This is our daily update of the news of COVID-19 for Sunday, January 31, 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 14 but it will return on Valentine’s Day with limited capacity. After he was 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:
16:41: A case of the COVID-19 variant from South Africa was found in the Baltimore area of Maryland – another sign that different strains of the virus are spreading throughout the USA while the country is trying to stop the pandemic with vaccinations.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Saturday that a Maryland resident has become ill with the new variant, presumably as a result of ‘community transfer’. The man did not travel outside the US
“State health officials are closely monitoring the B.1.351 variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the state,” Hogan said in a statement released Saturday. “We strongly encourage Marylanders to take extra care to limit the additional risk of transmission associated with this variant.”
The case in Maryland is the third in the country, with two others in South Carolina. Maryland also detected seven cases of the British variant known as B.1.1.7.
The state of New York became a hotspot for the British variant, with 44 cases of it in the state, but no variants from Brazil and South Africa were found. Genome sequencing to detect variants is far below the number of total COVID-19 cases confirmed each week in New York. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Pandemic Response Lab contracted in the city will begin sequencing 2,000 samples of coronavirus in mid-February.
The New York Health Commissioner, dr. Howard Zucker, said the state currently follows about 700 samples per week. About 3,000 samples have been tested since December 23rd.
“I do not want to be Governor Downer, but I do not want to be anything but outspoken and candid with the people of the state,” Cuomo said in a statement on Sunday. “Today’s news is very good, but keep an eye on the British variants and the other variants – and they all point to more accuracy.”
A vaccination in Brooklyn was almost abandoned on Saturday
09:53: According to a video shared by councilor Mark Treyger, a COVID-19 vaccine at a high school in Coney Island was severely underused.
The video shows Lincoln High School being staffed with workers who want to wait to check people in and administer the vaccine, with only one person receiving an injection.
“It’s crazy,” said the person filming the video.
Lincoln HS this morning in Coney Island. Mostly staff and almost no one is vaccinated. Irony is the city’s website and says that there are no appointments available to my voters today, but no one is there and they are sitting with vaccine. This is unacceptable @nycGesond ! pic.twitter.com/6jXOnyndSs
– Mark Treyger (@ MarkTreyger718) 30 January 2021
Treyger wrote: “This is unacceptable.”
“It’s clear we have local logistical issues that have not yet been resolved,” said East Village Councilor Carlina Rivera. added.
Patrick Gallahue, spokesman for the health department said in a tweet that the DOH hubs in the city were open to rescheduled appointments that had to be pushed back after thousands were canceled due to a lack of supplies.
“The supply remains limited and we will be using every last dose in Lincoln through the weekend,” Gallahue wrote. When asked for more information, he reiterated that ‘every last dose’ will be used this weekend.
According to NY Post, there were doses available outside of the scheduled appointments alone. After Treyger tweeted the video, older New Yorkers lined up Saturday afternoon to see if they could be vaccinated without an appointment and eventually vaccinated after a worker confirmed there were enough doses, the Post reported.
Gallahue said an assistance list is only used if there are doses or appointments available. Staff could quickly reach out to eligible New Yorkers to use the doses, he said.
The site, which was almost empty, was a visual reminder of the mixed distribution of vaccines so far, about seven weeks after the rollout. Vaccine seekers are faced with a patchwork of online systems to get an appointment, and sometimes they have to go through the process a second time to secure their second admission. Various ad-hoc efforts turned up to be eligible for New Yorkers to find vaccinations when the official systems are not working.
Inconsistent inventory from week to week made planning difficult. In a particularly chaotic night, a swarm of people arrived at the Brooklyn Army Terminal earlier this month after news of remaining doses quickly spread on social media. The site had to close later because it did not have any more doses.
About 53,000 first-shot doses remain available in NYC, with another 313,000 for people’s second doses, as of Sunday morning, according to the city’s vaccine detection. NYC has administered a total of 800,508 doses since Dec. 14, about 200,000 less than Mayor Bill de Blasio’s goal of 1 million doses.