Monday, March 29, 2021

Wake-Up Call: Many States See Increase In COVID Cases


After their steep post-holiday plunge that began in January and then a leveling off, new coronavirus cases have begun to rise again, with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky saying Friday that the average number of U.S. cases was up seven percent from the week before, and hospitalizations slightly up.
  
Johns Hopkins University data shows that more than two dozen states are reporting at least a 10 percent increase of new cases compared to the previous week, with many of those in younger people. Michigan and some northeastern states, including New York and New Jersey, are particularly seeing concerning increases. Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, told CNN Sunday, "People over 65, a large proportion of them, have been vaccinated, are protected. That's one of the reasons we have not seen a huge spike in hospitalizations. A lot of the spread is happening among younger people . . . that's the group that is moving around, kind of relaxing, getting infected." 

The two factors experts believe to be driving the rise in cases are the spread of coronavirus variants, particularly the U.K. variant, and the easing of restrictions by states and local jurisdictions. Health officials have been urging that restrictions be left in place a little longer while more people get vaccinated. Jha said, "We're weeks away from a point where we can begin to do these things a bit more safely, but I think states have just moved too fast." CDC data shows that 15.5 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated, and about 28.2 percent has gotten at least one dose.

➤SHIP BLOCKING SUEZ CANAL REPORTEDLY REFLOATED: The massive container ship that has been stuck sideways and blocking the Suez Canal since last Tuesday has reportedly been refloated. Osama Rabie, the head of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), said in a state TV interview, "The container ship began to float successfully after responding to the pulling maneuvers." The SCA confirmed that the Japanese-owned, Panamian-flagged ship, called the Ever Given, had been mostly dislodged and crews plan to fully refloat it later Monday. 


According to CNN, video shows the stern, which is the back of the ship, out of the bank and facing the canal, and the refloating effort will keep the stern away from the bank as they work on pulling the front of the ship out. Mohab Mamish, the former head of the Suez Canal and Egyptian Presidential seaport adviser, told CNN Arabic the canal is expected to be ready for passage by today. Some 350 ships are now waiting to get through the Suez Canal.
 

➤FOUR KILLED IN TENNESSEE FROM TORRENTIAL RAINS: Four people were killed in Tennessee as torrential rains fell across the state beginning late Saturday and on Sunday, flooding homes and leaving roads impassable. 


Nashville received more than seven inches of rain, which Mayor John Cooper said was its second-highest two-day rainfall total ever recorded, and at least 130 people had to be rescued in the Nashville area from their cars or homes. Many rivers and creeks were at or near their highest level since 2010, according to the National Weather Service, and the flooding threat will remain from some rivers for a couple of days.

➤FLOYD FAMILY, CIVIL RIGHTS LEADERS HOLD PRAYER SERVICE AHEAD OF TODAY'S TRIAL START: Several members of George Floyd's family were joined by national civil rights leaders at a prayer service last night in Minneapolis, ahead of today's start of the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former city police officer charged with murder and manslaughter in Floyd's death last May. Several dozen people were at the service held in Greater Friendship Missionary Church, with speakers calling for justice. Floyd's brother, Philonise Floyd, said during the service, "I have faith that he will get convicted," saying of the video in which Chauvin kneeled on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes, "the video is the proof."

➤MYANMAR SECURITY FORCES OPEN FIRE ON FUNERAL: Myanmar security forces opened fire yesterday on people attending the funeral of a student who was killed a day earlier in the ongoing crackdown on protests against the February 1st military coup, according to local media. At least 114 people, including several children, were killed on Saturday, the deadliest day yet of the crackdown. Tom Andrews, the U.N.’s independent expert on human rights for Myanmar, accused the military junta of committing "mass murder," and called for more international action, saying, :It is past time for robust, coordinated action." President Biden told reporters of the situation, "It’s terrible. It’s absolutely outrageous," and said his administration is working on a response.

CDC: DEPRESSION, ANXIETY CONTINUES TO RISE IN U.S. DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC:  The pandemic has been tough on many Americans. On Friday, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that between August 2020 and the end of January, more than 40 percent of U.S. adults experienced symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorders at some point. 

Over this period of time, the percentage of adults reporting symptoms of these disorders nationally increased to 42 percent (from 36%), and the percentage of adults who took a prescription for one of these disorders rose to 25 percent (from 22%). As of the end of January, 12 percent of adults nationally indicated that they needed mental health treatment, but did not receive it (this was up from 9% who said the same in early August). 

Researchers write, “The spread of disease and increase in deaths during large outbreaks of transmissible diseases is often associated with fear and grief. Social restrictions, limits on operating nonessential businesses and other measures can lead to isolation and unemployment or underemployment, further increasing the risk for mental health problems.”

➤EXPERTS..MASKS, SOCIAL DISTANCING MAY BE PART OF ‘NEW NORMAL’ FOR A WHILE: We’re all very familiar with wearing masks and social distancing, but experts are saying both of those precautions might be the “new normal” for a while. Johns Hopkins University researchers say that although people are getting vaccinated, and daily new case totals across the U.S. have “plateaued” at about 50,000, the country will need to see a “continued decline in the number of [infections], hospitalizations and deaths” before restrictions can be relaxed. Keri Althoff, professor of epidemiology adds that more of the country will need to be vaccinated against the virus as well. 

Also, since it remains unclear whether the vaccines help reduce the spread of COVID-19, those vaccinated should continue to wear masks to protect the people around them. In addition, even those who are vaccinated will need to hold off on international travel to avoid bringing new variants of the virus elsewhere, or home with them. Althoff adds, “This is a process, not a light switch, where we can turn off COVID-19 and turn on what our life used to be like.”

➤SURVEY...3 IN 10 ADULTS SAYS THEY'RE ALMOST CONSTANTLY ONLINE: A new Pew Research Center survey found that 31 percent of U.S. adults say they're almost constantly online, an increase of 10 percent since 2015, when they first began tracking the information. Another 48 percent said they log in several times a day, while six percent limit their time online to only about once a day. About eight said they use the internet weekly less than once a day and seven percent don't use the internet at all. 
Among those who say they're constantly online, most of the them are under age 50, with 54 percent of 18 to 49-year-olds online all the time, twice as many as those ages 50 to 64. While there wasn't really a difference between genders, with 32 percent of men and 30 percent of women saying they're online constantly, there were race, education, income and location difference. Black people, at 37 percent, and Hispanic people, at 36 percent, were more likely to say they used the internet constantly, followed by white people at 28 percent. Forty-two percent of college graduates are online all the time, compared to 29 percent of those with some college and 23 percent of high school graduates. 

People who make more than $75,000 a year were most likely to be constantly online, at 40 percent, and 37 percent of those online all the time live in urban areas.


➤PIERS MORGAN PENS OP-ED ON MEGHAN MARKLE: In a 7,000 word op-ed for the U.K.’s Mail on Sunday, Piers Morgan said that Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah Winfrey "sent racially charged America into a tailspin of outrage." He opined that she is "disingenuous" and a "social-climbing" actress, and also dismissed what he called the "sensational implication" that her son Archie was barred from being a Prince due to his skin color. He continued: "Their shocking claims of racism at the Palace concerning their son Archie, and an alleged refusal by Royal staff to let Meghan receive treatment for suicidal thoughts in case it hurt the Royal brand, are so incendiary that they could inflict irreparable damage on the Monarchy.”

➤WOODY ALLEN SPEAKS ON DYLAN FARROW: Woody Allen addressed the allegations of sexual assault made against him by Dylan Farrow in an interview recorded in 2020 and just recently released. "I never was accused of anything in my life, I'm suddenly going to drive up in the middle of a contentious custody fight at Mia's country home (with) a 7-year-old girl. It just – on the surface, I didn't think it required any investigation, even," Allen, 85, told CBS' Lee Cowan in the interview. "It's so preposterous, and yet the smear has remained. And they still prefer to cling to if not the notion that I molested Dylan, the possibility that I molested her. Nothing that I ever did with Dylan in my life could be misconstrued as that," Allen added.

➤PARENTS ARE NAMING THEIR KIDS AFTER HERBS AND SPICES:  American parents are fairly creative when it comes to naming their children. They draw inspiration from all sorts of places, from TV shows to herbs and spices. The Huffington Post looked at the most recent year of name data from the Social Security Administration (from 2019), and found herbs and spices-inspired names were fairly popular: 1) Basil (71 boys, 28 girls), Saffron (26 girls), Sage (666 boys, 1,164 girls), Ginger (57 Girls), Pepper (144 girls), Rosemary (760 girls), Cayenne (10 girls), Mace (60 boys), Juniper (22 boys, 1,526 girls), Poppy (628 girls), Lavender (114 girls), Jasmine (2,092 girls), and Angelica (508 girls).

🏀UCLA SCORES SWEET 16 OT UPSET OF ALABAMA IN MEN'S NCAA TOURNAMENT, GONZAGA ON TO ELITE 8: UCLA scored a Sweet 16 upset of Alabama in the men's basketball NCAA Tournament on Sunday, the 11th-seeded Bruins getting a 88-78 overtime win against Number 2 Alabama. Undefeated overall tournament top seed Gonzaga won 83-65 over Number 5 Creighton, to move on to the Elite 8. In the day's two other Sweet 16 games, Number 1 Michigan beat fourth-seeded Florida State 76-58, and Number 6 USC defeated Number 7 Oregon 82-68.


🏀TEXAS UPSETS MARYLAND IN WOMEN'S NCAA TOURNAMENT 'S SWEET 16, STANFORD ADVANCES: Sixth-seeded Texas upset Number 2 Maryland 64-61 in their Sweet 16 game in the women's basketball NCAA Tournament on Sunday. Overall top seed Stanford advanced to the Elite 8 with its 89-62 win over Number 5 Missouri State. In the day's two other Sweet 16 games, Number 1 South Carolina beat fifth-seeded Georgia Tech 76-65, and Number 2 Louisville downed Number 6 Oregon 60-42.

🏀MEMPHIS WINS NIT CHAMPIONSHIP 77-64 OVER MISSISSIPPI STATE: Memphis defeated Mississippi State 77-64 in the NIT championship game yesterday (March 28th). Boogie Ellis scored 23 points for Memphis, which won the title in former NBA All-Star Penny Hardaway's third season coaching his alma mater. Because of coronavirus restrictions, the tournament featured only 16 teams instead of 32, and was played entirely in North Texas, instead of its usual location in New York City.

⚽U.S. MEN'S SOCCER TEAM TO MISS THIRD STRAIGHT OLYMPICS: The U.S. men's soccer team will miss a third straight Olympics this summer after losing to Honduras 2-1 yesterday in Mexico in the semifinal of the CONCACAF qualifying round for the delayed 2020 Tokyo Games. The U.S. men haven't qualified for the Olympics since 2008, after reaching them every time before that starting in 1992.

🏀INDIANA HIRES WOODSON AS NEW HEAD COACH: Indiana announced Sunday (March 28th) that it's hired longtime NBA coach and former Indiana star Mike Woodson as its new men's basketball head coach. Woodson, who's currently a New York Kicks assistant coach, was a head coach with the Knicks and Atlanta Hawks over nine years. He played for Indiana from 1976 to 1980, scoring over 2,000 points for them. Former Indiana head coach Archie Miller departed earlier this month after four seasons, during which the Hoosiers failed to reach the NCAA Tournament.

➤NASCAR'S RETURN TO DIRT POSTPONED DUE TO RAIN AT BRISTOL: NASCAR's much-hyped return to racing on dirt that was supposed to take place this weekend was postponed to at least today (March 29th) due to torrential rains at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee on Sunday. The first Cup Series race on dirt since 1970, to be held on Bristol's converted track, was rescheduled for 4 p.m. today.
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