Month: January 2021

DILLON: WELL, WE ARE IN A VERY DANGEROUS SPOT FOR HOSPITALIZATIONS ACROSS THE STATE. THEY’RE AT ONE OF THE HIGHEST LEVELS EVER STATEWIDE, HEAD OF ANOTHER EXPECTED SURGE FROM THE HOLIDAYS. THE STACKED TO WATCH RIGHT NOW IS THE MEMBER OF HOSPITALIZATIONS STATEWIDE. LAST NIGHT, A RECORD PEOPLE IN 501 THE ICU, MORE THAN 1900 COVID PATIENTS TOTAL. HEALTH OFFICIALS SAY IF THAT NUMBER DOESN’T START TO FALL, IT COULD PLUNGE HOSPITALS INTO FURTHER CRISIS. YOU CAN SEE ON THE CHART OF NEW CASES THAT WE JUST SAW A DROP SIMILAR TO THE ONE AFTER THANKSGIVING. WE MAY SEE ANOTHER ONE TOO AFTER NEW YEAR’S. IT COULD BE WEEKS BEFORE WE GET A GOOD SENSE OF OUR CASE NUMBERS BECAUSE OF THE HOLIDAY. TOMORROW’S CASE REPORT WILL COME DOWN ON SATURDAY. ON SUNDAY, THERE WILL BE A DOUBLE REPORT BEFORE GOI...

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Here are the latest updates about COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, in North Carolina. Have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine? Send them to us here SATURDAY 2:30 p.m.The first responders from big cities and small towns rolled into the parking lot of Wake County's Public Health Center on Saturday with the same mission: COVID-19 vaccinations, needed more than ever after the release of rising case numbers over the weekend. "This virus is spreading through the state and I'm doubling down," said Governor Roy Cooper days before the release of Saturday's alarming numbers. "Because we're gonna do whatever is necessary to keep the people of North Carolina safe. And we're gonna do what's necessary to prevent overwhelming our hospital system in big ci...

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported 7 new coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday and 344 new cases.The number of Mainers with COVID-19 who have died is now 358. There were seven people who reportedly died, six of whom were from Cumberland County. The seventh being from York county.The 344 new cases bring the total since the beginning of the outbreak to 25,245.MAINE CORONAVIRUS DATA:Deaths: 358Total cases: 25,245Confirmed cases: 21,412Probable cases: 3,833Cumulative positivity rate: 2.44%14-day positivity rate: 5.0%Isolations Completed: 11,438Currently hospitalized: 188Patients in intensive care: 46Patients on ventilators: 17Get more detailed COVID-19 data from the Maine CDCCOVID-19 symptomsPer the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these are the...

Michele Miller, of Bayside, N.Y., was infected with the coronavirus in March and hasn’t smelled anything since then. Recently, her husband and daughter rushed her out of their house, saying the kitchen was filling with gas. She had no idea. “It’s one thing not to smell and taste, but this is survival,” Ms. Miller said. Humans constantly scan their environments for smells that signal changes and potential harms, though the process is not always conscious, said Dr. Dalton, of the Monell Chemical Senses Center. Smell alerts the brain to the mundane, like dirty clothes, and the risky, like spoiled food. Without this form of detection, “people get anxious about things,” Dr. Dalton said. Even worse, some Covid-19 survivors are tormented by phantom odors that are unpleasant and often noxious, li...

FIRST STRAIN OF CORONAVIRUS. THE NE VARIANT OF COVID-19 WAS RECENTLY REPORTED IN COLORADO. EXPERTS SAY CASES ARE IN CALIFORNIA AND FLORIDA. THIS HAPPENS WHEN THE VIRUS CHANGES SEQUENCES WITHIN THEIR GENOME. >> THESE CHANGES IN SEQUENCE ARE COMMON. THEY HAPPEN WITH ALL VIRUSES, AND THAT IMPACT THAT THEY HAVE MAY BE VARIABLE. LAUREN IN THIS CASE, THE VARIABLE HAS MADE THE VIRUS EVEN MORE CONTAGIOUS. >> IT DOES NOT SEEM TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH HIGHER RISK OF HOSPITALIZATION OR DEATH. LAUREN WHICH COMES THIS PROMISING NEWS, AND IT ALSO APPEARS THAT COVID-19 TESTING CAN ALSO PICK UP ON THE VARIANT AS WELL. >> WE USUALLY CHECK FOR MORE THAN ONE TARGET WITHIN THE VIRUS. WE EXPECT THAT OUR CURRENT TEST WILL PICK UP THIS VARIANT JUST AS THEY DO THE REGULAR TEST. LAUREN A...

A Wisconsin hospital pharmacist was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of sabotaging more than 500 doses of coronavirus vaccine by deliberately removing them from refrigeration to spoil, police and medical authorities said. The pharmacist, an employee of Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, Wisconsin, at the time that 57 vials of vaccine were found left out of cold storage earlier this week, has since been fired but has not been publicly identified, officials said. Each vial contains 10 doses. Nearly 60 of the doses in question were administered before hospital officials determined the medication had been left unrefrigerated long enough to render the vaccine ineffective. The remaining 500-plus doses were then discarded. Moderna Inc, maker of the vaccine, has assured the hosp...