Coronavirus Morning News Brief – Sept. 10: New York’s Clumsy Subway Mask Guidance, Xinjian Residents’ Lockdown Woes

Riders entering the New York City subway system

Good morning. This is Jonathan Spira reporting. Here now the news of the pandemic from across the globe on the 884th day of the pandemic.

New York City, in dropping the mask requirement on public transit, introduced new signage explaining the change in policy.  While I’ll leave my thoughts that the policy change was short-sighted in many respects, my objection is to the misinformation depicted on the new signage.

Earlier versions of the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s mask signage clearly showed the correct and incorrect ways to don a face mask.  Under the chin? No! Just over the nose? Also no!  Over the mouth with nose exposed? Closer but also no!  Fully covering the nose and mouth?  An emphatic yes.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus doesn’t like to be predictable and has proven scientists and politicians wrong time and time again when predictions of, for example, a “Covid-free summer” were made.  Loosening restrictions may make some people feel good, or even liberated, but it frequently promotes an increase in cases.  In this case, we’re talking about rapid-transit subways with poor carriage ventilation, not modern airplanes, where the air exchange rate exceeds that of even operating rooms in hospitals.

Despite sparse enforcement, the masking rule made it somewhat safer for individuals with compromised immune systems in the city to travel on buses and subway trains.  Now the confusing “You Do You” messaging the MTA is broadcasting to riders makes a farce over the concept that guided the city since the earliest days of the pandemic, namely that we were all in this together.

In news we cover today, the presence of polio in New York State is growing, New York City subway ridership hit record levels, and Taiwan eliminated visa requirements for visitors from dozens of countries.

Here’s a look at what has taken place over the past 24 hours.

UNITED STATES

In New York City, public transit officials said that the city’s subway system set a ridership record on Thursday.  The rapid transit system carried over 3.6 million people in the highest traffic day since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, a 35% year-over-year increase.  The increase in ridership coincided with the first day of school in the city.

Meanwhile, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency on Friday over the growing threat of polio after identifying the disease in Nassau County’s wastewater.   The move allows emergency service workers, midwives, and pharmacists to administer the polio vaccine. Officials said they wanted to see vaccination rates for polio rise above 90%. “On polio, we simply cannot roll the dice,” said Dr. Mary T. Bassett, the state health commissioner, in a statement on Friday. “Do not wait to vaccinate.”

GLOBAL

Officials in Xinjian’s Ili Kazakh autonomous prefecture apologized for food shortages and problems accessing healthcare services during the ongoing lockdown there that has lasted for over one month.  The authorities promised to ensure food deliveries as well as access to medical services following an online backlash over the problems.  The prefecture’s deputy governor, Liu Qinghu, acknowledged the ongoing problems in his apology and said “it reflects many shortcomings and weaknesses of the work of the local authorities.“

TRAVEL

Taiwan said that visa-free travel would resume on September 12, 2022 for visitors from the United States, the European Union, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.  A three-day quarantine period upon arrival will, however, remain in effect.

TODAY’S STATISTICS

Now here are the daily statistics for Saturday, September 10.

As of Saturday morning, the world has recorded 613.3 million Covid-19 cases, an increase of 0.5 million cases, and over 6.5 million deaths, according to Worldometer, a service that tracks such information. In addition, 591.6 million people worldwide have recovered from the virus, an increase of 0.9 million.

Worldwide, the number of active coronavirus cases as of Saturday is 15,169,299, a decrease of 374,000. Out of that figure, 99.7%, or 15,127,393, are considered mild, and 0.3%, or 41,906, are listed as critical.  The percentage of cases considered critical has not changed over the past 24 hours.

The United States reported 73,885 new coronavirus infections on Saturday for the previous day, compared to 88,425  on Friday, 144,151  on Thursday, and 125,894 on Wednesday, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  The 7-day incidence rate is now 66,297.  Figures for the weekend (reported the following day) are typically 30% to 60% of those posted on weekdays due to a lower number of tests being conducted.

The average daily number of new coronavirus cases in the United States over the past 14 days is 66,081, a 28% decrease, based on data from the Department of Health and Human Services, among other sources.  The average daily death toll over the same period is 382, a decrease of 21% over the same period, while the average number of hospitalizations for the period was 35,275, a 9% decrease.

In addition, since the start of the pandemic the United States has, as of Saturday, recorded 97 million cases, a higher figure than any other country, and a death toll of over 1.07 million. India has the world’s second highest number of officially recorded cases, just under 44.5 million, and a reported death toll of 528,139.

The newest data from Russia’s Rosstat state statistics service showed that, at the end of May, the number of Covid or Covid-related deaths since the start of the pandemic there in April 2020 is now 820,307, giving the country the world’s second highest pandemic-related death toll, behind the United States.  Rosstat reported that 4,991 people died from the coronavirus or related causes in June, down from 7,008 in May and from 11,583 in April.

Meanwhile, France is the country with the third highest number of cases, 34.68 million, although Brazil has recorded the third highest number of deaths as a result of the virus, 684,866, and has recorded 34.56 million cases, placing it in the number four slot.

Germany is in the number five slot with over 32.4 million cases.

The other four countries with total case figures over the 20 million mark are South Korea, with over 23.9 million cases, the United Kingdom, with over 23.5 million cases, placing it in the number seven slot, and Italy, with 22 million, as number eight, as well as Russia, which hit the 20 million mark on Friday.

VACCINATION SPOTLIGHT

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that, as of the past Saturday, over 263.1 million people in the United States – or 79.2% – have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Of that population, 67.6%, or 224.4 million people, have received two doses of vaccine, and the total number of doses that have been dispensed in the United States is now 610 million. Breaking this down further, 90.2% of the population over the age of 18 – or 232.9 million people – has received at least a first inoculation and 77.4% of the same group – or 199.7 million people – is fully vaccinated.  In addition, 51.7% of that population, or 103.2 million people, has already received a third, or booster, dose of vaccine.

Starting on June 13, 2022, the CDC began to update vaccine data on a weekly basis and publish the updated information on Saturdays by 8 p.m. EDT, a statement on the agency’s website said.

Some 67.8% of the world population has received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine by Saturday, according to Our World in Data, an online scientific publication that tracks such information.  So far, 12.63 billion doses of the vaccine have been administered on a global basis and 4.23 million doses are now administered each day.

Meanwhile, only 21% of people in low-income countries have received one dose, while in countries such as Canada, China, Denmark, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States, at least 75% of the population has received at least one dose of vaccine.

Only a handful of the world’s poorest countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia and Nepal – have reached the 70% mark in vaccinations. Many countries, however, are under 20% and, in countries such as Haiti, Senegal, and Tanzania, for example, vaccination rates remain in the single digits, if not lower.

In addition, North Korea and Eritrea are now the only two countries in the world that have not administered vaccines.

Paul RIegler contributed reporting to this story.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)