Annual Groundhog Day celebration in Punxsutawney to go virtual
The annual Groundhog Day celebration in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania will be closed to in-person attendance in 2021, the group announced Thursday. Punxsutawney's famed groundhog Phil will instead make his prognostication via a video feed, according to a special committee of the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.
"The health and safety of our faithful followers and everyone associated with Phil's prognostication has been our number one priority," a Punxsutawney Groundhog Club press release said. The release added that "the potential Covid risks to overcome are too great" to allow for in-person attendance.
Intubated COVID-19 patient plays violin to thank healthcare workers
A retired orchestra teacher who was hospitalized for COVID-19 played his violin as a tribute to nurses and doctors who had been caring for him.
Grover Wilhelmsen, who was hospitalized at McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden, Utah for over a month, couldn’t speak while intubated and instead communicated with the healthcare staff through writing. After writing to Ciara Sase, a nurse and one of his caregivers, that he wanted to play his violin to thank the staff, Sase coordinated with Wilhelmsen’s wife of 47 years to bring the instrument into the hospital.
“It brought tears to my eyes. For all the staff to see a patient doing this while intubated was unbelievable,” Sase said according to a press release from Intermountain Healthcare. “Even though he was so sick, he was still able to push through. You could see how much it meant to him. Playing kind of helped to soothe his nerves and brought him back to the moment.”
Wilhelmsen was recently discharged from the ICU to a long-term care facility where he’s expected to make a full recovery, the hospital said.
CDC warns America: Do not travel for Thanksgiving
Americans should avoid travel for Thanksgiving, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Thursday.
It was a last-minute attempt by the nation's leading public health agency to curb what's sure to be yet another dangerous spike in Covid-19 cases if families gather next week.
"In the last week, we've seen over a million new cases," Erin Sauber-Schatz, head of the CDC's Community Interventions and Critical Populations Task Force, said Thursday on a call with reporters. "Thanksgiving is a week away."
Dem. senator says Trump vaccine distributions team hasn't briefed Biden
Nearly one out of four sailors from the Navy destroyer USS Michael Murphy test positive for Covid
A Covid-19 outbreak among sailors assigned to the USS Michael Murphy, a guided missile destroyer in the Navy's Pacific Fleet, has sidelined most of the crew and delayed its training schedule, according to two U.S. military officials and one defense official.
Nearly a quarter of the roughly 300 sailors assigned to the ship have tested positive for Covid-19, the officials said. And while many Navy ships, especially those in port, have a handful of cases among assigned sailors, the officials acknowledge that the concentration of positives from the USS Michael Murphy is higher than has been seen with other ships.
Sioux Falls, SD mayor says new mask mandate is part of all hands on deck effort to stop spread
Sioux Falls, South Dakota Mayor Paul TenHaken said the decision to finally enact a mask mandate despite initial reluctance is part of his effort to do “whatever we can” to stop the state’s deadly surge.
As of Wednesday, the state with a population of about 885,000, recorded over 68,671 cases and 671 deaths related to coronavirus. It also saw a 28 percent increase in Covid-19 cases in the last few weeks. It does not have a statewide mask mandate.
“We’re getting hit hard right now, and what we’re trying to do right now is ensure that healthcare capacity stays manageable,” TenHaken said.
Still, he expressed uncertainty over whether the mandate that passed Tuesday will be effective.
“Masks do slow the spread of the virus. We know that. What we haven’t seen though is data that mask mandates really do that.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio says reopening NYC schools require stricter measures, Cuomo to close indoor dining and gyms
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday that schools would remain closed indefinitely after he announced yesterday that schools would move all-remote in the country’s largest school system when the city surpassed the 3 percent standard for school shutdowns.
“This is a tough day. It was a tough decision yesterday. It’s not something anyone can possibly be happy about. I understand the frustration of parents,” de Blasio said. “We need to come up with even more stringent rules to make schools work and testing is going to be absolutely crucial.”
The mayor said that it was “just a matter of time” before Gov. Andrew Cuomo declares NYC an orange zone, which bans indoor dining and closes gyms and salons.
On Nov. 17, the city logged 1,255 new Covid-19 cases — its highest reported number this past week, according to city health department data. City residents have tested positive at a rate of 3 percent over the past seven days, according to the data.
Covid testing strained again as U.S. heads into holidays
NEW YORK — With coronavirus cases surging and families hoping to gather safely for Thanksgiving, long lines to get tested have reappeared across the U.S. — a reminder that the nation’s strained testing system remains unable to keep pace with the virus.
The delays are happening as the country braces for winter weather, flu season and holiday travel, all of which are expected to amplify a U.S. outbreak that has already swelled past 11.5 million cases and 250,000 deaths.
Diversions and transfer delays plague hospitals overwhelmed by Covid-19 cases
With Covid-19 cases on the rise in all 50 states, the burden on hospitals has led to an increase in diversions. In addition, patient transfers are being significantly delayed due to capacity and staffing shortages, hospital administrators in some of the hardest hit states said.
The process known as diversion occurs when a hospital is over-capacity and needs to put a hold on accepting any knew ambulance traffic. Earlier this week at Elkhart General Hospital in Indiana, the hospital's 144 beds were over-capacity with 206 patients, stretching staff thin. Patients had to be temporarily housed in older areas of the hospital that had been closed. The hospital was eventually forced to issue a 7-hour diversion in order to get things under control.
“This is exactly why we were adamant about masks and flattening the curve. This is the situation that we wanted to avoid,” Dr. Michelle Bache said.