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U.S. tops 18 million COVID-19 cases, as daily new cases and deaths are back on the rise

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U.S. tops 18 million COVID-19 cases, as daily new cases and deaths are back on the rise

Hospitalizations spike to a record, while vaccinations jump after more states provide public reports.

The U.S. topped another somber milestone in COVID-19 cases of 18 million on Tuesday, as the number of daily new cases and deaths got back to increasing to snap a brief streak of declines.

Hospitalizations rose for the first time in four days, but by enough to mark another record.

Meanwhile, with more states publicly reporting vaccinations, the number of doses administered nationwide jumped by more than 100,000.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, received his shot Tuesday morning on TV, as did Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, a day after President-elect Joe Biden got his first shot of Pfizer Inc.’s PFE, +2.24% and BioNTech SE’s BNTX, -0.62% vaccine.

The U.S. has now recorded a total of 18,134,027 COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday morning, according to data provided by Johns Hopkins University, as the death toll rose to 321,301.

On a daily basis, new COVID-19 cases increased to 210,723 on Monday, up from 179,801 on Sunday to snap a three-day streak of declines, according to the New York Times data. At least 1,962 people died from COVID-19 on Monday, up from 1,422 on Sunday, also the first increase in four days.

The new daily counts were well below the one-day records of 280,514 (with data anomaly) in new cases seen on Dec. 11, the New York Times data shows, and 3,611 in deaths suffered on Dec. 16.

Hospitalizations jumped by 1,750 in a day to the record of 115,351, according to the COVID Tracking Project. That’s the biggest one-day increase since it rose by 2,265 on Dec. 15, and the record was the 17th reached this month.

There have now been 23 states that have publicly reported vaccinations, according to JHU data, with the dose count climbing to 244,706 from 144,336 the day before. The states that have reported the most doses administered are Florida with 43,716 and Texas with 42,248.

This comes amid growing concerns over a new, more infectious strain of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 that has bubbled up from the U.K., which has led many countries to issue travel bans.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday that Delta Air Lines Inc. DAL, +3.31%, and British Airways have agreed to require passengers show a negative COVID-19 test before boarding U.K. flights to New York City.

Donald Trump demands bigger stimulus checks in $900 billion COVID-19 relief package passed by Congress

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Donald Trump demands bigger stimulus checks in $900 billion COVID-19 relief package passed by Congress

In an unexpected video posted to Twitter on Tuesday night, President Donald Trump denounced a sweeping COVID-19 relief package he was expected to sign, calling it a “disgrace” and urging congressional leaders to make several changes to the bill including increasing direct payments for Americans.

“It’s called the COVID relief bill, but it has almost nothing to do with COVID,” he said in a video posted just moments after he issued a raft of pardons for several allies. “I’m asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000 or $4,000 for a couple.”

The president stopped short of saying he would veto the bipartisan legislation but was expected to sign the measure alongside a $1.4 trillion spending bill to fund the government. Trump called on Congress to remove “wasteful and unnecessary items from this legislation,” appearing to conflate the relief bill with the government spending measure.

The roughly $900 billion measure was attached to a $1.4 trillion spending bill to fund the federal government through Sept. 30, 2021 (the end of the fiscal year) to form a nearly 5,600 page-bill that is one of the largest pieces of legislation Congress has ever tackled. The measure also includes bipartisan provisions like the end of surprise medical billing and legislation creating Smithsonian museums for women and Latinos.

Texas orders some counties to roll back reopening plans because of high hospitalization rates

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Texas orders some counties to roll back reopening plans because of high hospitalization rates

Galveston, Brazoria, Liberty, and Chambers counties were among 9 Southeast Texas counties told to halt elective surgeries and scale back indoor business capacity.

Seven straight days of high hospitalization rates forced the governor’s office to tell several Southeast Texas counties to scale back their reopening plans.

According to the state, Galveston, Chambers, Brazoria, Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Orange, and Newton counties make up a Trauma Service Area that has had seven consecutive days in which the number of COVID-19 hospitalized patients as a percentage of total hospital capacity exceeded 15%.

The state told the counties to pause elective surgeries and to scale back indoor business capacity to 50% starting Tuesday. Bars are also ordered to halt to indoor service.

In order for the area to return to where they were at (allowing elective surgeries and businesses operating at 75%), they’ll need to log seven consecutive days with less than 15% of their hospital capacity being COVID-19 patients.

A Beaumont doctor says he’s disappointed that it got to this point.

“With all the information we’ve had over the past several months in terms of how to flatten the curve, we should know better and it’s disappointing that we’re sliding backward,” says Dr. Msonthi Levine.

The state issued this statement on the rollbacks:

“This is due to the governor’s executive order, GA-32, which allowed for an opening to 75% of capacity for various businesses. That is rolled back if the number of hospitalized COVID patients in a trauma service is greater than 15% of the overall hospital capacity for seven consecutive days. The letters sent to county judges today are attached as is the executive order. There is more information at https://www.dshs.texas.gov/ga32/.”

Here’s what’s next beginning Tuesday at 8 a.m.

Hospitals must cancel elective surgeries and bars will have to shut down and return to to-go service only.

Other businesses must scale back to 50% capacity. This excludes hair and nail salons. They can continue operating at 75% capacity but must follow social distancing guidelines.

Counties can ask for an exemption and, if granted, continue to operate at 75% if the county has fewer than 30 cases reported over the last 14 days.

Local business owners baffled at state’s decision to roll back reopening

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Local business owners baffled at state’s decision to roll back reopening

Business owners in several Houston area counties are facing the reality of new restrictions as COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to rise.

“I thought, ‘We gotta go through this again?” said Tammy Davis, owner of Sweet T’s Diner on W. 2nd Street in Freeport.

For the past five years, Tammy Davis has been serving up home-cooked meals at her restaurant.

“Gov. (Greg) Abbott said he wouldn’t shut the businesses down and all of a sudden we get the news today that we have to shut down to 50% capacity,” she said.

She much prefers to focus on her popular chicken fried steak and beef tips, not counting customers.

“I go home and I worry about my next bill. It’s frustrating to open us up, close us down, open us up, close us down,” said Davis.

Brazoria, Galveston, Chambers, and Liberty counties are all impacted. There are 291 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in what the state designates as a Trauma Service Area, putting the area’s percentage of hospital patients that are COVID patients close to 20%.

When it’s more than 15% for a week, the state’s restrictions kick in.

“Bad policy decisions based on bad data,” said Galveston County Judge Mark Henry, who said the hospitalizations are higher because they get so many patients transported from out of town.

Now, it’s a price Davis believes local business owners like herself will have to pay.

“I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do to make a living … and my employees,” she said. “I will not turn a customer down.”

To remove the restrictions, the region must dip below a 15% hospitalization rate for seven consecutive days. What’s hard is the timing of all of this, right in the middle of the holidays, when a lot of business owners count on extra income.

David Valdés: “Veo un futuro más diverso en cuanto género, raza y color en la industria petrolera”

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David Valdés: “Veo un futuro más diverso en cuanto género, raza y color en la industria petrolera”

David Valdés, un joven de 22 años de edad, descendiente de padres mexicanos, desde niño veía con entusiasmo y admiración las turbinas de viento en su natal Texas cuando lo llevaban en auto a través de los enormes campos donde se encontraban estos artefactos.

Esa fascinación por la generación de energía, lo llevaría luego a pensar en otros aspectos que vincularía con su preocupación por el medio ambiente y los mismos fenómenos naturales que tuvo que vivir en su ciudad, Galveston, para terminar tomando conciencia de que quería estar en un lugar donde se propiciaran políticas energéticas que pudieran hacer la diferencia.

Hoy en día es ingeniero químico, recién egresado en medio de la pandemia del COVID-19, de la universidad de Columbia en Nueva York y cuenta con la oportunidad de ser becario de política pública en el Instituto Americano de Petróleo (API, por su siglas en inglés) hasta el mes de diciembre, para luego pasar por alguna de las Cámaras del Congreso, como parte del programa “Public Policy Fellow” del Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI).

“He vivido experiencias en el Golfo, más recientemente el huracán Harvey, que pegó muchísimo en Houston. Fue uno de los peores huracanes, después de Katrina. En California hay incendios, también en diferentes partes del mundo los inviernos son extremadamente fríos. Lo importante es que con tanto cambio que vamos a estar viendo durante los próximos 10, 15, 20 o 100 años, quién sabe, habrá una necesidad de bajar las emisiones de carbón”.

Diversidad e inclusión

En la actualidad, la industria de la energía busca ampliar su diversidad e incluir a minorías como afroamericanos y latinos. Precisamente para brindar información y perspectivas sobre el papel de este sector en estas comunidades surgió el Centro Comunitario de Energía (CEC, por su siglas en inglés), que proporciona un foro para elevar la conciencia, la comprensión y las discusiones sobre la importancia del sector para la vida cotidiana.

Así pues, la proyección que hace la industria en cuanto a la contratación de estas minorías étnicas y raciales es positiva. De esta manera, jóvenes como David podrán contar con mayores oportunidades. “Los programas de políticas públicas y becas para graduados del CHCI brindan una experiencia de liderazgo sin igual para los líderes emergentes más brillantes e innovadores de nuestra comunidad. A través de nuestro programa, se adquiere un conocimiento profundo sobre temas e industrias de gran relevancia, como la energía. Esto, combinado con la inducción a una red increíble de pares y líderes establecidos, les da a los becarios del CHCI un impulso en sus carreras para hacer avanzar a la comunidad latina y fortalecer la nación”, aseguró Marco Davis, presidente y CEO del CHCI.

A juicio de Valdés es importante la diversidad en esta y cualquier industria, para que existan minorías representadas en las decisiones que también impactan a esas poblaciones. Asegura que la única forma de pensar desde la perspectiva de las minorías es que ellas formen parte de las decisiones y que se involucren en las mismas.

“Sin el programa de ciencia, no habría tenido la oportunidad de saber cómo es que se mueve la política energética desde la organización que se encarga del petróleo americano y es una perspectiva que yo aprecio mucho, porque no tenía tanto conocimiento”, comentó.

Oportunidades para las minorías

De acuerdo a un análisis de API basado en el reporte de IHS Global Insight, el petróleo y el gas natural seguirán siendo la principal fuente de combustible por décadas por venir mientras que otras formas de energía se hacen comercialmente viables.

Según el documento, habrá un aumento en la capacidad de exportación y la generación de más de 800 mil empleos en la industria para el año 2030, bajo políticas de desarrollo energética. De los nuevos puestos de trabajo generados para 2030, más de 285 mil (35%) podrían ser ocupados por afroamericanos y latinos.

“La industria de la energía ha demostrado ser un catalizador de la actividad económica y ha apoyado durante mucho tiempo a los miembros de nuestras comunidades”, dijo el Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., presidente y director ejecutivo de la Asociación Nacional de Editores de Periódicos (NNPA) en el marco del esfuerzo conjunto a la Asociación Nacional de Medios de Publicaciones Hispanas LLC (NAHP Media), para el lanzamiento del Centro Comunitario de Energía.

El directivo fue respaldado por Ricardo Hurtado, presidente de medios de NAHP Media, quien apuntó hacia el rol crucial de esta nueva organización en “el camino a la creación de nuevas carreras y oportunidades de desarrollo profesional” para las minorías, tal como es el caso de Valdés, quien logró culminar su licenciatura (Bachelor’s Degree) con becas y mucho esfuerzo de su familia. El joven aspira seguir formándose, por lo que está en proceso de postulación para una maestría en ingeniería química y sostenibilidad ambiental, para luego ir con fuerza por un doctorado en políticas públicas. Esas son sus metas, dentro de las cuales no descarta tocar la puerta en API nuevamente, una vez finalice su educación.

Optimismo

Sobre el futuro de la industria en términos de diversidad y sostenibilidad, David es muy optimista. “Diría que veo una transición de los combustibles hacia la energía renovable. Por parte de la industria petrolera veo un futuro más diverso en cuanto género, raza y color”.

En su paso por API, le queda mucho aprendizaje, tal como la satisfacción en cuanto al trabajo que realizó en programas de la institución, tanto en inglés como en español, enfocado a guiar estudiantes de secundarias y a sus padres en áreas vinculadas con STEM y opciones de estudio universitario.

Este empoderamiento de las minorías, así como la toma de conciencia sobre el medio ambiente y hacer asequible la energía en las comunidades minoritarias constituyen prioridades que se impulsan desde el CEC.

Para conocer más sobre la labor del el Centro Comunitario de Energía y recibir información de su labor visita www.communityenergycenter.org. También puedes enterarte de más  detalles sobre los programas de beca y liderazgo que ofrece el CHCI, que tienen fecha límite de postulación el 15 de enero, a través de www.chci.org/programs.

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Para David Valdés, quien es becario de API, de padres mexicanos, es importante la diversidad en esta y cualquier industria, para que existan minorías representadas en las decisiones que también impactan a esas poblaciones.

Calculate your second stimulus check total: $600, $1,200, more?

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Calculate your second stimulus check total: $600, $1,200, more?

If the second round of stimulus checks stays at a $600 per person cap, our stimulus check calculator can help you estimate your household’s expected total.

How much money would you or your family get with a second stimulus check of up to $600 for adults and dependent children? That’s the question once again now that President Donald Trump indicated on Tuesday night that he would not sign the new $900 billion relief bill that Congress passed Monday night, making it law. At least not without a second stimulus check of up to $2,000 per person.

While we monitor that new turn of events, we’ll share what we know now about the way the IRS would calculate the $600 direct payment. Understanding the upper limit is easy, but as with the first payment, there’s a tangle of rules in place that together decide how much stimulus money your household can actually get. For example, the most an adult who qualifies for the second stimulus check can get is $600 apiece. That becomes more complicated as you add in child dependents — each one under 17 years old would bring in an additional $600. And the reality is that with this second round of stimulus payments, more people are expected to hit an income limit that could make them ineligible for any check at all.

Our calculator for this second stimulus check breaks down how much you might be able to receive, based on the rules Congress has set out for this $600 payment (here’s the calculator for the $1,200 stimulus check from March). Keep in mind that our calculator tool is for estimates only, and is not a final figure supplied by the IRS. There may be other factors that could determine the final size of your payment. This tool will not store or share your personal details. This story was recently updated.

Before you estimate your second stimulus check total…

Before you can get an estimate of your second check amount (assuming the $600 upper limit), you’ll need your adjusted gross income (AGI) from your 2019 tax information. On your 2019 federal tax return, you can find that figure on line 8b of 2019 1040 federal tax form. Keep reading for how to estimate your amount if you don’t typically file taxes.

To estimate the amount of the second check, you enter all your child dependents age 16 and younger for $600 apiece. For tax purposes, a single taxpayer claims no dependents, where a head of household is a person who does not file jointly and claims at least one dependent.

Stimulus check qualification basics

Broadly, here’s who is eligible for money with the second stimulus payment. Payments top out at $600 apiece, and as you reach the upper AGI limit, the amount of your check will decrease. A family of four that qualifies, for example, could receive up to $2,400. For a complete breakdown, check out our stimulus check qualifications guide.

To get the full $600 stimulus per person, either:

  • As an individual without qualifying children, you have an adjusted gross income of up to $75,000 (this completely phases out at $87,000, down from the $99,000 used for the first check).
  • You file as the head of a household (you claim children) and earn under $112,500.
  • You file jointly without children and earn less than $150,000 and no more than $174,000 (down from $198,000 from the first check).
  • Any dependent child under age 17 will count for an additional $600.

Note, if you don’t qualify for a second stimulus check based on 2019 data but you would qualify based on your 2020 financial situation, you will not receive a second check this year. However, you can get that amount as a credit against your 2020 taxes.

If you qualify based on 2019 tax information but will be over the limit in 2020, you will receive a second check and do not need to repay it.

How would you receive your second stimulus payment?

If the IRS has your banking information on file, either from your federal taxes or from the first stimulus payment, your payment should come directly to your bank via direct deposit. The Treasury Department said as of this summer that about 75% of recipients were paid via direct deposit, 22% by paper check, and 3% through a prepaid EIP card.

When could the payments be sent out?

Soon. According to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, “The good news is [direct deposit] is a very, very fast way of getting money into the economy. Let me emphasize: People are going to see this money at the beginning of next week.”

Starting in the new year, the IRS will send out payments on paper checks and prepaid EIP cards to those for whom it does not have banking information on file. But sending the payments shouldn’t drag on for months, as the first payments did. By Jan. 15, if the IRS has not sent your payment — or sent the wrong amount — you can claim your money when you file your taxes this year.

What if you aren’t typically required to file taxes?

As with the first checks, the IRS will automatically send stimulus checks to many who normally aren’t required to file a tax return — including older adults, Social Security and SSDI and SSI recipients, certain veterans, and railroad retirees. The IRS refers loosely to this group as nonfilers.

If you fall in one of these categories, enter your best guess in the calculator where it asks for your adjusted gross income.

 

 

Metro wishes you safe an happy holidays!

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Metro wishes you safe an happy holidays!

Happy Holidays!

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Happy Holidays!

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season!

Warmest Wishes,
Orbit and the Houston Astros

91-year-old British grandad wins the internet with his vaccination story

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91-year-old British grandad wins the internet with his vaccination story

A 91-year-old British grandfather has won the internet’s heart after giving an interview after being among the first people in the world to receive a COVID-19 vaccine outside of a clinical trial.

“Well, there’s no point in dying now when I’ve lived this long, is there?” Martin Kenyon, the London man, bluntly told outside Guy’s Hospital on Tuesday.

The interview came after the United Kingdom began its first round of COVID-19 vaccinations, administering injections to people over 80 who are either hospitalized or have outpatient appointments scheduled as well as some nursing home workers.

Kenyon described getting to the hospital and the lunch he had had before.

“Of course I couldn’t damn well find anywhere to park my car, so I was late,” he quipped. “Anyway, I’m here now. I got inside and they put me on the list. I went off and had a rather nasty lunch and then came back and they were ready for me.”

Kenyon added that the process was easy and painless: “No, it didn’t hurt at all. I didn’t know the needle had gone in ’til it had come out.”

Kenyon said he has grandchildren that he hasn’t hugged in months and would like to do so for Christmas: “I hope I’m not going to have the bloody bug now. I don’t intend to have it.”

According to the Evening Standard, Kenyon was an anti-apartheid activist and friend of Desmond Tutu.

And he wasn’t the only person in the U.K. to gain some viral fame on Tuesday. The country’s first recipient was grandmother Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 next week.

“It’s the best early birthday present I could wish,” Keenan said.

The second was none other than William Shakespeare, 81. Sharing the same name as the U.K.’s most famous poet and playwright, Bill, as family and friends call him, said he was “pleased” to get the shot.

In an interview Wednesday morning with Piers Morgan on “Good Morning Britain,” Kenyon called the attention he’s received “rather ridiculous” and hoped it was just “24-hour nonsense.”

Kenyon kept up his British wit in the interview, asking Morgan, “Now who are you?”

Morgan said Kenyon had been going to the hospital for other reasons and was able to get the vaccine.

“It seemed sensible to get on with it,” Kenyon told Morgan.

Kenyon also stressed the importance of others getting vaccinated.

“I think it would be foolish of them to be reluctant about it if it means the chance of them behaving normally instead of being worried they might get the horrible bug,” he said.

Virus cases trigger rollback of restrictions in Galveston, Brazoria, Chambers and Liberty counties

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Virus cases trigger rollback of restrictions in Galveston, Brazoria, Chambers and Liberty counties

Southeast Texas leaders received news Monday night that the state would mandate a rollback of relaxed COVID-19 restrictions after state data showed the region had more than 15% of its available hospital resources in use for patients infected by the virus for the seventh day in a row.

The Texas Department of State Health Services has been tracking numbers for each of the Trauma Service Areas (TSA) — groupings of counties that share health care resources or rely on each other during events like the pandemic — and has designated regions that meet the sustained 15% threshold as “high hospitalization areas.”

The TSA region — which includes Galveston, Brazoria, Chambers, Liberty, Jefferson, Orange, Hardin, Jasper, and Newton — has been hovering above the 15% threshold for 12 days now, but the count reset on Dec. 14 after state data showed resources dipped to 14.39%.

But, with active cases exponentially growing and Jefferson County breaking a record for its deadliest month before the end of December, the region hit a high of 39% of its resources in use on Thursday and recorded 21.5% in use on Sunday.

“Under the criteria laid out in GA-32, your area, TSAR, meets the definition of a high hospitalization area and so may not conduct elective surgeries or reopen to the higher levels allowable under GA-32,” the letter from DSHS said.

Starting at 8 a.m. today, businesses are expected to roll back to 50% occupancy inside buildings, and bars will close to indoor service.

The counties in high hospitalization areas will have increased restrictions until COVID hospitalizations drop below 15% for seven consecutive days, which could take some time based on incoming active cases and growing death counts.

Beaumont reported three more deaths on Monday to add to the already record-breaking month of 45 deaths in Jefferson County so far in December.

Since Friday, 130 new cases have been reported in Jefferson County; 53 came from Beaumont’s Monday report alone.

Individual counties can ask the state for an exemption to the rollback if there haven’t been more than 30 cases within a two-week period.

Hardin County Judge Wayne McDaniel said he would ask the state to consider an exemption for his county, but he had doubts about the success of the request since the county’s infection rates disqualified it for the provision.

“I just hate to see the businesses and people that have been through so much this year be hit again,” he said.

“If it was shown that COVID was being spread through our businesses, I would be 100% in support, but I don’t think we have the evidence of that.”

Instead of the rate of new cases, McDaniel will ask that the state consider its contact tracing investigations as evidence that the county is capable of reopening.

While local public health agencies and their contact tracers do have some of the most accurate information about what is happening in communities, issues with the ability to track infections have increased.

Mike White, Jefferson County Emergency Management Coordinator, said signs indicate restrictions have become less effective as the pandemic stretches on.

“We’ve been doing this almost a year now, and I think people are getting COVID fatigue,” he said.

“It is showing because we see people being less and less stringent on what they are doing.”

Beaumont Public Health Director Sherry Ulmer told the Enterprise on Dec. 14 that lack of compliance with surveys and fact-finding after a case was detected had made it difficult to say whether there had been an increase in infections contracted from public places.

What has become clear, especially after the Thanksgiving holiday, is the number of cases driven by large private gatherings in homes and other enclosed spaces.

As Christmas approaches, McDaniel is concerned about gatherings that could lead to another spike and prolonged restrictions for the region.

“If anything at all, maybe this will help some people see it is a bad idea to have a large group of people together for Christmas,” he said.

“Christmas is just the time of year when families gather. I’m not going to say they shouldn’t, because I don’t think I have the authority.”

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