Category: Covid-19

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. The Illinois Department of Public Health reported Friday 26,062 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Illinois, including 197 additional deaths since reporting last Friday.

More than 79% of Illinois adults have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and more than 62% of Illinois adults are fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Of Illinois total population, more than 66% has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and more than 51% of Illinois total population is fully vaccinated.

IDPH reports a total of 1,564,386 cases, including 24,261 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois.

Since reporting last Friday, laboratories have reported 578,943 specimens for a total of 29,756,833.

As of Thursday night, 2,346 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 549 patients were in the ICU and 311 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.

The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from September 3-9, 2021 is 4.5%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from September 3-9, 2021 is 5.1%.

A total of 14,149,453 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 20,514 doses.Since reporting on Friday, 143,596 doses were reported administered in Illinois.

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Illinois reports 26,062 new cases of COVID-19, 197 deaths over past week - WGN TV Chicago

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More and more unvaccinated people are becoming infected with the Delta Variant after this holiday weekend.

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COVID-19 Numbers Are On The Rise After Labor Day Weekend

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With coronavirus hospitalizations in Texas hovering just below the pandemics winter peak, Texans are again grappling with how to deal with the virus in their day-to-day lives.

Last week, the Texas Education Agency announced that at least 45 small school districts shut down in-person classes due to high COVID-19 numbers. On top of that, major metropolitan hospitals are halting elective surgeries as they did during prior surges when hospitals filled up with COVID patients.

Although vaccines have slightly changed the calculus on safety protocols, many of the same factors that drove the winter surge are also driving the current wave of cases.

The Texas Tribune spoke with Dr. James Cutrell, an associate professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center who specializes in COVID-19 treatment, to answer questions about masks, vaccinations and breakthrough cases. Cutrell completed a fellowship in infectious diseases in 2013 at UT Southwestern and now is the director of the adult fellowship program in infectious diseases.

If you get vaccinated, do you still have to wear a mask?

Although the COVID-19 vaccines continue to provide very good protection, particularly against severe disease, hospitalization or death, there remains a risk of milder infection in those who are fully vaccinated.

Moreover, if infected, those who are fully vaccinated are able to transmit that infection to others, although their overall risk of transmission is lower than those who are unvaccinated. In order to reduce both the personal risk of infection and risk of spreading it to others, masking can be one effective strategy to protect yourself and others.

Therefore, the current CDC recommendations are that fully vaccinated individuals should continue to wear a mask when in public indoor spaces if they live in an area of substantial or high COVID-19 transmission. The definition of an area of substantial or high COVID-19 transmission is more than 50 cases per 100,000 people or a test positivity rate greater than 8%. This would currently include many areas of the country, including Texas.

How common are breakthrough cases for vaccinated people? Is the state tracking that?

Although early data from the end of April 2021 reported that breakthrough cases were very uncommon (about 0.01% among the first 100 million Americans vaccinated), breakthrough cases have become more common as community cases and transmission with the delta variant have risen across the country.

Precise estimates of the frequency of breakthrough cases are not known because since May 2021 the CDC has primarily been tracking breakthrough cases only in those who are hospitalized or die. There are some states that have continued to track the rates of breakthrough cases, but Texas is only tracking hospitalized or fatal cases due to COVID-19 breakthrough infections.

The CDC is conducting focused studies in 10 states through the Emerging Infections Program to determine better estimates of the overall rate of breakthrough cases during the current delta variant surge, including milder disease and infection.

What are the timelines around expanding eligibility for the vaccine? When can children under 12 get it?

Current clinical trials are ongoing, evaluating the safety and efficacy of the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) for children under 12.

We expect that the data in the group of children ages 5-11 will be submitted to the FDA at some point in the early to mid-fall for review. There is less certainty around how long the FDA review process will take.

The CDC is recommending that pregnant women get vaccinated. Is there any research on how the vaccine affects pregnancy?

The CDC recently strengthened their recommendation of the COVID-19 vaccines for those who are pregnant, breastfeeding or considering pregnancy. This is based on increasing data showing that the vaccines are safe in pregnancy, with no signals of increased risk of miscarriage, preterm birth or other adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Additionally, the vaccine has proven effective at reducing the risk of COVID-19 infection in pregnancy.

Finally, there is a growing body of evidence showing that pregnant women who develop COVID-19 have a higher risk of severe disease leading to hospitalization or death and also a higher risk of pregnancy complications due to the infection. For all of these reasons, the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy strongly outweighs potential risks or side effects.

I live with someone who is immunocompromised. They already got their Pfizer booster. Should I get the booster early, too?

Currently the additional third doses (boosters) are only being administered to those who are moderately to severely immunocompromised. Those who are close or household contacts of an immunocompromised individual are not yet recommended to receive a booster.

At this point, the most important things for those who are close contacts to an immunocompromised patient are to be sure they are fully vaccinated (with their first two vaccine doses) and to be sure that they are wearing masks and taking other precautions when in public settings to minimize their risk of developing COVID-19 and spreading it to their loved one.

Are the mRNA boosters developed specifically for the delta variant? I've seen reports that Moderna and Pfizer are working on vaccines that target the delta variant.

The current boosters being administered and considered are the original mRNA vaccine, which was targeted for the original SARS-CoV-2 virus. These vaccines still show good efficacy against the delta variant, particularly in preventing more severe disease.

Clinical trials of updated mRNA vaccines, which are designed specifically to target the delta variant, began in August 2021, so in the future there will likely be boosters approved specifically for that variant.

When will the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines get FDA approval?

Moderna completed its submission of data for full FDA approval in late August 2021. The FDA is reviewing under priority review so we expect that this fall it will be approved (for reference, it took 97 days from full submission of the Pfizer vaccine data to full approval). The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is expected to have its data submitted for full approval by the end of 2021.

Join us Sept. 20-25 at the 2021 Texas Tribune Festival. Tickets are on sale now for this multi-day celebration of big, bold ideas about politics, public policy and the days news, curated by The Texas Tribunes award-winning journalists. Learn more.

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COVID-19 Q&A: Breakthrough cases, booster shots and more - The Texas Tribune

by: Sydney Kalich, Nexstar Media Wire

(NewsNation Now) The World Health Organization has identified another coronavirus variant of interest, calling it the mu variant, saying it may have the ability to evade vaccine protections.

Heres what you need to know:

The B.1.621 variant, also known as the mu variant, was first found in Colombia in January 2021 and has been found in about 39 countries so far, including the United States. The variants prevalence has consistently increased in Colombia and Ecuador, despite reports of sequenced cases dropping globally overall.

WHO said further studies are needed to determine the characteristics of the mu variant.

Mu has changes, called mutations, which means it might be able to evade some of the protection given from COVID vaccines.

One reassuring element is that, despite being around since January 2021, it doesnt seem to be outcompeting delta, the dominant variant across most of the world. Mu has been designated a variant of interest or VOI by WHO. If there are changes to the virus that means it looks like it has the potential to do more harm, then it is designated as a variant of interest.

WHOs variants of interesthave been determined to exhibit genetic changes that are predicted or known to affect virus characteristics including transmissibility, immune escape, disease severity or resistance to treatment. VOIs being monitored by WHO include eta, iota, kappa and lambda.

Mu has yet to be designated as a variant of concern, or VOC, by WHO. If theres evidence mu is more serious and beginning to overtake other variants such as delta, it might be upgraded to a VOC. Variants of concern worldwide include alpha, beta, gamma and delta.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also named alpha, beta, gamma and delta as all variants of concern in the United States.

If mu was truly as contiguous as the delta variant, we would have expected to have started to see indications of this, and we havent yet.

Some mutations will be detrimental to the virus, but some will be beneficial, allowing it to spread better, escape the protection offered by vaccines or even evade COVID tests.

The CDC advised that variants are expected as the pandemic evolves and that receiving COVID-19 shots is still the best way to protect against the virus.

Most COVID vaccines target the spike protein of the virus, which it uses to enter our cells. Our vaccines expose our bodies to a part of the virus, commonly the spike protein, so our immune system can learn to fight the virus off if it encounters it.

If a variant has significant changes in the spike protein, this may decrease the effectiveness of our vaccines.

The WHO said preliminary evidence suggests themu variantcould partially evade the antibodies we get from vaccination. But because this data is from lab studies, we cant be sure how the variant will actually play out in the population.

More research is needed to be certain about how it behaves in humans, and work on this is ongoing.

The good news is vaccines currently protect well against symptomatic infection and severe disease from all variants of the virus so far.

Theres a probability a new variant that will arise one day that can significantly escape the protection offered by our vaccines, which are based on the original strain of the virus. We would call this an escape variant.

However, the leading COVID vaccine manufacturers are well prepared if this eventuates. Some are already developing vaccines for new variants, such as delta.

The Associated Press, Reuters and Nexstar Media Wire contributed to this report.

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Whats the mu variant? And will we keep seeing more COVID-19 variants? - NEWS10 ABC

At Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, nearly half the patients have tested positive for COVID-19. Photographed August 2021. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Alaskas COVID-19 hospitalizations hit a dramatic new high this week as health care facilities struggle with a surge of mostly unvaccinated patients who providers say are stretching the system to its limits.

The state reported 186 people hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Monday as well as two deaths in people with the virus, according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services dashboard. The deaths were in a man in his 50s from the Fairbanks North Star Borough and a woman in her 60s from the Kusilvak Census Area in Western Alaska.

Statewide, COVID-positive patients accounted for 1 in 5 of all hospitalized people as of Monday. The states hospitals added about 20 new COVID-positive patients over the Labor Day weekend, putting more pressure on a hospital system providers say is already becoming overwhelmed.

Hospitalizations recently hit new records, superseding 151 people hospitalized at one time over the winter. There were at least 165 patients with COVID-19 in hospitals around the state by weeks end.

The hospital statistics dont include long-term COVID-19 patients who no longer test positive but continue to need care, hospital officials said this week. So they underestimate the true impact of the virus on capacity.

Cars wait in line at Alaska Airlines Center COVID-19 testing site in Anchorage on Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021. (Emily Mesner / ADN)

Providers say COVID-19 patients now are younger and sicker than before, requiring time-intensive care, and needing hospitalization longer than traditional patients.

Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, in the states least vaccinated urban region, reported 39 COVID-19 patients as of Monday nearly half of the hospitals total patient count.

The hospital has stopped accepting transfers from other facilities and is postponing non-emergency procedures on a daily, case-by-case basis, according to Dr. Thomas Quimby, the hospitals emergency department director. That can mean delaying cardiac catheterization or the removal of cancerous tumors.

The hospitals COVID-positive patients stay for an average of three weeks longer than other patients.

Cases show no sign of abating in Mat-Su, which tends to lag several weeks behind Anchorage, Quimby said. Maybe Anchorage will level off soon and his hospital can send patients there.

If that doesnt happen, theres no place to shift patients, he said. Thats very concerning.

The states chief medical officer, Dr. Anne Zink, worked an emergency shift at the Mat-Su hospital on Saturday night and shared a photo on social media of a patient dashboard with 10 cases, eight of them showing symptoms of the virus.

So much COVID, Zink tweeted.

[Idaho hospitals, overloaded with COVID patients, begin rationing care]

The highly contagious delta variant is driving the surge in hospitalizations and new cases. The state reported 2,059 resident cases over a four-day period from Friday to Monday, including 850 reported for Friday, the second-highest one-day resident tally since the pandemic began in March 2020.

This situation continues to get worse and worse, said Jared Kosin, president and CEO of the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association. It is so hard to watch.

The new levels come as Anchorage mayor Dave Bronson and Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy continue to make it clear they plan no new mitigation measures like mask orders and shy away from specific vaccine messaging. And unlike during last winters peak, hospitals are already full with other patients being treated by health care workers reeling from pandemic burnout or leaving the profession for good, leading to shortages.

As of Tuesday, 61.3% of eligible Alaskans had received at least one dose of vaccine and 55.7% were fully vaccinated, according to state data. Alaska was ranked 33rd out of 50 states for per capita vaccination rates.

The states test positivity rate, the percent positive tests out of the total performed, was 8.07% over a seven-day period as of Monday. Health experts say anything over 5% means broader testing is needed.

Dunleavy last week rejected calls to enact a public health disaster declaration. The governor amended the upcoming special session, adding bills expanding telehealth offerings and streamlining background checks and nurse licensing. Hearings began Tuesday.

More than 90% of the patients he sees at Mat-Su Regional are unvaccinated, Quimby said.

He saw a patient on Sunday who was in his 50s without significant medical problems. His wife was vaccinated but he wasnt. Hed already been sick for 10 days before coming to the ER and was admitted with low oxygen levels.

The patient was scared.

He just was miserable and remorseful. Hes already been sick for 10 days, now hes going to be in the hospital, Quimby said. He asked me, Can I get the vaccination now? I wish I had gotten it.

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'So hard to watch': Weekend spike brings Alaska's COVID-19 hospitalization numbers to another record - Anchorage Daily News

WASHINGTON (AP) The summer that was supposed to mark Americas independence from COVID-19 is instead drawing to a close with the U.S. more firmly under the tyranny of the virus, with deaths per day back up to where they were in March.

The delta variant is filling hospitals, sickening alarming numbers of children and driving coronavirus deaths in some places to the highest levels of the entire pandemic. School systems that reopened their classrooms are abruptly switching back to remote learning because of outbreaks. Legal disputes, threats and violence have erupted over mask and vaccine requirements.

The U.S. death toll stands at more than 650,000, with one major forecast model projecting it will top 750,000 by Dec. 1.

It felt like we had this forward, positive momentum, lamented Katie Button, executive chef and CEO at two restaurants in Asheville, North Carolina. The delta variant wiped that timeline completely away.

It wasnt supposed to be this way. More than six months into the U.S. vaccination drive, President Joe Biden held a White House party on July Fourth to celebrate the countrys freedom from the virus, and other political leaders had high hopes for a close-to-normal summer.

Then the bottom fell out.

The summer wave was fueled by the extra-contagious delta variant combined with stark resistance to vaccinations that formed along political and geographic lines, said Dr. Sten Vermund, of the Yale School of Public Health.

The virus was more efficient in spreading among the unvaccinated so that you blunted the expected benefit of vaccines, Vermund said.

The crisis escalated rapidly from June to August. About 400,000 COVID-19 infections were recorded for all of June. It took all of three days last week to reach the same number.

The U.S. recorded 26,800 deaths and more than 4.2 million infections in August. The number of monthly positive cases was the fourth-highest total since the start of the pandemic.

The 2021 delta-driven onslaught is killing younger Americans at a much higher rate than previous waves of the pandemic in the Northeast last spring, the Sun Belt in the summer of 2020 and the deadly winter surge around the holidays.

During the peaks of those waves, Americans over 75 suffered the highest proportion of death. Now, the most vulnerable age group for death is 50 to 64.

Overall, the outbreak is still well below the all-time peaks reached over the winter, when deaths topped out at 3,400 a day and new cases at a quarter-million per day.

The U.S. is now averaging over 150,000 new cases per day, levels not seen since January. Deaths are close to 1,500 per day, up more than a third since late August.

Even before the delta variant became dominant, experts say there were indications that larger gatherings and relaxed social distancing measures were fueling new cases.

We had been cooped up for over a year and everyone wanted to get out, said Dr. David Dowdy, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In the face of that kind of strong change in behavior, even getting almost two-thirds of our adult population vaccinated wasnt enough.

The COVID-19 vaccines remain highly effective against hospitalization and death, but many tens of millions of eligible Americans remain unvaccinated. Nearly 40% of Americans 12 and older are not fully protected.

Yales Vermund sees reasons to be cautiously optimistic about the next few months. Cases in most states appear to be plateauing and are likely to decline in the fall, buying health authorities more time to vaccinate adults and teenagers before flu season.

If we can continue making progress between now and Thanksgiving, we may be able to substantially blunt the coronavirus surge in flu season, Vermund said.

While the economy has been rebounding strongly over the past several months, hiring slowed sharply in August in a sign that the variant is discouraging Americans from flying, shopping or eating out.

And on Monday, unemployment benefits including an extra $300 a week from the federal government ran out for millions of Americans.

Button, the North Carolina chef, was feeling great heading into the summer. Her team was mostly vaccinated in May and restrictions were loosening. But the crisis soon changed direction.

Button supports the mask mandate that was recently reinstated in her county but said her employees are exhausted by having to enforce it. And since she has no outdoor seating, some diners have been less comfortable coming in.

Its hard to take a step forward and then take three steps back, she said.

___

Associated Press data journalist Nicky Forster contributed to this report from New York. Durbin reported from Detroit.

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COVID-19 surge in the US: The summer of hope ends in gloom - Associated Press

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 221.9 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths stands at more than 4.58 million. More than 5.53 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.

New Zealand has reported a further fall in locally acquired COVID-19 cases, with 15 reported today, down from 21 a day before.

As of Tuesday morning, 75% of US adults had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced.

It comes as the CDC warned against travel to Sri Lanka, Jamaica and Brunei because of rising COVID-19 cases.

Venezuela has received its first batch of vaccines through the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility, the Pan-American Health Organization announced yesterday.

Spain's healthcare regulator has approved a third dose of COVID-19 vaccines for people with severely compromised immune systems.

Singapore recorded 328 new domestic COVID-19 cases yesterday, its highest daily tally in more than a year.

Two-hundred-nine deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test were reported in Britain yesterday, the highest total since 9 March.

The Philippines' capital region will remain under the second strictest COVID-19 restrictions, a senior official announced yesterday, delaying a planned easing of curbs.

Sweden is set to remove most restrictions and limits on public venues, such as restaurants, theatres and stadiums, at the end of September, the government said yesterday.

Daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases per million people in selected countries

Image: Our World in Data

Hundreds of thousands of people will die of tuberculosis if left untreated because of disruption to healthcare systems in poor countries as a result of the pandemic, the Global Fund warned.

The Geneva-based aid body said that in some of the world's poorest countries, excess deaths from AIDS and TB could even exceed those from COVID-19 itself.

"Essentially, about a million people less were treated for TB in 2020 than in 2019 and I'm afraid that will inevitably mean that hundreds of thousands of people will die," Executive Director Peter Sands told Reuters.

The Fund's annual report showed that the number of people treated for drug-resistant TB in countries where it operates fell by 19%. A decline of 11% was seen in HIV prevention programmes and services.

Each of our Top 50 social enterprise last mile responders and multi-stakeholder initiatives is working across four priority areas of need: Prevention and protection; COVID-19 treatment and relief; inclusive vaccine access; and securing livelihoods. The list was curated jointly with regional hosts Catalyst 2030s NASE and Aavishkaar Group. Their profiles can be found on http://www.wef.ch/lastmiletop50india.

Top Last Mile Partnership Initiatives to collaborate with:

COVID-19 is something that is likely here to stay, World Health Organization (WHO) officials said yesterday.

I think this virus is here to stay with us and it will evolve like influenza pandemic viruses, it will evolve to become one of the other viruses that affects us, Dr Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHOs Health Emergencies Program, said at a press briefing.

Ryan said that it was "very, very unlikely" that we will eliminate or eradicate the virus.

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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COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 8 September - World Economic Forum

Gov. Justice: Our hospitals are still overwhelmingly inundated with cases of people that are not vaccinated.

COVID-19 Dashboard | Coronavirus.wv.gov

This comes exactly one week after the state record for the number of patients on ventilators was broken. Wednesday, that number also continued to increase to never-before-seen levels, with a new all-time high of 132 West Virginians now onventilators.

West Virginias total number of COVID-related hospitalizations has increased to 813; just five away from the all-time record in that category as well. And, as Gov. Justice pointed out Wednesday, there is a common thread between the vast majority of these severe cases.

Just like if you have a big, roaring fire, the fire might start off in a few places, but after awhile, if you have enough dry timber and have too few number of firewalls, that fire can start to consume more and more of the of the forest, and start to join in to create one, raging fire, Dr. Marsh continued. That's exactly what I believe were experiencing right now in West Virginia. And, as the Governor has said, the way to generate the firewalls is vaccination. Theres really no other intervention that works as well as that.

As this variant continues to burn itself out, we predict it may take as much as another five to seven or maybe as many as 10 to 14 days for that to happen.

The statewide death toll from COVID-19 reached 3,169 on Wednesday, with 21 deaths occurring since his last briefing just two days ago.

The total number of active COVID-19 cases in West Virginia has now reached 22,215; an increase of over 700 new cases in the past two days.

Meanwhile, the County Alert System map now shows that a whopping 44 of the states 55 counties are now in the highest-risk Red category. Another eight counties are one step below in the Orange category.

Weve given out 11,000 vaccine doses since last Friday, Gov. Justice said. It sounds good, but its not enough. Weve still got so many folks out there that we need to get across the finish line.

All West Virginians interested in being vaccinated are encouraged to visitVaccinate.wv.govor call theWest Virginia Vaccine Info Line: 1-833-734-0965. The info line is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To qualify, all vaccine-eligible members of the grandfamily including grandparents and grandchildren ages 12 and older must have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The family must also be enrolled in West Virginia State Universitys Healthy Grandfamilies program. Enroll at healthygrandfamilies.com.

Healthy Grandfamilies which provides information and resources to grandparents who are raising one or more grandchildren is assisting in the administration of the school voucher incentive. According to the organization, about 19,000 West Virginia children live in households with a grandparent or grandparents as their primary caregiver.

All West Virginians who have had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine can register atDoitforBabydog.wv.govfor an opportunity to join the list of winners.Over 188,000West Virginians have already registered for Round 2 of the sweepstakes.

*Those who previously registered for Round 1 of the vaccination sweepstakes are required to register again to be eligible for Round 2*

Additional weekly prizes for vaccinated West Virginians ages 18+ include:

While the registration deadline to be eligible for this week's giveaway has passed, vaccinated West Virginiansare still able to register for future drawings.

Prize drawings will be held weekly, with winners being announced each Thursday through Oct. 7.

Click here: COVID-19 Outbreaks in State Public Schools (WVDE)

Tenschools and one entire county school system Clay County are currently closed due to COVID-19.

As of this afternoon, a total of 29 county school systems have face covering requirements, 13 counties have criteria for requiring face coverings, and 13 counties do not haveface covering requirements.

Click here: District-by-district face covering guidance (as of Sept. 8)

Additionally, there are now 62 active outbreaks in long-term care facilities across the state.

Meanwhile, there are now 134active inmate cases and 58active staff cases across the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation system. To view the latest DCR case update, click here.

I congratulate them both in every way, Gov. Justice said. What incredible work both of you do. Youre both very deserving of this great honor.

Casto is an eighth grade West Virginia Studies teacher at Milton Middle School in Cabell County and a 13-year education veteran. In addition to his classroom duties, he serves his school as a member of Milton Middle Schools leadership team, a team leader and a West Virginia Quiz Bowl coach. Outside of school, Casto coaches tee-ball, works with teens in his churchs youth group, and enjoys exploring the state with his wife and three children.

Miller is a cafeteria manager at Wayne High School in Wayne County. A pillar of support for her students and community, she has been in her current role for 19 years. Millers consistent dedication is displayed by her involvement in the development and implementation of her schools meal pick-up program, school improvement days, and cooking pre-game meals for the football team. Additionally, she participates in fundraising dinners for Hospice of Huntington and is involved with the Wayne County Special Olympics.

I congratulate all of this years finalists, Gov. Justice said. Weve got a lot of great, great teachers and service personnel who do incredible work across the state with our kids.

Click here to read more

This annual observance held on the second Saturday of each September celebrates the bravery and sacrifice of first responders in West Virginia; including firefighters, law enforcement officers, emergency medical services workers, and 911 telecommunicators.

This years Heroes Day happens to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania.

Its an event that none of us will ever, ever forget, Gov. Justice said.

We salute all the heroes across our state and nation that always run to the fire, Gov. Justice continued. I say it over and over, but we love them and we thank them.

The Governor went on to add that a special Heroes Day celebration will be held this Saturday at the Ritchie County 4H Grounds just outside of Harrisville.

Read more from the original source:

COVID-19 UPDATE: Gov. Justice: Number of ICU patients reaches all-time high; West Virginia experiencing fastest acceleration of new cases in nation -...

by: Sydney Kalich, Nexstar Media Wire

(Getty Images)

(NewsNation Now) The U.S. economy has slowly continued to recover in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, with months of robust hiring and a widespread vaccination campaign. However, the recovery has not been equal across all states.

Currently, 62.5% have at least one dose and 53.2% of the U.S. population is fully inoculated, according todata complied by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. After a decline in recent months, vaccination rates have started to increase again with the delta variants rise. The country has also made strides in mending the economic damage from the pandemic recession with the unemployment rate falling from a staggering 14.8% in April 2020 to 5.2% in August 2021.

WalletHub compared all 50 states and the District of Columbiaacross 17 key metrics to determine what states were recovering the quickest. The data set included the amount of the states population that is fully vaccinated to the return of travel to the current real gross domestic product compared to pre-COVID levels.

The states recovering quickest from the pandemic:

South Dakota and Utah ranked in the top five states for the lowest unemployment rate compared to pre-pandemic levels. Maine, South Dakota and Utah all tied for the top spot with the lowest share of hospitals across the state with supply shortages. Maine also ranked in the top five for the lowest hospitalization rate.

The states with the slowest recovery from the pandemic (47 to 51):

Louisiana and South Carolina were tied for the highest death rate in the country. Oklahoma and Louisiana both had some of the countrys highest coronavirus hospitalization rates. Hawaii and Oklahoma also were ranked at the bottom with the lowest GDP rates compared to their pre-COVID-19 levels.

Joanne Song McLaughlin, associate professor of economics at the University of Buffalo, said while she believes the further vaccine rollout and implementation of booster shots will greatly help the economy, the future is still unknown.

It is hard to make the long-run prediction because there are many variables involved. For example, for workers who were laid off during the recession, how soon can they get back to the same level of jobs they had before? said Song. Or if they were unemployed for a very long time, how would their skill deteriorate? Or are they forced to settle into a job that is not as good as the one they had before to pay their bills? All these factors play an important role in the long run, but we do not really have convincing evidence on these questions, yet.

However, Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate, warns that the loss of unemployment benefits could be detrimental to states progress as demonstrated in the handful of states that chose to opt out of these programs early.

High-frequency economic data has suggested states which opted to exit these programs early did not see a hoped-for increase in employment amid a record number of reported job openings, Hamrick said. How this plays out from here remains to be seen.

To see where your state ranks, visit Wallethubs website.

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Here are the states recovering quickest from the COVID-19 pandemic - WANE

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) More than 1,200 new COVID-19 cases were reported in South Dakota on Wednesday.

There were 1,230 new total cases reported on Wednesday. The states total case count is now at 135,538, up from Tuesday (134,308).

A note on the Department of Healths COVID-19 dashboard says Wednesdays report will include data from after 1 p.m. Friday, September 3 through Tuesday, September 7 at 1 p.m.

Active cases are now at 6,507, up from Tuesday (6,182).

The death toll from COVID-19 is now at 2,077, up from Tuesday (2,074). The three new deaths include two men and one woman in the following age ranges: 1 in the 30-39 year old group; 1 in the 50-59 year old group; 1 in the 80+ year old group. New deaths were reported in Charles Mix, Lawrence and Minnehaha Counties.

Current hospitalizations are at 210, down from Tuesday (213). Total hospitalizations are now at 6,976, up from Tuesday (6,924).

Total recovered cases are now at 126,954, up from Tuesday (126,052). The latest seven-day PCR test positivity rate for the state is 14.7% for Aug. 31 through September 6.

The state health department has removed the total persons negative column from its COVID-19 Dashboard Tables tab. DOH spokesman Daniel Bucheli told KELOLAND News the department will providea Total Persons Tested and Total Tests Reported table each month.South Dakota Department of Health to report persons tested, total tests for COVID-19 in monthly report.

The DOH currently reports total tests each day. There have been 1,399,182 total tests reported as of Wednesday, up 11,299 from 1,387,883 total tests reported as of Tuesday.

55 of South Dakotas 66 counties are listed as having high community spread. High community spread is 100 cases or greater per 100,000 or a 10% or greater PCR test positivity rate.

CLICK HERE to view the latest COVID-19 case numbers for South Dakota and surrounding areas

The total number of cases of the Delta variant (B.1.617.2, AY.1-AY.3) detected in South Dakota is up seven to 147.

There have been 172 cases of the B.1.1.7 (Alpha variant), 16 cases of B.1.429 and B.1427 variants (Epsilon variant), 3 cases of P.1. (Gamma variant) and 2 cases of the B.1.351 (Beta variant).

As of Wednesday, 62.61% of the population 12-year-olds and above has received at least one dose while 56.92% have completed the vaccination series.

There have been 421,438 doses of the Pfizer vaccine administered, 312,096 of the Moderna vaccine and 26,971 doses of the Janssen vaccine.

There have been 150,295 persons who have completed two doses of Moderna and 200,201 who have received two doses of Pfizer.

The number of people who completed the Pfizer vaccine went up by 1,180 patients; 339 people completed the Moderna vaccine series.

Read more from the original source:

COVID-19 in South Dakota: 1,230 total new cases; Death toll rises to 2,077; Active cases at 6,507 - KELOLAND.com