The most recent updates on the coronavirus pandemic for Saturday, March 5, 2022.
INDIANAPOLIS — Listed below are Saturday’s newest updates on the coronavirus pandemic, together with the newest information on COVID-19 vaccinations and testing in Indiana.
Registrations for the vaccine are actually open for Hoosiers 5 and older by the Indiana State Department of Health. This story might be up to date over the course of the day with extra information on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Newest US, world numbers
There have been greater than 79.25 million confirmed instances of COVID-19 in the US as of 6 a.m. Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been greater than 958,140 deaths recorded within the U.S.
Worldwide, there have been greater than 443.89 million confirmed coronavirus instances with 5.99 million deaths and greater than 10.56 billion vaccine doses administered.
For most individuals, the coronavirus causes delicate or reasonable signs. For some, particularly older adults and folks with current well being issues, it will probably trigger extra extreme sickness like pneumonia, or demise.
Huge cities drop extra COVID-19 measures in push for normalcy
New York Metropolis and Los Angeles are lifting a few of their strictest COVID-19 prevention measures as officers in large cities across the U.S. push for a return to normalcy after two grueling years of the pandemic.
New York Metropolis, which has had the nation’s hardest COVID-19 security protocols, will get rid of a number of of its mandates subsequent week, together with required masking in public faculties and vaccination necessities at eating places, leisure and cultural venues, the mayor introduced Friday.
On the opposite aspect of the nation, residents in Los Angeles County had been not required as of Friday to put on masks at eating places, bars, gyms, outlets and different companies.
Illinois lifted face mask requirements for a lot of indoor areas on Monday, and Boston will carry related guidelines on Saturday. Chicago stopped requiring proof of vaccination to dine in eating places.
The U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention mentioned final week that the majority People can now safely take a break from carrying masks, together with college students.
order extra free COVID-19 check kits from US authorities
Beginning subsequent week, the U.S. authorities will permit People to order one other spherical of free at-home COVID-19 assessments.
The second spherical of orders will start subsequent week permitting two separate orders of an extra 4 assessments, eight assessments whole, to be positioned.
President Joe Biden introduced the second spherical of orders will start throughout Tuesday’s State of the Union tackle.
Throughout the first round of orders again in January, 500,00 assessments had been out there, however almost half of those tests remain unclaimed.
To order the at-home assessments, you may go to this USPS website beginning subsequent week and fill out the required info. All orders will ship fully free.
As vaccine demand falls, states are left with large stockpile
As demand to get COVID-19 vaccines within the U.S. collapses in lots of areas, states are scrambling to make use of stockpiles of doses earlier than they expire and need to be added to the tens of millions which have already gone to waste.
From a few of the least vaccinated states, like Indiana and North Dakota, to a few of the most vaccinated states, like New Jersey and Vermont, public well being departments are shuffling doses across the state within the hopes of discovering suppliers that may use them.
State well being departments informed The Related Press they’ve tracked tens of millions of doses that went to waste.
The typical variety of People getting their first shot is right down to about 70,000 a day, the lowest point since the U.S. vaccination campaign began in December 2020. About 76% of the U.S. inhabitants has obtained at the least one shot and roughly 65% of all People are absolutely vaccinated.
