July Archive: COVID-19 Weekly Update

by Art and Maura Keene

As Of Monday, May 24, The Indy’s COVID-19 Daily Update became the COVID-19 Weekly Update. As of Wednesday July 14 the Weeklt update moved to Wednesdays. Each Wednesday we will post the latest confirmed case counts for Coronavirus (COVID-19) for Massachusetts, for the nation and for the globe.  

Making Sense of the Numbers
Authorities caution that the confirmed case count is a substantial underestimate of the actual number of cases.  

We rely on well-vetted sources to produce our daily update and draw mostly from the following: Center for Disease Control (CDC), Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), Johns Hopkins University, Yale School of Public Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Washington Post, New York Times, The Guardian, NPR, STAT News, and the Twitter feeds and/or blogs of Andy Slavitt, Greg Gonsolves, Ezekiel Emanuel, Marc Lipsich, and David Wallace-Wells.

Archives
The Indy began posting COVID-19 Daily Update on March 18, 2020. Here are links to archives of previous months’ posts. March, April , May,  June,  July,  August,  September,  October,  November,  December,  January, February, March 21, April 21, May 21, June 21
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Henceforth, numbers in parentheses will indicate increase or decrease in count from previous Monday.

Numbers in parentheses will indicate increase or decrease in count from previous Wednesday.

UPDATE WEDNESDAY July 28 as of 8 AM
Confirmed Cases in MA – 717,284 (+3795).
Deaths: 18,065 (+32)
Confirmed Cases in Amherst – 2823 (+0) Currently Active – 0 (-5)
UMass: Cumulative Positive Cases: 2565 UMass Dashboard Discontinued Updates On May 15
Source For Amherst – Town Of Amherst Dashboard
Source For UMass UMass Dashboard
Source for Massachusetts: NYT Daily Dashboard
Confirmed Cases in USA – 35,353,928 (+274,835)
Confirmed Deaths – 627,351 (+1950)
Source: Worldometers 
Confirmed Cases Worldwide:196,099,294
Deaths: 4,194,728 . Source: Worldometers see also: Johns Hopkins University.

News:
COVID Cases In Massachusetts Rose By 77% Last Week
(MassLive)
As Delta Variant Surges In Massachusetts, That Familiar Sense Of Dread Returns
(Boston Globe)
CDC Recommends Masks Indoors For Some Vaccinated People
(AP)
CDC’s New Mask Guidelines Explained
(StatNews)
COVID Case and Death Rates On The Rise Again
(Washington Post)
Florida Now Leads The Nation In New COVID Cases
(NPR)
Tokyo Olympics Hit New Daily High For COVID Cases
(NPR)
What Is A Breakthrough COVID Case And How Big Is The RIsk?
(NPR)
How Concerned Should We Be About Breakthrough Infections?
(StatNews)
Employers Have The Right To Mandate COVID Vaccines
(AP)
The Most Influential Spreader Of COVID Misinformation Online
(New York Times)
Three Simple Rules That Underscore The Danger Of The Delta Variant
(The Atlantic)
Why The Delta Variant Is So Dangerous
(Nature)
COVID-19 Is Likely To Become And Endemic Disease. How Will Our Immune Systems Resist It?
(The New. Yorker)

UPDATE WEDNESDAY July 21 as of 8 AM
Confirmed Cases in MA – 713,489) (+2043).
Deaths: 18,033 (+21)
Confirmed Cases in Amherst – 2823 (+6) Currently Active – 5 (+2)
UMass: Cumulative Positive Cases: 2565 UMass Dashboard Discontinued Updates On May 15
Source For Amherst – Town Of Amherst Dashboard
Source For UMass UMass Dashboard
Source for Massachusetts: NYT Daily Dashboard
Confirmed Cases in USA – 35,082,093 (+274,240)
Confirmed Deaths – 625,401 (+1961)
Source: Worldometers 
Confirmed Cases Worldwide:192,405,259
Deaths: 4,136,928 . Source: Worldometers see also: Johns Hopkins University.

News:
More Than 5100 Breakthrough Cases Reported In Massachusetts. At Least 80 Have Died
(NBC Boston)
A Fourth Wave Of COVID-19 Is Brewing In The US. Is There Enough Time To Stop It?
(Time)
World Is Entering Early Stages Of Another Wave Of COVID-19 WHO Chief Warns
(CNBC)
COVID Will Kill 100,000 More By End Of Olympics WHO Chief Says
(CNN)
US Drowning In Unused COVID Vaccine Dozes. WHO Chief Laments Global Vaccine Inequality
(Common Dreams)
Experts Say It’s Time To Put The Masks Back On
(CNN)
As COVID Resurges, GOP Lawmakers Allow Vaccine Skepticism To Flourish
(New York Times)
The Pandemic Is Not Over. Interview With Science Writer Ed Yong On Delta Variant’s Devastation of Low-Vaccine States
(Democracy Now)
What Top Pediatricians Want Parents To Know About The Delta Variant And Children
(NBC News)
What Do We Know About The Coronavirus Lambda Variant?
(Washington Post)
COVID Cases Rise To 71 At Tokyo Olympics
(AP)
How To Think About Your COVID-19 Risk Post-Vaccination
(The Atlantic)

UPDATE WEDNESDAY July 14 as of 9 A)
Confirmed Cases in MA – 711,446 (+1308 – represents increase since 7/5).
Deaths: 18,012 (+14 represents increasein since 7/5)
Confirmed Cases in Amherst – 2817 (+4) Currently Active – 3 (+3 represents increase since 7/5)
UMass: Cumulative Positive Cases: 2565 UMass Dashboard Discontinued Updates On May 15
Source For Amherst – Town Of Amherst Dashboard
Source For UMass UMass Dashboard
Source for Massachusetts: NYT Daily Dashboard
Confirmed Cases in USA – 34,807,853 (+215,476 – represents increase since 7/5)
Confirmed Deaths – 623,440 (+2147 – represents increase since 7/5)
Source: Worldometers 
Confirmed Cases Worldwide:188,752,591
Deaths: 4,068,259. Source: Worldometers see also: Johns Hopkins University.

News:

US COVID Cases Doubled Over Last Three Weeks
(AP)
COVID Cases Are Ticking Up In Massachusetts. Should You Worry? Here’s What You Need To Know
(Boston Globe)
Number Of COVID Cases Among Vaccinated In Massachusetts Is .1 Percent
(Boston Globe)
Superspreader Events Continue To Hinder Efforts To Control Pandemic
(NBC News)
COVID Surging In Missouri As Delta Variant Overwhelms Hospitals
(ABC News)
Fauci: Young Children Will Pay The Price If Enough Adults Do Not Get Vaccinated
(CNN)
Tennessee Abandons COVID Outreach To Minors
(Tennesseean)
What Parents Need To Know About CDC’s COVID School Guidelines
(New York Times)
COVID Outbreak Among Vegas Hospital Workers Underscores Danger Of Delta Variant
(The Guardian)
Will We Need A COVID-19 Booster?
(CNN)
Global COVID Death Toll Exceeds 4 Million
(CNN)
Post Vaccination COVID Infections Come In Two Different Flavors
(The Atlantic)


UPDATE MONDAY July 5 as of 9 AM
Confirmed Cases in MA – 710,138 (+362)
Deaths: 17,998 (+8)
Confirmed Cases in Amherst – 2813 (+11) Currently Active – 0 (+0)
UMass: Cumulative Positive Cases: 2565 UMass Dashboard Discontinued Updates On May 15
Source For Amherst – Town Of Amherst Dashboard
Source For UMass UMass Dashboard
Source for Massachusetts: NYT Daily Dashboard
Confirmed Cases in USA – 34,592,377 (+127,700)
Confirmed Deaths – 621,293 (+1869)
Source: Worldometers 
Confirmed Cases Worldwide:184,706,315
Deaths: 3,995,839 . Source: Worldometers see also: Johns Hopkins University.

News:
Fewer Than Half Of Us States Have Reached White House July 4 Vaccine Goal
(CNN)
In Missouri, COVID Cases Increase While Vaccine Rates Remain Low
(NPR)
Happy July 4th. Stop Letting Political Polarization Kill You
(MSNBC)
WHO Urges Vaccinated People To Wear Masks. CDC Says No Need
(Scientific American)
Australia: Seventh City Locks Down Amid COVID Vaccine Chaos
(BBC)
WHO Warns That Coronavirus Variants Are Spreading Faster Than Vaccines Can Stop Them
(Business Insider)
Johnson And Johnson Vaccine Protects Against COVID-19 Delta Variant
(New York Times)
Israeli Study Shows Pfizer Vaccine 70% Effective Against Delta Variant
(Times Of Israel)
Delta Variant Triggers Dangerous New Phase In Pandemic
(Science)
What We Know About The COVID Delta Variant
(New York Times)
The Three Simple Rules That Underscore The Danger Of the Delta Variant
(The Atlantic)