Coronavirus Special Report
April 17-April 23, 2021
April 17-April 23, 2021
Read all about it! Worldwide Coronavirus deaths pass the three-million mark and more than 565,000 570,000 Americans have died from the virus. About 25% of the nation has now been fully vaccinated. Canada keeps its land borders closed another month. A flight from Delhi to Hong Kong becomes a superspreader event. Alaska will offer visitors vaccines starting June 1. The Maldives are now open without testing or quarantine to anyone fully vaccinated. More than 8,000 passenger aircraft are still in storage. Hotel occupancy falls to mid-March levels. And more. Read from the bottom for context.
Coronavirus Update: Friday, April 23, 2021
Dozens of nations have now banned flights to/from India as the subcontinent has become the latest epicenter of the Coronavirus. Here are today's other developments:
Thursday being Thursday The TSA says that 1,509,649 people passed through U.S. airport security checkpoints Thursday. It represents 59.7% of 2019's volume--slightly better than last Thursday (April 15), but not as strong as earlier Thursdays this month. Still rising There were 67,257 new Coronavirus cases in the United States on Thursday, says Johns Hopkins. The death toll: 943. That is worse than Wednesday and notably higher than the seven-day average. Hotel backpedal Nationwide average hotel occupancy fell to 57.3% for the week ended April 17. That's the lowest level since mid-March. Especially hard hit? Florida, where average occupancy rates fell eight points after the spring break period. American Airlines says its fares are now 90% of 2019 averages. The year began at 50% of 2019 levels, the carrier says. United Airlines announced several new routes today and says its June domestic schedule will be 67% of the schedule in June, 2019. Alaska Airlines says its summer schedule will be 80% of 2019 levels. It expects to resume full capacity systemwide by the summer of 2022. Rhode Island will begin lifting Coronavirus restrictions in May. First up: the end of the outdoor mask mandate on May 7. Capacity limits on businesses, bars, restaurants and entertainment venues will end May 28. Amtrak says its Hiawatha Service between Chicago and Milwaukee resumes pre-pandemic schedules beginning May 23. That means at least seven daily roundtrips on weekdays.Coronavirus Update: Thursday, April 22, 2021
India recorded 314,835 new Coronavirus cases today (local time). It is believed to be the worst one-day rate of infections anywhere in the world during the pandemic. (The United States recorded 300,310 new cases on January 2.) Here are today's other developments: Wobbly Wednesday The TSA says that 1,164,099 people passed through U.S. airport security checkpoints on Wednesday. It represents 51.6% of 2019's volume on a similar day, slightly better than Tuesday, but hardly impressive. Tuesday and Wednesday are traditionally the slowest flying days of the week. Right back up there After a (slight) one-day respite, there were 62,857 new Coronavirus cases in the United States on Wednesday, says Johns Hopkins. The death toll: 842. Your tax dollars at work Southwest Airlines recorded a first-quarter profit of $116 million. Without federal bailout funds, however, the loss would have been $1 billion. Shrunken empire Emirates Airline this week is operating about 484,000 seats to 107 airports. During a similar week in 2019, the Dubai-based carrier operated 1.17 million seats to 142 destinations. Fare facts The 2020 average domestic fare of $292 was the lowest inflation-adjusted annual fare since the Transportation Department's Bureau of Transportation Statistics began collecting stats in 1995. It was down 19% from the previous low of $359 in 2019. Keep in mind, however, that airlines have redefined "fares" over the intervening 25 years. Most no longer include luggage, seat assignment or meals. Broken mirror The U.S. hotel industry in March reported its highest levels of performance since the start of the pandemic, according to industry record-keeper STR. Occupancy reached 54.6%. Comparison to a "normal" March (2019) reveals less happy news: Occupancy is down 20% and revPAR, the key measure of lodging profitability, is down 35.8%. Sweden stops Sweden postponed the easing of Coronavirus restrictions due to a resurgence of cases, according to Prime Minister Stefan Löfven.Coronavirus Update: Wednesday, April 21, 2021
President Joe Biden said today that the nation met the goal of 200 million vaccine shots administered in his first 100 days in office--with about a week to spare. Here are today's other developments: Throwback Tuesday The TSA says 1,082,443 people passed through U.S. airport security checkpoints Tuesday. It represents 48.5% of 2019's volume on a similar day. It's also the lowest total number of passengers in about a month. Down a bit There were 54,672 new Coronavirus cases in the United States on Tuesday, says Johns Hopkins. That's down a bit from the seven-day rolling average. The death toll: 776. Canada stays closed Canada has closed the land crossings with the United States for another month until May 21. The land borders have been off-limits for all but essential traffic since March, 2020. United Airlines said it will fly about 52% of its 2019 schedule in May. During the first quarter capacity was just 46% of 1Q 2019. Its first quarter operating revenue was down 66%. The happiest place in Paris (if Parisians are ever happy) Disneyland Paris will reopen--as a mass vaccine site. The French continue to lag in vaccine distribution. The Local has the details. Finger out of the dike The Netherlands will relax Coronavirus restrictions. The nationwide nightly curfew ends on April 28. Bars, cafes and restaurants will be permitted to offer outdoor service from noon to 6pm. Down days Eurocontrol, which operates the continent's air traffic control, says that passenger aircraft capacity between Europe and the rest of the world remains down 62% compared to 2019.Coronavirus Update: Tuesday, April 20, 2021
The State Department is aligning its guidance to CDC advice on international travel. That puts about 80% of the globe at Level 4, Do Not Travel. Which is mostly irrelevant because you can't get into most nations now. Here are today's other developments: Not another manic Monday According to the TSA, 1,412,500 people passed through U.S. airport security checkpoints Monday. It represents 54.4% of 2019's volume on a similar day. It's the slowest Monday in April so far. Back up there There were 67,933 new Coronavirus cases in the United States on Monday, says Johns Hopkins. The death toll: 477. It once again proves that pointing at incomplete weekend numbers and saying, "Look! Progress!" is a fool's errand. Connecticut will lift all Coronavirus restrictions on business by May 19, Governor Ned Lamont said today. Misery Hong Kong International Airport handled just 58,000 passengers in March. That is a year-on-year passenger decrease of 89.9%. The converts New York now has a surplus of office buildings and hotels. But turning them into residences is trickier (and more costly) than you think. The New York Times has the details. The good news Fewer than 6,000 fully vaccinated Americans subsequently have gotten the Coronavirus, says the CDC. TheHill.com has the good news. Worse than cat-scratch fever Faded rock star, right wing activist and noted Covid denier Ted Nugent says he contracted the Coronavirus. He called it "the Chinese shit." He admits it has been awful.Coronavirus Update: Monday, April 19, 2021
All adults in the United States are eligible for a Coronavirus vaccine beginning today. Meanwhile, half of Americans have already received at least one shot. About 24% are fully vaccinated. Here are today's other developments: Close According to the TSA, 1,572,383 people passed through U.S. airport security checkpoints on Sunday. It represents 66.7% of 2019's volume on a similar day and is just a few thousand short of the busiest day since pandemic lows last year. Lower, but ... There were 42,018 new Coronavirus cases in the United States on Sunday, says Johns Hopkins. The death toll: 313. Weekend numbers are often fragmentary and incomplete, but even these partial numbers are far too high for comfort. India's agony Delhi is joining Mumbai in a week-long lockdown as infection rates soar in India. There were nearly 275,000 new cases on Monday, the fifth consecutive day above 200,000. Separately, all adult Indians will be eligible for a vaccine starting on May 1. A four-year recovery Corporate business travel spending fell 70% in 2020, according to the U.S. Travel Association. It will take four years for any recovery to match 2019 numbers, the organization says. The details are here. ... Or five years Calgary International Airport says it may take five years for traffic there to fully recover. In 2019, YYC served 18 million passengers. That number fell to 5.7 million in 2020 and will fall to 5.1 million in 2021. Toddlin' again Condominiums in downtown Chicago are selling again and for prices that are beginning to rival pre-pandemic levels. The Chicago Tribune has the details.Coronavirus Update: Sunday, April 18, 2021
It'll probably be economic need that forces countries to reopen to visitors sometime this year. One example: Italy. Only 25.5 million foreigners spent at least one night in Italy in 2020 compared to 65 million in 2019. That cost the economy 120.6 billion euros, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. Here are today's other developments: Superspreader in the skies Nearly four dozen passengers on Vistara Flight 6395 from Delhi to Hong Kong on April 4 subsequently have been diagnosed with Coronavirus. The statistics are available from Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection. All flyers were required to show a negative Coronavirus test before boarding the flight. Down again According to the TSA, 1,277,815 people passed through U.S. airport security checkpoints on Saturday. It represents 64.2% of 2019's volume on a similar day. That's slightly lower than Saturday, April 10. Downdraft There were 52,373 new Coronavirus cases in the United States Saturday, says Johns Hopkins. The death toll: 680. That's slightly lower than recent days although weekend numbers are often fragmentary and incomplete. Never mind, eh? As Coronavirus cases soar in Canada, the Ontario government had approved a controversial program to allow police to stop random people and check compliance with lockdown regulations. The government quickly reversed itself, however. The National Post has the details. Delta Air Lines says its domestic leisure business has reached 85% of 2019 levels. But both business travel and international long-haul traffic are at or below 20% of 2019 levels. San Antonio Airport says more than 11,000 people passed through TSA checkpoints there during the week of April 6-12. That's 70% of 2019 levels. The San Antonio Express-News has the details.Coronavirus Update: Saturday, April 17, 2021
More than three million people worldwide have now died from Coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins and other data compilers. Here are today's other developments: Pianissimo According to the TSA, 1,468,218 people passed through U.S. airport security checkpoints Friday. It represents 59.7% of 2019's volume on a similar day. It is the slowest Friday by comparative volume in April, but not by gigantic amounts. Fortissimo There were 79,991 new Coronavirus cases in the United States Friday, says Johns Hopkins. The death toll: 935. These numbers continue to rise alarmingly even though more than 200 million vaccine doses have been administered in the United States and nearly 73 million Americans are fully vaccinated. Phuket fail? Thailand may have to delay its plan to reopen Phuket to foreign visitors on July 1. Tourism Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakarn says a meeting will be held next week to discuss reopening while the country at large is suffering through another wave of new Coronavirus infections. Fleet facts As of April 6, airline industry analyst Cirium estimates that nearly 8,100 passenger aircraft are in storage around the world. That's not good, of course, but the number was north of 16,500 on April 6, 2020. Come for the snow, stay for the vaccine Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy says the state will offer free vaccines to visitors beginning June 1. Shots will be administered at the state's largest airports. The Anchorage Daily News has the details. Don't mention the war ... Henriette Reker, mayor of Cologne, Germany, imposed a nighttime curfew on the city. It starts tonight at 9pm local time. "I don't think there has been a curfew in Cologne since the Second World War," Reker said on Friday. Islands in the stream The Maldives in the Indian Ocean say visitors need not be quarantined or tested if they arrive two weeks after receiving their second dose of vaccine.