Coronavirus news, updates, hotspots and information for 4-05-2021

This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for April 5th, 2021.   The country’s medicines regulator says seven people have died from unusual blood clots after getting the AstraZeneca vaccine in the UK. Still, that’s seven out of 18 million vaccinated but nobody seems to know if this is just coincidence or a genuine side effect of the vaccine. For right now, the regulator says the benefits still outweigh any risk.   And in the U.S., AstraZeneca has been stopped from using a production facility in Baltimore. It’s the same place that ruined 15 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. In fact, Johnson & Johnson is now taking full charge of that facility.     Researchers have found at least one case of a new coronavirus variant first detected in India in the San Francisco Bay area. Cases in India had been dropping since September but started to go back up through winter. More than 47,000 new cases were detected in a 24-hour span, including 275 deaths, in March.   England is unveiling a pilot in Southamptom for weekly Covid-19 tests. For everyone. The kits are for use at home or pretty much anywhere and will be used to both slow spread and reveal outbreaks of potentially vaccine-resistant variants. The tests use easily collected saliva and would be taken even if the citizen is not showing any symptoms.   It’s play ball tonight at Globe Life Field in Arlington as the Texas Rangers intend to reopen at full capacity for their home opener. But then after the home opener, the stadium will have special sections for fans who want to sit distanced from others.   In the United States cases were up 19%, deaths are down 22%, and hospitalizations were flat over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending flat since March 30.    There are now 6,904,851 active cases in the United States. The current top 5 states by number of active cases: California, New York, Virginia, Florida, and Maryland.   The top 10 counties with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Chattahoochee, GA. St. Clair, MI. Sanilac, MI. Dimmit, TX. Huron, MI. Tuscola, MI. Macomb, MI. Karnes, TX. Lapeer, MI. And Jackson, MN.   The five states with the highest risk levels and most daily new cases per capita over 7 days are Michigan, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut.   There have been 555,001 deaths in the US reported as Covid-related, with a current national fatality rate of 1.82%.   The states with the most new deaths reported as COVID-related: New York 75. California 52. Virginia 42. Florida 23. Texas 20. Illinois 19. New Jersey 9. Maryland 8. Pennsylvania 7. And Georgia, Arkansas, West Virginia, and New Hampshire with 2.   The top 3 vaccinating states by percentage of population that’s had at least one dose, New Mexico at 40.2%, New Hampshire at 40.1%, and Connecticut at 37.6%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are Alabama at 25.2%, Mississippi at 25.5%, and Georgia at 25.7%.   Globally, cases were up 20% and deaths up 11% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending down since April 1.     There are now 22,847,017 active cases around the world.   The five countries with the most new cases: India 103,793. France 60,922. Turkey 41,998. The United States 36,983. And Brazil 31,359.   There have now been 2,852,196 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.