New outbreaks give the taste of living with the coronavirus

A few weeks after a new stage of life with the coronavirus, the United States first gained a glimpse of the reality of what it would be like to experience an outbreak of COVID-19, and the list of newly infected people was a star. It is studded with.

Minister, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Broadway actors and Governor of New Jersey and Governor of Connecticut were all positive. Outbreaks at Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University are returning mask requirements to these campuses as authorities are looking for quarantine space.

Actors and politicians are regularly inspected at work, so known infections can only reveal the tip of the iceberg. The official number of cases shows how widespread the coronavirus is, as the results of home tests are not always reflected in the official tally, and many people with mild illness do not bother to do the test. There is no doubt that it is significantly underestimated.

Nationwide, mask wearing was said to be at its lowest level since April 2020 Arimokudad, Professor of Health Metrics Science, University of Washington, Seattle. According to the latest estimates from his modeling group, for every 100 infections, only 7 are recorded in the official count.

Mokudad High levels of US immunity Accumulations from previous infections and vaccinations protect the country from massive surges.

“We will get some infections here and there, but it’s not going to close the country,” Mokudad said. “Life needs to last. We have Vaccination and boost immunity.. You need to protect the vulnerable, but you need to get used to it. “

On Broadway, after Matthew Broderick tested positive, several performances of the comedy “Plaza Suite” were canceled, followed by wife and co-star Sarah Jessica Parker. Daniel Craig was also left out of the resurrection of “Macbeth”.

A large indoor rally with an optional mask caused the infection, a hot party was held in Washington, DC, and it is now considered a potential super-spreader event.Other infected clusters outside the group that are regularly tested may not be detected, he said. Josh MichaudAssociate Director of Global Health Policy, Kaiser Family Foundation, Washington.

“It’s harder to know what’s going on than it used to be. It’s a bit vague in the future because of the lack of out-of-the-box information,” says Mishaw. “If you’re neither a Broadway theater actor nor a politician, you can fall into a test crack.”

Public health responses will vary from region to region based on what is happening in the region, Mishaw said.

“We are fighting small fires instead of fierce flames all over the country, and those small fires can be devastating,” Mishaw said. “Everyone has to choose their adventure when it comes to responding to pandemics and individual actions.”

In Washington, the outbreak has received particular attention, attacking several Secretaries and members of the House of Representatives, along with Mayor Muriel Bowser and the President of Georgetown University.

At least 12 of those infections You can trace back to the Gridiron Club dinner, the annual fixture of the DC Social Calendar, which took place on Saturday for the first time in three years.Supper is an example Return to almost complete normality It’s happening all over the country and has led to a surge in positive tests, but not necessarily a corresponding surge in serious illnesses and hospitalizations.

Washington, like many other countries, has significantly relaxed its COVID-19 stance in recent weeks. Bowser allowed the vaccination and indoor masking obligations to expire, and the city’s health department stopped reporting daily virus counts in early March. Participants in the Gridiron Club dinner, which Bowser did not attend, were required to provide evidence of vaccination, but otherwise no masking or social distance protocols were observed.

And other classics of the DC social calendar are back to normal. The city’s annual Sakura Festival lasts for weeks and has dozens of related events, including a parade scheduled for Saturday.

There are some careful setbacks in the general return to pre-pandemic behavior. Georgetown University has announced that it will reintroduce its indoor mask obligation as the number of infections, including President John DeJoia, increases.

Ranit Mishori, Chief Public Health Director of Georgetown, described the outbreak of infection as “significant” when announcing the new restrictions, especially among undergraduates. “Thankfully, the majority of our community is up to date on vaccination, so we don’t see any cases with severe illness,” Mishori wrote.

DC Health Chief Dr. Lakandra NesbittIn a comment to a reporter this week, he noted ongoing low-level hospitalization as evidence that vaccination successfully limited the severity of the disease.

Washington’s virus metrics have skyrocketed in the past month, according to the city’s health department. The weekly case rate per 100,000 inhabitants increased from 51 at the beginning of March to 110 at the end of March. However, it is still well below the weekly case rate of 865 per 100,000 inhabitants reported in the second week of January, when Omicron is on the rise.

Nesbitt said he had no plans to resume the expired virus protocol immediately, but that was always an option in the future.

“It’s important to remember that living with a virus doesn’t mean forgetting the virus. It’s still there, it’s still sick and killing some people.” Misho said. “If you’re not ready, you can quickly get into a bad situation again.”

Washington, DC AP writer Ashraf Khalil contributed to this report.