# 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:** 164
**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:** [December 18, 2021, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3324 "2021-12-18T23:50:20Z")
Netherlands: > **[Netherlands 'going into lockdown again' to curb omicron](https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-europe-restrictions-reimposed-omicron-dcf7d5733163d3c851fa27f99edca92b)** > > LONDON (AP) — Nations across Europe moved to reimpose tougher measures to stem a new wave of COVID-19 infections spurred by the highly transmissible omicron variant, with the Netherlands leading the way by imposing a nationwide lockdown. ---
**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:** [December 19, 2021, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3325 "2021-12-19T00:29:06Z")
New York City: > **[Paul Rudd hosts 'SNL' sans audience, Charli XCX amid omicron](https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-entertainment-health-media-new-york-5c4139baf7bca027594f81672483bdcd)** > > NEW YORK (AP) — People's Sexiest Man Alive of 2021 was indeed inducted into the vaunted Five-Timers Club on “Saturday Night Live,” but the surging omicron variant of the coronavirus meant there was no live audience to see it happen. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3326 "2021-12-19T01:26:27Z")
I wish we had a “thumbs-up” thingy, but since we don’t, here it is. 👍 ---
**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:** [December 19, 2021, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3327 "2021-12-19T04:13:43Z")
274,539,303 total cases 5,366,770 dead 246,342,381 recovered In the US: 51,696,205 total cases 827,206 dead 40,515,145 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 273,977,023 total cases > 5,360,767 dead > 245,846,006 recovered > > In the US: > > 51,610,281 total cases > 826,719 dead > 40,474,346 recovered ---
**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:** [December 19, 2021, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3328 "2021-12-19T05:17:37Z")
Hawaii’s starting to freak out. We were down to low double-digit new cases for a while there, but these last two days have seen new cases top 700. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3329 "2021-12-19T05:36:42Z")
A report from South Africa yesterday: > **[SA's Covid-19 hospitalisations fall for first time in weeks | Business](https://www.news24.com/fin24/topstories/sa-covid-19-hospitalisations-fall-for-first-time-in-weeks-20211218)** > > The November 25 announcement of the discovery of a new coronavirus variant, now named omicron, had sparked concerns of a flood of hospitalisations and severe infections. > The hospitals have 7,915 Covid-19 patients of which 6.7% are in intensive care units, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said in a report on Saturday. Of the 532 people in ICU, 209 are on ventilators, the institute said. > **The number of people in hospital due to Covid-19 is, so far, a fraction of the total at the height of earlier infection waves.** Covid-19 inpatients peaked at nearly 20,000 in January and July, the peaks of the country’s second and third waves respectively. Lockdown is still being maintained at the lowest level here, and will be reviewed again next week. * * * When I look at the UK data, I’m seeing the same pattern as SA, though a couple of weeks behind. I seem to be almost a lone voice here, but I still think people are panicking unnecessarily about Omicron, focusing on case numbers instead of hospitalizations and deaths. What we are seeing is an uncoupling of case numbers with severe illness. People seem to be grasping at straws to find reasons why the SA experience with Omicron doesn’t apply elsewhere, but in fact most countries in Europe and the US have higher exposure rates and higher vaccination rates than SA, and there’s no real reason why the experience with Omicron would be different. Worst case modelling is misleading here. It’s too early for hard science and peer-reviewed studies, and so most scientists are still covering their asses and unwilling to commit themselves – but there’s such a thing as risk evaluation and common sense. ---
**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:** [December 19, 2021, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3330 "2021-12-19T06:14:58Z")
Plus you have a freaking blizzard forecast, don’t y’all? ---
**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:** [December 19, 2021, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3331 "2021-12-19T06:21:33Z")
That was last week, and only above 12,000 feet. So just the Big Island. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3332 "2021-12-19T06:40:18Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > I seem to be almost a lone voice here, but I still think people are panicking unnecessarily about Omicron, focusing on case numbers instead of hospitalizations and deaths. What we are seeing is an uncoupling of case numbers with severe illness. If you have already decided for certain that Omicron is less severe regardless of the paucity of stratified data that is currently available, you may indeed be a lone voice. Most of us hope it is less severe, but it’s still way too early to know for sure. > **[Uncertainty swirls around Omicron COVID-19 severity](https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/uncertainty-swirls-around-omicron-covid-19-severity)** ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3333 "2021-12-19T06:54:18Z")
All current data tends to show that it’s less severe, and every day that’s becoming clearer. ---
**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:** [December 19, 2021, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3334 "2021-12-19T17:02:40Z")
27 posts were merged into an existing topic: [The Omicron Variant](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-omicron-variant/955134/116) ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3361 "2021-12-19T14:53:25Z")
Maybe politicians should move forward with the knowledge that public rejection of vaccines is dying off. ---
**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:** [December 19, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3362 "2021-12-19T16:15:36Z")
Moderating: All, this is a very interesting discussion. However, in this thread for breaking news only, it is a hijack, and a lengthy one. Please start another thread to discuss the issue of lifting sanctions if you wish to carry on with it. Thanks. ETA: After a discussion with @puzzlegal in her capacity as an interested poster, I’ve agreed to move the hijacked posts to the Omicron Variant thread. ---
**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:** [December 19, 2021, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3363 "2021-12-19T19:40:44Z")
Not-so-good news, everyone! > **[Omicron may sideline two leading drugs against COVID-19](https://apnews.com/article/omicron-may-sideline-two-covid-antibody-drugs-ffab32bd6e4e6b4822360b34da1785f0)** > > The rapidly-spreading omicron variant may soon leave U.S. doctors without two of the standard treatments they’ve used to fight COVID-19. > [@](#): > > For more than a year antibody drugs from Regeneron and Eli Lilly have been the go-to treatments for early COVID-19, thanks to their ability to head off severe disease and keep patients out of the hospital. > > But both drugmakers recently warned that laboratory testing suggests their therapies will be much less potent against omicron, which contains dozens of mutations that make it harder for antibodies to attack the virus. And while the companies say they can quickly develop new omicron-targeting antibodies, those aren’t expected to launch for at least several months. > > A third antibody from British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline appears to be the best positioned to fight omicron. But Glaxo’s drug is not widely available in the U.S., accounting for a small portion of the millions of doses purchased and distributed by the federal government. U.S. health officials are now rationing scarce drug supplies to states. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3364 "2021-12-19T21:25:37Z")
> **[Most of the World’s Vaccines Likely Won’t Prevent Infection From Omicron...](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/19/health/omicron-vaccines-efficacy.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUktbfqohlSlUaCibVUNEjsh3Bgv3Oy6Y7gDrgJSOeSDBP1KEYDYaB8E7GdOxje943lXy9deN2DYUOFrZ03_MNeAtkURWpqZ-J35lcKStlpdq4G249g56IAO5lq3rjMWLibbt0ybbn50iIaDbqX7fNkiF0fHYTqpNuc16o0HAalOySQqMuhI4Ijbp2DYt6RDwDeCGKo_Hjbh59M96AZRvagRIkD6AbAXqA2I7BtM9TNVlaGlnET3hg4G4j6dg6O9sfP6v3LRJIa9MsJfEc8EHQiAz26ScJWZTQ&smid=url-share)** > > They do seem to offer significant protection against severe illness, but the consequences of rapidly spreading infection worry many public health experts. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3365 "2021-12-19T23:18:17Z")
Elizabeth Warren has tested positive. She’s vaccinated, and so far has mild symptoms. > **[3 Democratic lawmakers announce positive Covid-19 tests | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/19/politics/elizabeth-warren-covid-positive/index.html)** > > Three Democratic members of Congress announced Sunday that they have breakthrough coronavirus infections. ---
**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:** [December 20, 2021, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3366 "2021-12-20T02:27:48Z")
275,007,350 total cases 5,370,192 dead 246,674,846 recovered In the US: 51,765,714 total cases 827,323 dead 40,539,875 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 274,539,303 total cases > 5,366,770 dead > 246,342,381 recovered > > In the US: > > 51,696,205 total cases > 827,206 dead > 40,515,145 recovered ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3367 "2021-12-20T02:58:21Z")
Based on these numbers, and 1,000 deaths per day, I guessed 833,045 by 00:00 January 1st. Seventeen days left in the year, so 17,000 more deaths expected (844,323) by New Year’s Day. I have a feeling we’ll meet my original guess. ☹ ---
**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:** [December 20, 2021, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3368 "2021-12-20T05:35:50Z")
US professional sports are experiencing some inconveniences: > **[NHL stops cross-border games, shuts down 7th team](https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-nhl-sports-health-business-50355340726edfbe9fca25d59d793b0f)** > > The NHL and its players association temporarily clamped down on teams crossing the Canadian border and shut down operations of two more teams. > [@](#): > > [The NHL](https://apnews.com/hub/nhl)and its players association temporarily clamped down on teams crossing the Canadian border and shut down operations of two more teams on Sunday for a total of seven in hopes of salvaging the season as COVID-19 outbreaks spread across the league. > > The Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs were added to the list of teams told to [shut down operations, joining](https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-nhl-sports-health-hockey-727ce7247b74ce570097fc83648dfc0d) the Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, Calgary Flames, Nashville Predators and Boston Bruins. > > Canadian-based teams will not play U.S.-based teams from Monday through Thursday ahead of the league’s holiday break (Dec. 24 through Dec. 26). Those postponed games are expected be rescheduled. > **[NBA postpones 5 more games; Young, Vogel enter protocols](https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-nba-sports-health-los-angeles-06db8d45233962b5ace667bbe13f8d9d)** > > The NBA has called off five games for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday because of coronavirus-related concerns. The postponements involve nine teams. > [@](#): > > The NBA on Sunday postponed a total of five games involving nine teams in response to rising coronavirus numbers, raising the number of contests that have been pushed back this season to seven. > > Called off were three Sunday games: Cleveland at Atlanta, Denver at Brooklyn and New Orleans at Philadelphia. Also shelved were Orlando’s game at Toronto on Monday and Washington’s game at Brooklyn on Tuesday. > > The postponements came on the same day that Atlanta announced star guard Trae Young entered the league’s health and safety protocols and the Los Angeles Lakers said coach Frank Vogel also was added to the list. > > Leaguewide, through Sunday evening, there were at least 75 players from 20 teams who have either been ruled out to play — or in the case of the postponed games, would have been ruled out — because they are in the protocols. That number has soared in recent days, with the NBA just one of many sports leagues worldwide dealing with a rapidly worsening issue. ---
**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:** [December 20, 2021, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/3369 "2021-12-20T14:01:16Z")
I’ve been away for almost a week, so here’s catch-up with places having record numbers of new COVID cases (seven-day averages, from the Johns Hopkins site) **Puerto Rico** – after being quiet for a long time, new cases have suddenly skyrocketed to a new record high of 1508, far higher than the 1107 reported on April 15. This rise seemed to take only a week to go from 110 cases/day to 1508 cases/day on December 19 **New York** – I can’t get the screen to plot, but it appears to be a new high of 18,713 **Delaware** – not yet a new record, but at 822 and rapidly rising I have no doubt it will soon set a new record. The previous one was 827 on January 7 **New Jersey** – a new record of 7402, eclipsing the 6191 set back on January 12. And it’s still rising rapidly. Hawaii hasn’t set a new record, but it’s now 718 and rising very fast towards its previous high of 921 set back in August. The US is still the country with the highest averaged daily COVID cases reported, but we seem to be stuttering to a stop. The UK, though, is now in second place and rising rapidly, followed closely by France in third. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428.md?page=163) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428.md?page=165)