Coronavirus news, updates, hotspots and information for 4-08-2021

This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for April 8th, 2021.   The head of the CDC says a more easily spread variant first identified in England is now the dominant strain in the U.S. It spread quickly across the U.K. and Ireland starting last fall and has thwarted restrictions. The CDC adds that new outbreaks have been linked to youth sports and day care centers so those activities should be curtailed or suspended.   In Brazil, a new surge is filling hospitals and morgues, as the country logged nearly 4,200 deaths Tuesday. That’s close to the peak U.S. daily death toll on January 12 even though Brazil has less than two-thirds the population. Some officials are warning of the "collapse of the health care system."   In Germany, things have gotten bad enough that Chancellor Angela Merkel is supporting a “short, uniform lockdown.” The criticism is the 16 state governers cannot seem to agree on the same restrictions though ICU beds are filling up.     In Britain, modeling by University College London shows that country will achieve herd immunity next week once you take the pace of the vaccine rollout and the number of people who've already recovered from Covid into account.   The actual virus was bad enough but soon we’ll start hearing more and more about the ongoing long-term consequences of this pandemic, and it has to do with the public’s mental health, a health crisis all its own. Lancet reports researchers estimate literally one third of COVID survivors are struggling with brain disease or other psychiatric disorders. It’s a cocktail of problems that includes anxiety, mood disorders, hemorrhaging, stroke, and dementia.   In the United States cases were up 19%, deaths are down 21%, and hospitalizations were up 4% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending flat since March 30.    There are now 6,857,855 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. Dimmit, TX. Caldwell, KY. Huron, MI. Tuscola, MI. Galax, VA. Sanilac, MI. Lake of the Woods, MN. And Otsego, MI.   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 Alaska.   There have been 559,086 deaths in the US reported as Covid-related, with a current national fatality rate of 1.81%.   The states with the most new deaths reported as COVID-related: Texas 108. California 101. New York 83. Georgia 67. Pennsylvania 52. New Jersey 49. Florida 44. Michigan 30. Illinois 29. And Arizona 27.   The top 3 vaccinating states by percentage of population that’s had at least one dose, New Hampshire at 42%, New Mexico at 41.2%, and Connecticut at 39%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are Alabama at 25.9%, Mississippi at 26%, and Georgia at 26.5%.   Globally, cases were up 20% and deaths up 8% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending up since March 5.     There are now 22,981,410 active cases around the world.   The five countries with the most new cases: India 126,315. Brazil 90,973. The United States 75,183. Turkey 54,740. And Argentina 22,039.   There have now been 2,886,103 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.