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(LEX 18) 3,312 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Kentucky on Wednesday, this is the highest number of news cases in the state since October 1 with 4,118 reported.
The positivity rate is now 8.56%, and 44 deaths were reported.
Currently, 948 people are hospitalized, 249 in ICUs, and 123 people are on ventilators.
For the cull daily COVID-19 numbers click here.
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3,312 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Kentucky on Wednesday - LEX18 Lexington KY News
The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reports as of December 1, 2021, there are currently 6,267 active COVID-19 cases statewide. There have been 27 deaths reported since the last report, with a total of 4,895 deaths attributed to COVID-19.
DHHR has confirmed the deaths of a 70-year old female from Braxton County, a 92-year old female from Hardy County, a 77-year old male from Marion County, a 70-year old female from Mercer County, an 86-year old female from Lincoln County, a 92-year old female from Pleasants County, a 68-year old male from Preston County, an 83-year old female from Tyler County, a 56-year old female from Calhoun County, a 63-year old male from Clay County, a 46-year old male from Putnam County, an 87-year old female from Marion County, a 75-year old male from Nicholas County, a 96-year old female from Mineral County, an 82-year old male from Grant County, a 72-year old female from Kanawha County, an 89-year old female from Webster County, an 85-year old male from Mingo County, a 71-year old male from Ohio County, a 78-year old male from Nicholas County, a 64-year old male from Ohio County, a 79-year old female from Mingo County, a 27-year old female from Putnam County, a 64-year old male from Greenbrier County, a 67-year old male from Berkeley County, a 69-year old male from Jackson County, and an 86-year old female from Marion County.
"It is with sadness that we report another day of significant loss in our state," said Bill J. Crouch, DHHR Cabinet Secretary. "Please help stop by the spread of COVID-19 by receiving your vaccine or booster shot."
CURRENT ACTIVE CASES PER COUNTY: Barbour (57), Berkeley (540), Boone (79), Braxton (35), Brooke (88), Cabell (289), Calhoun (34), Clay (23), Doddridge (31), Fayette (157), Gilmer (11), Grant (53), Greenbrier (72), Hampshire (98), Hancock (95), Hardy (61), Harrison (303), Jackson (66), Jefferson (262), Kanawha (401), Lewis (112), Lincoln (73), Logan (124), Marion (191), Marshall (109), Mason (59), McDowell (65), Mercer (283), Mineral (98), Mingo (123), Monongalia (203), Monroe (41), Morgan (79), Nicholas (170), Ohio (171), Pendleton (32), Pleasants (19), Pocahontas (23), Preston (131), Putnam (183), Raleigh (287), Randolph (60), Ritchie (21), Roane (46), Summers (30), Taylor (74), Tucker (8), Tyler (24), Upshur (84), Wayne (100), Webster (52), Wetzel (66), Wirt (26), Wood (301), Wyoming (44). To find the cumulative cases per county, please visit http://www.coronavirus.wv.gov and look on the Cumulative Summary tab which is sortable by county.
Delays may be experienced with the reporting of information from the local health department to DHHR. As case surveillance continues at the local health department level, it may reveal that those tested in a certain county may not be a resident of that county, or even the state as an individual in question may have crossed the state border to be tested. Please visit http://www.coronavirus.wv.gov for more detailed information.
West Virginians ages 5 years and older are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine. Boosters are also available. To learn more about the vaccine, or to find a vaccine site near you, visit vaccinate.wv.gov or call 1-833-734-0965.
Online registration is open for the third round of the Do it for Babydog: Save a life, Change your life vaccination sweepstakes. Registration is open to all West Virginians ages 5-18 who have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Please visit https://doitforbabydog.wv.gov/ to register and for more information.
Free pop-up COVID-19 testing is available today in Barbour, Berkeley, Boone, Braxton, Cabell, Doddridge, Greenbrier, Hampshire, Jefferson, Lincoln, Marion, Marshall, Mineral, Mingo, Monroe, Morgan, Nicholas, Ohio, Putnam, Raleigh, Randolph, Ritchie, Taylor, Tyler/Wetzel, Upshur, Wayne, and Wood counties.
Barbour County
8:30 AM - 3:30 PM, Community Market, 107 South Main Street (across the street from Walgreens), Philippi, WV (optional pre-registration: https://labpass.com/en/registration?access_code=WVBBC)
1:00 PM - 5:00 PM, Junior Volunteer Fire Department, 331 Row Avenue, Junior WV (optional pre-registration: https://unityphr.com/campaigns/wvlabs/covid)
Berkeley County
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM, 891 Auto Parts Place, Martinsburg, WV (optional pre-registration: https://unityphr.com/campaigns/wvlabs/covid)
Boone County
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM, Boone County Health Department, 213 Kenmore Drive, Danville, WV (optional pre-registration: https://unityphr.com/campaigns/wvlabs/covid)
Braxton County
7:30 AM - 1:30 PM, Braxton County Memorial Hospital (parking lot), 100 Hoylman Drive, Gassaway, WV (optional pre-registration: https://labpass.com/en/registration?access_code=Braxton)
Cabell County
8:00 AM- 4:00 PM, Marshall University Campus (parking lot), 1801 6th Avenue, Huntington, WV (optional pre-registration: https://wv.getmycovidresult.com/)
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM, Cabell-Huntington Health Department (parking lot), 703 Seventh Avenue, Huntington, WV (optional pre-registration: https://labpass.com/en/registration?access_code=MavCabell)
Doddridge County
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM, Doddridge County Farmers Market Pavilion, Rt. 18 (beside old high school football field), West Union, WV
Greenbrier County
9:30 AM - 3:00 PM, State Fair of WV, 891 Maplewood Avenue, Lewisburg, WV (optional pre-registration: https://labpass.com/en/registration?access_code=WVGBC)
Hampshire County
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Hampshire Memorial Hospital, 363 Sunrise Boulevard, Romney, WV (optional pre-registration: https://unityphr.com/campaigns/wvlabs/covid)
Jefferson County
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM, Hollywood Casino, 750 Hollywood Drive, Charles Town, WV (optional pre-registration: https://unityphr.com/campaigns/wvlabs/covid)
Lincoln County
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM, Lincoln County Health Department, 8008 Court Avenue, Hamlin, WV (optional pre-registration: https://wv.getmycovidresult.com/)
Marion County
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM, Dunbar School Foundation, 101 High Street, Fairmont, WV
Marshall County
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Cameron City Building, 46 Main Street, Cameron, WV
Mineral County
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM, Mineral County Health Department, 541 Harley O. Staggers Drive, Keyser, WV
Mingo County
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM, Chattaroy Volunteer Fire Department, 8 Firefighter Avenue, Chattaroy, WV (optional pre-registration: https://labpass.com/en/registration?access_code=WVMGC)
Monroe County
9:00 AM - 2:00 PM, Appalachian Christian Center, 2812 Seneca Trail South, Peterstown, WV (optional pre-registration: https://labpass.com/en/registration?access_code=WVMRC)
Morgan County
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM, War Memorial Hospital, 1 Health Way, Berkeley Springs, WV (optional pre-registration: https://unityphr.com/campaigns/wvlabs/covid)
Nicholas County
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM, Summersville Regional Medical Center, 400 Fairview Heights Road, Summersville, WV (optional pre-registration: https://labpass.com/en/registration?access_code=WVNL)
Ohio County
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM, Ohio Valley Medical Center (parking lot of former VPC South Building at the top of 22nd Street), 2000 Eoff Street, Wheeling, WV (optional pre-registration: https://roxbylabs.dendisoftware.com/patient_registration/)
Putnam County
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM, Liberty Square Shopping Center, parking lot, 613 Putnam Village, Hurricane, WV (optional pre-registration: https://wv.getmycovidresult.com/)
Raleigh County
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM, Beckley-Raleigh County Health Department, 1602 Harper Road, Beckley, WV (optional pre-registration: https://labpass.com/en/registration?access_code=MavBeckleyRaleigh)
Randolph County
8:00 AM - 3:30 PM, Randolph-Elkins Health Department (parking lot), 32 Randolph Avenue, Elkins, WV (optional pre-registration: https://labpass.com/en/registration?access_code=WVRDC)
Ritchie County
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM, Ritchie Regional, 135 South Penn Avenue, Harrisville, WV
Taylor County
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM, Grafton-Taylor County Health Department, 718 West Main Street (parking lot at Operations Trailer), Grafton, WV (optional pre-registration: https://wv.getmycovidresult.com/)
Tyler/Wetzel Counties
11:00 PM - 3:00 PM, Wetzel-Tyler County Health Department, 425 South Fourth Avenue, Paden City, WV (optional pre-registration: https://roxbylabs.dendisoftware.com/patient_registration/)
Upshur County
8:00 AM - 3:30 PM, Buckhannon Fire Department (parking lot), 22 South Florida Street, Buckhannon, WV (optional pre-registration: https://labpass.com/en/registration?access_code=WVUSC)
Wayne County
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM, Wayne County Health Department, 217 Kenova, Avenue, Wayne, WV (optional pre-registration: https://unityphr.com/campaigns/wvlabs/covid)
Wood County
7:30 AM - 3:00 PM, Vienna Baptist Church, 3401 Grand Central Avenue, Vienna, WV (optional pre-registration: https://labpass.com/en/registration?access_code=WVMavWood1)
For additional free COVID-19 testing opportunities across the state, please visit https://dhhr.wv.gov/COVID-19/pages/testing.aspx.
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COVID-19 Daily Update 12-1-2021 - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources
Since the earliest days of the pandemic, weve been hearing about Californians abandoning their usual way of life for greener, cheaper pastures.
There are the San Franciscans who weathered lockdown orders in Lake Tahoe, and the Angelenos with new desert cabins in Joshua Tree. Tales abound of Silicon Valley types moving home to Miami and Seattle, or renting acres of land in Idaho.
The story goes like this: The coronavirus and the ability to work remotely have fundamentally reshaped where we want to live and large California cities, particularly Los Angeles and San Francisco, are not on the list.
But is any of that actually true?
Ill start with the short answer. There hasnt been an exodus from California, but pandemic forces have shifted where people reside within the state. Those patterns of relocation mirror what we were already seeing before Covid-19, but on overdrive.
Heres how this shakes out.
Californias population declined slightly in 2020, but it wasnt because of a mass migration to other states. To blame are coronavirus deaths, a lower birthrate and fewer international arrivals.
In fact, 82 percent of Californians who moved last year stayed in the state, according to a report from the California Policy Lab. That figure has been basically stable over the past five years.
A lot more people are moving around within the state than they are out of the state, Eric McGhee, a senior fellow with the Public Policy Institute of California, told me. That movement tends to be within a certain metropolitan area, and a lot of that is people moving to suburbs and exurbs.
Californians are likely to move from Los Angeles to the Inland Empire or from San Francisco to the fringes of the Bay Area or the Sacramento region, McGhee said. Thats because they want cheaper housing but dont want to end up so far away that they need to change jobs.
Its been that way for a long time. These were the largest county-to-county net migrations in California between 2015 and 2019, according to census data:
Los Angeles to San Bernardino (20,809 people)
Los Angeles to Riverside (13,949)
Los Angeles to Orange (11,879)
Alameda to Contra Costa (9,246)
Orange to Riverside (8,282)
Los Angeles to Kern (6,032)
San Diego to Riverside (5,892)
San Francisco to Alameda (5,469)
San Francisco to San Mateo (4,239)
Alameda to San Joaquin (4,134)
With the emergence of the pandemic in 2020, some of these trends kicked into high gear.
The Inland Empire tied Phoenix in 2020 for the biggest gain in households from migration nationwide, The Wall Street Journal recently reported. The flow of humanity into Riverside and San Bernardino Counties increased by 50 percent compared with the previous year.
This reflects Californians desire to escape the exorbitant home prices of more coastal regions. In Riverside County, the median single-family home price in August was $570,000, compared with $830,070 in Los Angeles County and $1.85 million in San Francisco.
As my colleagues noted in a recent analysis, pricey San Francisco experienced one of the most significant exoduses of the pandemic. While migration patterns during the pandemic have looked a lot like migration patterns before it, that wasnt the case for San Francisco, they wrote.
In the city, net exits the number of people leaving minus the number of people arriving increased to 38,800 in the last three quarters of 2020, compared with 5,200 during the same time the previous year, according to the California Policy Lab report. The city lost one-eighth of its total households last year by some estimates.
But perhaps this is good news for those us of fighting the myth of a California exodus: Two-thirds of San Franciscans who fled landed in other parts of the Bay Area and 80 percent stayed in the state.
For more:
Todays travel tip comes from Curtis Ridling:
For natural beauty I never get enough of Yosemite during the fall, when colorful leaves add to the experience. The winter with snow puts a different twist on the park with a sense of quiet not available at other times. Summer with its crowds is difficult but the views are still there as you look up and see climbers on El Capitan.
Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. Well be sharing more in upcoming editions of the newsletter.
Has your child been vaccinated against Covid-19?
Share stories of your children receiving their coronavirus shots and how it has affected your holiday plans. Please include your childs name, age and city of residence and even a photograph, if youd like.
Email me at CAtoday@nytimes.com and your submission may be included in a future newsletter.
One lucky Californian is about to become a multimillionaire.
All six numbers drawn in Saturdays Super Lotto Plus matched a ticket sold at a gas station in Santa Clarita, KCAL9 reports. The winner will claim $38 million.
Happy holidays, indeed.
Excerpt from:
How Covid-19 Has Changed Where Californians Live - The New York Times
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) Losing a loved one is never easy, but for Allison Brady, COVID-19 took the loss to an almost inconceivable level.
One of the scariest things about COVID-19 for Allison was the unknown, especially about how sick her parents might get due to being high risk.
Allison thought her worst fears were realized when she and her parents all got sick. Then the nightmare struck not once, but twice.
My mom was the first one to get sick, Allison said while thinking back, struggling to place the times and dates. Allison recalls it was eight days before her 17th birthday when her entire world was turned upside down.
It was just very scary. It didnt seem real, Allison said.
Her mom, Kimberly, worked as a hairstylist and had been in and out of hospitals battling diabetes as it progressed. When she moved to an assisted living facility, Kimberly was among the first wave of high-risk vaccine recipients last fall.
After being diagnosed with COVID-19 on Sept. 19, her condition quickly deteriorated.
Her funeral was Monday morning [the 27], said Allison, piecing together when her father got sick. Sunday night, he was rushed in an ambulance to the hospital, and Monday morning my father passed away from COVID.
Allison watched doctors take her mother off life support on Tuesday, Sept. 21. Six days after that, her father Jim was diagnosed. He died two months before the holidays.
Theyre going to be very difficult. Theyre going to be very, very difficult, said a tearful Allison a few days before Thanksgiving.
Jim had recently started the vaccination process so that he could visit his wife at the nursing facility. His sister Mimi said he died 12 hours after receiving his positive COVID-19 test.
He couldnt live without Kimberly, Mimi cried. Six days. He barely lasted six days. He just couldnt do it without her. Mimi is convinced her brother died of a broken heart.
Allison couldnt attend her mothers funeral because she was still sick.
I couldnt even get up and go down the stairs, Allison described. I was running really low on breath, not wanting to eat anything, not wanting to drink anything. Not wanting to do anything, just feeling really weak.
She feared for her own outcome.
Yeah, I thought that every day, said Allison as to whether she considered the risk to her own life.
Allison and Mimi sit side by side on the couch of Mimis Washington Courthouse home. The pair, even though they are family, now share a special bond.
I didnt have anywhere to live at the time, and then she Im going to start crying, Allison said with a cracking voice.
I didnt question it. Before she even got to the hospital, I said shes coming with me, Mimi said.
Kimberly and Jims wedding rings grace the coffee table as Allison and Mimi shared their favorite memories and some of the hardest.
Nov. 8 [1988] is when our mom passed away, and he texted me every year, Mimi said of her brother. I didnt get a text this year. It was quiet.
Even among a few laughs, the rings are a painful reminder of two lives ending far too soon.
It really has been hard, Allison described the last two months. I guess you get through it day-by-day.
They also want others to know there is never enough time to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you.
It is real. Be safe. Look what happened to me. Its not something fun to go through, so really try to be safe, Allison warns.
See original here:
COVID-19 takes teens family members during the holidays - NBC4 WCMH-TV
From cities to rural towns, stay informed on where COVID-19 is spreading to understand how it could affect families, commerce, and travel. Follow new cases found each day and the number of cases and deaths in Alabama.The county-level tracker makes it easy to follow COVID-19 cases on a granular level, as does the ability to break down infections per 100,000 people.
Originally posted here:
'Omicron' variant of COVID-19 called a 'variant of concern'
Scientists don't know how contagious the new COVID-19 variant is yet.
Staff Video, USA TODAY
The omicron variant first discovered in South Africa last week is likely to quickly spread around the globe, possibly with "severe consequences," the World Health Organization warned Monday.
"There could be future surges of COVID-19, which could have severe consequences depending on a number of factors including where surges may take place," the WHO said in a technical brief. "The overall global risk related to the (omicron variant)is assessed as very high."
The WHO said there iscurrently no information to suggest symptoms associated with omicron differ from those associated withother variants.No deaths linked to the omicron variant have been reported, WHO added.
The U.S. will need about two more weeks to learn more definitive information about the omicron variant'stransmissibility and severity, Dr. Anthony Fauci told President Joe Biden on Sunday, the White House said in a statement.The variant already hasbeen identified incountries across the world, including France, Canada, Australiaand Hong Kong.
Despite the unknowns of omicron, Fauci told Biden that he believes "existing vaccines are likely to provide a degree of protection against severe cases of COVID," reiterating that booster shots on top of full vaccination will provide stronger protection.About36% of Americans have gotten their booster shots, White House COVID-19 Response CoordinatorJeff Zients said last week.
Also in the news:
"Vaccine" is Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year for 2021: "The biggest science story of our time quickly became the biggest debate in our country, and the word at the center of both stories isvaccine."
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director general, said it's "unacceptable" for some countries to vaccinate groups at very low risk of severe disease and giveboosters to healthy adultswhile just 1 in 4 African health workers has been vaccinated.
The Virginia Department of Health will be monitoring sewagein an effort to predict future outbreaks of COVID-19. Infected people shed the virus in bodily waste, even if theyre not showing symptoms. The goal is to provide warnings before a surge begins.
Scotland's Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said Monday that six cases of the omicron variant have been detected there. "Enhanced" contact tracing was underway.
The U.S. on Monday beganrestricting travel from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Malawi. Meanwhile, the WHO urged countries not to impose flight bans on southern African nations: "South Africa should be thanked for detecting, sequencing and reporting this variant, not penalized."
Today's numbers:The U.S. has recorded more than 48 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 776,000deaths,accordingtoJohns Hopkins Universitydata. Global totals: More than 261million cases and nearly 5.1million deaths. More than 196 million Americansroughly 59.1% of the populationare fully vaccinated,according to theCDC.
What we're reading:After nearly two years of combating COVID-19, health experts thought the U.S. would have been in a better position to control the pandemic. Instead, many people remain unvaccinated and ignore mitigation measures, slowing the pace of progress and burning out health care professionals.
Keep refreshing this page for the latest news. Want more?Sign up forUSA TODAY's Coronavirus Watch free newsletterto receive updates directly to your inboxandjoin ourFacebook group.
The World Health Organization's World Health Assemblybegan a special session Monday to discuss anew global treaty for responding to future pandemics.The special session, just the second in the history of the WHO, will last until Wednesday.
The session is geared toward establishing a process to draft agreements "on pandemic preparedness and response," according toa newsrelease from the organization.Tedros told the gatheringthe international response to thepandemic has been slow and uncoordinated.
"Omicrons very emergence is another reminder that although many of us might think we are done with COVID-19, it is not done with us," Tedros said. "We are living through a cycle of panic and neglect. Hard-won gains could vanish in an instant."
Cases of the omicron variant ofthe coronaviruspopped up in countries on opposite sides of the world Sunday as many governments rushed to close their borders.
Japan announced it would suspend entry of all foreign visitors hours afterIsrael decided to bar entry to foreigners.Morocco said it would suspend all incoming flights for two weeks starting Monday amonga growing raft of travel curbs being imposed by nations around the world as they scrambled to slowthe variant's spread.
Scientists in several places, from Hong Kong to Europe, have confirmed its presence since South Africa announced its presence last week.
This time the world showed it is learning, said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, singling out South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for praise. South Africas analytic work and transparency and sharing its results was indispensable in allowing a swift global response. It no doubt saved many lives.
Canadas health minister says the country's first two cases of omicron were found in Ontario after two individuals who had recently traveled from Nigeria tested positive.
Contributing: The Associated Press
The rest is here:
BIBB MEDICAL CENTERShort Term208 PIERSON AVE, CENTREVILLE, AL 34.0 31.3%9.4 of 30.0 beds used N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 53 343 UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA HOSPITALShort Term619 SOUTH 19TH STREET, BIRMINGHAM, AL 1,487.4 88.5%1,226.4 of 1,385.4 beds used 91.6%273.1 of 298.1 beds used 57.1 N/A 18 N/A 927 2,372 ST VINCENT'S BIRMINGHAMShort Term810 ST VINCENT'S DRIVE, BIRMINGHAM, AL 478.9 70.5%317.3 of 449.9 beds used 65.1%54.6 of 83.9 beds used 5.0 N/A 7 N/A 124 707 PRINCETON BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTERShort Term701 PRINCETON AVENUE SOUTHWEST, BIRMINGHAM, AL 303.0 64.9%177.3 of 273.0 beds used 75.6%43.1 of 57.0 beds used 12.9 N/A 5 N/A 151 580 CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF ALABAMAChildrens Hospitals1600 SEVENTH AVENUE SOUTH, BIRMINGHAM, AL 418.0 91.6%360.9 of 394.0 beds used 93.1%44.7 of 48.0 beds used N/A 4.3 N/A 5 321 1,477 WALKER BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTERShort Term3400 HIGHWAY 78 EAST, JASPER, AL 187.0 66.5%104.4 of 157.0 beds used 83.3%10.0 of 12.0 beds used 4.1 N/A 5 N/A 93 558 ST VINCENT'S EASTShort Term50 MEDICAL PARK EAST DRIVE, BIRMINGHAM, AL 339.0 87.3%269.9 of 309.0 beds used 91.7%48.6 of 53.0 beds used 8.1 N/A 7 N/A 235 776 FAYETTE MEDICAL CENTERShort Term1653 TEMPLE AVENUE NORTH, FAYETTE, AL 33.0 34.2%8.9 of 26.0 beds used N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 67 200 HALE COUNTY HOSPITALShort Term508 GREEN STREET, GREENSBORO, AL 26.0 46.2%9.7 of 21.0 beds used N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 6 205 GRANDVIEW MEDICAL CENTERShort Term3690 GRANDVIEW PARKWAY, BIRMINGHAM, AL 413.4 91.4%357.7 of 391.4 beds used 88.8%82.0 of 92.3 beds used 6.6 N/A 6 N/A 163 739 MEDICAL WEST, AN AFFILIATE OF UAB HEALTH SYSTEMShort Term995 9TH AVENUE SOUTHWEST, BESSEMER, AL 165.9 66.3%110.0 of 165.9 beds used 97.1%20.4 of 21.0 beds used 7.4 N/A N/A N/A 164 1,341 BROOKWOOD BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTERShort Term2010 BROOKWOOD MEDICAL CENTER DRIVE, BIRMINGHAM, AL 372.4 82.0%272.7 of 332.4 beds used 63.4%46.9 of 74.0 beds used N/A N/A N/A N/A 60 653 SELECT SPECIALTY HOSPITAL - BIRMINGHAMLong Term2010 BROOKWOOD MEDICAL CENTER DRIVE, 3RD FLOOR, BIRMINGHAM, AL 38.0 81.3%30.9 of 38.0 beds used N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A NOLAND HOSPITAL BIRMINGHAM II, LLCLong Term50 MEDICAL PARK EAST DRIVE 8TH FLOOR, BIRMINGHAM, AL 24.0 72.1%17.3 of 24.0 beds used N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A GREENE COUNTY HOSPITALShort Term509 WILSON AVENUE, EUTAW, AL 16.0 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 8 47 UAB CALLAHAN EYE HOSPITAL AUTHORITYShort Term1720 UNIVERSITY BLVD, SUITE 500, BIRMINGHAM, AL 9.0 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 139
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COVID-19 Hospital Capacity of NOLAND HOSPITAL TUSCALOOSA ...
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 261.5 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths has now passed 5.19 million. More than 7.9 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.
Singapore and Malaysia have reopened one of the world's busiest land borders, allowing vaccinated travellers to cross. It's been closed for nearly two years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the country will move to a system of living with COVID-19 this week despite the emergence of the Omicron variant.
Member states of the World Health Organization have reached a tentative consensus to negotiate a future agreement on preventing pandemics, diplomats said on Sunday.
New COVID-19 cases in northern China have seen two cities suspend public transport and tighten control over residents' movements.
The World Trade Organization became the first major diplomatic casualty of the Omicron variant on Friday when it postponed its first ministerial meeting in four years due to the deteriorating health situation.
Daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases per million people in selected countries.
Image: Our World in Data
The World Health Organization is working to understand more about the Omicron COVID-19 variant, it announced on Sunday.
The WHO said it's not yet clear if the new variant is more transmissible compared to other variants, or if it caused more severe disease. However, the organization did reiterate initial evidence that suggests there might be a higher risk of reinfection from Omicron.
The WHO also said it was working with experts to understand the potential impact of the new Omicron variant on existing countermeasures against COVID-19, including vaccines. However, it said there's currently no evidence the variant causes different symptoms.
The US's top infectious disease official, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told President Joe Biden on Sunday that it will take around two weeks to have definitive information on the new variant.
Around the world countries, including the United States, have also tightened travel restrictions in response to Omicron, with Japan and Israel both banning entry for all foreign nationals. Australia is also reviewing plans to reopen its borders to skilled migrants and students from 1 December.
The Omicron variant has been confirmed in numerous countries around the world, with Switzerland detecting its first suspected case late on Sunday, adding to a list that includes the UK, Australia, Canada, France and Germany. The Netherlands announced yesterday that 13 cases on the Omicron variant had been found among passengers on two flights from South Africa on Friday, while Botswana has announced 15 more cases, in addition to the four confirmed cases it reported on Friday.
The COVID Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship is a coalition of 85 global leaders, hosted by the World Economic Forum. Its mission: Join hands in support of social entrepreneurs everywhere as vital first responders to the pandemic and as pioneers of a green, inclusive economic reality.
Its COVID Social Enterprise Action Agenda, outlines 25 concrete recommendations for key stakeholder groups, including funders and philanthropists, investors, government institutions, support organizations, and corporations. In January of 2021, its members launched its 2021 Roadmap through which its members will roll out an ambitious set of 21 action projects in 10 areas of work. Including corporate access and policy change in support of a social economy.
For more information see the Alliance website or its impact story here.
The Philippines has launched an ambitious drive to vaccinate nine million people against COVID-19 over three days, deploying security forces and using tens of thousands of volunteers to help administer the programme.
Three million vaccinations per day is nearly four times the average of 829,000 daily shots in November. An official said news of the Omicron variant made the campaign even more vital.
"It is better to be prepared for the effects of Omicron," Carlito Galvez, the country's vaccination chief, told CNN Philippines on Monday.
About 35.6 million people have been fully vaccinated, or a third of its 110 million population. The country aims to immunise 54 million people by the end of 2021 and 77 million by next March.
Written by
Joe Myers, Writer, Formative Content
The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.
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Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. Its Monday, Nov. 29. Im Justin Ray.
This past weekend brought troubling headlines about yet another coronavirus variant. It has sparked global restrictions and increased already high concerns about staying safe this holiday season.
Before I continue, I want to say that it is not clear how dangerous the new Omicron variant is. But the World Health Organization on Friday quickly classified it as a variant of concern.
This has prompted multiple countries, including the U.S., to restrict travel from South Africa and other African nations. The U.S. travel restrictions take effect Monday. Meanwhile, the Netherlands confirmed 13 cases of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus and Australia found two on Sunday.
Heres more information on the variant, and a look at the current state of Californias handling of COVID-19:
What do we know about the Omicron variant?
The variant, first identified in South Africa amid a spike in infections there, has more mutations than any variant that scientists have seen. Some have the potential to make the virus more resistant to immunity generated from previous infections or vaccines.
But much about it remains unknown, including whether the variant is more transmissible, results in more severe illness or reduces the efficacy of vaccines. No cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in the United States, but many experts say it may already be here.
The concern is, will this variant have some ability to work around, if you will, our vaccines and some of our therapies? Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, an epidemiologist and infectious diseases expert at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, told The Times.
Early observations suggest that could be the case, with breakthrough infections reported in vaccinated people, said Dr. Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla. We know breakthroughs are occurring, and they have so far occurred with multiple vaccines, he said. That is, in and of itself, concerning. And looking at the structure of the virus, it could have the potential to basically override our immune response.
When it comes to the pandemic, how does California look like right now?
When it comes to handling coronavirus, California has a lot to celebrate. So far, 71.8% of residents have received at least one dose, according to The Times vaccine tracker. Among all Californians, 63.9% are fully vaccinated.
However, the pandemic continues to be a major problem for residents in rural California counties with low vaccination rates. A recent Times analysis found that people in these regions died from COVID-19 at significantly higher rates during the summer Delta variant surge than those in better-vaccinated regions. This, once again, underscores the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing COVID.
Overall, the state appears to be better positioned to handle Omicron than much of the country, because California elected officials have largely been in agreement with public health experts on imposing control methods such as vaccination and masking requirements, according to Kim-Farley.
However, millions of Californians have yet to gain immunity, Topol said. He urged people to take extra precautions during holiday gatherings, including testing attendees and hosting events outdoors or, if indoors, with open windows and air filtration devices.
When it comes to vaccinations, how is your county doing? Find out with our interactive map.
Further reading:
Protection offered by booster shot beats natural immunity, study suggests. A small study thats among the first to track peoples protective antibodies over time found that those who were immunized against COVID-19 with two doses of an mRNA vaccine and received a booster shot about eight months later saw their levels of neutralizing antibodies skyrocket. Their median post-booster antibody level was also 53 times higher than that of a group of 76 unvaccinated people who had recovered from COVID-19 just two to six weeks earlier.
And now, heres whats happening across California:
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L.A.-based podcast company Neon Hum collaborated with L.A. TACO to make a nine-episode series about Jose Huizar. The former Los Angeles City councilman is accused of taking cash and other benefits from developers who sought favorable treatment on pending real estate development projects. If convicted, Huizar faces up to 20 years in prison. His trial is set for May. The podcast series discusses Huizars rise in politics and how his tenure forever changed downtown L.A. and Boyle Heights. But it also discusses the strength of the Latinx community in the city. L.A. Taco also published an interesting guide detailing the restaurants Huizar dined at while allegedly collecting bribes. Neon Hum
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San Francisco Dist. Atty. Chesa Boudin charged nine people with felonies in a series of shoplifting incidents that included a mass smash-and-grab at Union Square luxury stores. At least 40 thieves allegedly broke into a Louis Vuitton store on Nov. 19, grabbing whatever they could before loading it into a series of cars parked out front. The shoplifting caravan created a scene of chaos while stealing more than $1 million in merchandise. Boudin said two of the nine people were charged with possession of firearms during the incident. The organized robberies have shocked residents and sparked new crackdowns from authorities. Los Angeles Times
Even the most liberal folks, like me, have begun to lose patience with the homelessness situation: That quote, from Scott Culbertson, executive director of the Friends of Ballona Wetlands, expresses a pervasive sense of frustration shared by many Californians. Up and down the state, elected officials are trying to figure out what to do with encampments, writes Times columnist Erika D. Smith. The degrees of aggressiveness vary. But they all want to be able to move lots of unhoused people from where they are to other mostly temporary locations, and then clean the streets. What has remained unsaid is the fact that despite the valiant politicking and taxpayer dollars being spent, the permanent and affordable housing that Californias elected officials keep promising as a solution will probably take years, not months, to build. Los Angeles Times
A homeless encampment outside the West L.A. Veterans Affairs facilities on Aug. 30. The encampment is on San Vicente Boulevard in an unincorporated area near Brentwood in West Los Angeles.
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
The father of a woman accidentally killed by a Caltrans worker at a Modesto homeless encampment wont receive any money for his loss. It took a jury 20 minutes to decide not to award money to Maurice Bigley, whose daughter, Shannon, died in the accident. He had sought $15 million. Its just really a shame that someone died and someone admitted legal responsibility for that death and the jury decided that she wasnt worth anything, Bigleys attorney said after the verdict. Shannon Bigley, 33, was sleeping in a cardboard box in the homeless camp in 2018 when a Caltrans crew began clearing the area with a bulldozer. A man who said he witnessed the incident told a reporter at the encampment that her body was smashed. Modesto Bee
Termination proceedings have started for five LAPD officers and a civilian employee who have not complied with the citys vaccination mandate. Unvaccinated employees were required to sign a notice, indicating they would be vaccinated, or file an exemption request and submit to mandated testing in the interim. Exemptions will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and if approved, testing will be conducted weekly at the citys expense. Employees may also decide to resign or retire in good standing in lieu of discipline and still be eligible for rehire if they are vaccinated or if the vaccination order is lifted. CBS Los Angeles
Lessons in life and sobriety for a father and son on the Appalachian Trail. Since 1998, reporter Ben Poston and his father have ventured to the Appalachian Trail almost every year in their quest to walk all 2,200 miles. The trail always offered us familiar peace from the outside world a walking meditation through the quiet forest shared with each other and the countless hikers we met, Poston writes. Ours was a journey only made possible by sobriety, as both Dad and I struggled with alcohol dependence for many years. Then there was his cancer. Los Angeles Times
Sam and Ben Poston hike the Appalachian Trail.
Theyre actually a gang with badges: Three Mendocino County marijuana farmers and a former police officer from Texas have filed a federal lawsuit alleging widespread corruption among law enforcement officials. The lawsuit alleges hundreds of acts of extortion, theft, and robbery of marijuana, guns and cash by law enforcement officials from at least four agencies. NBC Bay Area investigation includes video and an interactive graphic of the players involved. NBC Bay Area
An organization that helped the unhoused enjoy Thanksgiving. Union Station Homeless Services is the lead agency that coordinates homeless services in the San Gabriel Valley. The organization provided more than 4,500 meals, a 125% increase over last year, a spokesperson for Union Station told LAist. Ive had somebody come up to me before and said, for even just a half an hour while they were sitting down eating that meal, it brought them back to when they had a family and a home. And for half an hour they forgot they were homeless, said one chef. LAist
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Los Angeles: 77 San Diego: This cat has a job. 73 San Francisco: 64 San Jose: So does this one. 70 Fresno: Related: Ive watched this video a million times. 66 Sacramento: 63
Famous birthdays:
Chadwick Boseman was born Nov. 29, 1976. Vice President Kamala Harris, Viola Davis, Mark Ruffalo, and many others mourned his death in August 2020.
Chrissy Teigen was born Nov. 30, 1985. She returned to Twitter this year after a bullying scandal.
If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us. (Please keep your story to 100 words.)
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