This is our daily update of COVID-19 news for Wednesday, January 6, 2021. Previous daily updates can be found here, en up-to-date statistics are here.
New York City is in Phase 4 of reopening now, which includes zoos, botanical gardens, museums, en gymnasiums. Governor Andrew Cuomo cites rising hospitalization figures suspended indoor dining room in NYC from December 14th. After he closed for a few weeks, NYC public schools partially reopened on December 7 for students of 3K-5, with students with special needs returning on December 10th. Certain parts of Staten Island remain under a zoned closure.
Get answers to your questions can have with our series “Ask An Epidemiologist”, or learn more about NYC COVID-19 Test Options with Our Explainer. Here are some local hotlines for more information: NYC: 311; NY State Line: 888-364-3065; NJ State Hotline: 800-222-1222.
Here is the latest:
12:15 pm The mayor of New York is going to start vaccinating members of his police force as well as their home care workers, increasing the pool of those eligible for coronavirus vaccinations, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
During his morning press conference, de Blasio also announced that the city will open mass vaccination centers in the Brooklyn Army Terminal and Bathgate Industrial Park in the Bronx on Sunday. These are the first two of five large-scale vaccination centers the city plans to start and operate 24 hours a day.
De Blasio cited the latest increase in vaccinations to expand the state’s authorization Tuesday in the number of eligible front-line and health workers. Another 12 vaccines located at various public high schools in all five districts will be opened by next Friday. However, the working hours on the premises will be limited.
New York City has already designated more than a dozen public hospital sites, as well as federally qualified health centers and urgent care clinics to deliver vaccinations.
Vaccinations on all sites are by appointment only.
A total of 25,000 members of the NYPD can choose to take the vaccine; the city hopes to immunize 10,000 by this week.
The mayor is criticized for a slow pace of action and has again begged Governor Andrew Cuomo to allow the city to vaccinate those over 75.
“This city needs the freedom to vaccinate most people,” de Blasio said.
Cuomo said another dispute between the two leaders said the vaccine supply was still inadequate and that many hospitals had not yet used all of their doses. In the 11 public hospitals in New York, about 30% of health care workers initially refused to be vaccinated.
The mayor nonetheless sounded the euphoria of a potential Democratic victory in two major Senate games in Georgia, and it sounded particularly energetic.
“I feel bubbling today,” he said, referring to the prospect of a Democratic Senate.
But the latest virus data suggests the city is still facing a tough second-wave moment. The New York City’s positive rate of seven days is now at 9.25%. The mayor on Wednesday reported 279 new hospitalizations for confirmed or suspected cases of coronavirus, up from 211 the previous day.
LA hospitals ration oxygen, Arizona, has the highest COVID rate in the world
A fire truck medical truck has access to the emergency parking lot of LAC USC Hospital amid the coronavirus pandemic in Los Angeles.
ETIENNE LAURENT / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
The hospitals in Los Angeles have faced a record number of new patients with the coronavirus, instructing emergency teams to ration oxygen and not transport those with a low chance of survival.
“It is becoming increasingly difficult for health professionals to look at the hospital with gunshot wounds, heart attacks, strokes and injuries due to car accidents,” said Hilda Solis, supervisor in Los Angeles. “Hospitals declare internal disasters and must open church gyms to serve as hospital units.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, LA County averages 183 virus deaths per day. More than 75% of all patients in the ICUs in the country have coronavirus.
The crisis in the country with the most populous country reflects the toll of the second wave, a boom that many health experts predicted after many states weakened restrictions in the summer. On Tuesday, hospitals nationwide recorded more than 130,000 coronavirus patients, which was another all-time high. This time, parts of the south and west were hit hardest by outbreaks.
Hospitalizations in the South and West are now worse than the Midwest. And the East is near and rising too. pic.twitter.com/t7GQvCJL2n
– The COVID shell project (@ COVID19Tracking) 6 January 2021
According to a data tracking website, Arizona recently earned the distinction with the highest percentage of coronavirus infections in the world. The state has an average of more than 8,000 cases per day, which is double for the first time this summer.
“Most Americans do not want to know it, do not want to acknowledge it, do not really want to recognize it, and it does not seem like they, even if it comes down to us, understand the dire circumstances we face. Do not come, “said dr. Marjorie Bessel, the clinical head of Banner Health, Arizona’s largest hospital network, told the New York Times.
Hospitalizations are also increasing in New York. On Tuesday, the total number of residents admitted to the hospital due to the virus grew to more than 8,500, a jump of more than 300 from the previous day. During the summer, the level of hospitalizations dropped to as low as 400.
The seven-day average COVID testing positivity rate for the state is now close to 8%.
Cuomo said he would order a closure again if hospitals reached 90% of the region’s capacity. According to New York health data, 70% of his hospital beds are currently occupied.