Monthly Archives: May 2021

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) More than 220 new total COVID-19 cases and three additional deaths were announced by theSouth Dakota Department of Healthon Tuesday.

According to the latest update, there are 103 current hospitalizations, compared to Monday (105). Total hospitalizations are at 7,403.

Active cases are now at 1,445, down from Monday (1,512).

With an additional 229 cases reported, the states total case count is now at 122,974, up from Monday (122,745).

Total recovered cases are now at 119,556 compared to 119,263 on Monday.

Three new deaths were reported by the Department of Health on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 1,973. The new deaths were three men in the following age ranges: 50-59 (1); 60-69 (2) in Kingsbury, Minnehaha and Moody Counties.

As of Tuesday, there have been 72 cases of B.1.1.7 variant found in South Dakota. There are two cases of the B.1.351 variant and 10 cases of B.1.429. One of each of B.1.427 and P.1 have been reported.

Total persons who tested negative is now at 345,347, up from Monday (344,208).

There were 1,368 new persons tested in the data reported Tuesday for a new persons-tested positivity rate of 16.7%.

The latest seven-day PCR test positivity rate reported by the DOH is 6.6%. The latest one-day PCR test positivity rate is 8.6%.

According to the DOH, 317,859 doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been administered with 17,283 doses of the Janssen vaccine and 266,884 of the Moderna vaccine given out to a total number of 331,038 persons.

There have been 122,367 persons who have completed two doses of Moderna and 148,600 who have received two doses of Pfizer, according to the DOH.

As of Tuesday, 55.1% of the population eligible for the vaccine in South Dakota has received at least one dose while 47.6% have completed the vaccination series.

Vaccines are currently being given to anyone 16-year-old and above in South Dakota.

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COVID-19 in South Dakota: 229 total new cases; Death toll at 1,973; Active cases at 1,445 - KELOLAND.com

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A multi-unit complex owned by Mirage Properties in the Shawnee neighborhood. May 3, 2021(Photo: Alton Strupp/Courier Journal)

The coronavirus pandemic has underscored housing disparities between Black and white peoplein Louisville, with Black residents more likely to face financial hardships that put them behind on rent,according to a reportfrom theMetropolitan Housing Coalition.

The nonprofit agency, made up of more than 300members, released its latest State of Metropolitan Housing Reporton Tuesday, breaking down the struggles residents faced as they attempted to stay "healthy at home" over the last year.

According to the report, Black residentswere more likely than white residents to experience layoffs, job losses and pay cuts through the pandemic, leading them to more often miss rent and utility payments.

Behind on rent?: How to get emergency assistance in Kentucky

People in predominantly Black areas were most likely to be evicted from their homes,despite moratoriums. And foreclosure sales in 2020 were concentrated in areas with larger populations of Black homeowners and renters, the report stated.

Government response to the pandemic and the ensuing economic downturn was "uneven, confusing and insufficient across the board," the report added. And as the city continues to recover, officials must intentionally direct resources to people who need them most, the coalition says.

"We know we had extreme disparities in our community in terms of access to safe and affordable housing, and this pandemic has just magnified that," said Cathy Kuhn, executive director of the coalition.

"So I think one of the takeaways from this report is that it's going to be very, very critical that we are strategic in utilizing the unprecedented funding that has been coming into the city to address those disparities and make sure we're targeting those resources to those who are most vulnerable, those who have the greatest level of need as it relates to housing."

Since the start of the pandemic, Louisville has directed about $31 million in local and federal funds toward rent and utility assistance.

The city got a big boost in eviction prevention funding in February when it received $22.9 million through the COVID-19 Relief Act. And it stands to receive millions more through theAmerican Rescue Plan Act funding that will be used to provide emergency rental assistance, utility assistance and housing vouchers.

Related: How Kentucky is pushing out more than $300M in rent assistance

Black residents made up nearly 72% of those who received rent assistance through the end of March, according to city data.

Census estimates show 64% of Black households rent their homes, compared to 31% of white households.

Kuhn, who joined the coalition in October, said emergency rent assistance is critical for keeping families housed in the short-term. But government officials also need to invest in the construction of affordable housing to increase options for low-income residents and improve their chances for resiliency in the face of future crisis, she said.

"I do think Louisville has done a lot to try to begin to address these issues, but obviously much more needs to be done," she said. "The recent budget put out by the mayor put a $10 million investment in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. That's basically level funding. That's just not going to do it.

"We need to re-prioritize and make more significant investments in affordable housing."

More: Want to build a tiny home or community garden? These zoning changes could make it easier

The coalition's state of housing report offers a range of recommendations on how the city can increase affordable housing and reduce disparities, including:

Legal representation for tenantsEstablishing a "right to counsel" program would help balance power dynamics that inherently favor the landlord in eviction proceedings, the report states. After the report was already drafted, Metro Council members approved a pilot program that will offer free legal representation to low-income families facing eviction.

Strengthen the rental registry City officials should create, maintain and enforcea rental registry that can ensure compliance with housing codes as well as prevent unlawful evictions.

Just cause eviction protections City officials should enact "just cause" eviction policies that wouldprovide greater protections for renters by limiting the grounds upon which a landlord may evict a tenant.

Eviction expungement State and local officials should enact laws that allow courts to order expungement of an eviction record. Many landlords will not rent to people who have an eviction filed against them, the report states.

Require affordable housing in new developments Louisville's Land Development Code should require the development of affordable housing as a condition to the development of market-rate housing. City officials are working to revise the code in three phases that are expected to take up to two years.

Build public and affordable housing Local, state and federal governments should commit to making meaningful investments in the production of housing dedicated to people with the lowest incomes. At the state level, officials should establish a state affordable housing tax credit, and at the city level, officials should increase funding for existing programs and agencies, such as the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

Background: Housing disparities run deep for Black Louisville residents

Make home ownership more affordable Private and public entities should support programs that help low-income families overcome wealth barriers and keep monthly mortgage payments low.

Support community land trusts Community land trusts provide meaningful opportunities for low-income people to build equity through homeownership, while also allowing communities to retain control of the properties. Louisville announced plans to establish a community land trust in two predominantly Black neighborhoods earlier this year.

Focus interventions through a racial equity framework Public and private entities should intentionally focus their housing intervention efforts around reducing racial and ethnic disparities.

To read the full report, visitmetropolitanhousing.org/annual-reports.

Reach reporter Bailey Loosemore atbloosemore@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4646 or on Twitter @bloosemore.Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: https://www.courier-journal.com/baileyl.

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How COVID-19 magnified the 'extreme disparities' in housing between Black, white residents - Courier Journal

An ongoing second wave of COVID-19 infections in India could hurt its near-term economic recovery and possibly diminish growth for the full year, S&P Global Ratings said on Tuesday.

"India's COVID wave will inevitably hit the recovery and could push growth below 10%," said Shaun Roache, chief economist, Asia Pacific at S&P.

"The longer it takes to regain control, the greater the permanent damage, especially as policy space is limited."

With 3.45 million active cases, India recorded 357,229 new infections over the last 24 hours, while deaths rose 3,449 for a toll of 222,408, health ministry data showed. Experts say actual numbers could be five to 10 times higher. read more

S&P currently has a "BBB-" rating on India with a stable outlook, the lowest investment grade and expects India's economy to grow 11% in the year that started April 1 following a projected record contraction of 8% in the previous year.

"The shock of the first quarter is likely to carry on through the rest of the year and the impact on the GDP could be around one to three percentage points," Roche said.

The rating agency said India had been showing strong recovery momentum since September last year and until March/April of 2021 before the massive surge in cases prompted localised lockdowns and mobility restrictions.

"There will be some near-term ramifications at least...from the severe second wave of COVID-19 that we are observing. But India still has good recovery prospects over the next 3-4 years but that may be slower," Andrew Wood, director, sovereign & international public finance ratings.

He said that the agency expects India to see the best growth prospects over the medium to longer-term, relative to other regional peers at similar development levels.

"We still believe that India's fiscal settings are going to be weak... deficits are going to be high for a long time," Woods said.

India's general government fiscal deficit is seen at around 11% of GDP this year against 14% last year, Wood said.

"A continuation of its recovery once the current epidemic wave eases will be critical to stabilizing the government's fiscal and debt metrics," he added.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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India's recovery to be hit by COVID-19 surge; fiscal metrics to remain weak-S&P - Reuters India

North Korea's state media warned on Tuesday of the prospect of a lengthy battle against the coronavirus, saying vaccines developed by global drugmakers were proving to be "no universal panacea".

The country has not officially confirmed any infections, although South Korean officials have said an outbreak there cannot be ruled out, as the North had trade and people-to-people links with China before shutting its border early last year.

The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party, said the pandemic was only worsening, despite the development of vaccines.

"Novel coronavirus vaccines introduced competitively by various countries were once regarded as a glimmer of hope for humanity that could end the fight against this frightening disease," it added.

"But the situations in many countries are clearly proving that the vaccines are never a universal panacea," it said, citing news reports of rising numbers of new cases overseas and safety concerns.

It urged people to brace for a protracted pandemic, describing it as an "inevitable reality" that called for efforts to toughen anti-virus measures and foster loyalty to leader Kim Jong Un and his party.

North Korea was expected to receive nearly two million doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine by the first half of this year, via the COVAX sharing programme. read more

But last month Edwin Salvador, the World Health Organization (WHO) representative for the North, said the shipment was delayed over supply shortages, citing the GAVI alliance, according to South Korean media.

In a comment to Reuters, Salvador said North Korea was completing technical requirements required to receive the vaccines, but did not elaborate.

The GAVI alliance, which co-leads COVAX with the WHO, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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N.Korea says COVID-19 vaccines are 'no panacea,' warns of lengthy battle - Reuters

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) Getting a COVID-19 shot can be as easy as walking into some vaccination sites without an appointment, Kentuckys governor said Tuesday in his latest plea to boost inoculation rates.

More than 1.8 million Kentuckians have received at least one dose of vaccine, but the pace needs to pick up, especially among younger people, Gov. Andy Beshear said.

There are vaccination appointments available every week, at many different times throughout the day, he said. At some sites, you dont even need an appointment. Get it done, for yourself and for your community, so we can reach our goal and relax more restrictions.

Younger Kentuckians have lagged behind in getting vaccinated.

Data released Monday showed 27% of Kentucky residents between ages 18-29 had gotten the shots. The vaccination rate was 37% among Kentuckians ages 30-39 and 43% in the 40-49 age group, the data showed. Nearly 80% of people ages 65 and older were vaccinated.

Once 2.5 million Kentuckians receive at least their first COVID-19 shot, Beshear has pledged to lift capacity and physical distancing restrictions for nearly all businesses, venues and events catering to 1,000 or fewer patrons. The governor indicated Monday that he will consider relaxing more coronavirus-related restrictions before the state reaches that vaccination target.

The states inoculation rate slowed in recent weeks, and the Democratic governor has repeatedly pleaded with Kentuckians to take the shots to defeat the pandemic.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., made another pitch Monday for Kentuckians to get vaccinated, saying: I want to encourage everybody: finish the job.

Anyone 16 or older is eligible to receive the vaccine in Kentucky.

Among Kentuckys 120 counties, the top five vaccination rates are in Woodford, Franklin, Fayette, Scott and Jefferson counties, the state said. The lowest vaccination rates are in Christian, Spencer, Ballard, McCreary and Lewis counties, it said.

The state reported 776 new coronavirus cases Tuesday and seven more virus-related deaths. At least 6,532 Kentuckians have died from COVID-19.

More than 430 virus patients are hospitalized in Kentucky, including 102 in intensive care units, the state said. The statewide rate of positive cases was 3.47%.

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Find APs full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic.

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Beshear stresses convenience of getting COVID-19 vaccine - Associated Press

Unlike broad-spectrum antibiotics, which can be used to treat a wide range of bacterial infections, drugs that work against one type of virus rarely work at treatingother viruses. For example, remdesivir, originally developed for treating hepatitis C, was at one point suggested as a treatment for Covid-19, but clinical trials have shown that it hasonly a limited effectagainst this coronavirus.

The reason there are few effective broad-spectrum antivirals is that viruses are much more diverse than bacteria, including in how they store their genetic information (some in the form of DNA and some as RNA). Unlike bacteria, viruses have fewer of their own protein building blocks that can be targeted with drugs.

For a drug to work, it has to reach its target. This is particularly difficult with viruses because they replicate inside human cells by hijacking our cellular machinery. The drug needs to get inside these infected cells and act on processes that are essential for the normal functioning of the human body. Unsurprisingly, this often results incollateral damageto human cells, experienced as side-effects.

Targeting viruses outside cells to stop them from gaining a foothold before they can replicate is possible, but is also difficult because of the nature of thevirus shell. The shell is extraordinarily robust, resisting the negative effects of the environment on the way to its host. Only when the virus reaches its target does its shell decompose or eject its contents, which contain its genetic information.

This process may be a weak spot in the virus lifecycle, but the conditions that control the release are very specific. While drugs targeting the virus shell sounds appealing, some may still betoxic to humans.

Despite these difficulties, drugs that treat viruses such as influenza and HIVhave been developed. Some of these drugs target the processes of viral replication and the viral shell assembly. Promising drug targets of coronaviruses have beenidentified as well. But developing new drugs takes a long time, and viruses mutate quickly. So even when a drug is developed, the ever-evolving virus might soon developresistance towards it.

More:

Why treating Covid-19 with drugs is harder than you think - BBC News

Recognizing May as National Mental Health Awareness Month is particularly important this year as the impacts on mental health from COVID-19 linger, raising awareness of mental health and its effect on the well-being of individuals, families, and communities.

The Board of Larimer County Commissioners today proclaimed May as National Mental Health Awareness Month in Larimer County.

"It is critical that we keep Mental Health at the forefront of our conversations. Talking about it is one of the best ways to reduce the stigma around it and encourage people to seek help before a crisis hits,"said Larimer County Director of Behavioral Health Services Laurie Stolen.

A study conducted by Mental Health America in 2020 highlights the connection between the pandemic and mental health. Key findings from the study show that the number of people looking for help with anxiety and depression has skyrocketed, more people are reporting frequent thoughts of suicide and self-harm, and young people are struggling the most with their mental health.

Mental Health America also collects state-by-state mental health data to create state rankings. The state rankings for 2020 show that 20% of Coloradans live with mental illness and that Colorado ranks 43rd out of 50 states with a higher prevalence of mental health issues and lower rates of access to care for adults.

We know that this issue touches all of us in our lives, and it is important for us to address this and reduce the stigma and see what we can do to raise awareness with our youth, said Larimer County Commissioner Jody Shadduck-McNally.

Larimer County continues to advance mental health initiatives to support the mental and behavioral wellbeing of county residents. In June, Behavioral Health Services will announce its annual behavioral health grant funding available to area organizations through the Impact Fund Grant Program. Meanwhile, work continues on the new behavioral health facility scheduled to open in early 2023, expanding the availability of acute behavioral health services to county residents.

Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed in May in the United States since 1949 to educate communities about psychological disorders while reducing the stigma around mental health.

Do you need someone to talk to? Call the Connections Emotional Support Line: 1-970-221-5551. Support is available 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.

Are you or someone you know experiencing a mental health crisis? Call 1.844.493.TALK or text TALK to 38255.

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May is Mental Health Awareness Month; impacts of COVID-19 on mental health (BOCC) - Larimer County

The next generation of Covid-19 vaccines in development could come as a pill or a nasal spray and be easier to store and transport than the current handful of shots that form the backbone of the world-wide vaccination effort.

These newer vaccines, from U.S. government labs and companies including Sanofi SA, Altimmune Inc. and Gritstone Oncology Inc., also have the potential to provide longer-lasting immune responses and be more potent against newer and multiple viral variants, possibly helping to head off future pandemics, the companies say.

Vaccines currently authorized for use in the U.S. from Pfizer Inc. and its partner BioNTech SE, as well as Moderna Inc., must be transported and stored at low temperatures and require two doses administered weeks apart.

New vaccines could constitute some improvement over those limitations and more easily accommodate vaccination efforts in rural areas, said Gregory Poland, professor and vaccine researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. You will see second-generation, third-generation vaccines, he said.

There are 277 Covid-19 vaccines in development globally, of which 93 have entered human testing, according to the World Health Organization. Most of the vaccines in clinical testing are injected, but there are two oral formulations and seven nasal-spray formulations.

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Next Generation of Covid-19 Vaccines Could Be Pill or Spray - The Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON (KTVZ) -- Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ore., issued a statement Monday calling on Governor Kate Brown to end the recently reinstituted COVID-19 restrictions.

Here's the statement, in full:

"In the normal course, as a United States Representative, I would not enter debates regarding state-level politics. However, the Governors most recent response to the COVID-19 situation is not only historically broad in impact, but an action that causes far more serious damage than benefit.Additionally, in recent days, the Oregon Health Authority actually invited public input from Oregons congressional delegation.

"Governor Kate Browns decision to again lock down huge parts of Oregon has caused incredible frustration for many in my district, and I share their frustration. In a recent letter by Governor Brown, she commended Oregonians for helping make our state among the lowest COVID-19 case rates, hospitalizations, and deaths in the nation, to which she gave creditinlarge part to the actions of Oregonians to take seriously the health and safety measures.

"And indeed,today, nearly 70 percent of Oregons older population is fully vaccinated and many communities across our state were well on their way to safely returning to some sort of normal. However, Governor Brown has now done completely the opposite of many other states: imposing yet another lockdown.

"Sadly, Governor Browns proposed $20 million safety net for those harmed by this most recent lockdown is woefully inadequate for those Oregon businesses struggling to survive. I believe Oregon must reopen and stay open.

"The reinstatement of the Governors shutdown solution will do more harm than good to our loved ones, communities, and our state especially as risk drops with an ever increasing number of Oregonians being vaccinated.I am calling upon Governor Brown to reverse this unfortunate decision and focus her attention instead on vaccinations and making sure that COVID aid sent to Oregon by the Federal Government be quickly allocated to those in need."

Meanwhile, Sandy Mayor Stan Pulliam, who's exploring a possible Republican run for governor, says a lawsuit is being filed in federal court against Gov. Kate Brown, on behalf of several businesses and a union.

Pulliam, who says it's time to end the restrictions, said the suit will challenge Brown's authority to extend the state of emergency by executive order

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Bentz urges Gov. Brown to lift renewed COVID-19 restrictions - KTVZ