New Coronavirus News from 29 Oct 2021

IN OUR VIEW: Broadband grant sure to benefit [Independent, 29 Oct 2021]

Kentucky has been awarded a $1 million federal grant to help expand high-speed internet across the state, and we are delighted, but maybe not for the same reasons as others.

Gov. Andy Beshear noted the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of reliable high-speed internet access for education, businesses and health care. “Access to the internet is no longer a luxury,” Beshear said in a news release. “To build a better Kentucky, every home and business in our state should have access to affordable, adequate and reliable internet to participate fully in our economy, schools and society.”

The grant, provided by funding from the American Rescue Plan, is the latest step to expand high-speed internet in Kentucky. Last year, Beshear’s administration dedicated $8 million in federal pandemic relief funding to expand internet connectivity for elementary and secondary students and their families.

Expanding the internet to help cope with COVID-19 is just the beginning. It will help with future pandemics we are sure to face.

Scientists agree that more viruses capable of causing a global pandemic will emerge, says Amesh Adalja of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore, who predicted respiratory RNA viruses were a particular threat a year before the emergence of COVID-19, which is a respiratory RNA virus. Virologists also have expressed concerns about other COVID viruses, more flu viruses and the Nipah virus of Asian fruit bats, which is deadly. Scientists predict there are other viruses we haven’t yet encountered.

Harvard’s school of public health website states climate change, which we know is happening, can have an effect on the spread of disease.

“Many of the root causes of climate change also increase the risk of pandemics. Deforestation, which occurs mostly for agricultural purposes, is the largest cause of habitat loss worldwide.
Loss of habitat forces animals to migrate and potentially contact other animals or people and share germs. Large livestock farms can also serve as a source for spillover of infections from animals to people. Less demand for animal meat and more sustainable animal husbandry could decrease emerging infectious disease risk and lower greenhouse gas emissions,” the website states. “We have many reasons to take climate action to improve our health and reducing risks for infectious disease emergence is one of them.”

With predictions of such a future, we must continue to connect via internet so society can go on, unfortunately, in isolation, if need be.

New Coronavirus News from 28 Oct 2021

UK Covid 27 October - 207 deaths and 43,941 cases - see hospitals and vaccination data [West Bridgford Wire, 28 Aug 2021]

UK Covid 28 October. Cases, deaths, vaccinations, hospitalisations and testing data for today.

UK Covid 28 October
There were 916,286 tests reported on 27 October 2021. This shows a decrease of -8.3%compared to the previous 7 days.

Between 21 October 2021 and 27 October 2021, there have been 5,954,439 tests.
Cases

A confirmed case is someone who has tested positive for coronavirus.

39,842 new people had a confirmed positive test result reported on 28 October 2021.

Between 22 October 2021 and 28 October 2021, 295,549 people had a confirmed positive test result. This shows a decrease of -9.8% compared to the previous 7 days.

Vaccinations
Vaccines are currently given in 2 doses, at least 21 days apart.

49,838,202 people had been given a first dose by the end of 27 October 2021.

45,627,499 people had been given a second dose by the end of 27 October 2021.

Healthcare
Some people with coronavirus have to go into hospital.

962 people with coronavirus went into hospital on 24 October 2021.

Between 18 October 2021 and 24 October 2021, 6,999 went into hospital with coronavirus.

This shows an increase of 10.0% compared to the previous 7 days.

There were 8,914 patients in hospital with coronavirus on 27 October 2021.

Some people in the hospital need to use a special device called a mechanical ventilator to help them breathe.

There were 945 coronavirus patients in hospital beds with a mechanical ventilator on 27 October 2021.

Deaths
There were 165 deaths within 28 days of a positive test for coronavirus reported on 28 October 2021.

Between 22 October 2021 and 28 October 2021, there have been 1,060 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test. This shows an increase of 16.2% compared to the previous 7 days.