Coronavirus news, updates, hotspots and information for 4-27-2021

This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for April 27th, 2021.

The President of the United States is expected to announce changes today to the CDC’s guidance and recommendations regarding outdoor masks. Dr. Anthony Fauci indicated over the weekend the changes will apply to what vaccinated people can do, with some changes also even for unvaccinated people.

The U.S. will start sharing its stock of AstraZeneca vaccines with the world, but first it has to clear America’s FDA. That could mean as many as 60 million doses being exported in the coming months. The U.S. has been under mounting pressure to give the vaccine it purchased to countries like India.

It doesn’t look like Israel needs help. The country leads the race to vaccinate citizens before variants can take hold by far, and it’s working. There were zero Covid-19 deaths last Thursday and new infections are plummeting. Citizens no longer have to wear masks outdoors, they can dine at indoor restaurants, attend concerts, and go to school in person. 

Italy’s trying to get there. There was a gradual reopening yesterday, but few people seem happy about it. Some say it’s too cautious, others say it’s too hasty. The 10pm curfew remains, preventing theater reopenings. But some virologists say the virus does not negotiate and the tentative reopening could usher in a new surge.

Health insurers seem ready to roll back consumer-friendly changes that were made early in the pandemic. Many had been waiving all deductibles, copayments and other costs for insured patients who got COVID-19. Now, a number of insurers are quietly ending those waivers. So, COVID patients can no longer assume they won’t have to pay deductibles, copayments and coinsurance. 

In the United States cases were down 16%, deaths are down 3%, and hospitalizations were up 5% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending down since April 14.  

There are now 6,812,645 active cases in the United States. The current top 5 states by number of active cases: California, Virginia, New York, Maryland, and Florida. 

The top 10 counties with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Caroline, VA. Chattahoochee, GA. Grant, OR. Pecos, TX. Dimmit, TX. Hemphill, TX. Coos, NH. Huron, MI. Ferry, WA. And Coosa, AL. 

The five states with the highest risk levels and most daily new cases per capita over 7 days are Rhode Island, Michigan, Colorado, New Jersey, and Delaware. 

There have been 572,652 deaths in the US reported as Covid-related, with a current national fatality rate of 1.79%.

The states with the most new deaths reported as COVID-related: Florida 62. New York 38. Michigan and North Carolina 37. Georgia 34. California 22. Washington 21. And New Jersey, Colorado, and Connecticut 19. 

The top 3 vaccinating states by percentage of population that’s had at least one dose, New Hampshire at 59.4%, Massachusetts at 53.1%, and Connecticut at 52.7%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are Mississippi at 30.2%, Alabama at 31.5%, and Louisiana at 31.8%.

Globally, cases were up 13% and deaths up 3% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending down since April 23. 

There are 19,245,933 active cases around the world.

The five countries with the most new cases: India 319,435. The United States 47,456. Turkey 37,312. Brazil 29,669. And Iran 21,026.    There have now been 3,116,582 deaths reported as Covid-related worldwide. 

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