A Look at COVID in August

22 SEPTEMBER 2021

www.GlobeMiamiTimes.com A LOOK AT COVID-19 SEPTEMBER 2021

BY THE NUMBERS

✦ Globally, total reported cases of COVID stood at 222 million on September 8, and total deaths had reached 4.6 million. (1)

✦ As of September 8, total reported cases in the USA reached 40.3 million and total deaths exceeded 650,000. (2)

✦ Arizona has seen a total of 1,034,790 cases and 19,053 deaths attributed to COVID. The state passed 19,000 known COVID-19 deaths on Sept. 7. (3, AZ Central)

✦ Gila County has had 8,464 reported cases and 250 deaths, with 1,712 cases in zip code 85501. (4)

✦ During August, hospitals in many states, especially in the South, were filling up again with COVID-19 patients due to the highly contagious Delta variant. Nursing staff, exhausted from the longrunning battle, remain in short supply. States and hospitals are competing for the services of traveling nurses. In Texas, travelers can now earn more than $120 an hour and can get contracts for over $5,000 per week. Hospitals are using federal COVID relief money to pay them. (5)

✦ Nationally, the Labor Day holiday led to a spike in cases – the single day of Sept. 6 saw 76,000 new cases, which is three times the number of cases reported on Labor Day last year. This was partly due to much more travel taking place than last year. (6)

✦ Seven states reported record case numbers in September – higher case rates than at any time since the pandemic began: Alaska, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Washington. Tennessee was a hotspot during the second half of the summer and continues to see high numbers. In July, the State of Tennessee had declared a state of emergency due to surging COVID numbers, and then extended the state of emergency through the end of August. As of Sept. 8, 16 hospitals in Tennessee are still receiving staffing help from the Tennessee National Guard. (7)

✦ Children are being hit especially hard in this phase of the pandemic. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children now make up more than a quarter of COVID cases nationwide. Since the start of the pandemic, more than 5 million children have tested positive. According to the AAP, “After declining in early summer, child cases have increased exponentially, with over 750,000 cases added between August 5 and September 2.” (8)

✦ While most children don’t get very sick from COVID, they can have severe cases. Babies under a year old are vulnerable to severe illness because of their undeveloped immune systems and small airways. And recent research shows COVID can cause long-term losses of intelligence – between 3 and 7 IQ points, on average – even if a person doesn’t get severely ill. This is especially concerning for children. (9)

✦ People across the country took to ingesting ivermectin, used as a livestock dewormer, in hopes of heading off the virus. Feed store owners started asking people to prove they owned horses. (10) ✦ Meanwhile, Republican governors squared off against teachers and the federal Department of Education over masking requirements in public schools. (11)

✦ Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine received full approval from the FDA – and Donald Trump got booed at a rally in Alabama for encouraging people to get vaccinated. (12)

– Globe Mayor Al Gameros

✦ The first week of September, Arizona is seeing a surge in cases. Case numbers are over 3,000 per day for the fourth day in a row by Sept. 5. ICU beds occupied by COVID-19 patients increase to 563 – the highest number since last winter’s spike. (13)

✦ The Phoenix Fire Department lost a firefighter to COVID in September. Miguel Angulo, who died on Sept. 6, was 42 years old and worked at the Maryvale station. Angulo was the first firefighter in Phoenix to be lost to COVID-19. (14)

✦ At Mesquite Elementary School, a parent confronted principal Diane Vargo after his son was instructed to quarantine because of possible exposure to the coronavirus. Accompanied by two other men, the parent brought zip ties and threatened to make a citizen’s arrest. (15)

✦ The Arizona Department of Education, Arizona Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association issued a joint statement on the COVID surge. The president of the Arizona chapter of the AAP said, “An alarming increase in the proportion of cases and hospitalizations are occurring in young adults and children… To protect our children and their families, AzAAP recommends that all students and school staff wear face masks indoors. Universal masking in the school setting has been shown to greatly reduce the risk of COVID-19 so that schools can safely deliver face-to-face education for children and adults, even when social distancing is difficult.” (16)

– Pediatrician Dr. Paul Offit, Director, Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

✦ Mayor Al Gameros issued an update noting that COVID cases are continuing to rise, with Arizona passing the milestone of 1 million cases recorded. He said Gila County has recorded a total of 816 new cases for the month, and the breakdown by area is as follows: Globe 191, Miami 33, Claypool 44, and San Carlos 203.

✦ The situation at schools is fluid. Due to an increase in cases, San Carlos USD is closing for two weeks starting August 19 and will reopen on September 2 with a hybrid schedule. At Miami Unified, Principal Glen Lineberry says masks are required on campus and sanitizing protocols are being maintained. Lineberry says, “At the high school, we have seen the number of quarantined students drop from around 50 to fewer than a dozen since we implemented the mask requirement.” The rules will be revisited after courts rule on the state ban, which is set to take effect on September 29.

1,2 https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html, 3 https://www. worldometers.info/coronavirus/usa/arizona/, 4 AZDHS, https:// bit.ly/3nfraFw, 5 https://bit.ly/3hgAV2a, 6 https://bit.ly/3jRQFub, 7 https://bit.ly/3BRpBS3, https://reut.rs/2X6tpQw, 8 https://cnn. it/38P0kvc, https://bit.ly/3BVjfBo, 9 https://mayocl.in/3BNagls, https://bit.ly/3jTQUFl, 10 https://nyti.ms/3zU1Po4, 11 https:// nyti.ms/3hc1zJA, 12 https://cnb.cx/38NAzeS, https://nbcnews. to/3nf9dqE, 13 https://bit.ly/3yOZ1Hv, 14 3TV/CBS5, 15 https:// nbcnews.to/3kYtAW0, 16 https://bit.ly/3txtI2U