Coronavirus Special Report
April 3-April 9, 2021
April 3-April 9, 2021
Read all about it! More than 553,000 555,000 560,000 Americans have died from the virus and more than 155 160 165 170 175 million vaccine doses have been administered. New cases and deaths spike up despite increased vaccinations. April is off to a (literal) flying start and airline traffic is the busiest since mid-March of 2020. The CDC bungled messaging aimed at vaccinated travelers. Europe flying is still just 40% of normal. And more. Read from the bottom for context.
Coronavirus Update: Friday, April 9, 2021
One of the first places where life is back to nearly normal? Gibraltar, the tiny British colony at the edge of Spain. Most of the residents are vaccinated and the enclave is doing the things it used to do. AFP has the details. Here are today's other developments:
Still way too high There were 79,878 new Coronavirus cases in the United States Thursday, says Johns Hopkins. Thankfully, however, the death toll fell to 1,000. Flying along The TSA says 1,510,829 people passed through airport security checkpoints on Thursday. That represents 60.7% of 2019's volume. It also represents the fifth day in April with traffic at or above 1.5 million. Florida man strikes again Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is suing the Biden Administration for not allowing cruises to resume operations in U.S. waters. DeSantis claims mass vaccinations make cruising safe. However, he banned vaccine passports in Florida, so how would cruise lines know who is vaccinated? Politico has the details. Quiet skies Aircraft traffic in Europe's skies is only 36.6% of 2019 levels, according to statistics from Eurocontrol. Among the most affected: SAS, where traffic is down 83%, and Lufthansa, down 77% compared to 2019. No exceptions Norway prime minister Erna Solberg has been fined by Norwegian police for breaking Coronavirus restrictions. Reuters has the details. Flat, but better Hotel occupancy in the United States registered an average daily occupancy of 57.9% for the week ended April 3. That's flat from the previous week, but industry statistician STR says average daily rate and revenue per available room (revPAR) are at the highest levels in a year.Coronavirus Update: Thursday, April 8, 2021
Working with a charity, hotels in Lyon, France, recycle and reform soap removed from guestrooms and distribute it to the needy. AFP has the details. Here are today's other developments: They warned us There were 75,038 new Coronavirus cases in the United States Wednesday, says Johns Hopkins. The death toll tripled from the previous day to 2,570. Cruising along The TSA says 1,230,939 people passed through airport security checkpoints Wednesday. It represents 55.2% of 2019's volume, slightly lower than previous days but well within the recent growth trend. First in, first out China, where the Coronavirus began, is also the first place where commercial flying seems almost normal. Over the recent Qingming holiday, domestic passenger volume reached 95% of 2019 levels, according to Bloomberg News. Delay of game The French Open, one of the Grand Slam events of tennis, has been delayed for a week. It will now be played starting May 30. Sad samba Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro, a noted Coronavirus denier, has again refused to support a nationwide lockdown or even a mask mandate. This as Brazil passed the 340,000-death mark with another wave and a country-specific variant sweeping the nation.Coronavirus Update: Wednesday, April 7, 2021
European regulators say the AstraZeneca vaccine is linked to blood clots, but they imposed no new restriction on the treatment. They say the benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the "rare" side effect. This AZ vaccine has yet to be approved in the United States. Here are today's other developments: Worrisome There were 61,958 new Coronavirus cases in the United States on Tuesday, says Johns Hopkins. The death toll: 835. Those are worrisome levels, according to the experts. Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that nearly half of the new cases are coming from just five states. Turgid Tuesday The TSA says 1,195,306 people passed through airport security checkpoints on Tuesday. It represents 57.1% of 2019's volume, the first time this month that it fell below 60%. Also notable: April 6 was the first day in 2020 when the total passenger count fell below 100,000. The low point of 2020 came eight days later. Delhi by day Delhi, part of India's capital region, is imposing a nightly curfew effective tonight (local time). The shutdown, from 10pm to 5am, will continue until the end of the month. This follows the partial lockdown of India's largest city, Mumbai, and the surrounding state of Maharashtra. A slice of the pie U.S. passenger volume has picked up, but a slice of the capacity pie is still missing. Industry schedulekeeper OAG says flight capacity was down 25% in January. It represents four million fewer domestic seats and just half the "normal" international capacity. Half of loaf Switching metaphors, the datacrunchers at Cirium predict that global passenger volume will reach only 47% of 2019 levels by the end of the year. The domestic travel recovery in the United States and China is the primary reason 2021 traffic will even be that high, Cirium suggests.Coronavirus Update: Tuesday, April 6, 2021
The United States is vaccinating people almost five times faster than the global average. The Hill has the details. Counterpoint: Our daily average of new infections is far higher than most nations. Here are today's other developments: Jumping on the plateau again There were 79,264 new Coronavirus cases in the United States on Monday, says Johns Hopkins. The death toll was 612. With the nation back to a plateau well above the level experts hoped to see, fear of a fourth wave of infections has not subsided. Flying high The TSA says 1,561,959 people passed through airport security checkpoints on Monday. It represents 65.5% of 2019's volume. Every day in April has experienced volume ranging from about 1.4 to nearly 1.6 million passengers. Washington relaxes The District of Columbia says live entertainment venues may have 500 people in attendance starting May 1. Movie theaters, weddings and some meetings and conventions will also be able to operate at 25% capacity. Non-essential retail sites can open at 50% capacity. England starts swinging Beginning April 12, non-essential stores in England may reopen and pubs and restaurants will be allowed to serve at patio tables. Hairdressers and outdoor attractions will also reopen. Texas and Florida men Texas Governor Greg Abbott is barring the use of vaccine passports at state facilities. His executive order has the same emotional tenor as one issued by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, but is not as wide-ranging. The Texas Tribune has the details.Coronavirus Update: Monday, April 5, 2021
In-person visits to bricks-and-mortar retailers increased 28.5% during the first three months of the year. Data is from Zenreach, which provides retail marketing and software services. Here are today's other developments: Easter low There were 34,282 new Coronavirus cases in the United States Sunday, says Johns Hopkins. Sundays traditionally result in incomplete and fragmentary results. Easter Sunday more so. This week's numbers will be interesting to watch as more young people are now contracting the virus. Easter high The TSA says 1,543,474 people passed through airport security checkpoints on Sunday. It represents 62.7% of 2019's volume. In 2020, just 90,510 traveled on Easter Sunday, April 12. Two days later, we hit a pandemic low of 87,534. Mumbai mitigation Mumbai, the engine of India's economy, imposes a nightly curfew and will go into weekend lockdown. Gatherings of more than four people will be banned. Private offices, restaurants and bars, movie theaters, places of worship and public area such as beaches will shut. Only essential services would be allowed to operate on weekends. Rules go into effect today (local time) and continue through April. The city and surrounding Maharashtra state are home to 110 million people. Where it all began What's it like in Wuhan right now? Depends on whether you remember or have chosen to forget. Agence France-Presse has the details.Coronavirus Update: Sunday, April 4, 2021
Today is Easter in Western Christian cultures, the second year of lockdown for the holiest day on the Christian calendar. Here are today's developments: What we really meant to say ... Michael Osterholm, a Biden Administration advisor on Covid, admits the CDC guidance for vaccinated travelers has been a "problem." The Hill has details from his interview with Fox News. The high plateau There were 62,154 new Coronavirus cases in the United States Saturday, says Johns Hopkins. The death toll was 676. New cases seem to be plateauing well above 60,000 per day, a potentially disastrous number, according to the experts. Another near miss According to the TSA, 1,397,958 people passed through airport security checkpoints Saturday. It represents 69.5% of 2019's volume, another near miss since travel has yet to reach 70% of 2019 traffic. Millions and millions served Data from the CDC shows that the U.S. administered 4,081,959 vaccine doses from Friday to Saturday, the first time a one-day total surpassed four million. The seven-day average of vaccinations was 3,072,527 per day. And this is how wars start ... Lithuania says it will not recognize the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine as valid on travel certificates. The country says only vaccines recognized by the European Medicines Agency should be valid for inclusion in the Digital Green Certificate being developed by the European Union. The details are here. Land of milk and honey ... and vaccines Israel leads the world in vaccine distribution and that is helping the country's social life and tourism segment. The New York Times has the details. Coronavirus Update: Saturday, April 3, 2021
No one has a great track record of predictions during the pandemic, but The Atlantic has named former reporter and present conspiracy theorist Alex Berenson "the wrongest man." Read his litany of errors, conscious misinterpretations and flat-out falsehoods here. Today's other developments: April comes in like a lion According to the TSA, 1,580,785 people passed through U.S. airport security checkpoints Friday. That's the largest one-day total since mid-March of 2020. It also represents 63.8% of 2019's volume. A little better, but ... There were 69,822 new Coronavirus cases in the United States Friday, says Johns Hopkins. The death toll was 967. That's a noticeable fall from Thursday (April 1), but still far too high given that more than 157 million vaccine doses have been administered. Another month Colorado Governor Jared Polis extended the state's mask mandate for another month. 'Ey, we're rippin' you off here ... New York City hospitals are charging as much as $3,300 for simple Covid tests. Needless to say, the rapacious pricing has drawn attention. The New York Times has details.