CORONAVIRUS INFO PROVIDED BY DR. JIM HARRIS – 5/3/2022

MILTON REPORTS TWO INCHES OF RAIN THIS MORNING.

FROM BECKER

COVID-19 hospitalizations up in 38 states

FROM MNM:

FROM JAMA

Association of SARS-CoV-2 Infection During Pregnancy With Maternal and Perinatal Outcomes

”SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy was significantly associated with increased risk of adverse maternal outcomes and preterm birth.”

CDC COVID PREVENTION, TREATMENT, AND VARIANTS UPDATE

FROM THE NYT:

New York City Enters Higher Coronavirus Risk Level as Case Numbers Rise

”…New York City entered a higher risk level for the coronavirus on Monday, a troubling reminder that the pandemic is not over and that the virus still has the power to harm New Yorkers.

The city moved into the medium, or yellow, risk category for virus transmission as cases continued their steady rise, a development that could trigger the return of public health restrictions, although they are not required to be reinstated at this point.

The city is now seeing nearly 2,500 new cases per day, a significant jump from about 600 daily cases in early March. The latest rise, fueled by the highly contagious Omicron subvariant known as BA.2, does not rival the first Omicron surge in December and January, but recorded case levels are as high as they were when the Delta variant swept through the city last year.

What’s more, case levels in New York and around the country are probably much higher than the official statistics because many residents are testing at home, and positive at-home tests are not typically included in official tallies…”

FROM HOPKINS: (you have seen this before in other forms)

South Africa’s Latest Surge Is A Possible Preview Of The Pandemic’s Next Chapter (New York Times) Coronavirus cases are surging again in South Africa, and public health experts are monitoring the situation, eager to know what’s driving the spike, what it says about immunity from previous infections and what its implications are globally. South Africa experienced a decline in cases after hitting an Omicron-fueled, pandemic peak in December. But in the past week, cases have tripled, positivity rates are up and hospitalizations have also increased, health officials said. The surge has the country facing a possible fifth wave. The spike is linked to BA.4 And BA.5, two sub variants that are part of the Omicron family. Tulio de Oliveira, director of South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal Research and Innovation Sequencing Platform, said that BA.4 and BA.5 demonstrate how the virus is evolving differently as global immunity increases.

AND LASTLY: