Coronavirus positives in Bradenton and Hillsborough Counties (Miami, Tampa: tenant, landlord)

[wondermint2]

Manatee County allows residents 55 and older to register for COVID-19 vaccine

https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/...16161029202939

Manatee County is opening its COVID-19 vaccine registration list to people 55 and over as it waits for the state to expand who is eligible to get vaccinated, a move that could come in days.

Getting your name on the list doesn’t mean you are getting a vaccine, though. While anyone over 55 will be able to register, vaccinations are still reserved for those over 60.

But those over 55 who sign up now may not have to wait long.

The county has seen a lackluster response in the first few days since it began allowing people over 60 to register. Chloe Conboy, a county spokeswoman ,said Thursday that about 5,700 people over 60 had registered since the system opened Monday morning. That’s far behind the nearly 130,000 who signed up the first week the system went live in January for those over 65.

[wondermint2]

Low-dose aspirin can reduce the risk of ICU admission and death of Covid-19, researchers say

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/18/healt...ess/index.html

Low-dose aspirin may help protect the lungs and reduce the need to put patients on ventilators, researchers reported Wednesday.

The cheap and widely available pills also keep patients out of ICUs and can reduce the risk of death, probably by preventing tiny blood clots, a team at George Washington University reported in a study published in the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia.

The team looked at the records of 412 patients admitted to several US hospitals between March and July 2020. About 24% of the patients received aspirin within 24 hours of hospital admission, or in the seven days before hospital admission. But most, 76%, did not receive the drug. Aspirin use was associated with a 44% reduction in mechanical ventilation, a 43% reduction in ICU admission, and a 47% reduction for in-hospital mortality, the researchers found.

[wondermint2]

Fauci warns possible 4th surge in COVID-19 cases could undermine progress

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fa...ss/ar-BB1eJxb1

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday he's concerned about a possible fourth surge in COVID-19 cases as numbers tick up in some states and Europe, which the U.S. has traditionally trailed by about four weeks in its COVID trajectory.

Fauci, the nation's chief disease expert, and other Biden administration officials testified before the Senate's Health committee on Thursday about the COVID response, stressing the U.S. is in a race against virus variants to vaccinate Americans as quickly as possible.

Fauci said the situation in the U.S. has improved greatly since the intense spike in cases after the winter holidays, but that he still worries the country will "declare victory" over the virus too soon and relax behaviors that could lead to another surge in the number of cases.

Although the U.S. national daily case average continues to fall -- about 32.5% over the last month -- nearly a third of all states have recently seen their average number of cases rise by at least 10%.

Fauci said trends in Europe's number of cases have been a good predictor of trends in the U.S. and should serve as a warning about the importance of staying vigilant about stopping the virus from spreading.

Over the past few weeks, cases have spiked in Poland, France and Italy, provoking increased restrictions, hospitals nearing capacity and school closures.

"Europe is generally about three to four weeks ahead of us in the dynamics of their outbreak. And what they saw a little while ago was a plateauing of their decrement. They were coming down nicely, and then they plateaued. And then, just as you might have predicted, they then, one, started to go up," he said.

[wondermint2]

Coronavirus: DeSantis lays groundwork to overturn local mask mandates, chides 'lockdown' states

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/co...es/ar-BB1eJuLq

Surrounded by doctors who have broken ranks with public health experts over how to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday continued to lay the groundwork to overturn local rules, particularly mask mandates.

The group, which DeSantis summoned in September shortly before he stripped local officials of their ability to keep businesses closed, scoffed at measures like school shutdowns, contract tracing and mask mandates.

Such tactics, they said during an hour-long discussion in the capitol, weren’t just unnecessary, but counterproductive and, in some cases, harmful.

DeSantis, who steadfastly refused to enact a statewide mask mandate, needs legislative authority to strike down local face-covering laws, like those in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. But once a GOP-backed bill passes, he said such measures would be eliminated.

“We are having no lockdowns, no mandates in Florida,” he said during an afternoon press conference in Panama City. “People are able to make decisions on their own. They can understand what they want to do and what they don’t want to do.”

Further, he said, he won’t implement a COVID-19 passport that would require people to show proof they have been vaccinated before they can go to the theater, concerts or sporting events. If private companies try to do so, he said he would find a way to stop them.

During the hour-long discussion, his hand-picked group of experts lauded his laissez-faire approach to the pandemic.

They contradicted and criticized recommendations by the federal Centers for Disease of Control and Prevention.

[wondermint2]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis lowers COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to 50 starting Monday

https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/...day/4762756001

Having nearly reached the goal of vaccinating over two-thirds of Florida’s seniors, Gov. Ron DeSantis today signed an executive order lowering the eligibility age to 50 starting Monday.

He also said the state could open vaccinations to all residents before May 1 who qualify under the emergency use authorization for the vaccines issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

[wondermint2]

Party’s over: Miami Beach imposing South Beach curfew for spring break

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/pa...ak/ar-BB1eNy1L

MIAMI — Frustrated and concerned by overwhelming spring break crowds that have overrun the city’s entertainment district, the city of Miami Beach on Saturday all but shut down the party by imposing an 8 p.m. curfew in South Beach and shortly after closing down the causeways into the city to visiting traffic.

The sudden orders — which some business owners worry could cripple venues banking on the crush of tourists to help them bounce back from the pandemic — constitute the most far-reaching restrictions on spring break partying that Miami Beach City Hall has imposed in recent memory, said interim City Manager Raul Aguila, who declared a state of emergency.

[wondermint2]

Covid cases are rising in 21 states as health officials warn against reopening too quickly

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/03/20/...o-quickly.html

- Even as the pace of vaccinations accelerates in the U.S., Covid-19 cases are increasing in 21 states and highly infectious variants are spreading even as governors begin to relax restrictions on businesses.

- Public health officials warn that while roughly 2.5 million people nationwide are receiving shots every day, infection levels have plateaued this month and some states have failed to reduce the number of daily cases.

- The 7-day moving average of new infections was 54,666 as of Friday, according to a CNBC analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.

Infections are rising in the following states: Alabama; Connecticut; Hawaii; Idaho; Illinois; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; Michigan; Minnesota; Missouri; Montana; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New York; North Dakota; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; Virginia; Washington; and West Virginia.

[wondermint2]

Florida releases COVID-19 variant data day after Orlando Sentinel sues for it

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/coro...outputType=amp

Mutated strains of COVID-19 have reached 41 of Florida’s 67 counties, infecting hundreds of residents, including a 97-year-old woman and a 2-year-old boy, according to data released to the Orlando Sentinel late Friday by the state Department of Health.

The disclosure came one day after the newspaper filed a lawsuit against the agency for allegedly violating Florida’s public records law and the state’s constitution. For 57 days, the state withheld information on the variant cases, despite numerous requests from Orlando Sentinel reporters and attorneys.

“We are happy the state is finally complying with the law and releasing this important information so that citizens can be better informed about the extent of variants in Florida,” Sentinel managing editor Roger Simmons said. “It’s just a shame that we had to sue the state – again – to get it.”

[wondermint2]

Week over week we saw a slight increase in new cases for Sarasota County while Manatee County had a slight decrease in new cases. Because testing declined in both counties - we saw increases in the test positivity rates. Hospitalizations had good-sized declines in both counties.

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Hospitalizations
As per the state data-base that lists hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of Covid-19:

Sarasota County:

* February 7th = 82.28 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
*February 14th = 60.00 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
*February 21st = 64.14 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
*February 28th = 59.57 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
*March 7th = 63.57 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
*March 14th = 54.43 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
*March 21st = 41.28 Covid-19 patients hospitalized

Manatee County:

*February 7th = 70.43 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
*February 14th = 58.28 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
*February 21st = 50.71 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
*February 28th = 54.28 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
*March 7th = 62.71 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
*March 14th = 49.57 Covid-19 patients hospitalized
*March 21st = 41.28 Covid-19 patients hospitalized

*I report hospitalizations as the seven day average.

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Cases, Tests, Positivity Rate

For the week of March 14th through March 20th:

Sarasota County:

total positive cases = 479 (68.43 cases per day on average)
total tests = 10,901 (1557.28 tests per day on average)
test positivity rate = 4.39%

Manatee County:

total positive cases = 597 (85.28 cases per day on average)
total tests = 9987 (1462.71 tests per day on average)
test positivity rate = 5.97%

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For the week of March 7th through March 13th:

Sarasota County:

total positive cases = 471 (67.28 cases per day on average)
total tests = 12,806 (1829.43 tests per day on average)
test positivity rate = 3.68%

Manatee County:

total positive cases = 601 (85.86 cases per day on average)
total tests = 11,723 (1674.71 tests per day on average)
test positivity rate = 5.13%

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For the week of February 28th through March 6th:

Sarasota County:

total positive cases = 400 (57.14 cases per day on average)
total tests = 11,087 (1583.86 tests per day on average)
test positivity rate = 3.61%

Manatee County:

total positive cases = 660 (94.28 cases per day on average)
total tests = 11,552 (1650.28 tests per day on average)
test positivity rate = 5.71%

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For the week of February 21st through February 27th:

Sarasota County:

total positive cases = 484 (69.14 cases per day on average)
total tests = 13,938 (1991.14 tests per day on average)
test positivity rate = 3.47%

Manatee County:

total positive cases = 773 (110.43 cases per day on average)
total tests = 11,234 (1329 tests per day on average)
test positivity rate = 5.8%

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For the week of February 14th through February 20th:

Sarasota County:

total positive cases = 474 (67.71 cases per day on average)
total tests = 12,635 (1805 tests per day on average)
test positivity rate = 3.7%

Manatee County:

total positive cases = 738 (105.43 cases per day on average)
total tests = 11,234 (1604.86 tests per day on average)
test positivity rate = 6.6%

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For the week of February 7th through February 13th:

Sarasota County:

total positive cases = 519 (74.14 cases per day on average)
total tests = 14,504 (2072 tests per day on average)
test positivity rate = 3.57%

Manatee County:

total positive cases = 818 (116.86 cases per day on average)
total tests = 12,863 (1837.57 tests per day on average)
test positivity rate = 6.36%

[wondermint2]

'Put me in jail': Fierce Covid shot resistance for US Republicans

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...ns/ar-BB1eNtLe

According to a poll last week, 41 percent of Republicans nationally said they would not get the vaccine, compared to just 11 percent of Democrats.

African-Americans and anti-vaccination activists have also shown high levels of opposition to the Covid shots, but among Republicans the phenomenon appears more directly linked to America's political polarization.