Category: Covid-19

PITTSFIELD Twelve people staying at ServiceNets homeless shelter in the former St. Josephs High School have tested positive for COVID-19, with residents set to spend their isolation periods at a state-run site.

The Pittsfield shelter tested residents and staff Monday, after hearing that a resident, who since had left the shelter, had COVID-19, according toJay Sacchetti, ServiceNets vice president of shelter and housing. He said the positive results came back Wednesday.

"Transportation is coming from the agency that runs the isolation hotel, so, they will transport those folks,"Sacchetti told The Eagle on Wednesday afternoon. He said the isolation site was in Eastern Massachusetts.

Almost all the residents who tested positive are asymptomatic, he said.

He said almost all the people living at the shelter are vaccinated, with "maybe one or two that weren't." He did not provide the vaccination breakdown for the 12 guests who tested positive.

The majority of the residents received mRNA vaccines through the Community Health Programs vaccine van, he added, and the van also had been providing booster shots.

Before transportation to the isolation site, positive residents were being kept in a separate location from those who had tested negative,Sacchetti said. The shelter plans to retest everyone who received a negative result, staff and residents included, Friday.

Sacchetti said ServiceNet also has rapid tests on hand for anyone who becomes symptomatic.

The positive tests come as cases continue to rise sharply across the Berkshires and the commonwealth.

"I'm not surprised by this outbreak,"Sacchetti said. "There's other shelters that are having 15 to 20 people all positive at the same time. It kind of mirrors what's going on across the state right now. Anywhere where there's people congregating, they're going to be at risk."

Sacchettisaid residents were not required to remain at the shelter while they waited for test results to come back.

"It's impossible to tell people to stay there," he said. "We work with people about how to keep themselves safe, how to keep others safe. There's this expectation we can just lock people up in the shelter, and we can't do that."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most fully vaccinated people without symptoms do not need to quarantine.

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12 residents of St. Joseph's shelter test positive for COVID-19. Most are vaccinated and asymptomatic - Berkshire Eagle

BERLIN, Nov 25 (Reuters) - A surge in coronavirus infections in Germany is weighing on consumer morale in Europe's largest economy, dampening business prospects in the Christmas shopping season and threatening to kick away its last remaining pillar of growth.

The GfK institute said on Thursday its consumer sentiment index, based on a survey of around 2,000 Germans, fell to -1.6 points heading into December, from a revised 1.0 points a month earlier.

The December reading was the lowest since June and compared with a Reuters forecast for a smaller drop to -0.5.

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The survey was followed by detailed gross domestic product data which showed household spending was the sole driver of a weaker-than-expected economic expansion in the third quarter, more than offsetting a drop in company investments and state consumption over the summer.

Gross domestic product in Europe's largest economy grew by 1.7% quarter-on-quarter in adjusted terms from July to September, the Federal Statistics Office said. That fell short of a flash estimate of 1.8% published last month.

The data marked a slowdown in German growth from an upwardly revised expansion of 2% from April to June. The economy shrank by 1.9% on the quarter in the first three months of the year.

A 6.2% jump in consumer spending in July-September from the prior three months contributed 3 percentage points to the overall growth rate in the third quarter.

"This is due to catch-up effects in the service sector. Restaurants, bars and the hotel industry in particular benefited," VP Bank Group analyst Thomas Gitzel said.

But Gitzel added that persistent supply bottlenecks in manufacturing were holding back overall growth, which could be seen in weaker investment activity by companies in machinery and buildings in the third quarter.

State spending also fell on the quarter, further pushing down the headline GDP figure.

A jump in new coronavirus infections over the past weeks is now threatening to kick away Germany's last remaining pillar of growth in the final quarter.

"The consequences of the pandemic are causing a kind of stop-and-go growth," Gitzel said.

GfK economist Rolf Buerkl said the fourth wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with infection rates rising rapidly and hospitals reaching capacity limits, was causing concerns that more restrictions for shops and restaurants would follow.

Inflation rates of more than 4% were also hurting the purchasing power of consumers, he said.

"Together, this is all dampening the business prospects for the upcoming Christmas shopping season," Buerkl said.

Consumers' expectations for their personal income and the development of the economy both deteriorated. This pushed down the propensity to buy to a nine-month low.

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Reporting by Michael Nienaber, Editing by Maria Sheahan, Catherine Evans and Timothy Heritage

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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COVID-19 threatens to knock away Germany's last pillar of growth - Reuters

Posted November 23, 2021 | 4:58 PM

COVID-19 coronavirus Update No. 345

Hillsborough County, Fla. (Nov. 23, 2021) - Starting Saturday, Nov. 27, Hillsborough County will offer one public location for COVID-19 testing, vaccinations, booster shots, and antibody therapy treatment.

The West Tampa Community Resource Center, 2103 N. Rome Ave., Tampa, FL 33607, will open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. It will offer COVID-19 testing, adult and Pfizer pediatric vaccinations, Pfizer booster shots for those who are eligible, and antibody therapy treatment. Appointments are not required. It will be the only COVID-19 public site supported by Hillsborough County.

COVID-19 testing, vaccinations, Pfizer pediatric vaccines, booster shots, and antibody therapy treatment are free at the West Tampa Community Resource Center site. Proof of medical insurance is recommended and should be presented at the time of the visit. People without medical insurance will still be tested, vaccinated, or receive antibody therapy treatment for free.

Children ages 5 to 11 who are accompanied by their parent or legal guardian can receive the COVID-19 Pfizer pediatric vaccine at the site. The child must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian to verbally confirm the child's age.

Residents that would like to make an appointment are encouraged to visit patientportalfl.com or call (844) 770-8548 for assistance.

Visit HCFLGov.net/COVID19 or Vaccines.gov to locate pharmacies and other sites offering COVID-19 vaccinations.

Get Connected. Stay Alert.

For more information on COVID-19, and any other potential emergency in the county, visit HCFLGov.net/StaySafe and sign up for the HCFL Alert system. Additionally, you can follow Hillsborough County on social media at Facebook, Twitter, and Nextdoor for updates. Residents without digital access are encouraged to call (813) 272-5900, the County's main information line, for information on the West Tampa Community Resource Center COVID-19 testing and vaccination site.

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County Consolidates COVID-19 Testing, Vaccines, Boosters, and Antibody Treatment into One Site - Hillsborough County

Starting Tuesday, November 23, the Juneau Public Health Center is offering COVID-19 vaccines for ages 5 and up Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. through December 30, excluding holidays. Make an appointment on juneau.org/vaccine, call 586-6000, or simply walk in.

The following COVID-19 vaccinations are available every weekday at Juneau Public Health Center, 3412 Glacier Highway:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last Friday expanded eligibility for COVID-19 booster shots to all adults. People age 18 years and older who received Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines may get a booster six months after completion of their primary vaccination series.

If you initially received the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, you can get a Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson booster 6 months or more after the initial series. If you initially received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, you can get a Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson booster 2 months or more after the initial vaccine.

For more information on getting a COVID-19 vaccine or booster, go to juneau.org/vaccine or call 586-6000.

Excerpt from:

Starting Nov. 23, Public Health offers walk-in COVID-19 vaccines & boosters every weekday City and Borough of Juneau - City and Borough of Juneau

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) reports 11 new residents in the Juneau community identified with COVID-19 for November 20 thru November 22. Bartlett Regional Hospital doesnt have any COVID-19 patients, and no one has tested positive for COVID-19 within the Juneau School District since Friday.

Statewide, DHSS reports750 new peopleidentified with COVID-19 744 are residents and six are nonresidents in the past three days. Alaska has had 143,454 cumulative resident cases of COVID-19 and a total of 5,371 nonresidents.

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State reports 11 new COVID-19 cases for Juneau for Nov. 20-22 - City and Borough of Juneau

COVID-19: Top news stories about the coronavirus pandemic on 23 November  World Economic Forum

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COVID-19: Top news stories about the coronavirus pandemic on 23 November - World Economic Forum

WASHINGTON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - The White House confirmed on Monday that more than 90% of the 3.5 million federal employees covered by a presidential COVID-19 vaccine mandate had received at least one dose ahead of a Monday deadline.

In total, the administration has deemed that 95% of federal workers have complied with its requirements in that they have either been vaccinated, are completing vaccinations or have a pending religious or medical exemption request, the White House said.

Officials declined to disclose the total number of fully vaccinated federal employees, but said the "vast majority" of the 90% had received both doses.

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White House officials on Monday confirmed the figures first reported by Reuters.

The figures suggest relatively high vaccination rates for federal employees compared with the U.S. population as a whole, and underscore the Biden administration's effort to get every American inoculated in a drive to bring COVID-19 under control.

Officials said the final numbers would change as employees continue to submit documentation until the deadline later on Monday, and as all employee submissions may not yet have been processed. The figures suggest that potentially 175,000 federal employees may not be vaccinated and are not yet in compliance with the rules.

The administration has repeatedly said that it will not immediately seek to suspend or fire unvaccinated employees. Officials said the fact that thousands of employees had not yet complied would not affect holiday travel or government services.

"Already 95% of (U.S. government) employees are in compliance with the presidents vax requirement. There are no disruptions related to the requirement," White House spokesman Kevin Munoz said on Twitter.

White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said 99% of employees at the Federal Aviation Administration, nearly 98% of Customs and Border Protection and 93% of Transportation Security Administration employees are in compliance with the vaccine and exemption requirements.

"Looking at the federal workforce vaccination data makes one thing obvious: Vaccination requirements work," Zients said.

Zients added that 99% of employees at the FBI, 98% at the Internal Revenue Service and 99% of employees in the White House Executive Office of the President are in compliance.

On Nov. 1, the Pentagon said 97% of the active-duty force had received at least one COVID-19 dose.

'EDUCATION AND COUNSELING'

The vaccine mandate imposed by President Joe Biden in September does not cover federal employees in the judicial and legislative branches or the U.S. Postal Service.

The White House has told agencies that for federal employees not in compliance, agencies should begin "a brief period of education and counseling" to last five days. If employees do not "demonstrate progress toward becoming fully vaccinated," that "should be followed by a short suspension" of no more than 14 days. If an employee gets a first shot, agencies are directed to halt any disciplinary action.

Officials are confident that as the disciplinary process begins, a rising number of federal employees will get vaccinated.

On Wednesday, the White House Office of Management and Budget will release agency-by-agency data on vaccinated employeesand those in compliance with the rules from 24 major federal agencies like the Defense Department, Transportation Department, Health and Human Services and others. More granular data will be released in the following week.

Employees who have an exemption request denied have two weeks to get their first shot and a further six weeks to get their second.

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Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Peter Cooney

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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90% of U.S. federal employees have received at least one COVID-19 dose -White House - Reuters

Erie hospital's COVID-19 units: A closer look at the battle to beat the virus  GoErie.com

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Erie hospital's COVID-19 units: A closer look at the battle to beat the virus - GoErie.com

Michigan's Health and Hospital Association is urging residents to take precautions to reduce the spread of COVID-19as the state approaches its highest number of hospitalized patients since the pandemic began.

The state's hospital association on Monday issued a series of measures including masking up and getting vaccinated against the virus,to help prevent overwhelming hospitalizations. The move comes a year after Michigan faced a similar surge in cases leading up to the winter holidays.

"We are extremely concerned because our best predictions are that COVID-19 patients will continue to increase during the weeks ahead as we enter the yearly flu season," according to the statement.

Over the previous seven days including Friday, Michigan reported 53,575 new COVID-19 cases, the highest weekly caseload since the pandemic began in March 2020.

As of Sunday,3,785 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized across the state, including 784 in intensive care units. The vast majority of patients in the ICU and on ventilators, the MHA noted, are unvaccinated.

The state's record for most adult hospitalizations with confirmed cases of the virus occurred on April 19 with 4,158 inpatients.

In addition, the hospital association said it is witnessinghigh numbers of patients with other medical conditions requiring care.

"This combination is straining or exceeding the capacity of emergency departments and hospitals across the state," according to theMHA statement."We cannot wait any longer for Michigan to correct course; we need your help now to end this surge and ensure our hospitals can care for everyone who needs it."

Across the state, staffing shortages and more patients in emergency departments have resulted in long wait times, patients being placed in hallways or conference rooms, and diverting patients away from the hospital due to no room or staff to care for them, the hospital association said.

Michigan added 17,008 cases and 83 deaths from COVID-19 on Monday, including cases from Saturday and Sunday, as the state continued to lead the country in new cases of the virus per population over the last seven days. The latest figures mark an overall total of 1,259,261 confirmed cases and 23,315 deaths since March 2020.

The picture reflects nearing the beginning of the pandemic when healthcare workers compared the inside of hospitals to "war zones" with patients dying in the hallways.

At the same time, the MHA said Monday, the need for care for heart disease, cancer and other diseases "will continue at some of the highest rates weve seen in recent history."

In the battle against COVID-19,evidence shows that patients who receive monoclonal antibody therapy early have markedly lower rates of hospitalization and complications from the virus, according to MHA.

"Many hospitals have reprioritized staff and resources from ambulatory services such as testing, outpatient treatment or rehab to free up caregivers to dispense monoclonal antibody therapy and vaccines in the hope of reducing hospitalization and death," according to the statement."While these actions may lead to longer wait times for ambulatory services, it is important that patients who meet the criteria seek out monoclonal antibody therapy to reduce the chance of a hospital stay."

The MHA is asking residents to understand that hospitals are operating atcontingency levels of care, which means waiting times are longer and staffing shortages are now the norm and not an exception.

"This situation is a result of our ongoing pandemic response, the serious illness of non-COVID-19 patients, the increased length of stay of all patients, and the resulting high number of patients in Michigan hospitals," the hospital association added.

If the pressure on hospitals and EMS increases further, "we all risk facing increasing delays and challenges in accessing care for everyone who needs emergency services and inpatient hospital care."

The hospital association warnings come after Michigan'sDepartment of Health and Human Services issued an advisory on Friday recommending people wear masks at indoor gatherings regardless of their vaccination status.

The state also encouraged businesses to impose policies to ensure that all people entering, including employees, wear masks and advised individuals who are not fully vaccinated or who are immunocompromised to avoid large crowds or gatherings.

"The increases in case counts, percent positivity and hospitalizations have us very concerned, Elizabeth Hertel, director of the state health department, said Friday.

"We are issuing the face mask advisory and are looking to Michiganders to do their part to help protect their friends, their families and their communities by wearing a mask in indoor settings and getting vaccinated for COVID-19 and flu as soon as possible if they have not already done so."

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The state advisory, which is not a mandate, will remain in effect until further notice, according to the Fridayannouncement.

The state health department and Whitmer's office did not immediately respond to requests Mondayon whether mandates are expected to be issued this week.

The MHAadvisory noted Michigan is "experiencing another wave of infection driven by the delta variant" along with an uptick in cases of other respiratory illnesses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, which is more commonly known as RSV.

The hospital association also stressed thatresidents should get vaccinated and thatbooster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are now approved for individuals ages 18 and up. Find a vaccine location at vaccine.gov.

As of Thursday, about 54.8% of Michigan residents 12 and older are fully vaccinated.

Michigan is seventh nationally for the most boosters administered. Approximately 1.5%, or 78,000, of those who are fully vaccinated have had breakthrough cases. Of those, 2,009 individuals were hospitalized and 944 died, the majority being older than 65, state figures show.

The hospital association saidresidents should social distanceat indoor gatherings, wear a mask at all times, and limit interaction with others ifthey become aware of potential COVID-19 exposure.

"Our healthcare teams have worked tirelessly for the past 20 months to serve every community in our state," MHA concluded. "Now more than ever, they need your support."

srahal@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @SarahRahal_

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Michigan hospitals sound alarm over near-record COVID-19 hospitalizations - The Detroit News

US lifts travel ban for vaccinated international tourists

After more than 600 days, the U.S. lifted its COVID-19 travel ban for vaccinated tourists.

Associated Press, USA TODAY

COVID-19 case numbers in Shasta County remained lower overall throughout November than in October. The number of patients hospitalized with the virus daily dropped into the 50s and 60s over the past two weeks.

Shasta County Public Health reported daily it confirmedthree to sevenCOVID-19 deaths among county residents since Nov. 2. Some of those fatalities occurred in October, when outbreak was higher.

Here are daily COVID-19 updates with new cases, hospitalization numbers, vaccination percentages and deaths announced.

Scroll down for updates this week, Nov. 1-5, 2021. For updated case numbers and data, scroll below daily updates.

Six more people in Shasta County died of COVID-19.

Their deaths bring the total number of COVID-19 fatalities in the countyto 439 since March2020. Of that number,75 were reported in October by Shasta County Public Heath.

The four men and two women whose deaths the agencyannounced Monday were:

Also on Monday, state public health reportedthe following information for last week, fromNov. 15-21:

Here are daily case, hospitalization and othernumbersreported Monday by public health.

New cases by age group:

Read more: Families navigate plans with unvaccinated relatives as another pandemic Thanksgiving nears

Last week, the percentage of eligible people who were fully vaccinated meaning they had the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine or both of the two-doseModerna or Pfizer series dropped this week from 52.6% to48.1%.

That's because the number of people eligible to receive the vaccine now includes children ages 5 to 11. The week before last, only county residents ages 12 and older were eligible.

Another 7.1% had one dose of either theModerna or Pfizer two-dose series.

In Shasta County, during the three months fromAug. 16 to Nov. 16:

Almost all the fully-vaccinated people who died were 70 years old or older, Shasta County Public Health said.

Elderly people are more vulnerable to the effects of COVID, as are people with certain health conditions, according to the CDC. See a list of conditions athttps://bit.ly/3DYgK2F.

For more information, to get vaccinated or tested, or to schedule a booster shot or third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, go to Shasta County's COVID-19 website athttps://bit.ly/3GLFoFoor call 833-422-4255 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends.

Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and entertainment stories.Followher on Twitter @RS_JSkropanicand on Facebook. Join Jessica in theGet Out! Nor Calrecreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.

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Coronavirus updates: 6 people die of COVID-19, 75 fatalities in November - Redding Record Searchlight