NYC Outbreak Worsens; California Warns of Lockdown: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) — New York City’s average number of coronavirus cases and its infection rate hit the highest levels since May, while statewide daily infections closed in on 10,000. New Jersey reported record cases. California will impose a new shelter-at-home order if hospitals start running short of intensive-care capacity. Delaware, reporting record cases, issued a stay-at-home advisory.

President-elect Joe Biden said he would ask all Americans to wear a mask to prevent the spread of the coronavirus for the first 100 days of his administration. Moderna Inc.’s vaccine appears to offer protection against the coronavirus that will last a minimum of three months and potentially much longer, researchers found.

The latest wave of Covid-19 has inundated the Sun Belt, adding pressure on tourism-dependent cities brutalized by infections and deaths in July and August. Facebook said it will start removing false claims about immunizations that have been debunked by public health experts.

• Global Tracker: Cases reach 65 million; deaths top 1.5 million
• Pfizer scaled back vaccine output targets earlier this year
• Covid fighters run out of weapons with virus spreading in homes
• Covid’s Sun-Belt return targets Miami, Phoenix and Las Vegas
• Operation Warp Speed and U.K. vaccine drive leave Europe behind
• N.Y. developers hire influencers to sell homes during Covid
• Vaccine Tracker: Covid-19 inoculations are about to begin

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The Osaka prefectural government raised its virus alert to the highest level after a rise in serious cases put strain on its medical system.

Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura, at a news conference late Thursday, urged residents to stay home until Dec. 15. Schools will remain open but bars and restaurants in certain districts are being asked to close early.

Osaka reported 386 new cases Thursday; number of patients with serious conditions rose to 136, meaning two-thirds of hospital beds have been occupied, according to Kyodo.

President-elect Joe Biden said he would ask all Americans to wear a mask to prevent the spread of the coronavirus for the first 100 days of his administration as well as issue a “standing order” requiring face coverings in federal buildings and on all interstate transportation.

“Not forever, for 100 days,” he said. “And I think we’ll see a significant reduction” in infections.

North Carolina reported a record 5,637 new infections and the highest number of hospitalizations since the pandemic began. Governor Roy Cooper urged residents to “take personal responsibility” in following the state’s mask order and other health measures but warned of tighter restrictions. “Everything is on the table in weeks to come,” he told reporters, according to the Raleigh News and Observer.

Delaware issued a stay-at-home advisory, halting in-person learning at schools, prohibiting winter sports competitions and requiring people to wear masks indoors if mixing with another household. The order runs from Dec. 14 through Jan. 11.

The state reported a record 754 cases on Thursday.

“A vaccine is on the way but, make no mistake, we are facing the most difficult few months of this crisis,” said Governor John Carney, a Democrat. “I know we’re all tired of Covid-19 – but it’s not tired of us. We’re pleading with Delawareans to do the right thing.”

The state already requires masks in public settings — and the new order does not change the rules for people at work or commuting.

Covid-19 could kill between 2,000 and 4,400 people in Colorado this month, based on official state modeling data released Thursday. “The numbers could go up by much as several thousand deaths,” said Jon Samet, dean of the Colorado School of Public Health, during an online news conference.

As of Dec. 2, Colorado tallied 3,193 deaths among Covid-19 cases since the pandemic started. It is estimated 1-in-40 of the state’s population of 5.7 million are currently infected, Samet said. Last week it was 1-in-41 with Colorado Governor Jared Polis testing positive over the weekend.

“We have a population that is fatigued with doing what it needs to do,” Samet said. “I don’t like to be a grim prognosticator here. But if the curve keeps rising” it’s estimated “we’ll see more hospitalizations, more cases, more deaths.”

Ohio’s positive-test rate climbed above 15% for the first week since April, Governor Mike DeWine said. He released a map showing states where Ohioans are advised against traveling — which now includes Ohio.

The state reported near-record hospitalizations amid warnings from medical officials that the system is already overwhelmed, before an expected post-Thanksgiving increase. DeWine reported 8,921 new cases, the fifth highest on record, and 82 more deaths.

Coronavirus hospitalizations in New York topped 4,000 for the first time since late May, as new cases in the state closed in on 10,000 a day, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Thursday.

Of the more than 203,000 tests conducted statewide on Wednesday, 9,855, or 4.84%, were positive, including hot spot areas, Cuomo said at a briefing in Albany. There were 4,063 hospitalizations, up 139 from the day prior, and 61 virus-related deaths.

The state is focusing on increasing the number of hospital beds available as fears of overwhelming the hospital system increase. There currently are about 53,000 hospital beds statewide, 35,000 of which are occupied, Cuomo said.

The state can increase to up to 75,000 beds using its “surge and flex” program, he said, adding that about 19,000 coronavirus patients were hospitalized at the peak of the pandemic in March and April.

California, the first state to tell residents to stay home to fight the coronavirus pandemic, may be about to do it again.

Governor Gavin Newsom warned Thursday that the state would impose a new shelter-at-home order if hospitals start running short of intensive-care capacity, a dire possibility that could happen in some areas as soon a this week.

“The bottom line is if we don’t act now, our hospital system will be overwhelmed,” he said.

The order would be imposed in specific regions — such as the San Francisco Bay Area or Southern California — rather than statewide. It would take effect once a region’s hospitals had only 15% of their intensive care unit beds available, a threshold none has crossed so far. If imposed, the order would last three weeks.

Iowa reported a record 70 fatalities, even as average deaths and daily cases have dipped in recent days. The state also reported outbreaks, defined as three or more cases, at 170 long-term care facilities, accounting for 1,097 of the state’s total 2,519 deaths. Two weeks ago, outbreaks were reported at 114 facilities.

Arizona reported 82 deaths from Covid-19 on Thursday, the highest daily number since Aug. 26, when it recorded 104. The state’s toll rose to 6,821. The state Department of Health Services also reported 5,442 new virus cases, bringing the total to 346,421.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa reimposed several curbs aimed at containing the coronavirus pandemic in one of the nation’s biggest municipalities, which is battling a second wave of infections.

A 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew will be reinstated in Nelson Mandela Bay in the south of the country, Ramaphosa said in a televised address on Thursday. Alcohol sales be restricted and the consumption of alcoholic beverages in public spaces will be forbidden.

The number of new coronavirus cases in South Africa jumped to 4,400 on Wednesday, the highest since mid-August, Ramaphosa said. Of the 800,872 people diagnosed with the disease in the country so far, 92% have recovered, while 21,803 have died.

New Jersey reported 4,913 new cases of Covid-19, the most since the state’s first case was disclosed on March 4. The high number partly reflects vastly expanded testing: Like many states early in the pandemic, New Jersey tested only those with virus symptoms. Now the state routinely processes 30,000-plus specimens per day, and last month ran more than 75,000 tests over 24 hours.

The positivity rate, 13.68% on Nov. 28, is the highest since May as was the number of patients currently hospitalized, at 3,292. In addition, 64 deaths were reported.

New York City plans to partner with private companies to create an institute devoted to predicting and responding to future pandemics, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

His announcement came as new reported cases reached a weekly average of 1,962 and the citywide infection rate hit 5.19% — the highest levels since May for both.

The city’s latest data showed 174 hospitalized with Covid-19 symptoms as of Tuesday, a number the mayor described as “a serious increase.” During the summer and fall, admissions totaled fewer than 50 a day. Despite the rising numbers, the mayor said the city’s private and public hospitals remain well within their capacity to handle such increases.

Moderna Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine appears to offer potent protection against coronavirus that will last a minimum of three months and potentially much longer, according…