Coronavirus news, updates, hotspots and information for 4-26-2021

This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for April 26th, 2021.

India set a world record for the fourth day in a row for daily infections. Also new daily death tolls for nine consecutive days. The United States said it will help India in its time of need, but there were no specifics given. It’s anticipated that will include shipments of drug treatments, rapid diagnostic testing kits, ventilators, PPE, and oxygen.

A nightmare in Baghdad, Iraq. At least 82 people were killed when a fire swept through a hospital where Covid-19 patients were being treated. Many of them were bedridden and on ventilators. 110 additional people were injured. The fire was reportedly caused by an exploding oxygen tank.

Why would someone get the first dose of vaccine, but then refuse to get the second? According to the CDC, that’s what millions of Americans are doing. Nearly 8% have missed their follow-up appointments. As for possible reasons, some say they don’t want the potential side effects, some think one dose will be enough, and others blame lack of supply…even though that’s a problem that is just no longer present.

A slight ray of hope for the international travel industry. The President of the European Commission said vaccinated Americans will be allowed into EU countries starting this summer. What’s unclear is how proof of vaccination will be handled. Some member countries like Greece were already opening up to vaccinated tourists on their own. 

The President of NASCAR says it’s considering requiring competitors be vaccinated in order to compete. Some drivers, including current NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott said, that decision is a personal choice. NASCAR was one of the first sports to resume competition after the shutdown, did not do any Covid-19 testing, and reported no widespread outbreaks.

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 6,858,406 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, New Jersey, Delaware, and Minnesota. 

There have been 572,199 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: New York 43. California 38. Florida 34. Illinois 25. Texas, Virginia, and South Carolina 16. New Jersey, Maryland, and Kentucky 13. 

The top 3 vaccinating states by percentage of population that’s had at least one dose, New Hampshire at 59.2%, Massachusetts at 52.3%, and Connecticut at 52.1%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are Mississippi at 30.2%, Alabama at 31.5%, and Louisiana at 31.7%.

Globally, cases were up 15% and deaths up 4% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending down since April 23. 

There are now over 19 million active cases around the world, at 19,339,968.

The five countries with the most new cases: India 354,531. Turkey 38,553. The United States 34,736. Brazil 32,572. And France 24,465. 

There have now been 3,105,958 deaths reported as Covid-related worldwide. 

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