Coronavirus Disease Weekly News 16May 2021
The news posted last week for the coronavirus 2019-nCoV (aka SARS-CoV-2), which produces COVID-19 disease, has been surveyed and some important articles are summarized here. The articles are more or less organized with general virus news and anecdotes first, then stories from around the US, followed by an increased number of items from other countries around the globe. Economic news related to COVID-19 is found here.
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Summary:
Covid seemed to pretty much drop out of the news this week. Usually, I can pick up a lot of virus stories just from news sites most read or recent news lists; this week I had to go looking for them. Part of the reason was that the fuel pipeline shutdown dominated the headlines, but the underlying reason is that new cases in the US and globally, are falling rapidly, even in India - No one wants to cover a story that bl
Local health officials are warning that an increase in COVID-19 cases has also led to an increase in hospitalizations just as the outdoor recreation season arrives.
That s important, hospital officials say, because now is the time that there s usually an uptick in recreation related injuries.
âThis is the season with increased outdoor activity, traditionally our hospitals fill up this time of year due to injuries and trauma related to those activities,â Community Hospital Chief Medical Officer Dr. Thomas Tobin said in a news release from Mesa County Public Health on Friday.
In the last month, Mesa County has gone from three Intensive Care Unit COVID-19 patients to eight. The total number hospitalized is now 25, according to the release.
Mesa County could begin scheduling COVID-19 vaccine appointments as early as today for residents ages 12-15 after a Centers for Disease and Prevention Control advisory panelâs recommendation.
The panelâs recommendation was the next step in allowing younger residents to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Mesa County Public Health said in a news release Wednesday that, after the panelâs recommendation, appointment scheduling would be open today and the first shots for that age group could be administered as early as Saturday.
The news comes at a time when younger residents are making up the bulk of COVID-19 infections. According to the Mesa County data dashboard, 10- to 19-year-olds lead all demographic groups for new infections with 113 new cases over the past two weeks. There have also been three schools placed on the county outbreak list in the past month.
Mesa County is down to 17 residents hospitalized for COVID-19 and reported no new deaths to end the week.
Data from Mesa County Public Health on Saturday showed an additional 23 new cases, bringing the total case count since the pandemic began to 13,444.
Of those, 391 of the cases came in the past two weeks.
In total, 21 are hospitalized, with four being patients from outside Mesa County. The total deaths among COVID-19 patients stands at 149, of which 119 died directly from the coronavirus.
The 39 Road Fire, in the Horse Mountain area, was first reported around 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, prompting a response from multiple fire agencies. The fire was initially reported to