Covid And The Rest of Us

[elphaba91]

Our vaccine rollout here

After a robust two weeks of administering vaccines, Alberta is out of supply again. When the AstraZeneca got approved we received a large shipment, with the proviso that it was NOT to be administered to anyone over the age of 64 due to efficacy concerns. Eligibility was opened up on a year-of-birth basis and within 3 days all the available doses were spoken for, with nothing in reserve for second doses. We've been out of Pfizer and Moderna for a while, which was briefly available to anyone 75 or older, in late February. Very few people have had second doses of any of the vaccines.

So we continue to wait, hoping and praying that the contracts we signed with the manufacturers will be honored sooner rather than later. We are owed literally millions of doses. In the meantime, there has been no talk of vaccinated individuals being exempted from our border controls so at this time, it's not a huge ray of hope for future travel. As has been mentioned, our problem isn't getting out, it's the ridiculous requirements upon re-entry that are our biggest problem.

Do you know what is causing the hold up? Is it a manufacturing issue or is someone withholding supply? In Australia some of our doses of Astra Zeneca have not arrived because Italy has refused to send it (which I think is fair enough!). We will have local supply of the Astra Zeneca from next week, so it really isn’t an issue.

Our vaccine rollout is proving very slow, although some people (including the Prime Minister) have received their second doses. They opened up bookings for stage 1b yesterday, which I gather was a bit of a shambles with a lot of the GP clinics on the list being unaware of if, when and how much they will be receiving supplies. I actually just discovered today that I might actually be in 1b (I thought I was 2b so it's quite the upgrade!), so I will need to confirm with one of my doctors and then try get a spot! It will mean that my entire family in Australia is actually 1b, either through age, working in health care or having another medical condition. With most of the UK branch of the family vaccinated, now we just need the Ugandan family to get theirs, which I imagine will be a bit of a struggle.

Of concern to Australia right now is the worsening situation in Papua New Guinea. It is our closest neighbour (only about 200km from Australian land) and there are many fly-in fly-out workers between Queensland and PNG. They currently have a 40% positive rate, but a very low testing rate, so there are fears the situation could be much, much worse. Today there were 6 returned travellers from PNG who tested positive in Queensland. The government has now shut the border into or out from PNG except for essential workers. We are also sending aid including 8,000 Astra Zeneca vaccine doses with an order placed for a further million, tents for treating patients, a million surgical masks as well as N95s, gowns, gloves, goggles, ventilators and, of course, people to help.

 

[ronandannette]

Our vaccine rollout here


Do you know what is causing the hold up? Is it a manufacturing issue or is someone withholding supply? In Australia some of our doses of Astra Zeneca have not arrived because Italy has refused to send it (which I think is fair enough!). We will have local supply of the Astra Zeneca from next week, so it really isn’t an issue.

Our vaccine rollout is proving very slow, although some people (including the Prime Minister) have received their second doses. They opened up bookings for stage 1b yesterday, which I gather was a bit of a shambles with a lot of the GP clinics on the list being unaware of if, when and how much they will be receiving supplies. I actually just discovered today that I might actually be in 1b (I thought I was 2b so it's quite the upgrade!), so I will need to confirm with one of my doctors and then try get a spot! It will mean that my entire family in Australia is actually 1b, either through age, working in health care or having another medical condition. With most of the UK branch of the family vaccinated, now we just need the Ugandan family to get theirs, which I imagine will be a bit of a struggle.

Of concern to Australia right now is the worsening situation in Papua New Guinea. It is our closest neighbour (only about 200km from Australian land) and there are many fly-in fly-out workers between Queensland and PNG. They currently have a 40% positive rate, but a very low testing rate, so there are fears the situation could be much, much worse. Today there were 6 returned travellers from PNG who tested positive in Queensland. The government has now shut the border into or out from PNG except for essential workers. We are also sending aid including 8,000 Astra Zeneca vaccine doses with an order placed for a further million, tents for treating patients, a million surgical masks as well as N95s, gowns, gloves, goggles, ventilators and, of course, people to help.

Yes, we do know, unfortunately. It’s kind of complex because it begins with a very ill-conceived plan early on for Canada to enter into a partnership with a Chinese-government controlled pharmaceutical company (SinoVac) to develop and produce vaccine. After taking our money and our genome sequencing research, they went ahead and developed but refused to release any of the product to Canada during the test-phases last winter.

Once we’d been double-crossed, our government was left to scramble contracts into place with Pfizer and Moderna for supply from their facilities in Europe (neither company has production plants in Canada). The contracts were written so as to guarantee delivery by certain dates - the end of the first quarter. The Canadian public was not made aware of this so while we did receive a modest amount of doses early in the year, the tap was turned down to a trickle when both companies re-prioritized their supply. We are still set to receive a crap-load of it by the end of this month to fulfill the contracts but I guess we’ll see.

In the meantime, AstraZeneca received approval here about a month ago and we did receive a decent supply of that, which has helped. Here in Alberta though, our Chief Officer of Health has prohibited it from being given to anyone over the age of 65 due to efficacy concerns so that does leave a good chunk of more vulnerable populations in limbo. There’s also the issue of very few people having received their second doses of Pfizer and Moderna - our original supplies were all used for first doses; nothing reserved for the second. Both companies have “revised” their recommendations to allow for a lengthening of the interval between doses. That feels precarious but yet again, we wait.

Nationwide, only about 1.5% of Canadians are fully vaccinated.

 

[mrs. magoo]

Yes, we do know, unfortunately. It’s kind of complex because it begins with a very ill-conceived plan early on for Canada to enter into a partnership with a Chinese-government controlled pharmaceutical company (SinoVac) to develop and produce vaccine. After taking our money and our genome sequencing research, they went ahead and developed but refused to release any of the product to Canada during the test-phases last winter.

Once we’d been double-crossed, our government was left to scramble contracts into place with Pfizer and Moderna for supply from their facilities in Europe (neither company has production plants in Canada). The contracts were written so as to guarantee delivery by certain dates - the end of the first quarter. The Canadian public was not made aware of this so while we did receive a modest amount of doses early in the year, the tap was turned down to a trickle when both companies re-prioritized their supply. We are still set to receive a crap-load of it by the end of this month to fulfill the contracts but I guess we’ll see.

In the meantime, AstraZeneca received approval here about a month ago and we did receive a decent supply of that, which has helped. Here in Alberta though, our Chief Officer of Health has prohibited it from being given to anyone over the age of 65 due to efficacy concerns so that does leave a good chunk of more vulnerable populations in limbo. There’s also the issue of very few people having received their second doses of Pfizer and Moderna - our original supplies were all used for first doses; nothing reserved for the second. Both companies have “revised” their recommendations to allow for a lengthening of the interval between doses. That feels precarious but yet again, we wait.

Nationwide, only about 1.5% of Canadians are fully vaccinated.

I just read a story on CNN that the US is in talks with both Canada and Mexico to give Astra Zeneca vaccine that is stockpiled while waiting for approval. Since both of your countries have approved the use already.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/17/politics/us-astrazeneca-mexico-canada/index.html
Hopefully it will happen and help with some distribution.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I just read a story on CNN that the US is in talks with both Canada and Mexico to give Astra Zeneca vaccine that is stockpiled while waiting for approval. Since both of your countries have approved the use already.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/17/politics/us-astrazeneca-mexico-canada/index.html
Hopefully it will happen and help with some distribution.

My husband was talking about that last week and had told me at that time that Biden had declined to send the doses. I said that's the wrong move. Other countries need help, according to our present administration we're doing quite well and is giving us all this good news and directives about the states opening up eligibility by May 1st to everyone and by July he hopes we have peeps vaccinated. We're in a position that we can extend that help there shouldn't be much of a hesitation IMO. I know he's saying now in that article that he won't share without enough doses for the U.S. (but that's been harped about since last month that we would have the supply......).

Part of the U.S. being the U.S. is that we are usually in a position to offer aid to other countries and other countries are able to offer aid to us. Especially with Canada and Mexico...we're all mutually beneficial to each other given we share borders and most especially for Mexico tourism.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I'm just joining back into this thread it's been a while so this will be a long update; apologies on that!

I'm so sorry to hear about Canada's issues because it looks like it's only gotten worse since I last checked in It's good to hear about AZ being approved there but yeah...And reading these updates from y'all it's just such a different experience y'all have had; my heart goes out to y'all.

Good to hear about AU's vaccination efforts getting going even if slowly.

J&J being approved for EUA in the U.S. is really starting to help out but the production and delivering of the vaccine has been a bit wonky. With a 1 dose regiment presently (though they are doing testing 2 doses) it does goes further. Supposedly my state is getting up to 100K doses of J&J within the next few weeks. Our first and only shipment came early March at just 23,400 doses. There were production delays that made it so there are several weeks in between the first and anticipated second shipments. Someone on a different thread just said FL isn't expected to get anymore J&J for a while though..so dunno there.

As far as restrictions my metro (both sides of the state line) has largely dropped restrictions that were put back into place in the Fall. These restrictions are like gathering size, restaurant capacity and closing time, etc. The cases just dropped so heavily though I believe there is a slight uptick occurring very recently which isn't being advised as alarming especially with vaccinations (however uneven they have been) occurring. The one thing that has not been talked about removing is the mask mandate which is still in place in places in the metro that have had one.

Back to my state the state of emergency is set to expire March 31st. Without an extension the mask mandate would be dropped and counties would have to pick up that if they wanted to. However my governor has advised she plans to extend it but with a few provisions that limit her powers (as has been a battle within the state)--"The measure would preserve the control that legislators gave county officials last year over mandating masks and restricting businesses and public gatherings, and it would allow legislative leaders to block the governor’s executive orders starting in April. It also would strip appointed local health officers of their power to impose restrictions, leaving decisions to elected county commissions." It's seen as a partial victory for both sides.

So supply of all 3 currently available vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, J&J) is set to increase in the next few weeks and that along with increased pressure by the administration (due to the announcement that states need to have all residents that can receive a vaccine due to age be eligible for one by May 1st) pushed my governor to open up the next phases even though supply isn't quite here. She's combined Phase 3 and 4 which were major and minor medical conditions respectively along with other essential workers not included in Phase 1 or 2. My husband just got word yesterday that his work is considered critical infrastructure and now will be included in this new combined phase! He can work from home (even though he's back at the office) so we knew he wouldn't have high priority but we also kept it in the back of our minds that he may become eligible earlier than gen pop (for him) via his work.

Controversy in my state has occurred as the governor 'paused' counties from moving onto a phase before she announced the next phase could begin. There was a lot of wiggle room within a phase as far as the order but she didn't just want counties to move onto the next phase while other places were struggling and they weren't struggling because they didn't do things efficiently they were struggling because of lack of supply. In recent weeks counties that have completed Phase 2 had their excess doses sent to counties (including mine) to assist in Phase 2. That was really critical IMO. The most populated areas have received the least on average for their population size. In "pausing" they were trying to just help out the whole state rather than just parts of the state but I know how frustrated the rural parts feel without being able to be moved on because it's how we felt not being able to get our vaccination efforts really going without much supply. This new combined Phase 3/4 is set to open Monday (22nd) but I don't anticipate my area to be ready for that. I believe they said it will still be a few weeks. Meanwhile the rural counties should be able to start immediately on this combined phase. This combined phase is said to be approximately 600,000 people. Phase 2 was about 1 million people. According to yesterday 20.5% of my state's population have had 1 dose. I don't quite know how J&J is being accounted for but expect the state's vaccine dashboard to be updated with that eventually.

To give updates, my mom was able to get her first dose last week largely due to being in retail (she just started that job a few weeks ago and is also just under 65 in age). My family who were 65+ were able to get both of their doses. My father-in-law got both of his doses earlier on (he was the first in our family and works for one of the main hospital systems in the metro so that's why he got it early). My mother-in-law and step-father-in-law who said they would get the vaccine but it wasn't "pressing" for them to get it finally opted to get their first doses and my husband and I were very excited for that.

A slight update for me my husband and I just got back from Vegas (I saw it being discussed in a comment from a week or so ago). This was the first time we have travelled in a year outside of the lake trip a few hours from home. My husband did go on a quick ski trip the weekend before we left but it was with 1 other person and their younger son and majority of their activities bvj were outdoors and masks are required for skiing. We isolated once my husband got back from his trip, got a covid test (our 1st we've had to do) and it was negative, continued to isolate and went on our trip. We came back, isolated, and got tested when we came back and it was also negative. I was super impressed with Vegas's mask compliance. The casinos did a very very good job of enforcing masks and the restaurants as well. When we went restaurants were capped at 35% and no more than 6 people at one table. Capacity is now up to 50% there. My husband and I remarked the other night how smoking seemed way way down. Normally being in the casinos are rough for me because cigarette smoke irritates my allergies but with the masks that really cut down on that. Used to be you could sit for hours smoking and drinking and gambling but with masks it seemed to reduce the lure of that. In terms of gambling plexiglass was put in place between patrons on table games and for slot machines there were machines turned off or chairs removed to give social distancing. Markers were all over the place for distancing even while watching Bellagio fountains they had markers where they wanted you to stand. NOW Vegas was starting to get busy the last day we were there (which was Friday the 12th and we had arrived Monday the 8th) so I am glad we left. Vegas had just been starting to get tourists. We really needed this trip which was rescheduled from last April. It was a use it or lose it trip because it couldn't be rescheduled again and travel had to be completed by March 31st. We def. took a lot of precautions while there and I was thankful for the mask mandate. I'm not sure I would have gone had there not been one.

Interesting to hear about the variances in countries with respects to length between doses. Also the different strategies being used. I think this makes sense. You gotta look at what works best for your country so reading about how vaccination efforts are being targeted at borders makes sense. It's why in the U.S. different states have different people included in different phases. Def. some overlap though.

Hope y'all are doing well!

 

[ronandannette]

My husband was talking about that last week and had told me at that time that Biden had declined to send the doses. I said that's the wrong move. Other countries need help, according to our present administration we're doing quite well and is giving us all this good news and directives about the states opening up eligibility by May 1st to everyone and by July he hopes we have peeps vaccinated. We're in a position that we can extend that help there shouldn't be much of a hesitation IMO. I know he's saying now in that article that he won't share without enough doses for the U.S. (but that's been harped about since last month that we would have the supply......).

Part of the U.S. being the U.S. is that we are usually in a position to offer aid to other countries and other countries are able to offer aid to us. Especially with Canada and Mexico...we're all mutually beneficial to each other given we share borders and most especially for Mexico tourism.

Could you keep the vaccine and get Biden to approve the Keystone XL pipeline instead? JK (kind of).

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Could you keep the vaccine and get Biden to approve the Keystone XL pipeline instead? JK (kind of).

Well if it helps (which I know it doesn't from your end but I understand where you're coming from) 21 states (including mine) have just sued him for that decision citing he lacked the authority to do so as the power to do that only resides with Congress. Soo..guess we'll see where that goes.

 

[ronandannette]

Well if it helps (which I know it doesn't from your end but I understand where you're coming from) 21 states (including mine) have just sued him for that decision citing he lacked the authority to do so as the power to do that only resides with Congress. Soo..guess we'll see where that goes.

Godspeed.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Overview of Covid Restrictions and Infection Rates In Europe March 22

What are Covid-19 restrictions and infection rates like in other European countries?
As Europe struggles with vaccine supply issues, several countries around Europe look set to tighten their Covid-19 lockdowns amid a surge in infection rates

MON, 22 MAR, 2021 - 12:33
STEVEN HEANEY

Summer holidays and international travel may be well and truly off the cards this year.

As Europe struggles with vaccine supply issues, several countries around Europe look set to tighten their Covid-19 lockdowns amid a surge in infection rates.

Here's where some other EU countries stand as regards restrictions and infection rates:

France
A four-week partial lockdown was reintroduced in Paris and 15 other regions of France this past Saturday.
More than 35,000 new cases were reported in France on Sunday and the numbers of people in intensive care reached its highest level this year.
The latest restrictions will see inter-regional travel effectively banned, and a nighttime curfew put in place from 7pm to 6am.
Failure to adhere to restrictions will also see people hit with a €135 fine.
Primary schools and colleges (attended by students aged 11 to 15) will remain open during the latest lockdown, however.
High schools (attended by students aged 16-18) will revert to a half in-school, half at home schedule. Non-essential French businesses will also be shut for the next four weeks.
More than 4.2m cases of Covid-19 have been reported in France since the pandemic began, and 92,000 people have died.

Germany
Germany too looks set to extend a national lockdown.
With case numbers on the rise countrywide, several German states are reported to have called for restrictions to be extended.
On Saturday, vice-president of Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases Lars Schaade warned of the possibility of "many severe cases and deaths, and hospitals that are overwhelmed".
The RKI said cases in the country were rising at a "very clearly exponential rate".
Germany’s Covid incidence rate once again surpassed 100 cases per 100,000 population over the weekend.
German chancellor Angela Merkel had previously said the country would need to apply "an emergency brake" if this infection rate was reached.
Germany had eased some lockdown measures in recent weeks, with some non-essential stores reopening and students returning to classrooms.
Germany has recorded more than 2.7m cases of Covid-19 to date, with nearly 75,000 deaths recorded.

Italy
Last week, prime minister Mario Draghi placed two-thirds of Italy back under lockdown – including the major cities of Rome, Milan and Naples.
Daily case numbers in Italy have been regularly above 20,000 over the last week, and pressure on hospitals has increased significantly.
Italy's professor of public health Nino Cartabelotta said last week that the national trend of the contagion curve was pointing toward “a third wave”.
A countrywide 10pm to 5am curfew remains in effect in Italy, and all non-essential travel between regions is prohibited.
Several areas, including Rome, have been classified as ‘red zones’.
People living in these areas are not permitted to leave their locality, unless for essential reasons.
Current restrictions will remain in place until Easter, at which point, the entire country will become a 'red zone' – a move the government hopes will prevent movement around the country and infection over the holiday weekend.
After the Easter weekend, the government has hinted restrictions may be relaxed once more, though it has not specified to what level.
Italy was the first European country to be hit hard by the virus.
Nearly 3.4m cases have been recorded there, and more than 140,000 people have died.

Spain
Spain, like Italy, remains under countrywide curfew, though some restrictions differ slightly from region to region.
The country’s infection rate had been declining steadily since the new year, but new infections have risen in the last two weeks.
However, Spain's health minister Carolina Darias said last Wednesday that it was “too early to tell” if a major change in trend was happening in Spain in the same way as in France or Italy.
Her government had previously set a target of getting the national incidence rate below 50 per 100,000 population. At present, Spain’s rate is 127.91.
Ms Darias said that, while the government was constantly reviewing the situation, there would likely be no further restrictions introduced over the coming weeks.
Spain has seen more than 3.2m Covid-19 cases and more than 72,900 deaths.

Portugal
Mainland Portugal is under a state of lockdown until the end of this month.
Schools are shut, all non-essential services have been suspended and members of the public have been urged to stay home.
However, cases in Portugal have decreased significantly in the last two months. Daily cases are now around the 600-mark – down from a high of 15,000 or so in late January.
The Portuguese government began relaxing its lockdown measures from March 11.
So far, Portugal has seen about 817,000 cases of Covid-19 and more than 16,700 deaths.

Greece
Greece has been experiencing a renewed surge of Covid-19 infections, despite lockdown-related measures being in force since early November.
About 500 people are now being admitted to hospital each day across the country with coronavirus, health authorities say, 200 of those in the wider Athens region.
As a result, the Greek government has ordered private-sector doctors to help public hospitals struggling with surging patient numbers.
On Sunday, Greece announced 1,514 new Covid-19 cases and 41 new daily deaths, taking the total of confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic to 237,125.

Poland
A three-week lockdown in Poland began last Saturday, with all non-essential shopping, and all sports and cultural gatherings prohibited.
Polish health officials said the measures were necessary to curb the spread of the UK Covid-19 variant which they said was now “rampant” in the country, and responsible for 60% of all new recorded infections.
A daily average of 21,703 new infections has been reported in Poland in the last week.
Last Friday, Germany classified Poland as a "high-risk" travel area, meaning anyone crossing into Germany from Poland is required to present a negative Covid-19 test.
“If extending restrictions to the entire territory of Poland does not put an end to the epidemic, or at least slow down the third wave, then the next steps will be a typical lockdown, where we will close everything completely,” Polish health minister Adam Niedzielski said last week.
Poland has seen 1,956,974 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, and over 48,000 deaths have been recorded.

Belgium
Belgium has seen an average of 3,438 people testing for Covid-19 last week – an almost 40% increase of the incidence recorded one week previously.
On Sunday, 9,065 new cases were reported – the highest one-day total since November of last year.
On Sunday, Belgium’s health minister, Frank Vandenbroucke, said additional restrictions were now needed, despite the country having been in a second national lockdown since November.
“We have set ourselves a very important ambition by completely opening schools after Easter and catering from May 1," he said.
“With this increase in contamination, there is a risk of not achieving these objectives. It is not impossible. To ensure our goals, additional measures are needed.”

The Netherlands
Like Belgium, the Netherlands has seen a major upturn in virus trends over the last two weeks – with more than 6,000 new cases now being recorded each day.
The number of Covid-19 patients in Dutch hospitals increased by almost 10% in the past week, prompting public health authorities there to warn of an imminent surge.
The Dutch government had hoped to be in a position to relax some Covid-19 restrictions this week, but this is now highly unlikely.

 

[mrs. magoo]

What I find interesting with Europe's numbers is many of these countries have been in lockdown since November with some easing in some countries. The lockdowns do not seem to be working so what is the reason for the increases? California would be an example here in the states. California was in a strict lockdown but still experienced a surge of cases. I am beginning to think the virus ebbs and falls at its own pace.

ETA: I do wonder if it has to do with vaccine rollout as well. California's roll out of the vaccine has not been very efficient and I know that much of the EU is having similar issues.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

What I find interesting with Europe's numbers is many of these countries have been in lockdown since November with some easing in some countries. The lockdowns do not seem to be working so what is the reason for the increases? California would be an example here in the states. California was in a strict lockdown but still experienced a surge of cases. I am beginning to think the virus ebbs and falls at its own pace.

ETA: I do wonder if it has to do with vaccine rollout as well. California's roll out of the vaccine has not been very efficient and I know that much of the EU is having similar issues.

Didn't they believe a variant there took hold in CA? I thought they discovered a variant there? That's what I was remembering with the discussion on the CDC thread. And that would have been before the vaccine was around and during the early stages of rollout here in the U.S.

I believe Europe is still having issues with variants.

 

[mrs. magoo]

Didn't they believe a variant there took hold in CA? I thought they discovered a variant there? That's what I was remembering with the discussion on the CDC thread. And that would have been before the vaccine was around and during the early stages of rollout here in the U.S.

I believe Europe is still having issues with variants.

Yes there was talk about that in California, and a fear that with Spring Break crowds that variants will continue to spread. I would think that with as strict of lockdowns as some of these countries have that something else might be at play as well. Even at the height of lock down here in NY I could still shop at non essential stores and I could browse Target and Walmart to buy non essential items. It just seems like the virus is going to do what it wants when it wants.

 

[BadPinkTink]

What I find interesting with Europe's numbers is many of these countries have been in lockdown since November with some easing in some countries. The lockdowns do not seem to be working so what is the reason for the increases? California would be an example here in the states. California was in a strict lockdown but still experienced a surge of cases. I am beginning to think the virus ebbs and falls at its own pace.

ETA: I do wonder if it has to do with vaccine rollout as well. California's roll out of the vaccine has not been very efficient and I know that much of the EU is having similar issues.

Ireland is behind in the vaccine rollout, and our numbers are surging again. We have been in lockdown since December 26 and it looks set to continue until May at least.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Yes there was talk about that in California, and a fear that with Spring Break crowds that variants will continue to spread. I would think that with as strict of lockdowns as some of these countries have that something else might be at play as well. Even at the height of lock down here in NY I could still shop at non essential stores and I could browse Target and Walmart to buy non essential items. It just seems like the virus is going to do what it wants when it wants.

Well I know that Europe and other parts of the world have had a different type of lockdown but I would think some of the same things are still the same such as doing thing in your own private home rather than out and about like dining out or socializing out. Def. having only so many people allowable in your home like those elsewhere in the world have more experience would tamping that but if there is a variant that spreads faster and depending on what type of housing you live in being in close quarters for a long period of time due to a lockdown may contribute to spread just within households.

I'm not really for these lockdowns either but these issues existed before the vaccine so perhaps not having vaccine as high is just exacerbating the issue maybe? But consider that in the U.S. cases are rising in what nearly half the states again and that's with a vaccine roll out in fact I think someone on the CDC thread mentioned that states that have a higher rate of 1st dose vaccinations were seeing the rises more although that may not be in every state seeing an increase. Jumping back to the UK variant (to name one) I was just reading they think the UK variant is responsible for about 30% of our cases in the U.S.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Long Term Care Homes In Ireland Resume Visits On A Limited Basis

Long term care homes can have two visits per week from today if 80% of staff and residents are vaccinated against Covid-19.

The increased visits are possible two weeks after full vaccination of around 80% of residents and healthcare workers in a nursing home.

There is no requirement to limit these visits to under an hour.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Ireland Introduces Mandatory Hotel Quarantine For Tourists From Specific Countries

Passengers who arrive into Ireland from 33 “category 2” countries from Thursday will have to undergo two-week mandatory quarantine in a hotel at a cost to them of an estimated €2,000.

Other countries may be added to this lists, depending on case numbers.

The contract for hosting quarantining passengers has been awarded to the Tifco Hotel group, which operates 24 hotels in the State including the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn Express near Dublin Airport, the Hilton Hotel at Kilmainham, Travel Lodge Hotels near airports, as well as Clontarf Castle.

Tifco Hotel group will also be providing private security, the Irish Police force will not be involved.

These countries are

African countries

• Angola
• Botswana
• Burundi
• Cape Verde
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Lesotho
• Malawi
• Eswatini
• Mauritius
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• Republic of South Africa
• Rwanda
• Seychelles
• Tanzania
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

South American countries

• Argentina
• Bolivia
• Brazil
• Chile
• Colombia
• Ecuador
• French Guiana
• Guyana
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Suriname
• Uruguay
• Venezuela

Other countries

• Austria
• United Arab Emirates

 

[Katiebird]

What I find interesting with Europe's numbers is many of these countries have been in lockdown since November with some easing in some countries. The lockdowns do not seem to be working so what is the reason for the increases? California would be an example here in the states. California was in a strict lockdown but still experienced a surge of cases. I am beginning to think the virus ebbs and falls at its own pace.

ETA: I do wonder if it has to do with vaccine rollout as well. California's roll out of the vaccine has not been very efficient and I know that much of the EU is having similar issues.

California’s big surge peaked in January, when vaccines were still very limited and only available to health care workers. We did have lockdowns, but they weren’t well enforced and people still gathered in private homes, and they think there was a California variant at play as well. The state is actually doing quite well now with vaccines now, and numbers continue to drop.

 

[ronandannette]

Ireland is behind in the vaccine rollout, and our numbers are surging again. We have been in lockdown since December 26 and it looks set to continue until May at least.

I'm not sure what local criteria your officials are using to define a surge. The numbers seem slightly higher over the past few days but not crazy-higher than over the past 6 weeks.

 

[BadPinkTink]

I'm not sure what local criteria your officials are using to define a surge. The numbers seem slightly higher over the past few days but not crazy-higher than over the past 6 weeks.

we get daily updates from the Irish Department of Health. About 5.30pm every day we get an update on the amount of positive cases and the amount of deaths in the previous 24 hour period.

March 22 - 520 new cases
March 21 - 769 new cases
March 20 - 525 new cases
March 19 - 507 new cases
March 18 - 582 new cases
March 17- 557 new cases
March 16 - 349 new cases

From todays press conference

Where are transmissions occurring?
•60% is close contact transmission
•24% in the community
•59% in households
•Outside of the household, almost half of transmissions are occurring in social gatherings and the workplace

The numbers are trending upwards again.

Follow this Irish Journalist on Twitter, she is at the press conference every day and live tweets the information. https://twitter.com/ZaraKing

 

[BadPinkTink]

Full Details Of 14 Mandatory Hotel Quarantine on Irish Government Website

Who needs to complete mandatory hotel quarantine

You must complete a mandatory hotel quarantine if you come from any country deemed 'high risk'.

This includes:

• if you have been in a 'high risk' country at any time in the 14 days before you arrive in Ireland
• if you have travelled through an airport or port in a 'high risk' country

Passengers will be required to complete 14 days of mandatory hotel quarantine at a designated facility, this could be reduced if a passenger receives a not-detected result of a COVID-19 test that is taken after ten days. It may also be extended if a passenger tests positive during their stay.

Exemptions
The Health (Amendment) Act 2021 identifies those who are exempt from mandatory hotel quarantine. If your trip to Ireland is not in any of the categories below, then you must complete mandatory hotel quarantine at a designated facility:

• arriving into the State in the course of duty and who hold a valid Annex 3 certificate (ensuring the availability of goods and essential services)
• arriving in the State in the course of duty and are drivers of a heavy goods vehicle
• airline pilots, aircrew, maritime master or maritime crew and who arrive in the State in the course of performing duties
• travelling to the State pursuant to an arrest warrant, extradition proceedings or other mandatory legal obligation
• a member of An Garda Síochána (Police) or Defence Forces (or their equivalents from another state) and travelling to the State in course of duty
• travelling to the State for unavoidable, imperative and time-sensitive medical reasons and these reasons are certified by a registered medical practitioner or person with equivalent qualifications outside the State
• having been outside of the state to provide services to or perform the functions of an office holder (under any enactment or the Constitution) or a member of either house of the Irish Parliament or the European Parliament
• diplomats and certain other categories of persons entitled to privileges and immunities in the State

Proof of vaccine is not accepted as an exemption from quarantine.

How to book your mandatory hotel quarantine
Before travelling to Ireland, you must reserve and pay for a place in mandatory hotel quarantine.
If you fall into the category of traveller required to quarantine on arrival, it is an offence if you travel without making the booking in advance.
You can reserve a place in a mandatory hotel quarantine here.

12 nights are €1875 for a single room and €2500 for a double /family room.
The price includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, transfers to the hotel and security.
It also includes 2 covid tests.

What happens when you arrive into Ireland
The Irish Defence Forces have been designated as the State Liaison Officer (SLO) to support Ireland’s mandatory hotel quarantine policy. Upon arrival into Ireland, regardless of whether you arrive by sea or by air, after immigration and customs processing you will be met by members of the Defence Forces who will ensure you are safely and securely transported from your port of entry to the location in which you will complete your pre-booked mandatory hotel quarantine.

Staff at the facility will greet you and take you through the check in process. They will also provide you with information relating to your stay including on food choices, exercise and wellbeing.

The Irish Defence Forces are available to support you from the moment you arrive in Ireland until you complete your mandatory hotel quarantine and exit the facility. They will be onsite 24/7 at your facility throughout your stay to liaise with the hotel service provider to ensure it is safe, secure and comfortable experience.

What happens if you leave mandatory hotel quarantine before completing the 10- or 14-day period
If you do not fulfil the legal requirement for mandatory hotel quarantine, you are committing an offence and can be fined up to €2,000 or get a prison sentence of up to 1 month, or both.
The Irish Police service, An Garda Síochána, will enforce any non-compliance issues.

Leaving the mandatory quarantine facility after completing the full quarantine period
Once you have completed 14 days of mandatory hotel quarantine (this could be reduced if you get a not-detected result of a COVID-19 test that is taken after ten days), you will receive a letter of completion. You will then be free to leave the mandatory hotel quarantine facility.

The SLO (Irish Defence Forces) will be able to support you as you make arrangements for onward travel as well as checking out of the hotel.