Coronavirus Special Report
Year Three: February 5-11, 2022
Year Three: February 5-11, 2022
Read all about it! U.S. Coronavirus deaths top 915,000 as the national vaccination rate finally reaches 65%. Nevada abruptly lifts indoor mask mandate hours before bettors flood casinos on Super Bowl weekend. Australia opens it borders on February 21. Spain expects two-thirds of 2019's travel volume this year. Italy drops outdoor mask mandate and Finland ends testing for travelers entering the country. California, New York and a slew of other states end some mask mandates. Hawaii won't require a booster shot to visit. Malaysia may open borders in March. And more.
Coronavirus Update: Friday, February 11, 2022
Canadians finally seem to have had it with the so-called Freedom Convoy that has snarled traffic in downtown Ottawa, the capital, and impeded the North American supply chain by blocking bridges between the United States and Canada. Ontario Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency today and is threatening arrests, fines, jail terms and revocation of trucking licenses. The CBC has details. Here are today's other developments:
Limping along The TSA says that 1,782,705 people passed through U.S. airport security checkpoints yesterday. That's 73.8% of 2020 volume on a similar February Thursday. It's also the second-busiest day of the month so far. All bets are on Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak abruptly ended the state indoor mask mandate yesterday, effective immediately. The Nevada Gaming Control Board promptly lifted its requirement that staff and patrons wear masks in casinos. In case you've forgotten, Super Bowl Sunday, Christmas for gamblers, is 48 hours away. The Las Vegas Review-Journal has details. Finished Finland says entry testing and quarantines for vaccinated visitors will be abolished effective February 15. Finland's Scandinavian neighbors--Denmark, Sweden and Norway--have already eliminated entry requirements. You're fired! New York City is on the cusp of firing thousands of workers who have not heeded the city's vaccine mandate. WCBS TV has details. London bridge London's hotel market isn't likely to start growing again until 2024 or 2025, according to leading lodging experts. Many expect the city's hotels to return to 2019 profit levels by 2023, however. Die another day Hospitals in rural America are clogged with Coronavirus patients and that is having deadly consequences for people with other illnesses. NPR has the details. Pas ici Paris and Brussels say they won't allow Canada-style truck convoys to snarl their streets. Agence France-Presse has details. But convoys are headed to police checkpoints near Paris and conflict could be looming. The Guardian has those details.Coronavirus Update: Thursday, February 10, 2022
Lack of enforcement, lack of will and other issues have allowed the so-called Freedom Convoy of anti-vax activists to block the Ambassador Bridge linking Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, for the fourth day. Fox 2 TV in Detroit has details. Meanwhile, the CBC reports that former Canadian cops and military men are advising the convoy and helping it foil law enforcement. Here are today's other developments: Meh ... The TSA says that 1,386,325 people passed through U.S. airport security checkpoints yesterday. That's 65.8% of 2019 volume on a similar February Wednesday, the second consecutive day below 70% of pre-pandemic highs. Tuesday and Wednesday are the lightest travel days of most weeks, of course. Czech split The Czech Republic today ended the requirement to show proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, bars or outdoor events. But it is maintaining its indoor mask mandate and continuing to limit the number of attendees at public events. Don't try that here New Zealand learned the lesson of Canada and moved to clear a copy-cat trucker protest. Cops and police clashed and there were dozens of arrests. France24 TV has details. Illinois unmasks Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker says the state's mask mandate will be largely lifted on February 28. Masks won’t be required in grocery stores, restaurants and other public places, but they’ll still be required in hospitals, on mass transit and schools. the Chicago Sun-Times has details. San Francisco moves San Francisco is lifting some mask rules on February 16. Vaccinated people will no longer be required to wear masks in most indoor settings, including restaurants, bars, gyms, grocery stores, offices, museums, and other locations. The unvaccinated will still be required to wear masks indoors, but there is no requirement that businesses must check vaccine status.Coronavirus Update: Wednesday, February 9, 2022
The world passed 400 million Covid cases just a month after it reached the 300-million infection mark. The New York Times has details. Here are today's other developments: Down we go The TSA says 1,232,591 people passed through U.S. airport security checkpoints yesterday. That's 67.9% of 2020 volume and about 30,000 more than the previous Tuesday. Masks off Today was the day the dam--or, more accurately, the mask--broke. New York State is letting its indoor mask mandate expire tomorrow, but will maintain its school mask mandate for a bit longer. (Details here.) Rhode Island will drop its indoor mandate later this week, but also maintain its school-mask rule. (Details here.) The Massachusetts school mask mandate ends February 28. (Details here.) And Oregon says it will lift its indoor mask mandate no later than March 31. (Details here.) Alberta's out Alberta has dropped its Covid-19 restrictions. Effective immediately, showing proof of vaccine is no longer required in restaurants or at entertainment venues. The CBC has details. Two for Hawaii Hawaii has decided not to require visitors to the islands to prove they had a booster shot. The current standard--two shots of the Pfizer or Moderna or one of the J&J vaccine--will be retained. Governor David Ige made the announcement yesterday. Malaysia move Malaysia’s National Recovery Council has recommended the government reopen the country's borders without quarantine for vaccinated tourists. If accepted, visitors could arrive as early as March 1.Coronavirus Update: Tuesday, February 8, 2022
Mask mandates nationwide are continuing to disappear. California is ending its indoor mandate for fully vaccinated people beginning next week. Across the country, Connecticut will end the statewide mask mandate in schools and childcare centers on February 28. New Jersey and Delaware announced the end of some mask mandates yesterday. New York State and Pennsylvania are considering ending some of their mandates, too. Here are today's other developments: Bouncing along The TSA says 1,591,438 people passed through U.S. airport security checkpoints yesterday. That's 73.4% of 2020 volume, but a few thousand more than the previous Monday. It's all Greek The Greek Aviation Authority has clarified its recent decision to end testing for arriving visitors. Only those from EU nations and other 33 countries are exempt. Visitors from other countries--including Canada and the United States--must continue to test before arrival. It is 72 hours for a PCR and 24 hours for antigen tests. After the holidays Vietnam will begin opening to other nations after the Tet Holiday. Vietnam already permits U.S. travelers on flights arriving from Los Angeles and San Francisco. More details are at an official Vietnam government site. Italy unmasked Italy will end its outdoor mask mandate nationwide on Friday. The country is more than 90% vaccinated. TheLocal.com has details.Coronavirus Update: Monday, February 7, 2022
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced today (local time) that double-vaccinated visitors would be allowed to enter the country starting February 21. That's almost two years after Australia first imposed its stringent lock-out of visitors, including returning Aussies. The Washington Post has details. Here are today's other developments: Average, with a quirk About 4.7 million people passed through TSA security checkpoints at U.S. airports over the weekend (Friday-Sunday). That is on par with January's weekends, but 1,785,846 flew on Sunday, the highest one-day total since Monday, January 3. Plunge and a surge again There were 2,050,368 new Coronavirus cases in the United States during the last week, according to Johns Hopkins. It's down more than a third from the previous week. But the death toll was 17,244, up again from the previous three weeks. Europe rising Eurocontrol says there was a daily average of 17,261 flights in Europe's skies during the week ended February 6. While that is just two-thirds of 2019's levels, it was up about 7.5% from last week. Jersey unmasked New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy says the state will end its school and child-care mask mandate on March 7. NJ.com has details. Delaware details Delaware Governor John Carney will lift the state's indoor mask mandate at the end of the week. A mask rule for schools will expire at the end of March. WPVI-TV in Philadelphia has details.Coronavirus Update: Weekend, February 5-6, 2022
The trucker anti-vax protest in Ottawa has widened, turned violent and there are now arrests. A few thousand people--compared to the 38 million citizens of Canada--are causing the ruckus. TheHill.com has some details. Here are this weekend's other developments. Sketches of Spain (without Miles) About 80 million people in 2019 visited Spain, making it the second most touristed country in the world. Only 18.9 million visited in 2020, the first year of the pandemic. Last year it was 31.1 million. In 2022, pandemic year three, Spanish officials expect to be at two-thirds of the 2019 level. Good to go in Italy Convoluted rules for the "super green pass" in Italy have confused Italians and Americans concerning the use and validity of CDC vaccine cards. A new rule published yesterday clarifies a CDC card is valid indefinitely if you are fully vaxxed and boosted. TheLocal.com has details. Sure, of course A Washington restaurant that lost its liquor license because it refused to follow Covid rules quickly become a cause for anti-vax/anti-mask Republicans. (Because, you know, the GOP is the party of law and order ...) Now the restaurant has been closed by the city's health department for unspecified food-code violations. (Not suspicious at all ...) The Washington Post has details. Not just the airlines We gave the airlines tens of billions of dollars to keep their employees working. They responded by laying off and buying out workers and upstreaming most of the money to shareholders. Despicable, of course, but it turns out that the airlines were no different than most other big companies. Now new research shows that the Paycheck Protection Program largely went to waste. Only about a quarter of the $800 billion spent actually went to saving jobs that would have otherwise been lost. The New York Times has details.