# Coronavirus COVID-19 (2019-nCoV) Thread - 2021 Breaking News **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [January 1, 2021, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428 "2021-01-01T08:03:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 112
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/2262 "2021-08-21T17:52:09Z")
Oh Gosh, things are getting bad, kids are dying in hospitals and kids in schools are getting scared. What to do, what to do? > **[Bullhead City school board bans employees from discussing mask-wearing,...](https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-education/2021/08/20/arizona-school-board-imposes-gag-rule-vaccines-masks/8210283002/)** > > Employees in a northwestern Arizona school district cannot discuss vaccination status or mask-wearing with students under a motion approved unanimously by the local school board this week. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/2263 "2021-08-21T19:11:39Z")
AZ Republic missed an opportunity there to call the Bullhead City school board “bullheaded”. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/2264 "2021-08-21T21:03:34Z")
Bull-something, at any rate. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2021, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/2265 "2021-08-22T02:48:08Z")
> I.C.U. beds, where hospitals’ critically ill patients are treated, are filling up across Southern states, and Alabama is one of the first to run out. The Alabama Hospital Association said on Wednesday night that there were “negative 29” I.C.U. beds available in the state, meaning there were more than two dozen people being forced to wait in emergency rooms for an open I.C.U. bed. > **[I come to you and see all this ruin - Lawyers, Guns & Money](https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2021/08/i-come-to-you-and-see-all-this-ruin)** > > What’s going wrong? There wasn’t a single I.C.U. bed available in Alabama on Wednesday, a possible sign of what other states may confront soon amid a deadly surge of new infections in parts of the United States with low vaccination rates. I.C.U.... ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2021, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/2266 "2021-08-22T04:19:33Z")
212,162,969 total cases 4,436,906 dead 189,793,091 recovered In the US: 38,519,294 total cases 644,840 dead 30,463,056 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 211,572,165 total cases > 4,428,045 dead > 189,320,364 recovered > > In the US: > > 38,398,596 total cases > 644,281 dead > 30,439,239 recovered ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2021, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/2267 "2021-08-22T05:19:07Z")
Arizona is back to where we were in February. Happily, its mostly the anti-vaxers who are dying now. > **[Arizona COVID-19 update: State reports over 3,000 new cases and 53 new known...](https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-health/2021/08/20/aug-20-arizona-covid-19-update-3-109-new-cases-53-new-deaths/8211481002/)** > > Arizona's seven-day average for new COVID-19 cases was at 2,941 on Aug. 20, 2021, compared with 2,604 one week earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2021, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/2268 "2021-08-22T06:28:14Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > > I.C.U. beds, where hospitals’ critically ill patients are treated, are filling up across Southern states, and Alabama is one of the first to run out. . . . > > [I come to you and see all this ruin - Lawyers, Guns & Money](https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2021/08/i-come-to-you-and-see-all-this-ruin) The user comments at that link are a hoot! ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2021, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/2269 "2021-08-22T10:31:59Z")
Not just funny, but literate, witty, and intelligent. > The greatest and highest form of Freedom is, in practice, indistinguishable from Disaster. > Good enough for me and my survivalist friend Bobby McGee > > Intubated in Mobile, Waiting for a room > I was feeling near as faded as my jeans > Bobbi flagged a doctor down, just before my Doom > They hooked me up to an oxygen machine > Is life so dear, or health so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of masks and vaccines? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty _and_ give me death! Those people would fit in well over here at the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2021, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/2270 "2021-08-22T11:17:22Z")
…Day Five of Lockdown Level 4 in New Zealand, and trending in twitter is: #spreadyourlegs For context: > **[Watch: Chris Hipkins' amusing raunchy slip up at Covid presser](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-chris-hipkins-amusing-slip-up-tells-kiwis-to-socially-distance-when-you-spread-your-legs/U3MBNTSREOMUKBFM4D3KRKGMEE/)** > > Even Ashley Bloomfield couldn't help but laugh when Hipkins got flirty with the nation. We are easily amused. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/2271 "2021-08-23T04:56:41Z")
212,596,471 total cases 4,444,657 dead 190,212,020 recovered In the US: 38,545,144 total cases 645,058 dead 30,472,804 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 212,162,969 total cases > 4,436,906 dead > 189,793,091 recovered > > In the US: > > 38,519,294 total cases > 644,840 dead > 30,463,056 recovered ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/2272 "2021-08-23T13:57:32Z")
The FDA has given Pfizer’s vaccine full approval: > **[US regulators give full approval to Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine](https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-vaccine-pfizer-approval-1361ff61d06b815652a08a7cc0683a72)** > > The U.S. has given full approval to the COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer. The Food and Drug Administration’s decision on Monday may help lift public confidence in vaccinations as the nation battles the most contagious coronavirus mutant yet. > [@](#): > > The vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech now carries the strongest endorsement from the Food and Drug Administration, which has never before had so much evidence to judge a shot’s safety. More than 200 million Pfizer doses already have been administered in the U.S. — and hundreds of millions more worldwide — since emergency use began in December. > > “The public can be very confident that this vaccine meets the high standards for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality the FDA requires of an approved product,” said acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock. “Today’s milestone puts us one step closer to altering the course of this pandemic in the U.S.” > > The U.S. becomes the first country to fully approve the shot, according to Pfizer, and CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement he hoped the decision “will help increase confidence in our vaccine, as vaccination remains the best tool we have to help protect lives.” ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/2273 "2021-08-23T14:56:06Z")
It will be interesting to see if this has any effect on vaccination rates. Although people who distrust the CDC and authority in general probably don’t trust the FDA either. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/2274 "2021-08-23T15:07:33Z")
This morning, 75+ doctors walked out of a South Florida hospital in protest over the number of unvaccinated COVID patients. > **[More Than 75 Doctors Walk Out of South Florida Hospital Rather Than Treat the...](https://beckernews.com/more-than-75-doctors-walk-out-of-south-florida-hospital-rather-than-treat-the-unvaccinated-41035/)** > > "That is truly reflective of the frustration that you see behind me and these doctors have gathered, some coming off their shift to come out here"... ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/2275 "2021-08-23T15:52:54Z")
Someone commented above about the possibility of a Sturgis spike, but the evidence so far has been absent. But apparently if you look at the records for the county Sturgis is in, there appears to be a definite spike: > **[Looks like Sturgis was a super spreader - again](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/8/23/2047660/-Looks-like-Sturgis-was-a-super-spreader-again?utm_campaign=trending)** > > The Sturgis Rally is in Sturgis, South Dakota at the far western end of Meade County. This year the rally ran from August 6-15. The main graphic above shows an incredible spike just one week later — far higher than the spike in 2020. These are the... ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/2276 "2021-08-23T16:25:20Z")
NYC is requiring all public school employees be vaccinated–no testing option, no exemptions–by September 27th. The United Federation of Teachers says details must be negotiated: “While the city is asserting its legal authority to establish this mandate, there are many implementation details, including provisions for medical exceptions, that by law must be negotiated with the UFT and other unions, and if necessary, resolved by arbitration.” I’ve always been pro-union, but a verified threat to public health should not be subject to negotiations. I wonder what the consequences would be if the city refuses negotiation on this. I can’t imagine the majority of Florida UFT members would strike over this issue, since the majority has been vaccinated and the Delta variant is more dangerous than its predecessor. > **[NYC announces Covid-19 vaccine mandate for all public school employees, with...](https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/23/us/nyc-vaccine-mandate-teachers/index.html)** > > New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday that all Department of Education staff for public schools across the city must be vaccinated against Covid-19, without a testing alternative. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/2277 "2021-08-23T18:41:02Z")
On the Johns Hopkins site, seven-day-average new cases have hit record highs in Puerto Rico (1215) Hawaii (813) Alabama (4549) Florida (37,685) Florida is record high, and still shooting up. There are bright spots. Over the weekend every state was in the red or pink (with rates of cases increasing), but now quite a bit of the map is green or blue. Mississippi, Louisiana, the Carolinas, and elsewhere have retreated from their highs. Even the Dakotas don’t look so bad (although if you look at the county map, the one containing Sturgis is shooting upwards. But Johns Hopkins doesn’t give that data.) On the chart of countries, the US appears to have crested and is going down, but we’ll have to wait and see if that’s just a burp in the trend. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/2278 "2021-08-23T20:16:01Z")
[https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/fl-teens-now-have-higher-covid-positivity-rate-than-other-age-groups-in-the-state-amid-desantis-mask-war?utm\_source=fark&utm\_medium=website&utm\_content=link&ICID=ref\_fark](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/fl-teens-now-have-higher-covid-positivity-rate-than-other-age-groups-in-the-state-amid-desantis-mask-war?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark) > Kids ages 12 to 19 are leading other age groups in Florida in the rate at which they test positive for COVID-19 — a sobering data point that comes as Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) fights tooth and nail against school mask mandates. > > Children in that age group who are tested have a positivity rate of 25 percent, per the [Tampa Bay Times](https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2021/08/20/floridas-covid-deaths-climb-as-kids-lead-state-in-positivity-rate/). And kids 12 and younger have a rate of 23 percent. > > The disturbing numbers come amid DeSantis and Florida state officials’ relentless attacks on school districts that have bucked the governor’s ban on requiring students and school staff to wear masks without an opt-out option except for those with medical conditions. > … ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/2279 "2021-08-24T00:32:50Z")
Whelp, we made the national news today. > **[Oregon, once a virus success story, struggles with surge](https://apnews.com/article/oregon-coronavirus-pandemic-hospitals-b6ed1292d5e50d3ec48c2872e7149261)** > > Oregon was once the poster child for limiting the spread of the coronavirus, after its Democratic governor imposed some of the nation’s strictest safety measures, including mask mandates, limits on gatherings and an order closing restaurants. More from the article: > “We need your help, grace and kindness,” the staff of CHI Health Medical Center said on Facebook. They are reeling “from the extraordinary onslaught of new cases and hospitalizations.” > > Oregon is among a handful of states, including Florida, Arkansas and Louisiana, that have more people hospitalized with COVID-19 than ever before. > > “This is really a dire situation,” said Jeff Absalon, chief physician executive for St. Charles Health System in Bend. National Guard troops were deployed to the mountain town’s hospital last week to assist medical workers. No shortage of dummies vaccine-hesitant in Oregon. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/2280 "2021-08-24T00:46:50Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > No shortage of dummies vaccine-hesitant in Oregon. Yeah, that’s the problem. The densely-populated areas like the Portland metro area took it seriously last year, and the rural areas skated by with low transmission because of that lack of density. If anything, it made them feel like they had nothing to fear, so when delta came on the scene, it spread easily. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/2281 "2021-08-24T00:48:12Z")
Exactly. We watched the very same thing happen here in Lane County. Eugene metro took it seriously. Rural areas surrounding, not so much. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428.md?page=111) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428.md?page=113)