CoViD-19: San Diego Reaches "Low" Level Of Community Transmission | Newsom Launches Clean California | Known Global Deaths Surpass 4Million |

A Catamaran At Sunset From Our Dinner View at Ketch (Taken 7.7.21)

 
Today was a very weird day. I woke up to a 7am call from my sister who told me I should get to my parents house, that my dad wasn't doing well. Apparently he called her and told her to come over because he was dying and we needed to say goodbye. My mom has been telling me all week that he hasn't been doing well, and I guess I'm sharing because it's what I do here. He's been of poor health for a really long time and we've had two pretty serious close calls that resulted in long hospital stays before but somehow he made it through. 

The good news it was maybe just low blood sugar or something because by the time I made it to Chula Vista, my sister was gone, and he was up and alert and chatty and talking on the phone and being my dad again. His health is really bad and deteriorating and he's made it very clear that going to the hospital is not an option when his time comes. We've all been preparing for that for a long time but I really don't think anything can really prepare us, so we show up when he says this time is for real and continue to hope that it's not. 

I ended up staying with them for a few hours, helping my mom with a tax thing and watching the Price is Right and Judge Judy like we used to when I worked in their daycare. I eventually left in the afternoon and had to reflect on what a weird way to wake up that had been. 

Besides all that, I watched the WHO and Governor Newsom briefings today, and today is the County's reporting day of variants, cases, hospitalizations, deaths, and all the other data that used to be daily. Shocking to nobody, the Delta variant cases doubled but it's important to bear in mind that only a fraction of cases are sequenced. Still, the data for fully vaccinated people in San Diego is looking really encouraging. By the CDC's standards, our county's transmission is "LOW" which it hasn't been for a VERY long time. Still, it's not so good for the unvaxxed. Globally, deaths surpassed 4,000,000 and that's only the tallied deaths that are reported. Dr. Ryan from the WHO is always blunt and awesome and I included a link and notes below.   

This afternoon Jeff took Darren, Nova, and I to Portside Pier for dinner at Ketch and it was delicious and a beautiful view and kinda made me forget the morning I'd had. Tell your family you love them. 

Stay safe out there.   

• COVID-19:
• California’s Highest Covid Infection Rates Shift to Rural Counties - KHN (7.7.21)
• A Tsunami of Disability Is Coming as a Result of ‘Long COVID’. We need to plan for a future where millions of survivors are chronically ill. - Scientific American (7.6.21)
• CDC Variant Proportions. Delta is now dominant variant in US at 51.7% (6/20- 7/3.) Was 30.4% just 2 weeks ago (6/6- 6/19)
• WHO: Weekly Epidemiological Update for COVID-19
• Last week, the number of new cases increased slightly, while the number of new deaths continued to decrease, with over 2.6 million new cases and just under 54 000 new deaths reported globally. This is the lowest weekly mortality figure since early October 2020. The cumulative number of cases reported globally now exceeds 183 million and the number of deaths is almost 4 million. Last week, all Regions reported an increase in new cases except for the Americas. The European Region reported a sharp increase in incidence (30%) whereas the African region reported a sharp increase in mortality (23%) when compared to the previous week. All Regions, with the exception of the Americas and South-East Asia, reported an increase in the number of deaths last week.
• Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 – 7 July 2021 - (FULL BRIEFING HERE)
• Too soon for countries to drop mitigations. People should be aware of transmission levels in their region, vaccination levels in their region, how long they're around people whose status is unknown to them, i.e. indoors in shops, public transit, etc., and consider continuing masking and distancing. 
• Risk management has slowed pandemic at key times, and we shouldn't let up now. "We need to stick to the plan."
• Due care and risk management needs to be top priority for all future gatherings, whether events, schools opening, universities, sports, etc. 
• 4 things driving sharp curves. Vertical in 20 countries.
• The Virus itself, including the variants. 
• Social Mixing and Mobility is increasing worldwide.
• Inappropriate use of public health and social measures. Does not mean lockdown, it means proper guidance for masking, distancing, outdoor vs indoor, ventilation strategies, hygiene. Dropping them all at once is a losing strategy. 
• Unequal distribution of vaccines. 
• We are not in a "what if" situation...this is happening now. Cases, deaths are rising now in many pockets of the world. Play it safe, be smart, have policies that are agile and adapt to local situations and drive transmission down. 
• If the (UK) logic of more people being infected is better, is logic that has proven its moral emptiness and epidemiological stupidity previously.  
• Here's that breakdown in a UK fight: PMQs: Starmer and Johnson clash over 'reckless' England unlocking plan (YouTube) - The Guardian (7.7.21)
• WHO recommends life-saving interleukin-6 receptor blockers for COVID-19 and urges producers to join efforts to rapidly increase access - WHO (7.6.21)
• Majority Of Americans Believe Employees Should Be Required To Wear Masks At Work, Even After Being Vaccinated, Survey Finds - Forbes (6.24.21)
• White House: 
• Notice on the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Transnational Criminal Organizations
• Letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate on the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Transnational Criminal Organizations
• Notice on the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Hong Kong
• Remarks by President Biden During a Tour of McHenry County College
• Remarks by President Biden Before Marine One Departure
• Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Jen Psaki Aboard Air Force One En Route Crystal Lake, IL
• Statement by Press Secretary Jen Psaki on the Visit of His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan
• Statement by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on the Assassination of President Jovenel Moïse
• Readout of White House Meeting with Youth Voting Groups
• News:
• Governor Newsom Kicks Off Clean California Day of Action Highlighting New Initiative to Clean and Revitalize Neighborhoods Across the State.
• $1.1 billion program will dramatically expand trash removal from state highways and fund local beautification and liter abatement projects
• Creates up to 11,000 jobs, including for people exiting homelessness, formerly incarcerated individuals, veterans, students and local artists
• Project opportunities in all 58 counties, nearly a third of program funding to be invested in cities, counties, tribes and transit agencies
• Clean California Fact Sheet
• Global COVID-19 Stats (JHU 7.7.21 7:21pm):
• 185,018,936 Known Cases
• 4,000,641 Known Deaths
• US COVID-19 Stats 
• CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Data Tracker
• JHU
• 33,770,312 Cases
• 606,216 Deaths
• CDC Data Tracker:
• +14,137 New Cases/33,582,352 Known Cases 
• +224 New Deaths/603,656 Known Deaths
• 383,068,740 Doses Delivered
• 331,651,464 Doses Administered
• 182,896,080 Partially Vaccinated
• 157,908,171 Fully Vaccinated 
• 47.6% of Total Population
• 55.6% of Population ≥ 12 Years of Age
• 58.4% of Population ≥ 18 Years of Age
• California COVID-19 Stats:
• State of California Safe Schools For All Hub
• Vaccination progress dashboard
• R-effective: 0.82
• 48,403,495 Doses Delivered/42,087,777 Doses Administered
• 3,224,054 Partially Vaccinated/20,296,653 Fully Vaccinated (59.8%)
• 1,332 New Cases/3,721,006 Total Cases (2.9 new cases/100k)
• 21 New Deaths/63,259 Total Deaths (0.02 new deaths/100k)
• 1.9% 7-day test positivity rate
• 1,506 COVID-19 Hospitalizations (+96 patients, +6.8% from prior day)
• 328 COVID-19 ICU hospitalized in CA (+1 patients, +0.3% from prior day)
• 2,555 ICU beds available (+93 from prior day)
• San Diego County 
• Free Testing Sites and Schedule in San Diego
• VaccinationSuperstationSD
• Vaccination Dashboard
• San Diego County Of Education School Reopening Dashboard
• State Data:
• R-effective: 0.76
• 3,819,202 Doses Administered
• 444 New Cases/283,278 Total Cases
• 2.7 cases/100k
• 1.9% (7-day avg after 7-day lag)
• 0 Deaths/3,782 Total Deaths
• 103 COVID-19 hospitalized patients (+13 patients, 14.4% from prior day)
• 24 COVID-19 ICU hospitalized patients (+1 patients, +4.3% from prior day)
• 283 ICU beds available (+9 from prior day)
• CDC San Diego County Data
• 1,388,067 Fully Vaccinated 
• 41.6% of Total Population
• 48.5% of Population ≥ 12 Years of Age
• 49.8% of Population ≥ 18 Years of Age
• County Weekly Data:
• Unvaccinated San Diegans Account for Nearly All COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations, Deaths (Data since 1.1.21)
• 99.8% of deaths 3/1,219 Fully Vaccinated
• 99.88% of hospitalizations 10/5,159 Fully Vaccinated
• 99.1% of cases 1,008/106,558 Fully Vaccinated
• COVID-19 Watch 
• 1,348 Cases Last 2 Weeks Through 7.3.21
• 794 New Cases/283,376 Total Cases 
• Delta Variant 
• Last Week: 25 Delta Variants Identified: 18 of those are ages 0-39 Years Old 72%
• This Week: 54 Delta Variants Identified: 36 of those are ages 0-39 Years Old 67%
• 2 New Daily Deaths/3,782 Total Deaths
• 4,360,265 Doses Received/4,102,990 Doses Administered
• 2,207,468 Partially Vaccinated/1,893,523 Fully Vaccinated
• +24,077 Newly Fully Vaccinated Since Last Week
• 67.6% 12+ Population Fully Vaccinated/56.6% Total Population Fully Vaccinated
• 1.5% Percentage Positive (7-day avg after 7-day lag)
• Rolling Average is increasing: 6/30 1%; 7/1 1.7%; 7/2 1.8%; 7/3 2.6%; 7/4 2.1%; 7/5 1.9%; 7/6 2.8%
• 97.4% Case Investigation 
• 5.8% Day Over Day COVID-19 Hospitalizations (+41 patients. +8% over 30 days)
• 37% ICU Capacity (-4 patients. -33% over )
• 9 Community Outbreaks (7-day)