Short-Lived Covid Cases Decrease Reverses In Southwest, Western States
With Arizona and New Mexico reporting the worst influx, the number of covid patients hospitalized in intensive care units rose over the last two weeks in at least 12 states. And even highly vaccinated Massachusetts is watching worrying numbers.
Bloomberg:
Covid Surge In Arizona, New Mexico, Western US States Packs ICUs, Hospitals
Hospitals in some parts of the U.S. are already starting to see the impact of an autumn wave of Covid-19 infections, the latest sign that the health-care system still faces serious pressure from the virus, even in places that have achieved relatively high vaccination rates. Intensive-care unit beds occupied by Covid-19 patients are climbing in 12 states from two weeks earlier, with most of them in a contiguous strip running from Arizona and New Mexico, through the Great Plains and into Minnesota. In several Western states, many doctors and nurses haven’t caught their breath from the last round of infections. (Levin and Del Giudice, 11/11)
ABC News:
Albuquerque Hospitals Enact Crisis Standards Of Care During 'Unprecedented' Time
The two largest hospital systems in Albuquerque, New Mexico, have activated crisis standards of care due to an "unprecedented level" of activity during the pandemic, hospital officials announced Thursday. University of New Mexico Health System and Presbyterian Healthcare Services leaders said in a joint press briefing that they have transitioned to crisis standards of care at their Albuquerque metro hospitals. The move comes as the hospitals are being stretched to the limit in terms of space and staffing due to increasing COVID-19 hospitalizations and a high volume of patients with acute conditions, officials said. (Deliso, 11/11)
AP:
New Mexico Hospitals Seek Relief Amid Wave Of Patients
Two of New Mexico's largest hospitals on Thursday announced that they would be focusing on patients who need care the most, meaning non-medically necessary procedures will likely have to be delayed. While most patients are not dealing with coronavirus infections, officials at Presbyterian Healthcare Services and University of New Mexico Health say the ability to grow the capacity that was built over the last year due to the pandemic is now limited by space and the availability of healthcare workers. (11/11)
The Boston Globe:
‘The Pandemic Is Not Over’: In A Worrisome Trend, COVID-19 Cases Are Rising Again In Mass.
Massachusetts coronavirus case numbers have lurched upward in recent days, in a worrisome development that experts say underlines the need for people to get vaccinated and to take precautions such as wearing masks in indoor public spaces. Case numbers began rising from rock-bottom levels in early July, hit a peak in mid-September, and then declined until early this month. But in the past week or so, they began to rise again. The seven-day average of reported cases was 1,182 on Nov. 3. A week later, as of Nov. 10, it had jumped to 1,481. (Finucane and Huddle, 11/11)
In worries about what hotspots say about winter surges, America's covid future —
AP:
COVID-19 Hot Spots Offer Sign Of What Could Be Ahead For US
The contagious delta variant is driving up COVID-19 hospitalizations in the Mountain West and fueling disruptive outbreaks in the North, a worrisome sign of what could be ahead this winter in the U.S. While trends are improving in Florida, Texas and other Southern states that bore the worst of the summer surge, it’s clear that delta isn’t done with the United States. COVID-19 is moving north and west for the winter as people head indoors, close their windows and breathe stagnant air. “We’re going to see a lot of outbreaks in unvaccinated people that will result in serious illness, and it will be tragic,” said Dr. Donald Milton of the University of Maryland School of Public Health. (Johnson, 11/11)
Axios:
America’s COVID Future Has Arrived
The U.S. and COVID-19 are settling into a long, but hopefully manageable future together. The worst of the pandemic is likely behind us, but the virus is here to stay. We’re entering a new phase — one in which the country’s overall experience with this virus will be less like having a heart attack, and more like managing a lifelong chronic condition. Experts have been saying for a long time that there’s almost no chance COVID-19 would disappear. Rather, they’ve been expecting it to become endemic — meaning it will stick around, possibly forever, but at more predictable, manageable levels. (Baker and Beheraj, 11/11)
As covid affects more than just humans —
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Eight Big Cats At St. Louis Zoo Test Positive For Coronavirus
Eight of the big cats at the St. Louis Zoo are being monitored closely after testing positive recently for the coronavirus. A full recovery is expected for the infected animals, which include two African lions, two snow leopards, two jaguars, an Amur tiger and a puma, zoo officials said Thursday. The outbreak has been limited to Big Cat Country, and no other animals are showing any signs of infection at the zoo, which is home to more than 12,000 animals. All of the cats have received two doses of an animal-specific version of the coronavirus vaccine. The two doses were administered during a roughly three-week period that began Sept. 30, but the cats were likely exposed between doses, zoo officials said. (Harris, 11/11)
