“… And Many More!” — Covid Outbreaks Linked To Birthday Parties

USA Today: Birthday Parties May Have Increased COVID Spread, New Study Finds
Kids' birthday parties may be partly to blame for increased coronavirus transmission rates, a new study shows. The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine on Monday, gathered private health insurance data from 2.9 million U.S. households from Jan. 1 to Nov. 8, 2020. In counties with high rates of transmission, households were 31% more likely to test positive for the virus that causes COVID-19 within two weeks after someone had a birthday. In households where a child’s birthday occurred, there were 15.8 more positive coronavirus tests per 10,000 people than in households that didn’t. When adults had a birthday, there were just 5.8 more positive tests in the following two weeks. (Avery, 6/21)

CIDRAP: Birthdays Associated With More COVID-19 Outbreaks
The researchers looked at nationwide data covering about 2.9 million households and 6.5 million people with private health insurance from Jan 1 to Nov 9, 2020, and found that households with a birthday up to 2 weeks prior were associated with increased positive diagnoses. The COVID-19 prevalence rate for birthday households was 8.6 more diagnoses per 10,000 individuals. Compared with households in the 90th percentile for COVID-19 cases, which had 27.8 cases per 10,000 individuals, this was still a 31% relative increase. (6/21)

In updates on the delta variant —

CNBC: Covid Delta: WHO Says Variant Is The Fastest And Fittest And Will 'Pick Off' Most Vulnerable
The highly contagious delta variant is the fastest and fittest coronavirus strain yet, and it will “pick off” the most vulnerable people, especially in places with low Covid-19 vaccination rates, World Health Organization officials warned Monday. Delta, first identified in India, has the potential “to be more lethal because it’s more efficient in the way it transmits between humans and it will eventually find those vulnerable individuals who will become severely ill, have to be hospitalized and potentially die,” Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies program, said during a news conference. (Lovelace Jr., 6/21)

San Francisco Chronicle: Delta Coronavirus Strain Is Growing Fast In California, With Risk For Unvaccinated People
The highly infectious delta coronavirus variant is rising fast in California, with cases more than doubling in the past month and tripling in one Bay Area county, according to genomic sequencing results reported by state and local public health departments. The first California cases of delta, a variant that emerged in India, were reported in early May. As of last week, 349 cases had been identified, and the variant made up about 5% of all coronavirus cases that underwent genomic sequencing for the week. The alpha variant, first identified in the United Kingdom, continues to dominate statewide, making up just over half of all cases reported last week. (Allday, 6/21)

Dallas Morning News: More-Contagious Delta Variant Of Coronavirus On The Rise In Dallas County, Health Experts Say
Dallas County reported two more COVID-19 deaths and 106 new coronavirus cases Monday as concerns increase that a new variant of the virus could become the dominant strain in North Texas. The latest victims were a Dallas man in his 80s and a DeSoto woman in her 70s. Both had underlying high-risk health conditions. County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement Monday that about 56.7% of the county’s residents have had at least one shot. President Joe Biden has set a goal of having 70% of eligible people nationwide to get at least one vaccine dose by July 4. (Somasundaram and Steele, 6/21)

In other news about the spread of the coronavirus —

Fox News: Almost 4,000 Fully Vaccinated People In Massachusetts Have Tested Positive For COVID-19
Nearly 4,000 fully vaccinated people in Massachusetts have tested positive for COVID-19, according to recent data from the state Department of Public Health. The number of breakthrough cases in the state has been infrequent so far -- accounting for approximately one in 1,000 vaccinated people. As of June 12, there were 3,791 coronavirus cases among the more than 3.7 million fully vaccinated individuals in Massachusetts, reports said. (Aaro, 6/22)

CNN: A Coronavirus Outbreak Hit A Florida Government Building. Two People Are Dead But A Vaccinated Employee Wasn't Infected
Two people are dead and four of their coworkers were hospitalized after a Covid-19 outbreak swept through a government building in Manatee County, Florida. The outbreak began in the IT department, according to Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes, who is also an epidemiologist. Another person who worked on the same floor but in a different department also tested positive for coronavirus last week. (Lynch, 6/22)

Georgia Health News: Stewart County Becomes COVID Hot Spot As Cases Rise At Detention Center 
An outbreak of COVID-19 at an immigrant detention center is fueling a spike in cases in a west Georgia county. Stewart Detention Center, in the town of Lumpkin, has 47 inmates currently under isolation or monitoring for COVID, according to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) website. State data show Stewart County has had 69 infections over the past two weeks. It has the second-highest overall COVID rate per 100,000 population among Georgia’s 159 counties, trailing only Chattahoochee County just to its north. Chattahoochee, which is home to much of the Army’s Fort Benning, where many soldiers from around the nation receive training, has shown consistently high COVID infection rates during the pandemic. (Miller, 6/21)

The Washington Post: Or The First Time Since The Pandemic Started, Maryland Reported No Covid Deaths 
Maryland over the weekend reported its first consecutive days with zero deaths from the coronavirus since the early days of the pandemic — a symbolic benchmark suggesting the region has entered a new, more hopeful phase in its fight to stop the spread of the virus. On Monday, D.C. reported zero deaths over the weekend. Virginia reported a single death on Saturday, but the numbers crept up on Sunday and Monday — a reminder that the virus can still claim lives, especially in areas where vaccination rates are relatively low. (Tan, Brice-Saddler and Portnoy, 6/21)