# 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:** 55
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1111 "2021-04-15T15:06:24Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Not trying to quibble over the numbers, but I wonder how much of the “new cases” increases are due to each of: > > 1. The world’s ever-increasing ability to reliably test suspect cases. I can’t speak for the world, but the number of tests in the US has gone _down_ this year, not up. I couldn’t dig up a chart online, so I made one using the Covid Tracking Project data, [here.](https://covidtracking.com/data/national) [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/fGXq06h.jpeg "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/fGXq06h) My hunch is that people are more energetic about getting a vaccine than a test, so test demand has fallen. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1112 "2021-04-15T19:45:14Z")
Also not speaking for the world, but the latest articles I’ve read about India are about them running low on oxygen due to the number of people severely ill with covid. So I’m pretty sure things have gotten worse there recently. (Also, they’ve stopped exporting vaccine, wanting to use it at home. Which is kind of a world crisis, since India is the world’s largest producer of vaccines.) ---
**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:** [April 16, 2021, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1113 "2021-04-16T04:11:15Z")
139,686,933 total cases 2,999,553 dead 118,731,199 recovered In the US: 32,224,139 total cases 578,993 dead 24,770,980 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 138,843,235 total cases > 2,985,676 dead > 111,617,948 recovered > > In the US: > > 32,149,223 total cases > 578,092 dead > 24,696,161 recovered By tomorrow, the world will have recorded over 140,000,000 cases of Covid-19. Also by tomorrow, the world will have lost over 3,000,000 people to the virus. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1114 "2021-04-16T04:19:06Z")
Very few cases are happening in vaccinated people. > [@](#): > > “So far, about 5,800 breakthrough cases have been reported to CDC. To date, no unexpected patterns have been identified in case demographics or vaccine characteristics,” the CDC told CNN via email. > > About 77 million people in the US are [fully vaccinated against coronavirus](https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2021/health/us-covid-vaccinations/), according to a CNN analysis of CDC data. The CDC’s reports on breakthrough cases will lag day-to-day reports of vaccines given, so many, if not most, of those breakthrough cases will have happened weeks ago. > > Nonetheless, the total represents a very small percentage of those who have been vaccinated. 29% of the 5,800 cases were asymptomatic. 7% required hospitalization. Because of the lag, it’s hard to know what the correct denominator is for the cases vs vaccinated. [https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/14/health/breakthrough-infections-covid-vaccines-cdc/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/14/health/breakthrough-infections-covid-vaccines-cdc/index.html) ---
**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:** [April 16, 2021, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1115 "2021-04-16T16:22:19Z")
The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Map shows the reported daily case numbers about equal to the record high level of last December, and appear poised to continue going up. The Daily Report Cases in India are shooting up at an incredible rate. Mot only are their levels the highest of any country (almost three times the number in the US, long the world leader in this category), they are on track to exceed the record levels set by the United States in January. Daily Case rates are skyrocketing in Colombia, Argentina, and Germany, as well. By contrast, the US rates, although up from March, are not increasing rapidly and may even be levelling. Among individual states and territories, Michigan’s daily reported cases (seven day average) hit a new record high yesterday, April 15. Puerto Rico set a new record high on April 12, which I had missed. Vermont’s rate has gone down since it hit a new record two weeks ago. Maine’s daily case numbers are skyrocketing upwards, buit not yet as high as their January 12 record high. Other states, while some have increasing numbers of daily cases, are not as high or rising rapidly. I hope it stats that way, but a lot of them have recently opened up venues. New Hampshire just repealed the statewide mask mandate yesterday, which I hope won’t make their cases rise. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1116 "2021-04-16T18:14:03Z")
New Hampshire has also been vaccinating people at a really good clip, so i hope that will offset the impact of the mask mandate going away. I wonder if retailel establishments will continue to require masks. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1117 "2021-04-16T18:15:33Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > New Hampshire just repealed the statewide mask mandate yesterday, which I hope won’t make their cases rise. I believe that technically the mandate sunsetted, and was not renewed. But new cases per day in the state have been steadily climbing for the last 40 days, so not renewing it is inexcusable. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1118 "2021-04-16T22:03:47Z")
> [@tofor](#): > > I believe that technically the mandate sunsetted, and was not renewed. But new cases per day in the state have been steadily climbing for the last 40 days, so not renewing it is inexcusable. No kidding! We were talking about that at lunch today, mostly rolling our eyes at the local news reporting that the governor “still expects” that people will continue wearing masks. Gee, you know a great way he could’ve ensured this expectation? About 1/2 of adults in NH have gotten at least one shot and about 1/4th have gotten both, but [cases are up in adults](https://www.nhpr.org/post/coronavirus-update-nh-reports-2-more-deaths-423-new-covid-19-cases#stream/0), [cases are up in kids](https://www.nhpr.org/post/covid-cases-among-kids-rise-nh#stream/0), and hospitalizations are up. The only thing that is holding steady is deaths. I think we’re going to see this summer that herd immunity is considerably higher than 70% vaccinated/infected. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1119 "2021-04-16T22:45:28Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The Daily Report Cases in India are shooting up at an incredible rate. Mot only are their levels the highest of any country (almost three times the number in the US, long the world leader in this category), they are on track to exceed the record levels set by the United States in January. Daily Case rates are skyrocketing in Colombia, Argentina, and Germany, as well. The fact that the countries showing big increases seems random is bizarre to me. Surely the protocols being used by Germany are very different than in Colombia or Argentina. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2021, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1120 "2021-04-17T00:17:26Z")
Michigan: > **[AP source: Virus surge in Michigan slows Ram truck plant](https://apnews.com/article/michigan-coronavirus-pandemic-detroit-8b9c05d22aa7ebd951a2181c507e95ea)** > > DETROIT (AP) — Michigan’s worst-in-the-nation COVID-19 outbreak is beginning to slow auto production, with a major Ram pickup truck plant reducing its output because of a high number of absent workers. > [@](#): > > Michigan’s worst-in-the-nation COVID-19 outbreak is beginning to slow auto production, with a major Ram pickup truck plant reducing its output because of a high number of absent workers. > > About 10% of the production work force at the Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler) assembly plant in Sterling Heights, north of Detroit, either tested positive or is on quarantine, a person who has been briefed on the situation said Friday. That is equivalent to about 600 workers, said the person, who asked not to be identified because neither the company nor the United Auto Workers union is releasing details. > > The 5-million-square-foot plant has about 7,450 hourly workers, but not all of them are on the assembly lines. To try to stem the shortfall, the company has pulled workers from a pickup factory in nearby Warren, Michigan, that has been forced to shut down by the global shortage of semiconductors. > > But because those workers have to be trained to build the new Ram pickups, the assembly line is moving more slowly than normal, said the person, who did not know how much production had been lost. > > As it has for weeks, Michigan continues to suffer from the nation’s highest seven-day case rate, 538 per every 100,000 residents, [the federal government reported.](https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#cases_casesper100klast7days) ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1121 "2021-04-17T01:25:13Z")
Quoted by Snowboarder\_Bo, not a quote from Snowboarder\_Bo: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > About 10% of the production work force at the Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler) assembly plant in Sterling Heights, north of Detroit, either tested positive or is on quarantine, [. . .]. To try to stem the shortfall, the company has pulled workers from a pickup factory in nearby Warren, Michigan ‘Hey! We’ve got lots of people getting sick at our plant in Sterling Heights! Why don’t all you people who go home at night to Warren come work at this plant where lots of people are getting sick!’ ---
**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:** [April 17, 2021, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1122 "2021-04-17T01:31:46Z")
Followed shortly by: “It sure is a tragedy how this virus keeps hitting Michigan so hard; hopefully they’ll soon figure out a way to stop it from spreading so easily and quickly. There’s just so much we don’t understand about this virus still.” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1123 "2021-04-17T01:32:28Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > The fact that the countries showing big increases seems random is bizarre to me. Surely the protocols being used by Germany are very different than in Colombia or Argentina. IMO … There are two huge uncontrolled variables. What is the disease doing in terms of variants, etc? What is the actual compliance of the populace for the official management protocols. Once we have a handle on those factors too we might be able to explain (more of) why we see the results we do. Based on my small local sample, it’s clear that around here individual compliance with precautions are dropping faster than the state reports vaccinations are increasing. Which totally explains the apparant paradox of unchanging restrictions, increasing vaccination, and increasing infection rates ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1124 "2021-04-17T03:16:54Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > ‘Hey! We’ve got lots of people getting sick at our plant in Sterling Heights! Why don’t all you people who go home at night to Warren come work at this plant where lots of people are getting sick!’ Warren is literally adjacent to Sterling Heights. They may be among the largest cities in the state by population (#3 and #4, behind only Grand Rapids and Detroit), but that’s because they are bedroom communities in the northern Detroit suburbs. Warren is adjacent to the northern Detroit border, in the very southwestern corner of Macomb County. Sterling Heights, where I live, is directly north of Warren. There is absolutely nothing strange about moving workers a few miles north from where they normally are. They aren’t putting them on buses and running them across the state. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1125 "2021-04-17T03:46:11Z")
> [@glowacks](#): > > There is absolutely nothing strange about moving workers a few miles north from where they normally are. If they’re that close, then you’re right, that’s not the problem. It’s still a problem to pull more workers into a situation in which significant numbers of others have been getting sick; at least, unless they’ve figured out why that’s happening and done something to fix it. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1126 "2021-04-17T03:53:28Z")
Yes, “10% of this plant is out sick, so let’s drag more people into the plant” seems like a suboptimal strategy. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2021, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1127 "2021-04-17T04:50:28Z")
140,531,290 total cases 3,012,206 dead 119,347,893 recovered In the US: 32,305,912 total cases 579,942 dead 24,836,187 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 139,686,933 total cases > 2,999,553 dead > 118,731,199 recovered > > In the US: > > 32,224,139 total cases > 578,993 dead > 24,770,980 recovered There is a new feature at World-O-Meters, one that is sure to be popular: [Weekly Trends](https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/weekly-trends/#weekly_table)! > **[COVID-19 Weekly Trends by Country - Worldometer](https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/weekly-trends/#weekly_table)** > > New cases and deaths in the last 7 days vs. the preceding week. Absolute and percentage change, weekly cases and deaths per million people in every country in the world ---
**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:** [April 18, 2021, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1128 "2021-04-18T04:13:27Z")
141,316,012 total cases 3,023,911 dead 119,923,164 recovered In the US: 32,372,119 total cases 580,756 dead 24,905,332 recovered Yesterday’s numbers for comparison: > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 140,531,290 total cases > 3,012,206 dead > 119,347,893 recovered > > In the US: > > 32,305,912 total cases > 579,942 dead > 24,836,187 recovered ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1129 "2021-04-18T05:18:54Z")
Well, Israel is reopening. While there are still some restrictions in place, masks are no longer required outdoors, and all schools are finally returning to full operation. We’ll see how it goes. > **[Israel lifts outdoor mask mandate, fully reopens schools](https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-lifts-outdoor-mask-mandate-fully-reopens-schools/)** > > Face coverings still required indoors; Health Ministry recommends wearing masks at large outdoor gatherings ---
**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:** [April 18, 2021, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1130 "2021-04-18T16:04:40Z")
According to [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-vaccine-tracker-global-distribution/), Israel is barely doing any vaccinations at this time. While I’m aware that they have already passed the 50% fully vaccinated mark, are they low on supply or have they run out of people willing to be vaccinated? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428.md?page=54) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428.md?page=56)