This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for February 2nd, 2021. 

January was the deadliest month yet of the outbreak in the U.S. However, cases and hospitalizations are plummeting, and vaccinations are picking up speed. 95,000 lives were lost in January and are running at about 3,150 per day on average.

The U.S. has agreed to spend $231.8 million with an Australian company to boost availability of the first at-home rapid test available without a prescription. The test can send results to a smartphone within 15 minutes of getting a sample. The FDA gave emergency authorization for it back in December after it showed 96% accuracy. 

The CDC says only a little more than a third of nursing home workers have been getting a vaccine the first time it’s offered. While 78% of residents got at least one shot, only 37.5% of staff did. Surveys suggest workers in these facilities are skeptical the shots work.

Australia is not hesitant to do lockdowns. About 2 million Australians started their first full day of a strict lockdown yesterday because one case was found in Perth. The lockdown will last at least five days.

So have you done it? Have you held your breath while walking by someone thinking that protects you from getting the virus? The answer is…it might. An aerosol expert at the University of Colorado Boulder says the risk of transmission when you pass someone on the street is already very low, especially in a mask. But holding your breath might help a little in rare circumstances. 

In the United States cases were down 32%, deaths are down 5%, and hospitalizations down 19% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending down since January 25th.  

There are now 9,827,632 active cases in the United States. The current top 5 states by number of active cases: California, New York, Florida, Arizona, and Georgia. 

The top 10 counties with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Chattahoochee, GA. Presidio, TX. Dimmit, TX. Upton, TX. Hartley, TX. Maverick, TX. Zavala, TX. Dallam, TX. Forest, PA. And Morgan, KY. 

The five states with the highest risk levels and most daily new cases per capita over 7 days are Arizona, South Carolina, Rhode Island, New York, and Texas. 

There’ve been a total 443,186 deaths in the US reported as COVID-related, with a current national fatality rate of 1.69%.

The states with the most new deaths reported as COVID-related: California 408. South Carolina 241. Florida 206. New York 178. Texas 107. Tennessee 103. Connecticut 73. Ohio and Louisiana 53. And Georgia 44. 

The top 3 vaccinating states by percentage of population that’s had at least one dose are Alaska at 13%, West Virginia at 10.7%, and Connecticut and New Mexico at 9.8%. The bottom 3 are Idaho at 5.5%, Missouri at 5.6%, and Iowa at 6%.

Globally, cases were down 21%, and deaths up 2% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending down since January 11.  

Globally, the number of active cases dropped back down under 26 million at 25,948,562.

The five countries with the most new cases: the United States 125,454. Spain 25,867. Brazil 25,285. The U.K. 18,607. And Russia 17,648.

There have now been 2,236,559 deaths reported as Covid-related worldwide. 

For the latest updates, subscribe for free to Coronavirus 411 on your podcast app or ask your smart speaker to play the Coronavirus 411 podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.