2 million mean? If parents need a safe place for their children go to after school, if they need help with their child to complete homework assignments and prepare for a successful transition to adulthood, if parents need fun and educational activities, the city can provide this, said Coppin, who was joined at the rally by San Jose City Council member Chappie Jones, whose mother was a librarian.

I know first-hand the impact that libraries have on the lives of the members of our community, said Jones, who urged his colleagues to restore hours and staffing in the budget process. To have access to the library for more hours will have a tremendous impact on the lives of our residents.

ST. PATRICKS DAY RETURNS: Its hard to believe its been five years since the last St. Patricks Day bash at Los Gatos venerable C.B. Hannegans, which closed its doors at the end of 2017 and has been replaced by, well, nothing since then. But restaurateur Alexander Hult is hoping to bring back that St. Patricks Day spirit at Mountain Charleys at 15 N Santa Cruz Avenue, where he and Jim Foley, part of the buildings ownership group, are planning a ShamRock-N-Roll Party on March 17.

The festivities get started at noon, with live music, food, DJs and, yes, green beer.

VIETGONE WILL BE HERE SOON: City Lights Theatre Company in San Jose just closed Agatha Christies The Hollow, which had its full run shifted back two weeks because of COVID-19, and is quickly putting together its next show, Vietgone, which opens for a monthlong run March 24.

The play by Qui Nguyen is both a hip-hop comedy and a love story of Vietnamese refugees who settle into American life in Arkansas in the 1970s. Southeast Asian arts group Chopsticks Alley is the City Lights nonprofit partner on the show, and Executive Director Trami Cron brought a group of Vietnamese community leaders to watch rehearsal with the actors and director Jeffrey Lo. You can can get tickets to the real thing at http://www.cltc.org.

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How Cinequest made it through two years of COVID-19 - The Mercury News

On March 11, 2020 -- exactly two years ago Friday -- the World Health Organization declared SARS-COV-2 a global pandemic, changing daily life in Southern California as we know it.

As a statewide order was issued for roughly 40 million Californians to stay at home to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, things started to look different.

Freeways normally clogged with cars flowed freely. Baseball stadiums were empty of cheering fans. Movie theater marquees displayed public health recommendations and messages of support instead of lists of the latest flick. Even LAX became a ghost town.

Two years later, things aren't quite the "normal" we knew before, but they're different again from the first quiet days before social distancing, vaccines and boosters.

Scroll down for a look back at the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, two years later.

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Photos: A Look Back at the Early Days of the Coronavirus Pandemic, Two Years Later - NBC Southern California

Nydam said schools still must report COVID-19 cases and clusters according to the state requirements for notifiable diseases: Just like any other infectious disease such as measles.

Though state officials had said that the COVID-19 school reports were exempt from public release, many metro Atlanta districts voluntarily posted their numbers each week. Since last August, 14 area districts have recorded more than 75,000 coronavirus cases.

Now that the state has dropped the reporting requirement, Fulton County Schools has stopped publishing weekly staff and student case counts on its website.

The states decision was the major impetus for our suspension of creating the weekly report and publication, said Fulton spokesman Brian Noyes in an email.

He said the change was part of a de-escalation of our steps in response to waning COVID-19 case counts. The district also lifted its mask mandate in mid-January.

The last report Fulton posted online was for the week ending Feb. 24. That week, the district reported 133 COVID-19 cases among students and staff, its lowest count of this semester. Since August, the district had recorded more than 9,000 COVID-19 cases.

A spokeswoman for Douglas County School System said Friday that the district is no longer publishing COVID-19 cases. It had been reporting cases weekly.

Most metro Atlanta districts have continued to publish weekly reports in recent weeks, including Atlanta, Cherokee County, DeKalb, Clayton, Cobb County, city of Decatur and Gwinnett County.

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Georgia health department stops weekly COVID-19 reporting for schools - The Atlanta Journal Constitution

Two years of COVID-19 pandemic: new report highlights the 100 weeks of WHO/Europes efforts to protect lives and livelihoods

11 March 2022 is a grim milestone as we mark 2 years since WHO categorized the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic a health emergency spanning countries and continents. Since cases of COVID-19 were first reported, more than 6 million people have died from the disease worldwide, with over 1.8 million of them in the WHO European Region.

The new WHO/Europe report titled One hundred weeks of emergency response, one hundred million COVID-19 cases: working towards better COVID-19 outcomes in the WHO European Region showcases the achievements of WHO/Europes COVID-19 Incident Management Support Team (IMST) the mechanism activated to deal with emergency situations from its establishment in early 2020, as the first cases of COVID-19 were being detected in the European Region, to 2022. It also includes insights into the work of the operational teams during this time as they supported some of the Regions Member States in dealing with the challenges of a global pandemic.

Quoted in the report is Dr Dorit Nitzan, former Regional Emergency Director for WHO/Europe, who said, The COVID-19 Incident Support Management Team has been the engine of WHO/Europes response to COVID-19 by generating knowledge and operationalizing it in countries with governments and partners.

Working to meet country needs

The report details the IMSTs work and the impact of its COVID-19 responses across various functions, including surveillance, public health and social measures, risk communication and community engagement, clinical and health interventions, essential health services, vaccines and operations, showing how each of these pillars contributed to meeting the needs of countries in three key areas:

strategic, by providing continuously updated guidelines and technical recommendations, combined with capacity building activities such as webinars and trainings;

technical, by providing global and regional expertise, channeling financial resources and delivering essential supplies to where they are most needed; and

operational, by providing continuous country-specific support through on-the-ground deployments and missions staffed by technical experts, and through technical assistance delivered remotely.

Commenting on the reports launch, Dr Gerald Rockenschaub, recently appointed Regional Emergency Director for WHO/Europe, said, This new report underlines how the IMSTs expertise and flexibility over the last two years have been crucial for providing Member States with the most timely and appropriate support for dealing with a complex and ever-evolving situation. Through solidarity, perseverance and patience, we can defeat this virus together.

WHO announces COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic

One hundred weeks of emergency response, one hundred million COVID-19 cases: working towards better COVID-19 outcomes in the WHO European Region (2022)

Two years of COVID-19: What it takes to run an emergency response across 53 countries

Living with COVID-19 2 years on

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One hundred million cases in one hundred week: Working towards better COVID-19 outcomes in the WHO European Region - World - ReliefWeb

Its been two years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and many Americans are cautiously optimistic that a new normal is on the horizon. They just dont think itll come quickly.

Gallup polling released this week found 63% of Americans believe the coronavirus situation is getting better, up from just 20% in January. Its the highest the percentage has been since before the delta variant.

The newfound outlook comes as newly reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. have dropped to their lowest point since last summer following a surge in record-high COVID-19 infections in January. Though deaths have declined, more than 1,000 Americans continue to die daily, according to the CDCs seven-day average.

Most Americans arent under the impression that COVID-19 will end soon. The poll found 91% believe pandemic restrictions will continue for at least a few more months, including 38% who believe they will continue through the end of 2022 and 29% think it will go on even longer.

Yet many restrictions have already been lifted. In 38 states, there are no current restrictions, while eight states, including California and Hawaii, are easing them according to a USA Today analysis. Public transportation remains one area where masking remains required. The TSA announced Thursday that the federal mask mandate on planes, buses and trains will continue until at least April 18.

While most Americans think things are getting better, a quarter believe theyre staying the same, and 12% believe theyre getting worse. And many still have concerns, including 55% who said they are very or somewhat worried about new strains or variants, and 50% who are very or somewhat concerned about people choosing not to get vaccinated. Nearly two-thirds of Americans are fully vaccinated, but vaccination rates vary by state.

With COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths declining in the wake of the omicron surge, Americans views of the state of the pandemic are sharply improved, Gallup wrote. Yet, Americans remain largely unconvinced that the end of the pandemic is near, and a majority still worry about the spread of new strains of the virus. With many Americans not fully or at all vaccinated, the U.S. remains vulnerable to new variants.

COVID-19 has killed more than 964,000 Americans, and a study from the University of Michigan found more than 40% of survivors have had long-term effects that occur a month or more after infection.

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Is the COVID-19 pandemic over? Heres what Americans think - Deseret News

Maine health officials report three more deaths from COVID-19 and 282 new coronavirus cases across the state  Maine Public

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Maine health officials report three more deaths from COVID-19 and 282 new coronavirus cases across the state - Maine Public

As Russia continues attacks in Ukraine, global health leaders warn that "certainly there'll be a rise in Covid-19."

Some activists in the region already have seenaspread of the disease.

"Some of our volunteers got infected with Covid while helping manage refugees at the border or refugee centers. And because in both Moldova and Ukraine the vax rate is so low, the pandemic is still on,"Constanta Dohotaru, an activist involved in the refugee crisis in Moldova and working closely with the Moldovan government, told CNN.

TheCovid-19vaccination rate in Moldova isaround29% and in Ukraine it isabout34%, according to Our World In Data.

In a news briefing Wednesday, officials at the World Health Organization also said that as the pandemic continues, Russia's invasion will impact the spread of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.

"Unfortunately, this virus will take opportunities to continue to spread. We, as an organization, recognize that countries are in very different situations, theyre facing different challenges.Theres a lot of movement and refugees associated with this crisis," MariaVan Kerkhove, WHO's technical lead on Covid-19, said Wednesday.

Van Kerkhove added that WHO will work with countries receiving refugees to ensure thatCovid-19 testing and vaccinationscontinue. It is estimated that more than 2 million people have fled war-torn Ukraine, with most going to Poland.

In a Twitter post Thursday, WHO described the situation as "the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe for more than 75 years" and noted that it "is working closely with health authorities on meeting refugee needs," and supporting Ukraines health system.

"Certainly, therell be a rise in Covid-19 within the population within Ukraine, without a doubt, because not testing, without access to treatment, with vaccinations stopped and there's already low vaccination. I think about 34% or 35% vaccination rate before the conflict,"Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO's health emergencies program, said in Wednesday's briefing.

"So, there are many people who still remain vulnerable to infection," Ryan said, but he added that the world should be careful not to perpetuate harmful prejudices and stereotypes around refugees and Covid-19.

"Let us be very careful with our rhetoric because this always arises, that in some way people fleeing the horrors of war are going to bring stuff with them," Ryan said in part. "Europe has plentyCovid as it stands, and it has got to deal with that and Ukrainian refugees are not going to change the dial on that."

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WHO officials warn "certainly there'll be a rise in Covid-19" cases tied to Russia's invasion of Ukraine - CNN

The World Health Organization (WHO) updated its vaccine guidance on Tuesday to recommend the administration of COVID-19 booster shots, marking a reversalfrom what the United Nations organization has previously said about additional vaccine doses.

In a statement, the WHO said theTechnical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition "strongly supports urgent and broad access to current COVID-19 vaccines for primary series and booster doses, particularly for groups at risk of developing severe disease."

TheWHO has previously spoken out against administering COVID-19 booster shots, arguing that wealthier countries should abstain from administering additional doses while low- and middle-income countries have struggledto provide initial rounds of vaccinations for their populations.

WHO Director-GeneralTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for a moratorium on booster shots for healthy adults through the end of 2021.

"We do not want to see widespread use of boosters for healthy people who are fully vaccinated," Tedros said in September.

The WHO on Tuesday cited how the "near- and medium-term supply of the available vaccines has increased substantially," but reiterated that vaccine inequity remains an "important challenge" that should be addressed.

The COVID-19 vaccines currently being administered around the world are based around a form of the virus that circulated early on in the pandemic, and the WHO noted that these vaccines may need to be updated. Taking into account the wide spread of the omicron variant, the WHO said a new mutation of the virus was likely to occur.

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WHO recommends COVID-19 boosters in reversal | TheHill - The Hill

In countries outside the group of 92, the company expects those using Moderna-patented technologies will respect the Companys intellectual property, the statement said. Moderna remains willing to license its technology for COVID-19 vaccines to manufacturers in these countries on commercially reasonable terms.

Moderna also announced on Monday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Kenya to host an mRNA manufacturing facility, which aims to produce up to 500 million doses of vaccines a year. It will also expand its global public health portfolio to 15 vaccine programs targeting emerging or neglected infectious diseases, and start a program that will allow researchers to use Modernas mRNA technology in their search for new vaccines against those diseases.

As the United States and other wealthy nations are starting to look for ways to move on from the pandemic, only about 65 percent of the worlds population has received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose, according to The New York Times vaccine tracker. In Africa, only about 11 percent of the population was fully vaccinated as of February, according to the WHO, as countries face obstacles in rolling out vaccine doses.

In June 2021, the WHO selected a South African consortium to operate a global mRNA transfer technology hub designed to help manufacturers in low- and middle-income countries produce their own Covid-19 vaccines and, more broadly, start to produce their own vaccines, medicines and supplies, instead of relying on Western firms.

Though South Africa is not one of the 92 AMC countries, Moderna says it will allow the WHO hub and Afrigen Biologics, a Cape Town-based company that has tried to replicate the Moderna vaccine for the hub, to access its technology for vaccines targeted at the specified group of nations.

Consistent with this pledge, Moderna will not enforce its patents for COVID-19 vaccines in South Africa against the efforts by Afrigen Biologics and/or the WHO hub targeted at AMC 92 countries, a Moderna spokesperson said in a statement to POLITICO on Monday.

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Moderna says it will 'never' enforce Covid-19 vaccine patents in dozens of low- and middle-income countries - POLITICO

Two years have passed since the first case of COVID-19 was detected in Connecticut. The first case was announced on March 8, 2020.

It would not be long before the pandemic changed life as we knew it. Social distancing became an everyday practice and face masks became a necessity when interacting with anyone outside your household.

In the last two years, there have been 727,542 cases of COVID-19 in the state and 10,515 COVID-19 related deaths.

Two years later, COVID-19 is still affecting lives, but vaccinations have provided hope and many restrictions put in place have been lifted, including face mask requirements.

Here is a look back at the early days of the pandemic.

The first case of COVID-19 in Connecticut was announced on March 8, 2020.

Two years after being hospitalized, Chris Tillett, who was Connecticut's first COVID-19 patient, says he hopes the pandemic can be a learning experience for everyone.

In the initial days of the pandemic, the state lab was able to complete between 15 and 20 COVID-19 tests per day and there were only a few labs that could handle tests and people getting tested needed to be referred by a physician in advance.

On March 10, 2020, Gov. Ned Lamont declared civil preparedness and public health emergencies in response to the pandemic, which allowed him to temporarily suspend some state laws and regulations.

By March 12, 2020, the governor banned all events in the state with more than 250 people.

Schools were beginning to close because of the pandemic and the governor signed an order to modify the state law requiring schools to be in session for at least 180 days.

Among the actions the governor took was an order for the state Department of Motor Vehicles to extend license renewals.

Restrictions were placed on visits to nursing homes.

On March 14, a moratorium on all utility shut-offs went into place and several state agencies rolled out measures to promote social distancing.

At that point, there had been 20 positive cases of COVID-19 in the state.

Lamont signed his third executive order, which relaxed in-person open meeting requirements and eased telework requirements, allowing more state employees to work from home.

On March 15, 2020, Lamont canceled classes at all public schools statewide, which was originally supposed to be in effect from March 17 through at least March 31.

In May 2020, Gov. Ned Lamont would announce that schools would be closed for the rest of the academic year.

He authorized the DMV commissioner to close branches to the public, conduct business remotely, and extend deadlines.

Amid a national shortage of hand sanitizer, the state allowed pharmacies to make and sell their own.

Many businesses were closing their doors and the governor announced on March 16, 2020 that small businesses and nonprofit organizations in Connecticut that were negatively impacted by the pandemic would be eligible for disaster relief loans.

By March 16, 2020, gatherings of more than 50 people were prohibited, drive-through COVID-19 testing started at some hospitals and several businesses were ordered to closed by 8 p.m.

The governor also announced that the State Department of Education was working with school districts to develop distance learning plans and ensure students had access to nutritious meals.

The governors of Connecticut, New York and New Jersey worked together with a regional approach to dealing with COVID-19, which included that restaurants and bars that served food would temporarily be required to move to take-out and delivery services only and bars that did not serve food would have to close.

Price gouging had become an issue and by March 17, 2020, Attorney General William Tong reported receiving 71 complaints about price gouging on basic supplies.

On March 18, 2020, the governor announced the first COVID-19 death in the state. https://portal.ct.gov/Office-of-the-Governor/News/Press-Releases/2020/03-2020/Governor-Lamont-Statement-on-the-First-Coronavirus-Death-in-Connecticut

On March 18, 2020, Lamont announced that indoor malls and places of amusement other than parks and open space areas would close by the night of March 19.

A day later, on March 19, Lamont postponed the states presidential primary, allowed eating establishments to sell alcohol with take-out food orders, closed barbershops, hair salons and tattoo and piercing parlors, and expanded telehealth.

On March 20, 2022, Lamont started Stay Safe, Stay Home, which directed non-essential businesses to close by 8 p.m. on March 23, 2020, and for those that had to remain open to implement social distancing.

He called for all non-essential public community gatherings of any size to be canceled or postponed.

People were also asked to limit outdoor recreational activities to non-contact and avoid activities where they come in close contact with other people.

By March 26, 2020, there were more than 1,000 cases of COVID-19 in Connecticut and 21 deaths.

As the pandemic extended, the state Department of Labor was inundated with unemployment claims and held frequent briefings on the status of processing what they called an overwhelming surge in claim applications resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the pandemic stretched to months, Lamont called in the National Guard for help.

To help reduce the spread of the virus, a regional travel advisory went into effect.

It required people coming in from states with a significant community spread of COVID-19 to self-quarantine for 14 days.

During the summer travel season of 2020, it affected where people could freely travel to and from or to quarantine upon returning home.

By Aug. 3, 2020, there had been more than 50,062 cases of COVID-19 in Connecticut and more than 4,400 deaths.

As of Monday, March 7, 2022, there have been 727,542 cases of COVID-19 in the state and 10,515 COVID-19 related deaths.

At the height of the pandemic, thousands of people were hospitalized with COVID-19.

As of Monday, 145patients were hospitalized with COVID-19,and 64, or 44.1%,are not fully vaccinated.

Excerpt from:

Two Years Later: A Look Back at Beginning of COVID-19 Pandemic in CT - NBC Connecticut