Tag: COVID-19
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Latest Data Supports Continued Reversal of Shutdown
by James A. Bacon We’re a week into Phase 1 of relaxing the COVID-19 lockdown, and there is no sign of an acceleration of the virus. To the contrary, the virus seems to be receding. It may be too soon to reach definitive conclusions — there is a one- to two-week lag between an infection,…
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COVID-19 Update
Highlights from the Virginia Department of Health and Virginia Hospital and Healthcare COVID-19 databases based on yesterday’s reporting: Mortality statistics COVID-19 deaths: 37 Nursing home deaths: 13 Percentage of deaths occurring long-term care settings: 35% Testing data Tests administered: 6,553 % positive: 14.7% COVID-19 Hospitalization data New hospitalizations: 52 New discharges: 185 Total COVID-19 patients…
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COVID-19 a Danger to Individuals but Not an Existential Threat to Society
We’ve published variations of this graph in the past, but the perspective never grows old. This data, provided by John Butcher of Cranky’s Blog fame, shows how the COVID-19 virus stacks up against other causes of death in Virginia (using 2017 data, the most recent available). The number is almost as high as it was…
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COVID Confusion
by Kerry Dougherty Looks like it may be safe to lose the grocery gloves. We can take it easy with the Clorox wipes, too. No longer must we let Amazon packages marinate on the porch for days. Or scrub milk cartons with bleach in case some super-spreader touched it in the supermarket refrigerator case and…
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A Great Idea from Pennsylvania to Help Nursing Homes
by James C. Sherlock Perhaps the Governor can call the General Assembly into special session to copy the best idea I have heard for a short-term fix to nursing home medical care. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives has just passed the “Senior Protection Act” by a vote of 201-1 to appoint the state’s academic medical…
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“People Have Stopped Buying Automobiles”
By Dick Hall-Sizemore That is how Aubrey Layne, Secretary of Finance, summed up his explanation to the House Appropriations Committee of April’s 15% drop in transportation revenue All of the major components of the transportation revenue were down in April, but the biggest danger sign was in the motor vehicle sales and use tax. That…
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VDH Outlines Contact Tracing Initiative
by James A. Bacon Virginia’s COVID-19 contact tracing program will be organized around case investigators, contact tracers, and regional surge teams, all of whose efforts will be supplemented by technology, said Virginia Department of Health (VDH) officials in a media teleconference this morning. VDH had 129 people doing contact tracing for infectious diseases such as…
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The Shutdown As Mass Casualty Event
by James A. Bacon More than 600 physicians have signed a letter to President Trump calling for an end to the national shutdown aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus. The letter describes the unmeasured and overlooked health consequences of skyrocketing unemployment and income loss as a “mass casualty incident.” The letter makes the…
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COVID-19 Update: Eighteen More Nursing Home Deaths
This morning the Virginia Department of Health published the following COVID-19 data based on information reported yesterday: Statewide deaths: 25 Deaths in long-term care facilities: 18 Seventy-two percent of coronavirus deaths involved patients in long-term care facilities. Repeat after me: The COVID-19 epidemic is a nursing home epidemic. The virus may propagate itself through the…
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2/3 of COVID-19 Deaths Yesterday Traceable to Long-Term Care Settings
According to the latest Virginia Department of Health data: 33 COVID-19-related deaths were reported May 19 and published today. 22 new deaths were reported for long-term care facilities. That’s just one day’s results. But it’s consistent with yesterday’s data. Can we agree that the COVID-19 epidemic in Virginia is, at this point in time, primarily…
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Virginia to Hire 1,000 Contact Tracers. What Will Their Priorities Be?
by James A. Bacon Virginia is committing $58 million in federal emergency aid to expand contact tracing of people testing positive for the COVID-19 virus, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The epidemic-fighting tool will be all the more necessary as Virginia eases its Vulcan Death Grip on Virginia’s economy and people begin moving around more freely.…
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Contract Killer Paroled in Virginia
by Kerry Dougherty Let’s begin today with a quiz: Where would you rather be during this COVID-19 epidemic, in a nursing home or a Virginia prison? If you said “prison” you’re right. Of course any place in the commonwealth would be safer than a nursing home. As of 10 a.m. Tuesday, the Virginia Department of…
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Jerry Falwell Jr., COVID-19 and the Insufferables
by James A. Bacon Writing for the Washington Post means never having to say you’re sorry. If you’re looking for examples, consider the case of Jerry Falwell Jr. and his decision to keep Liberty University open during the COVID-19 epidemic, even as virtually all other colleges and universities were shutting down. “This public response indicates…
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The Epidemic Is Occurring in Nursing Homes, Not the Beach
by James A. Bacon Here are a couple of data points to chew on. Yesterday, according to the latest data published by the Virginia Department of Health, Virginia recorded 27 deaths from COVID-19. Of those, 19 occurred in long-term care facilities for the elderly. In other words, 70% of the coronavirus-related deaths occurred in long-term…
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What, Exactly, Is VDEM Doing In the COVID-19 Emergency?
by Carol J. Bova The Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) is responsible for writing the Commonwealth of Virginia Emergency Operations Plan (COVEP) which “provides the framework for how the state will support impacted local governments, individuals and businesses.” A Virginia Municipal League (VML) web page provides Virginia localities a Continuity of Operation Plan (COOP)…