CoViD-19: As Goes The Country, Hospitalizations Skyrocket In San Diego, County Passes 1000 Deaths | US Approaches 100,000 Hospitalizations | Study Confirms Outdoor Transmission Lower-Risk | Kid Cases On The Rise

 

My Sister's Puppy, Roxy (Taken 11.26.2020)

I measure my amount of online time with how many times I run the battery of my laptop down and so far I've already done two and half cycles, so I need to wrap this up. I don't really have anything exciting going on around here. Darren and I had a late night in the speakeasy so it was a sluggish day, hanging out in the yard in this ridiculous December weather. We continue to lay low when possible though there still might be some Zoo visits in our near future, especially since Jungle Bells starts this Friday. And in good news, a study in the Journal of Infectious Diseases found that less than 10% of worldwide COVID-19 cases are attributable to outdoor transmission. I really believe that LA is doing it right but prohibiting all in-person dining, because people continue to mix households and obviously can't mask up while eating and drinking and we're not really going to get control of this thing until we shut it down. I'm still holding out hope that a new CARES act comes through before the end of the year. 

One thing I've been meaning to talk about, especially now that it's December, is Christmas trees. Growing up, we always had an artificial tree. In fact, I think we had the same one my whole life until my parents finally upgraded when I was in my thirties. My parents' house has a fireplace which they used to use often which is dangerous for a real tree. Because of that, however, I've always loved a real tree and have been getting one since college. This year, I was sure I'd changed my mind. The story of Rockefeller the Owl really pissed me off. To me, there was nothing cure about saying this little owl "hitched a ride" to New York...he was taken from the wild in his home. But I'm a hypocrite just like everyone and after my little shopping adventure yesterday and looking at artificial trees, I'm just not ready to pull the trigger, so I'm sure we'll be grabbing a tree before the weekend, too. But it won't be without a little guilt. Today's reading and COVID-19 data are after the jump. 

• World COVID-19 Stats (JHU 9:27pm 12.1.2020):
• 63,839,023 Known Cases 
• 1,480,001 Known Deaths
• US COVID-19 Stats (COVID Tracking Project):
• 176,751 New Cases/13,515,234 Known Cases (9% increase)
• 261,789 Known Deaths
• 98,691 Currently Hospitalized
• 19,035 Currently in ICU
• California COVID-19 Stats:
• 12,221 New Cases/1,225,189 Total Cases (1% increase)
• 70 New Deaths/19,211 Total Deaths (0.4% increase)
• 6.5% 14-day test positivity rate
• 4.4% Increase in Hospitalizations from prior day
• 5.0% Increase in ICU from prior day
• San Diego County Stats
• State Data:
• 1,066 New Cases/81,086 Total Cases
• 1 Deaths/997 Total Deaths
• 30.5 cases/100k population (Based on week ending 11/28, Assessed on 12/1. Unadjusted Case Rate)
• 2.3% Test Positivity (Based on week ending 11/28, Assessed on 12/1.)
• 10.3 Health Equity Positivity (Based on week ending 11/28)
• County Data:
• San Diego County COVID-19 Update – 12-1-2020 - County News Center
• COVID-19 Watch
• 1,378 New Cases/83,241 Total Cases 
• 22 New Daily Deaths/1,019 Total Deaths
• 9% Daily Test Positivity/6.6% (7-day avg after 7-day lag)/6.3% Test Positivity (14-day average)
• 15.3 cases/100k population (Based on week ending 11/28, Assessed on 12/1. Unadjusted case rate per 100,000 excluding prisons.) 
• Case Investigation is 62% (under 70% goal)
• Increasing Hospitalizations 16.1% (over 10% trigger)
• 17 New/81 Community Outbreaks (7-day)
• Business 26
• Restaurant/bar 11
• Retail 14
• Restaurant 5
• Grocery 5
• Faith-based agency 4
• Government 3
• Daycare/preschool 4
• Healthcare 2
• Construction 1
• Emergency Services 1
• Food/Bev Processing 1
• Higher Ed 1
• tk-12 school 1
• Warehouse/Distribution 1
• Other 1
• Universities:
• SDSU COVID-19, UCSD COVID-19, USD COVID-19, CSU San Marcos, PLNU
• COVID-19:
• There’s No Room for Teens in the Pandemic City. With schools remote, sports canceled, and libraries closed, teenagers in many U.S. cities find themselves unwelcome in parks and public spaces. - Bloomberg (11.30.2020)
• Health workers, long-term care facilities should get Covid-19 vaccine first, CDC advisory panel says - STAT News (12.1.2020)
• How nanotechnology helps mRNA Covid-19 vaccines work - STAT News (12.1.2020)
• The Free-Market Approach to This Pandemic Isn't Working. The US health care system has always been unequal, but Covid-19 has revealed it to be absurd. - Wired (12.1.2020)
• He didn’t take covid-19 seriously. Being hospitalized ‘made a believer’ out of him.- The Washington Post (12.1.2020)
• Outdoor Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and Other Respiratory Viruses, a Systematic Review - Journal of Infectious Diseases (11.29.2020)
• Rate of COVID Infection in U.S. Children Rising - STATISTA (12.1.2020)

COVID-19 in Children

• Politics/News/Other Reading:
• Corporate America will spend millions to keep McConnell in charge of the Senate - Popular.Info (12.1.2020)
• What’s next for the $180B+ in-person events industry? The $180B+ in-person events industry was crushed this year. Moving forward, exhibitions may outperform while live sports struggle. - The Hustle (12.1.2020)
• Join the Christmas Bird Count. You can add to a century of community science by signing up for a count near you. - National Audobon
• Animals Are Using Utah’s Largest Wildlife Overpass Earlier Than Expected. The state will conduct a full analysis of the bridge after three to five years, but early results are promising - Smithsonian (11.30.2020)