An iHealth at-home coronavirus test, courtesy of the U.S. government
Good morning. This is Jonathan Spira reporting. Here now the news of the pandemic from across the globe on the 989th day of the pandemic.
When President Joseph Biden declared that “the coronavirus pandemic is over” in the United States this past September, he was, as I said, dead wrong. Experts continue to criticize the president’s comment as cases mount, something that, at least in small part, can be attributed to the comment.
The latest to voice this opinion is Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children’s hospital and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.
Hotez told the Guardian on Friday that the president’s statement was a poor message to send to the American public.
The statistics we publish in the Morning News Brief every day are clear indication that the pandemic is far from over and China’s recent abrupt move to end its draconian “zero-Covid” policies amidst public protest has only extended it.
The average daily death toll stubbornly remains above 400 and hospitalizations keep climbing, and are currently on average over 40,000.
What would be helpful is for Biden to walk back his comment but that appears unlikely.
In the meantime, please continue to be safe and, for the safety of others including the most vulnerable in our population, don a face mask during holiday gatherings and in crowded public venues.
In other news we cover today, China is grappling with millions of new Covid infections each day, Hong Kong may soon reopen its border with China,
UNITED STATES
The number of at-home coronavirus test kits ordered since the Biden administration began to once again offer them at no cost topped the ten million mark this week. Any household can request up to four free tests through the U.S. Postal Service as of a week ago.
GLOBAL
Leaked notes from health officials in China estimate that the country saw over 250 million new coronavirus infections in the first 20 days of December, according to reports by Bloomberg News and the Financial Times.
India is planning to require travelers form certain countries to present a negative coronavirus test result. The change will be in place for individuals from countries with a high number of cases, the country’s health minister, Mansukh Mandaviya, told broadcaster NewsX in an interview on Friday.
The list of countries includes China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand, the health minister said.
Finally, even though China is grappling with a massive wave of new infections, Hong Kong’s leader, John Lee, announced it would aim to reopen its borders with mainland China in mid-January of the coming year.
TRAVEL
In Germany, Abgeordneter Jürgen Hardt called for a temporary pause on international flights from China, after the Beijing government relaxed its so-called “zero-Covid” policies. The country is now reportedly seeing as many as one million new Covid infections per day.
AUTO INDUSTRY
Amidst a major surge in new Covid cases in China, Tesla officials suspended production at the automaker’s plant in Shanghai. The move effectively starts a planned break at year-end one week early.
TODAY’S STATISTICS
Now here are the daily statistics for Saturday, December 24.
As of Saturday morning, the world has recorded 661.3 million Covid-19 cases, an increase of 0.7 million cases, and 6.69 million deaths, according to Worldometer, a service that tracks such information. In addition, 633.9 million people worldwide have recovered from the virus, an increase of 0.5 million.
Worldwide, the number of active coronavirus cases as of Saturday at press time is 20,718,010 20,510,076, an increase of 208,000. Out of that figure, 99.8%, or 20,679,477, are considered mild, and 0.2%, or 38,533, are listed as critical. The percentage of cases considered critical has not changed over the past 24 hours.
The United States reported 31,370 new coronavirus infections on Saturday for the previous day, compared to 157,552 on Friday, 186,957 on Thursday, 47,846 on Wednesday, 57,625 on Tuesday, and 5,920 on Monday, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The 7-day incidence rate is now 70,287. Figures for the weekend (reported the following day) are typically 30% to 60% of those posted on weekdays due to a lower number of tests being conducted.
The average daily number of new coronavirus cases in the United States over the past 14 days is 70,509, an increase of 6% averaged over the past 14 days, based on data from the Department of Health and Human Services, among other sources. The average daily death toll over the same period is 428, a decrease of -8% over the same period, while the average number of hospitalizations for the period was 41,039, an increase of 8%. In addition, the number of patients in ICUs was 4,866, an increase of 13%.
In addition, since the start of the pandemic the United States has, as of Saturday, recorded over 102.2 million cases, a higher figure than any other country, and a death toll of just over 1.1 million. India has the world’s second highest number of officially recorded cases, just under 44.7 million, and a reported death toll of 530,691.
The newest data from Russia’s Rosstat state statistics service showed that, at the end of July, the number of Covid or Covid-related deaths since the start of the pandemic there in April 2020 is now 823,623, giving the country the world’s second highest pandemic-related death toll, behind the United States. Rosstat reported that 3,284 people died from the coronavirus or related causes in July, down from 5,023 in June, 7,008 in May and 11,583 in April.
Meanwhile, France is the country with the third highest number of cases, with 39.1 million, and Germany is in the number four slot, with over 37.2 million total cases.
Brazil, which has recorded the third highest number of deaths as a result of the virus, 692,865, has recorded over 36.1 million cases, placing it in the number five slot.
The other five countries with total case figures over the 20 million mark are South Korea, with 28.6 million cases, Japan, with 28.1 million, placing it in the number seven slot, and Italy, with 25 million, as number eight, as well as the United Kingdom, with 24.1 million, and Russia, with over 21.7 million.
VACCINATION SPOTLIGHT
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that, as of Thursday, 268.1 million people in the United States – or 80.8% – have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Of that population, 69%, or 228.9 million people, have received two doses of vaccine, and the total number of doses that have been dispensed in the United States is now 660.4 million. Breaking this down further, 91.7% of the population over the age of 18 – or 236.8 million people – has received at least a first inoculation and 78.7% of the same group – or 203.2 million people – is fully vaccinated. In addition, 16.8% of the same population, or over 43.4 million people, has already received an updated or bivalent booster dose of vaccine.
Starting on June 13, 2022, the CDC began to update vaccine data on a weekly basis and publish the updated information on Thursdays by 8 p.m. EDT, a statement on the agency’s website said.
Some 68.7% of the world population has received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine by Saturday, according to Our World in Data, an online scientific publication that tracks such information. So far, 13.09 billion doses of the vaccine have been administered on a global basis and 2.93 million doses are now administered each day.
Meanwhile, only 25.1% of people in low-income countries have received one dose, while in countries such as Canada, China, Denmark, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States, at least 75% of the population has received at least one dose of vaccine.
Only a handful of the world’s poorest countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia and Nepal – have reached the 70% mark in vaccinations. Many countries, however, are under 20% and, in countries such as Haiti, Senegal, and Tanzania, for example, vaccination rates remain at or below 10%.
In addition, with the start of vaccinations in North Korea in late September, Eritrea remains the only country in the world that has not administered vaccines.
Paul Riegler contributed reporting to this story.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
