Coronavirus Special Report
Year Three: Mar. 26-Apr. 1, 2022
Year Three: Mar. 26-Apr. 1, 2022
Read all about Covid! U.S. Coronavirus deaths pass 980,000. The national vaccination rate is stuck around 66% and vaccinations have fallen to the lowest rate since December, 2020. A new passenger punch-up at Southwest Airlines. January passenger traffic in the United States remained a third below 2019 "norms," but 19 days in March surpassed 2 million travelers at U.S. airports. Europe aircraft traffic continues to climb despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Two late legal challenges to the mask mandate. Global airline capacity grows 3% during the first week of spring. Airline traffic in Asia was down more than 90% in February. Some flyers are still fighting for refunds on flights the airlines canceled during the pandemic. And more.
Coronavirus Update: Friday, April 1, 2022
A federal judge in New York ruled yesterday that two flyers can continue to pursue their class-action suit against Turkish Airlines for cancelling their flights during the pandemic and then refusing refunds. Turkish tried to have the suit dismissed for a buffet of reasons, but the judge rejected them all. He says the flyers, who received refunds only after they filed suit against Turkish, have grounds for damages. Here are today's other developments:
Out like a lion The TSA says that 2,196,867 people passed through U.S. airport checkpoints yesterday. That is 91.1% of volume in 2019 on a similar Thursday in late March. It was also the 19th day in March when more than 2 million travelers used U.S. airports. Bye, Felicia After several weeks of ineffective protests in and around the nation's capital, the so-called People's Convoy pulled up stakes and left their temporary squat in Hagerstown, Maryland. Its legacy: foiled by Beltway traffic, embarrassed by a lone bicycle rider and suspected in several assaults. The Washington Post has details. But Joe Rogan said ... Widely derided as horse and sheep medicine, Ivermectin, which does have limited human uses--was embraced as a panacea by the anti-vax/anti-mask/anti-everything crowd. Except the latest and largest clinical study of the drug's effectiveness against Coronavirus shows it does not work no matter what Joe Rogan says. The New York Times has details. More rooms at the inn The national average hotel occupancy for the week ended March 26 declined slightly to 65.5%, according to lodging statistician STR. Welcome to Latvia Effective today, Latvia has ended all Covid-related entry requirements. Visitors entering the Baltic country no longer must present proof of vaccination or recovery or a negative test certificate. On second thought ... Italy abruptly extended by one month the requirement for visitors to show proof of vaccination or recovery or a negative test result. A digital passenger locator form must also be completed. These rules will now be in place until at least April 30. Coronavirus Update: Thursday, March 31, 2022
You have to wonder why this has taken so long: All of the government's relevant information on the Coronavirus--local infection rates, vaccination sites, orders for home tests, etc.--are now in one place, logically called Covid.gov. Here are today's other developments: Wednesday rising The TSA says 1,887,350 people passed through U.S. airport checkpoints yesterday. That is 87.7% of volume in 2019 on a similar Wednesday in late March. It's also about a third more traffic than a similar day last year. Asia remains grounded In February, 2.5 million passengers flew on carriers aligned with the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines. That's only 8.4% of the 30.3 million passengers in February, 2019. The trade group represents 14 of the region's largest carriers. It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Super-immunity! About half the nation has been infected with one Coronavirus variant or another. But medical experts are beginning to wonder if some people have "super-immunity" to the disease. Bloomberg News has details. Shanghai surprise Like airlines, China never apologizes. But its dreadful response to a Covid spike in Shanghai has caused even the all-powerful Chinese Communist Party to feign contrition. "We sincerely accept everyone's criticism, and are working hard to improve," one Shanghai bureaucrat said publicly. Agence France-Presse has details. Hong Kong goes long on Covid Shanghai isn't alone in mishandling China's latest surge of Covid. Hong Kong has been a mess and its once-vaunted health care system has collapsed. Now it has extended its Covid-19 restrictions until September and raised fines for violating testing rules. Hong Kong Free Press has details.Coronavirus Update: Wednesday, March 30, 2022
Well, that was fast. Just hours after the FDA yesterday approved a second booster of Covid vaccines for people over 50, the CDC signed off, too. Walgreens and Rite Aid, two huge drug chains, say they'll offer the shots immediately. Here are today's other developments: Tuesday tumble The TSA says that 1,736,292 people passed through U.S. airport checkpoints yesterday. That is 85.6% of volume in 2019 on a similar day in late March. However, it is the slowest day for total traffic since March 8. Cruise with confidence The CDC has dropped its Covid risk assessment of cruise travel after more than two years of warning travelers against cruising during the pandemic. USA Today has details. They vaccinate horses, don't they? Who knew? There's a medical effort to vaccinate wildlife against Covid. The Associated Press has details. The President takes a shot President Joe Biden, who is 79, got his second booster shot today, just hours after the CDC signed off and hours before they become available to the public. The Guardian has details.Coronavirus Update: Tuesday, March 29, 2022
The FDA has approved a fourth does of Coronavirus vaccine--or a second booster if you will--for people over the age of 50. The FDA stressed it favored making the new booster available and was not urging people to take it. The additional shot would be permitted after the CDC also signs off. Here are today's other developments: That last 10% The TSA says that 2,131,678 people passed through U.S. airport checkpoints yesterday. That is 90.3% of volume in 2019 on a similar day in late March. Which half are you? More than half of Americans say they've had Covid at some point in the last two years, according to a new Monmouth University poll. The Washington Post has details. Now they sue? The federal mask mandate has been in effect since late January, 2021. Airlines had imposed their own mandates before that. But now some publicity-seeking parties are suing to end the mandate, scheduled to expire on April 18. One suit comes from a few disgruntled flight attendants, odd since flight attendant's union chief Sara Nelson has been one of the most vociferous supporters of the mandate. The other suit comes from 21 states, virtually all run by Republican governors. Both face long odds, based partly on the short time left to the mandate and partly because courts have already turned away all challenges to the mandate. Spring forward How's the first week of spring going? Global airline capacity has increased back to 83.4 million seats, an increase of 2.6 million or 3% week-on-week. The statistics were compiled by OAG, the airline schedulekeepers. Coronavirus Update: Monday, March 28, 2022
Americans who don't have health insurance will start to see some free Covid testing options disappear. Why? Health care providers aren't being reimbursed because Congress could not agree to continue emergency Coronavirus funding. ABC News has details. Here are today's other developments: Just a bit less close to normal The TSA says only about 6.6 million people passed through U.S. airport checkpoints this weekend (Friday-Sunday). That is 91.4% of comparative volume in 2019 and a slight decline from the previous weekend this month. A high plateau There were 213,412 new Coronavirus cases in the United States during the last week, according to Johns Hopkins. That's a few thousand higher than the previous week. The death toll was 5,355, down a few hundred from the previous week. If this is the plateau, we're still distressingly high. Shanghaied The price of Brent crude oil, which most closely tracks the price of jet fuel, tumbled on world markets today. It settled today at $109.49, down from $117+ on Friday. Aftermarket trading has shaved about $3 more off the price of a barrel. The reason: China's lockdown of its second-largest city, Shanghai, is expected to sharply lower energy demand in the immediate future. Another Europe surprise Europe flights averaged 21,084 per day for the week ended March 27, says Eurocontrol, which operates the continent's air traffic control system. That's up 2.6% from the previous week and represents 75.7% of 2019 aircraft volume, a continuing surprise given the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent airspace closures. Remember normal? U.S. airlines carried 46.3 million passengers in January, 33.2% more than last year. But it's still 34% fewer than in pre-pandemic January, 2020, when things were "normal." The statistics are based on preliminary reports filed with the Department of Transportation.Coronavirus Update: Weekend, March 26-27 2022
The pace of vaccinations and boosters has fallen to the lowest level since the shots began to be administered in December, 2020. The Washington Post has details. Here are this weekend's other developments. Locked down again Despite repeated assurances to the contrary, Shanghai is going back into lockdown again. This time it will be a "phased" version--one half of the sprawling city of 25 million at a time--for China's financial center. Agence France-Presse has details. Southwest punching bag A man was arrested at Atlanta/Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta earlier in the week after he punched a Southwest Airlines employee. The Southwest agent was restrained by other staffers from punching back. CNN has the details. Singapore rebounding The hotel industry in Singapore is showing signs of recovery with a 65.3% occupancy rate, a rise of 6.5 points from last year's second quarter. This is even before Singapore fully reopens to visitors in April, according to CBRE, a commercial real estate services and investment firm. Make of it what you will ... Covid is killing more people per 100,000 in red states than in blue states, a reflection of GOP resistance to vaccines and lax Coronavirus restrictions. Axios has details.