Random and illustrative stories about the global pandemic and how businesses and various business sectors are trying to recover from it, with brief, occasional, italicized and sometimes gratuitous commentary…
• The US coronavirus numbers as of this morning: 24,626,441 confirmed cases of Covid-19 … 408,623 deaths … and 14,551,686 reported recoveries.
The global numbers: 96,086,628 confirmed Covid-19 cases … 2,051,579 fatalities … and 68,756,565 reported recoveries. (Source.)
• From the Wall Street Journal this morning:
"Newly reported Covid-19 cases in the U.were deaths and hospitalizations, as the nation ended a three-day weekend.
"The U.S. reported more than 137,000 new infections for Monday, taking the total to more than 24 million cases, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and made public early Tuesday morning. That represented a decline from the 177,918 cases reported a day earlier and was the third day in a row to register a day-over-day decrease. Monday’s figure was down from a week-earlier 213,304.
"Daily figures for newly reported cases and deaths tend to be lower toward the beginning of the week, as fewer people are tested over the weekend. The Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday on Monday likely contributed to underreporting … The U.S. reported more than 1,300 Covid-19-related deaths for Monday, according to Johns Hopkins data, a number that was down from a day-earlier 1,749 and week-earlier 2,006."
• CBS News reports that " the incoming director of the Centers for Disease Control said that by the middle of February, officials expect the death toll to be staggering.
'By the middle of February, we expect half a million deaths in this country,' Dr. Rochelle Walensky said."
• The Washington Post reports that "at least 10.6 million people have received one dose of the vaccine in the US. More than 1.6 million people have been fully vaccinated in states reporting … 31.2 million doses have been distributed."
• Fox News reports that California epidemiologist Dr. Erica S. Pan has recommended a pause in the vaccination of state residents from one specific lot of the Moderna vaccine because of concerns about severe allergic reactions.
According to the story, the suggestion was made out of "an extreme abundance of caution" - fewer than 10 people out of those who received more than 330,000 doses had an allergic reaction that required medic al attention.
• From Los Angeles Magazine:
"A seemingly airtight plan to stage the first major tennis tournament of 2021 without compromising players’ health or the success of Australia’s efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic fell apart over the weekend.
"By late Sunday, five passengers from three flights chartered by the tournament organizers had tested positive after arriving in Australia, prompting orders for everyone aboard to go into quarantine for two weeks. The planes — which arrived from Los Angeles; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; and Doha, Qatar — carried 72 players, including multiple expected contenders at this year’s Australian Open and former Grand Slam champions."
The story notes that "tennis officials appealed for less stringent restrictions on players who repeatedly test negative in their first days in Australia, but government officials declined to soften the rules. Craig Tiley, the chief executive of Tennis Australia, said Sunday that players had been warned that coming to Australia involved the risk of a mandatory quarantine for anyone deemed to have been in close contact with a person who had tested positive."
• Disney announced that "due to the prevailing conditions in Europe, Disneyland Paris will not reopen on Feb. 13 as initially planned.
"If conditions permit, we will reopen Disneyland Paris on April 2, 2021 and will welcome reservations from that date forward. Given the current context our plans continue to evolve, but please know that we will make every effort to share with you any updates as soon as it is possible."
