Gracias por SEGUIRNOS, este artículo contiene la revista digital de SAN ANTONIO de ¡Que Onda Magazine! De fecha 19 de noviembre al 25 de noviembre del 2020.
Publicación 1184 de HOUSTON – Revista Digital 19 de noviembre – 25 de noviembre / 2020
Gracias por SEGUIRNOS, este artículo contiene la revista digital de HOUSTON de ¡Que Onda Magazine! De fecha 19 de noviembre al 25 de noviembre del 2020.
San Antonio Holiday Traditions Spark Hope and Joy with Early Lighting of River Walk Lights
San Antonio Holiday Traditions Spark Hope and Joy with Early Lighting of River Walk Lights
A new, four-million light experience, Mexican luminarias lining the River Walk and millions of lights nightly across the city are just a few of the joyful ornaments on San Antonio’s 2020 holiday tree. Downtown’s beautifully decorated Travis Park will be home to the 50-foot H-E-B Blue Spruce Christmas Tree and socially distanced celebrations will welcome visitors looking for an inspiring light in their holiday in San Antonio.
Holiday hope abounds in San Antonio with heartwarming attractions for the entire family. The season kicks into full swing the week of Nov. 16 as the San Antonio River Walk fully lights up earlier than usual to bring holiday magic in this unprecedented year. The first three December weekends, Ford Fiesta de las Luminarias returns with more than 2,000 Luminarias lining the banks of the River Walk as singers from the Ford Holiday Boat Caroling float by on the river.
Around the city, visitors will find a variety of ways to get in the holiday spirit while enjoying the city’s warm winter climate:
For the first time ever, illumi-Night: A Magical Drive-thru Experience will deck the grounds of the San Antonio Spurs’ home with over 4 million twinkling lights, photo opportunities, tasty treats, 3D displays and more over the course of a one-mile drive-thru experience. The event will help support community-focused programs by Spurs Give.
For a wild winter wonderland, the San Antonio Zoo’s Whataburger Zoo Lights features spectacular animal-themed light displays including a 15-foot-tall illuminated giraffe. Light show afficionados dance will enjoy a show with a Latin-inspired twist at the Lakeside Light Show featuring pixel technology combined with a custom soundtrack composed of Latin Music. Guests can sip cocoa, take snow globe photos, roast s’mores, ride camels and more.
Millions of twinkling lights at Six Flags Fiesta Texas set the stage for the park’s annual Holiday in the Park event where musical shows and socially distanced meet-and-greets with Santa Claus and Looney Toons characters combine with the thrills of exciting rides.
Visitors will find the largest display of holiday lights in Texas at SeaWorld San Antonio’s Christmas Celebration, where sparkling lights create a magical atmosphere across 250 acres. The Elmo’s Christmas Wish show offers a chance to dance and sing with fuzzy friends while Merry Mariachis bring an authentic San Antonio sound to the park.
Natural Bridge Caverns is the only place to find “Spelunker Claus” and carols echoing in a cave 180-feet below ground. Christmas at the Caverns festivities also include a 1/3-mile outdoor Trail of Lights, an outdoor holiday maze, Christmas campfires and live entertainment in a safe environment.
The priority on safety of the community and visitors is one of the reasons that San Antonio is a top vacation destination. San Antonio’s civic, business and association communities have joined forces to ensure that as the city emerges from the COVID-19 crisis it maintains safety as the most important aspect. In addition to more than 2,100 local businesses taking the Greater. Safer. To learn more about the way San Antonio is a safer choice for travel, visit VisitSanAntonio.com/SaferSA.
For even more light-filled imagery and holiday celebrations, plus event details, including dates, hours and pricing, go to VisitSanAntonio.com/holidays.
Holiday health recommendations
Travel Tips
Travel increases your chances of getting and spreading COVID-19. Staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others. If you do plan to travel, know the risks.
- Staying at public lodgings such as hotels, motels and resorts can increase your risk. Limit contact with strangers, especially in locations where aerosols are more prevalent such as restrooms, bars, pools, fitness rooms, etc.
- Air travel increases close contact in security lines and frequently touched services in airport terminals. Most germs do not spread easily on flights because of how air circulates and is filtered. Go to cdc.gov and click on “Travelers Health” for current information and how to get cancellation insurance, in the event you have to make last-minute transportation changes
When You Shouldn’t Travel
Don’t travel if you or any of your travel companions…
- Are sick
- Have suspected or diagnosed COVID-19 (even if you don’t have symptoms)
- Have been around someone with suspected or diagnosed COVID-19 in the past 14 days (even if they did not have symptoms).
Holiday Risk Assessment Guide
Lowest risk: Virtual-only activities, events and gatherings.
More risk: Smaller outdoor and in-person gatherings in which individuals from different households remain spaced at least 6 feet apart, wear masks, do not share objects, and come from the same local area (e.g., community, town, city or county).
Higher risk: Medium-sized, in-person gatherings that are adapted to allow individuals to remain spaced at least 6 feet apart and with attendees coming from outside the local area.
Highest risk: Large, in-person gatherings where it is difficult for individuals to remain spaced at least 6 feet apart and attendees travel from outside the local area.
Activities to Avoid
Avoid these higher-risk activities:
- Going shopping in crowded cities and stores
- Participating or being a spectator in parades, athletic events or other events with crowds
- Using alcohol or drugs, which can cloud judgement and increase risky behaviors
- Attending large indoor gatherings with people outside of your household
Special Considerations
- If you test negative for COVID-19 but you are still sick, delay your travel until you’re well
- If you test positive for COVID-19, don’t travel while infectious with COVID-19 even if you don’t have symptoms.
- If you are in quarantine, delay your travel by separating yourself from others until 14 days after your last exposure.
- If you are waiting for test results, delay your travel until you get your test results.
When to seek medical care
If someone is showing any of these signs, seek emergency medical care immediately:
- Trouble breathing
- Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
- New confusion
- Inability to wake or stay awake
- Bluish lips or face
Texas surpasses 20,000 virus deaths, second highest in US
Texas has surpassed 20,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths as COVID-19 continues to surge in the United States
That is the second-highest death count overall in the U.S., trailing only New York, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins University. It’s the 22nd-highest per capita at 69.7 deaths per 100,000 people.
So far, Texas leaders have given no indication of forthcoming restrictions to keep people from gathering and spreading the virus. Instead, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in recent days has been emphasizing that new therapeutics and vaccines are expected to become available soon.
A state appeals court last week sided with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and lifted a local shutdown order in El Paso, where mobile morgues are being trucked in to help overwhelmed hospitals and funeral homes.
The El Paso county morgue reached out to the El Paso Sheriff’s Department for help after it became “overwhelmed,” according to El Paso Sheriff’s Department Public Affairs Director Chris Acosta. Inmates of the county’s detention facility “were asked to help for a stipend of $2 an hour,” Acosta said in a statement.
According to Acosta, between four and eight participants of the detention facility’s trusty program have volunteered daily since Nov. 9. She said they are accompanied by a sheriff’s deputy and two detention officers and are provided with personal protective equipment. The volunteers are minimum custody inmates with misdemeanor offenses, Acosta said, and their volunteer service is temporary “since we are waiting for the National Guard to take over.”
Texas also became America’s first state to record more than 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases last week. It also recently surpassed California, the most populous state, in recording the highest number of positive coronavirus tests. The true number of infections is likely higher because many people haven’t been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick.
During the summer, people with COVID-19 overwhelmed hospitals in Houston and in the Rio Grande Valley, along the border with Mexico. But in the fall case numbers dipped, and Abbott began relaxing some coronavirus restrictions, allowing restaurants and gyms to let more people inside. He also let county leaders decide if they wanted to reopen bars at 50% capacity.
Since then, the virus has spread.
Over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases has increased by 3,430.4, an increase of 53.6%.
Texas now ranks 31st in the country for new cases per capita, with 428.3 new cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks. One in every 417 people in Texas tested positive in the past week.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court said Monday that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice had substantially met the demands of inmates at a Houston area facility for safety equipment. The court agreed with a federal appeals court, which previously cancelled a federal judge’s April order for TDCJ to provide inmates with hand sanitizer, masks and unrestricted access to soap. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan dissented.
COVID-19 US death toll tops 250K, highest in world
The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus is now more than 250,000, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University. That is the highest number of deaths of any country in the world.
The news comes as the state of Florida surpassed 900,000 cases since the start of the pandemic on Wednesday.
Overwhelmed hospitals are converting chapels, cafeterias, waiting rooms, hallways, even a parking garage into patient treatment areas. Staff members are desperately calling around to other medical centers in search of open beds. Fatigue and frustration are setting in among front-line workers.
Conditions inside the nation’s hospitals are deteriorating by the day as the coronavirus rages across the U.S. at an unrelenting pace and the death toll surpasses 250,000.
“We are depressed, disheartened and tired to the bone,” said Alison Johnson, director of critical care at Johnson City Medical Center in Tennessee, adding that she drives to and from work some days in tears.
The number of people in the hospital with COVID-19 in the U.S. has doubled in the past month and set new records every day this week. As of Tuesday, nearly 77,000 were hospitalized with the virus.
Newly confirmed infections per day in the U.S. have exploded more than 80% over the past two weeks to the highest levels on record, with the daily count running at close to 160,000 on average. Cases are on the rise in all 50 states. Deaths are averaging more than 1,155 per day, the highest in months.
The out-of-control surge is leading governors and mayors across the U.S. to grudgingly issue mask mandates, limit the size of private and public gatherings ahead of Thanksgiving, ban indoor restaurant dining, close gyms or restrict the hours and capacity of bars, stores and other businesses.
New York City’s school system — the nation’s largest, with more than 1 million students — suspended in-person classes Wednesday amid a mounting infection rate, a painful setback in a corner of the country that suffered mightily in the spring but had seemingly beaten back the virus months ago.
Texas is rushing thousands of additional medical staff to overworked hospitals as the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients statewide accelerates toward 8,000 for the first time since a deadly summer outbreak.
In the worsening rural Panhandle, roughly half of the admitted patients in Lubbock’s two main hospitals had COVID-19, and a dozen people with the virus were waiting in the emergency room for beds to open up Tuesday night, said Dr. Ron Cook, the Lubbock County health authority.
“We’re in trouble,” Cook said.
Amazon jumps into the pharmacy business
Amazon jumps into the pharmacy business with online prescription fulfillment, free delivery for Prime members
Amazon is entering the pharmacy business with a new offering called Amazon Pharmacy, allowing customers in the United States to order prescription medications for home delivery, including free delivery for Amazon Prime members.
Amazon has been quietly building out its pharmacy offering for several years after ramping up internal discussions in 2017 and acquiring PillPack in 2018. The pharmacy space is notoriously complex and competitive in the U.S., and Amazon Pharmacy is built in part on PillPack’s infrastructure, including its pharmacy software, fulfillment centers and relationships with health plans.
Amazon Pharmacy, announced Tuesday, is the company’s biggest push yet into $300 billion market, and threatens the dominance of traditional pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens, as well as other large retailers that offer pharmacy services, including Walmart.
Pharmacy stocks tumbled following the launch of Amazon Pharmacy. CVS shares fell 7.5% in morning trading Tuesday. Walgreens Boots Alliance dropped more than 8%. Shares of Rite Aid slid more than 16%. GoodRx, which helps consumers find discounts on prescription drugs, fell more than 18%. Amazon shares jumped more than 1%.
For Amazon, the announcement is well timed. Americans are increasingly relying on getting their medicines via mail to avoid possible exposure to the coronavirus. That shift could be permanent, as more people than ever before are learning about new ways of receiving medication.
“We wanted to make it easy for people to get their medication, understand the cost and get it delivered to the home,” said TJ Parker, Amazon’s vice president of pharmacy, who previously co-founded PillPack. “The hard work is to make it easy … there were a number of complications behind the scenes.”
“We think this new benefit will add tremendous value to our members,” added Jamil Ghani, vice president of Amazon Prime. “It’s relevant as folks try to do more from the comfort and safety of their homes.”
How it works
Customers over the age of 18 will have access to the pharmacy service this week in 45 states, not including Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana and Minnesota. Amazon expects to serve those states over time.
Amazon Pharmacy will accept most forms of insurance, but could offer savings for people without insurance as well. Customers can also use flexible spending accounts or health savings accounts to buy prescriptions on the service.
Before customers order medication for the first time, the site might ask them questions such as whether they’re pregnant, their date of birth and their gender as it was assigned at birth. That information is required by law to provide pharmacy care, and it helps pharmacists to do things like confirm prescriptions.
Doctors can send prescriptions directly to Amazon Pharmacy, or patients can request a transfer from an existing retailer, like CVS or Walgreens. Amazon says it has tools to verify that a physician legitimately ordered each prescription, and to tamp down on potential fraud.
Customers will be able to track the delivery of their prescriptions just like they can with any other Amazon order.
Amazon
Amazon Prime customers get free two-day delivery, although shipping might take up to five days the first time a customer orders, as it takes time to transfer a medication. Customers who don’t have Prime can get free delivery within five days, or they can pay $5.99 to upgrade to two-day delivery.
The medicines on offer include a mix of generic and brand-name drugs. Customers can get access to birth control, as well as commonly prescribed drugs like insulin, triamcinolone steroid creams, metformin for controlling blood sugar and sumatriptan for migraines.
Amazon will not deliver Schedule II controlled medications, including most opioids, and it won’t be replacing the Health & Personal Care store by offering vitamins and supplements.
Customers who have questions about their medications can reach a pharmacist or pharmacy technician at any time through online self-service or phone. Amazon will also screen for potentially problematic drug interactions for customers who are taking multiple medications at once.
Amazon’s Parker said that the storage and collection of customer health information is in compliance with federal HIPAA rules, and the company won’t share pharmacy data with advertisers or marketers without permission.
Amazon has leveraged its rich troves of customer data to build advertising into a key pillar of its overall business, and shows customers personalized ads and offers discounts based on what they have bought in the past. But consumers are likely to have a different set of expectations when they’re placing a prescription order versus browsing for a new pair of pants.
“The information and experience you have inside the pharmacy is separate and distinct from the experience that you have on Amazon.com,” Parker said.
PillPack will continue to serve customers even after Amazon Pharmacy launches. That’s because PillPack is designed for a different use-case: It delivers medicines on a 30-day schedule to a population of patients that tend to be sicker and older than average, and often require multiple prescriptions.
For Prime users: A prescription savings benefit
Amazon Prime members have access to an additional pharmacy perk called the “prescription savings benefit,” which offers a discount of up to 80% on generic medications and up to 40% on brand-name prescriptions.
Amazon negotiated those discounts through a relationship with the Inside Rx savings program, which is part of Evernorth, a company that grew out of a merger between Express Scripts and insurance giant Cigna in 2018. Insurers use pharmacy benefits managers like Evernorth to negotiate drug rebates from drug manufacturers in exchange for better coverage.
Even for people who have health coverage, the Prime price might still end up being more affordable than the co-pay — Amazon’s Parker said it happens “more frequently than people think” (although it won’t count towards a deductible).
Prime customers can also get a prescription savings benefit card to use at up to 50,000 pharmacies, including CVS, Walmart, Rite Aid, and Walgreens. This might be preferable for customers who have an urgent need for medication and can’t wait two days for delivery.
Amazon’s Parker said the company does not currently have any brick-and-mortar pharmacies, and declined to speculate on future product offerings. But in future, the company could add pharmacies to Whole Foods and its chain of Amazon Fresh stores.
Downtown bars and restaurants now allowed to serve outdoors on Main Street
Before the pandemic, Main Street in downtown Houston was a bustling spot, especially on the weekends, that would draw restaurant-goers and bar hoppers alike.
Houston City Council has now given the OK to bring back business to the popular stretch. On Wednesday, council members approved an ordinance that would allow bars and eateries to use unutilized, outdoor street space to serve food and drinks to customers, while also keeping social distancing guidelines in mind.
The Main Street ordinance, proposed under the “More Spaces” plan that was approved back in August, will require the strip of roadway to close to vehicle traffic. In this case, Main would be closed from Commerce to Rusk streets.
“This effort is intended to provide an economic boost to restaurants and bars by increasing the customer seating area while maintaining social distancing during COVID-19 occupancy restrictions, and support Downtown, as these businesses progress towards stable operations,” the city council agenda item for “More Space Main Street” stated.
Back when More Spaces was originally approved, the Main Street ordinance was dependent on Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission approving restaurants that sell alcohol. METRO also needed to sign off on the plan because of the light rail that runs in the middle of Main Street.
Businesses will be required to submit their plans on how they will operate.
Details of the approved ordinance also include:
- Allow restaurants and bars to serve customers by establishing temporary enclosures and setting up tables and chairs.
- Establish no fee for businesses to participate in this program.
- Continue the program through March 31, 2022.
La FDA autoriza la primera prueba de COVID-19 para autodiagnosticarse en el hogar
Actualización sobre el coronavirus (COVID-19): La FDA autoriza la primera prueba de COVID-19 para autodiagnosticarse en el hogar
SILVER SPRING, – Hoy, la Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos de los EE. UU. (FDA, por sus siglas en inglés) emitió una autorización de uso de emergencia (EUA) de la primera prueba de diagnóstico de COVID-19 para autodiagnosticarse en el hogar y que proporciona resultados rápidos. El kit de prueba “todo en uno” Lucira COVID-19 es una prueba molecular (reacción de amplificación mediada por ciclo en tiempo real) de un sólo uso que está destinada a detectar el nuevo coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 que causa el COVID-19.
“La FDA continúa demostrando una velocidad sin precedentes en su respuesta a la pandemia. Si bien hay pruebas de diagnóstico de COVID-19 que han sido autorizadas para la recolección de muestras en el hogar, esta es la primera prueba que se puede hacer por completo y proporcionar resultados en el hogar. Esta nueva opción de prueba es un avance de diagnóstico importante para abordar la pandemia y reducir la carga pública de la transmisión de enfermedades”, dijo el comisionado de la FDA, el Dr. Stephen M. Hahn, M.D. “La acción de hoy subraya el compromiso continuo de la FDA de ampliar el acceso a pruebas de COVID-19 “.
El kit de prueba “todo en uno” Lucira COVID-19 ha sido autorizada para uso en el hogar con una muestra que puede recolectar el usuario con hisopos nasales destinado para personas mayores de 14 años que su proveedor de atención médica sospeche tengan el COVID-19. También está autorizado para su uso en las instalaciones de los sitios de atención (por ejemplo, consultorios médicos, hospitales, clínicas de atención de urgencia y salas de emergencia) para todas las edades, pero un proveedor de atención médica debe recolectar las muestras cuando la prueba se usa en el sitio de atención para evaluar a personas menores de 14 años. Actualmente, la prueba está autorizada sólo para su uso con receta médica.
La prueba funciona haciendo girar el hisopo con la muestra recolectada por uno mismo dentro de un vial que luego se coloca en la unidad de prueba. En 30 minutos o menos, los resultados se pueden leer directamente desde la pantalla iluminada de la unidad de prueba que muestra si una persona es positiva o negativa al virus SARS-CoV-2. Los resultados positivos indican la presencia de SARS-CoV-2. Las personas con resultados positivos deben aislarse y buscar atención adicional de su proveedor de atención médica. Las personas que resulten negativas a la prueba y experimenten síntomas similares a los del COVID-19, deben consultar con su proveedor de atención médica, ya que los resultados negativos no descartan que una persona tenga la infección de SARS-CoV-2.
“La autorización de hoy para una prueba completa en el hogar es un paso significativo en la respuesta nacional de la FDA al COVID-19. Una prueba que se puede administrar completamente fuera de un laboratorio o entorno de atención médica siempre ha sido una de las principales prioridades de la FDA para abordar la pandemia. Ahora, más estadounidenses que puedan tener el COVID-19 podrán tomar medidas de inmediato, basándose en sus resultados, para protegerse a sí mismos y a quienes los rodean”, dijo el Dr. Jeff Shuren, M.D., J.D., director del Centro de Dispositivos y Salud Radiológica de la FDA. “Esperamos trabajar de forma proactiva con los desarrolladores de pruebas para respaldar la disponibilidad de más opciones de pruebas en el hogar”.
Un componente importante para el éxito de las pruebas en el hogar es la capacidad de rastrear y monitorear los resultados de manera eficiente. Como se indica en esta autorización EUA, los proveedores de atención médica que prescriben deben reportar todos los resultados de las pruebas que reciben de las personas que utilizan la prueba a las autoridades de salud pública pertinentes de acuerdo con los requisitos locales, estatales y federales. Lucira Health, el fabricante de la prueba también ha desarrollado etiquetas para las cajas, instrucciones de referencia rápida e instrucciones para el proveedor de atención médica para ayudar con los reportes.
Las pruebas de diagnóstico siguen siendo uno de los pilares a la respuesta de nuestra nación al COVID-19. La FDA continúa su compromiso con la salud pública y para buscar nuevos acciones que ayuden a que pruebas críticas estén disponibles para más estadounidenses a través de sus poderes de autorización de emergencia.
La FDA, una dependencia del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Sociales de los Estados Unidos, protege la salud pública asegurando la protección, eficacia y seguridad de los medicamentos tanto veterinarios como para los seres humanos, las vacunas y otros productos biológicos destinados al uso en seres humanos, así como de los dispositivos médicos. La dependencia también es responsable de la protección y seguridad de nuestro suministro nacional de alimentos, los cosméticos, los suplementos dietéticos, los productos que emiten radiación electrónica, así como de la regulación de los productos de tabaco.
Police believe man shot himself after shooting 4 family members, killing 2
Houston police said they think the suspect shot four family members, killing two of them. They said he then shot himself but survived.
Two family members were killed and three others were injured, including the suspect, in a shooting in west Houston on Wednesday, according to police.
At about 2:30 p.m., Houston police responded to reports of shots fired at a house in the 11600 block of Manor Park Drive, which is near the intersection of Briar Forest Drive and South Kirkwood Road, just south of the Katy Freeway and outside the Beltway.
Police said the 911 call came from inside the home.
When they arrived, officers found a man who was unresponsive in the driveway. With fears that the shooter may still be at the home, the officers entered the house.
Inside, police said another man was found unresponsive with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police said they believe he could have been the shooter.
Upstairs, police said they found a woman in her mid-20s shot to death. Two other women were also shot. They were both taken to an area hospital in critical condition.
A 3-month-old child was found in the house but was uninjured.
Police said the shooting appears to be a domestic incident but haven’t said exactly what led up to it.
No one at the scene has been identified, but police said they were all related.
