Category Archives: Covid-19

Fargo's Cass County reported the greatest number of new cases with 72 while Bismarck's Burleigh County reported 58 new cases. Dickinson's Stark County added 49 new infections.

Bordering the capital city, Mandan's Morton County, Emmons County and McLean County reported 24, 23 and 20 new cases, respectively. Minot's Ward County added 18 new cases and Williston's Williams County totaled 15 new cases.

Wahpeton's Richland County added eight new cases. Grand Forks County recorded seven new cases, while Logan County and Mercer County tallied six new cases. Adams, Barnes, Billings, Bottineau, Bowman, Dickey, Dunn, Griggs, Hettinger, Kidder, LaMoure, McIntosh, McKenzie, Mountrail, Pembina, Ramsey, Ransom, Renville, Rolette, Sargent, Sioux, Stutsman, Traill and Walsh counties each added five or fewer new cases.

The new cases came from a total 6,759 tests, a 5.6% daily positivity rate.

The department also reported eight new deaths in the state from COVID-19. The deceased were six males and two females in their 80s and 90s, all of whom were from Morton County and suffered from underlying health conditions.

The eight reported deaths were a single-day pandemic-high, though the department attributed the figure to a delay in reporting and stated the individuals all died between one and 13 days ago.

139 of the state's deaths list COVID-19 as the primary cause of death while 53 others list the virus as a secondary cause or are pending death records. The state also reported three individuals who were presumed to have been positive for the virus at the time of their death. The state's death rate for individuals who have become infected is 1.1%.

Active cases rose by 110 to 3,096, a pandemic-high for the state and the first time the figure has risen above 3,000. Statewide, active cases have risen 38% since the beginning of September.

Burleigh County currently leads the state with 570 active cases, representing a 28% increase from last Saturday.

Cass County's active cases rose 33% in the past week from 402 to 536. While the state has kept Cass County's at its "low risk" designation, the county could be a candidate to move to the "moderate risk" designation if numbers continue to move in the wrong direction next week, Gov. Doug Burgum said Tuesday, Sept. 15.

As of Friday, Sept. 18, North Dakota State University reported 119 COVID-19 cases among students and employees with an additional 217 students either in isolation or quarantined in university housing.

Active cases totaled 307 in Stark County Saturday, a 30% rise over the past week. Dickinson State University reported nine active cases and 45 recovered cases as of Friday.

Grand Forks County's active cases decreased for the second consecutive week, dropping 15% to 229. The University of North Dakota reported 59 "current self-reported" faculty, staff and student positives.

Active cases numbered 237 in Morton County, 216 in Ward County and 199 in Williams County. Jamestown's Stutsman County reported 93 active cases Saturday while all other counties totaled 72 or fewer active cases. Three rural counties Divide, Sheridan and Slope currently do not have any active cases.

Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 6,706,374 cases of COVID-19 and 198,099 deaths from the virus.

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Active COVID-19 infections surpass 3000 for first time in North Dakota - Grand Forks Herald

Club Tijuana has confirmed 30 cases of COVID-19 among its first-team players and staff and will have its next two games rescheduled, Liga MX said on Saturday.

"After receiving the results of the tests carried out by [Club Tijuana] on the first team, the examinations indicated 14 positive COVID-19 cases among the players and 16 in the coaching team and staff," read a statement from the league.

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Xolos' game against FC Juarez had already been moved from Friday until Monday while the club awaited the test results, but that game will now be played on Sept. 30. Next weekend's Tijuana match against Santos Laguna will also be rescheduled.

Tijuana lost 2-1 to Cruz Azul last Sunday, after four players were removed from the squad after they tested positive. Coach Pablo Guede, who also tested positive for the coronavirus, coached the team via Zoom from his home.

Liga MX confirmed that those who tested positive are now in isolation and will be looked after by the Tijuana medical team. Some of those infected have presented symptoms.

The number of overall cases in Liga MX men's first teams is now well over 100. Nearly a quarter of all the registered players among the 18 clubs' squads have tested positive since the pandemic began.

The first cases among players were confirmed on May 20, with eight positives at Santos Laguna. Since then, every club except Pachuca has registered coronavirus cases.

Liga MX canceled the 2020 Clausura tournament last May, but the 2020 Guard1anes season began behind closed doors on July 23.

The Mexican first division has continued amidst the positive results, isolating players and only allowing them to return to training after they had produced a negative result.

There have also been a number of cases of players not adhering to the protocol.

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Tijuana confirms 30 new cases of COVID-19 will have matches rescheduled - ESPN

Three new studies suggest that high proportions of cats and dogs may have acquired COVID-19 from their owners and that the virus jumped back and forth between humans and minks on farms in the Netherlands.

The first, a small, unpublished study from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, suggests that a large proportion of pet cats and dogs may have gotten COVID-19 from their owners, as evidenced by antibodies against the coronavirus in their blood.

The study, which will be presented at the Sep 23 to 25 virtual European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Conference on Coronavirus Disease, involved collecting nose, throat, and rectal swabs from 17 cats, 18 dogs, and 1 ferret owned by people diagnosed as having COVID-19 or reporting symptoms consistent with the coronavirus in the previous 2 weeks.

If more than 2 weeks had passed, the pets were tested for antibodies. The results were compared with those of stored blood samples collected from animals before December 2019.

All animals tested negative for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, on reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), except for one cat, which had ambiguous results but tested positive for coronavirus antibodies, indicating previous infection. Overall, seven of eight cats with blood samples (88%) had coronavirus antibodies. The owners of all cats with inconclusive COVID-19 tests or positive antibody results said they and their pets had displayed coronavirus-like respiratory symptoms at the same time.

Two of 10 dogs with blood samples (20%) had coronavirus antibodies. One dog had previously had displayed respiratory symptoms.

The authors noted previous reports of SARS-CoV-2 infections in different animal species, but none have identified risk factors for or clinical characteristics of infection.

Lead author Dorothee Bienzle, DVM, PhD, of the University of Guelph, said in an ESCMID news release that blood testing the animal after the owner recovers is the best way to assess human-to-animal transmission because the window of time to identify current infections in pets is narrow.

In the meantime, Bienzle said, pet owners infected with COVID-19 should isolate themselves. "There is sufficient evidence from multiple studies, including ours, to recommend that SARS-CoV-2 infected persons should isolate from people and animals," she said.

In the second study, a research letter published yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases, researchers in Hong Kong tested the respiratory and fecal samples of 50 cats from COVID-19infected households or their close contacts for coronavirus RNA from Feb 11 to Aug 11.

Six of the 50 cats (12%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA on RT-PCR, and virus genomes from one owner-and-cat pair were identical. All cats were asymptomatic but had lung abnormalities similar to those of infected humans. The researchers were unable to grow the virus on cell culture.

"Although feline-to-human transmission is theoretically possible, we did not find any evidence of this transmission," the authors said. "The timeline of infection in cat 1 and the finding of an identical SARS-CoV-2 genome sequence in a human from the same household is consistent with human-to-animal transmission. In support of these findings, the cat had no outdoor access."

The researchers called for broader serologic surveillance of cats connected to COVID-19 patients to determine the prevalence of human-to-cat spread.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department of Hong Kong quarantines and tests pets from infected households or their close contacts in a holding facility if other care is not available. The pets are isolated until they test negative on RT-PCR on two occasions. COVID-19 infections identified in dogs as part of this testing were reported in a study published on May 14 in Naturethe first published evidence of the disease in dogs.

The third study, which will also be presented at the ESCMID conference, involved monitoring COVID-19 infections at 16 mink farms with more than 720,000 animals in the Netherlands. The findings suggest that the coronavirus jumped back and forth between people and mink, in the first known published case of animal-to-human, or zoonotic, transmission, according to the authors.

Of course, SARS-CoV-2 likely first jumped from animals to humans in late 2019, sparking the pandemic in Wuhan, China.

In the study, posted Sep 1 on the preprint server bioRxiv, Dutch researchers investigating outbreaks of coronavirus in both animals and humans on mink farms conducted testing and whole-genome sequencing to trace the sources of infection. Sixty-six of 97 people (67%) living or working on the farms were diagnosed as having COVID-19 on PCR or antibody testing.

The authors said in an ESCMID news release that they believe at least two people on the farms were infected by mink. "Unfortunately, based on our research we cannot make definite conclusions on the direction of most of the infections, so we do not know the total number of people that were infected by minks," they said.

"We conclude that initially the virus was introduced from humans and has evolved on mink farms, most likely reflecting widespread circulation among mink in the first SARS-CoV-2 mink farms, several weeks prior to detection."

The coronavirus was first detected on two mink farms in late April. Some farms involved in the outbreaks were owned by the same person, but no epidemiologic link could be identified for the others.

Genome sequencing showed that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was the same as those found in the mink and not identical to those found in COVID-19 patients living near the farms. The sequences from all infected mink farms were part of one of five distinct disease clusters, demonstrating spread among the farms.

Currently, COVID-19 is still spreading on the farms, despite efforts to combat it, the authors said, and three large clusters with unknown modes of transmission have been identified.

"The population size and the structure of mink farms is such that it is conceivable that SARS-CoV-2once introducedcould continue to circulate," the authors wrote. "Therefore, continued monitoring and cooperation between human and animal health services is crucial to prevent the animals serving as a reservoir for continued infection in humans.

They add in the news release, "Close collaboration between human and animal health departments is essential for early identification and control of SARS-CoV-2 infections."

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COVID-19 likely spreading from people to animalsand vice versa - CIDRAP

News Release

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

The National Institutes of Health today announced a $12 million award for outreach and engagement efforts in ethnic and racial minority communities disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The award to RTI International, a non-profit research institution, will support teams in 11 states established as part of the NIH Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against COVID-19 Disparities. These teams have received initial funding to immediately create CEAL programs, and RTI will serve as the Technical and Administrative Support and Coordination (TASC) center.

The CEAL research teams will focus on COVID-19 awareness and education research, especially among African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, and American Indians populations that account for over half of all reported cases in the United States. They also will promote and facilitate the inclusion and participation of these groups in vaccine and therapeutic clinical trials to prevent and treat the disease.

The communities of special focus include counties in Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

Addressing health disparities affecting racial and ethnic minority populations has long been a priority for NIH, said NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. The burden of the COVID-19 pandemic borne by diverse communities, especially those that include Blacks and Latinos, makes clear the urgent need for treatments and vaccines that are effective for all Americans. Inclusive research that reflects the entire population is essential to this goal.

CEAL is an NIH-wide effort led by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). It expands existing community outreach efforts already underway by NIH COVID-19 trial networks.

The CEAL research teams will leverage established relationships between NIH-funded researchers and local community-engaged leaders to help reach underserved communities that might not be located near COVID-19 clinical research recruitment sites.

Building on the strength of local organizations, as well as our long-standing community-engaged research efforts, will help us communicate effectively to address disparities and support the proven resilience within communities, said NIMHD Director Eliseo J. Prez-Stable, M.D. This work will help ensure people get accurate and trustworthy information about the virus, how to reduce its spread, and how to protect themselves and their families.

CEAL research teams include NIH and other federally funded entities that have community engagement expertise, non-academic community-based organizations, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), state and/or local health departments, and others. Their goal is to quickly launch outreach efforts that can help reduce the impact of COVID-19 on the most vulnerable populations and to evaluate these efforts through community-engaged research.

Since communities of color have been particularly affected, and also historically underrepresented in clinical research, it is essential that we encourage people to join COVID-19 research studies, said NHLBI Director Gary Gibbons, M.D. Thats why NIH is partnering with messengers who live, work, and worship in the same communities where the disease has caused the highest rates of sickness and death. In the middle of a pandemic, people need to hear familiar, trusted voices they know are advocating for their health and safety.

For more information about CEAL, visit the NIH COVID-19 communities page.

The CEAL principal investigators and institutions are:

Mona N. Fouad, M.D., M.P.H.University of Alabama at Birmingham

Sairam Parthasarathy, M.D.University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson

Arleen F. Brown, M.D., Ph.D.University of California, Los Angeles

Olveen Carrasquillo, M.D., M.P.HUniversity of Miami

Tabia Henry Akintobi, Ph.D., M.P.H.Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta

Marie A. Krousel-Wood, M.D.Tulane University, New Orleans

Erica Marsh, M.D.University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Caroline Compretta, Ph.D.University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson

Anissa I. Vines, Ph.D.University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Paul Juarez, Ph.D.Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee

Jamboor Vishwanatha, Ph.D.University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth

Linda Squiers, Ph.D.Technical Lead, TASCRTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

About the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI): NHLBI is the global leader in conducting and supporting research in heart, lung, and blood diseases and sleep disorders that advances scientific knowledge, improves public health, and saves lives. For more information, visit https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov.

About the National Instituteon Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD): NIMHD leads scientific research to improve minority health and eliminate health disparities by conducting and supporting research; planning, reviewing, coordinating, and evaluating all minority health and health disparities research at NIH; promoting and supporting the training of a diverse research workforce; translating and disseminating research information; and fostering collaborations and partnerships. For more information about NIMHD, visit https://www.nimhd.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH):NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.

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NIH funds community engagement research efforts in areas hardest hit by COVID-19 - National Institutes of Health

In the early weeks of the pandemic, before coronavirus cases crushed hospitals in New York and spiked in other states, Dr. Rebecca Shadowen asked her friends a question on Facebook.

"If you could save the life of another person without harming your own, would you?" Shadowen, an infectious disease specialist in Kentucky, posted on March 13.

From the start, the doctor advocated for social distancing, hand-washing and mask-wearing, and she hoped her community of Bowling Green could become a model for the rest of her state, where residents sparred over stay-at-home orders and challenged Kentucky's mask mandate in the courts.

In May, while offering her expertise as a member of the Bowling Green-Warren County Coronavirus Workgroup, Shadowen fell ill. At first, she complained of feeling tired, but on the night she was taken to the hospital, she woke up saying she was short of breath, her husband, David, said.

She toggled between local hospitals for the next four months, at times being placed on a ventilator and in the intensive care unit. During weeks she regained her strength, she was lucid enough to continue working from her hospital bed and share what she knew about the virus that was ravaging her body in unexpected ways.

"There were multiple times she thought she was turning the corner and we thought she was on the road to recovery," David Shadowen, who is also a doctor, said.

But after dealing with complications from the virus, including abdominal bleeding and weakened lungs, Shadowen died on Sept. 11 surrounded by her husband and two adult children. She was 62.

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David and Rebecca Shadowen were college sweethearts at Western Kentucky University, and together they enrolled at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. Shadowen went on to specialize in infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS and Lyme disease, and, this year, Covid-19.

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She worked out of the Medical Center at Bowling Green, where colleagues leaned on her medical knowledge of more than three decades and she enjoyed helping medical students and residents.

Even after she became sick, she continued on the county's coronavirus workgroup, urging the need for a local mask ordinance. When she learned something especially important, she would send a group text, sometimes in the middle of the night. She believed the simple act of wearing a mask could stop the spread of the disease.

"She'd say, 'Look folks, this isn't politics. This is science,'" said Dennis Chaney, the medical center's vice president of ancillary services. "I heard her say that many times."

After her death, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear tweeted his praise of Shadowen as being a "front line hero."

David Shadowen believes his wife contracted Covid-19 the way he and their daughter, Kathryn, did: from a home health aide who had infected his elderly mother.

But the Shadowens' son, Jesse, did not test positive for the virus. David Shadowen said he and his daughter had mild symptoms, which made Shadowen's debilitating struggle all the more frustrating.

Before she got sick, Shadowen went to her church, empty during the pandemic, and prayed in a pew. She was conflicted, wrestling with all the risks and her responsibilities as a health care worker, said Adam Shourds, senior pastor at Broadway United Methodist Church.

"She said, 'We all have a responsibility,'" Shourds recalled. "'My role is important, but it's no more important than anyone else's.'"

He said Shadowen texted him the day she was scheduled to be placed on a ventilator: "I'm going on the vent today. This is not the end."

She wasn't bitter, she said, and used her last few months to understand everything she could about the coronavirus.

"She fought the virus harder than anybody because she knew how," Shourds said.

During Shadowen's visitation and funeral service this week, former patients and family members of patients approached David Shadowen and his children.

Many told them the same thing: "'I'm alive today because she saved my life,' or, 'She saved my mother's life,'" David Shadowen said.

He described her as the glue that held their household together, working long shifts, taking care of the finances, making meals and shuttling the kids between soccer practice and ballet, all without breaking a sweat.

She embodied so much, David Shadowen said: a person of faith, a mother, a wife and a doctor.

Their daughter, Kathryn, 23, said there were countless times when they were out in public that someone would stop her mother to thank her for what she did.

"It was really powerful to be the kid of someone who saved people," she said. "A lot of kids think of their parents as heroes. Mine actually was."

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Kentucky doctor who urged mask-wearing early on dies of Covid-19 - NBC News

The largest figures were 44 new cases in Stearns County and 36 in Redwood County.

Most other counties in the area tracked by the West Central Tribune had new cases in the single digits two cases in Lac qui Parle; four cases each in Chippewa, Pope and Yellow Medicine counties; five cases in Renville County; and six cases each in Kandiyohi, Meeker and Swift counties.

Big Stone County was the only one in the region not reporting any new cases in Saturday's report.

Statewide there are 924 new cases for a total of 88,721 with 9,515 of them being health care workers.

There were 13 additional deaths attributed to COVID-19, for a current total of 1,963.

Most of the deaths, 1,422, have occurred in long-term care or assisted living facilities, and 1,566 of the people who have died were 70 or older.

Statewide, there are 241 COVID patients currently in hospitals, 134 of them being treated in ICUs.

The Minnesota Department of Health is also reporting that 80,407 of the state's reported positive cases no longer need to self-isolate.

So far in Minnesota, there have been approximately 1,815,774 completed tests of approximately 1,291,395 people since Jan. 20.

The information was included in the latest Minnesota Department of Health daily situation update, released at 11 a.m. daily. The data released are current as of 4 p.m. the day before.

The current number of COVID-19 cases among residents confirmed to reside in area counties includes:

(County of residence is confirmed during the case interview. The county residence data may not equal the total number of reported positive cases in a given day.)

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Most west central Minnesota counties report new COVID-19 cases, with big jumps in Redwood and Stearns counties - West Central Tribune

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Coronavirus in Tennessee: Free COVID-19 testing offered this weekend in Knoxville by Faith Leaders Church Initiative - WATE 6 On Your Side

A staff member at the Pine River Library in Bayfield tested positive for COVID-19 this week, prompting a temporary closure of in-person library services.

The library said in a Facebook post Friday it was following precautionary guidelines and closed all services Saturday. For Pine River Valley patrons, curbside services will resume Monday, and material drop-off is still available 24/7.

(The staff member) did not have any symptoms other than what she thought was allergies, said Shelley Walchak, library director. She has not been in the library for a week, but were asking all staff to get tested.

The library staff consulted with San Juan Basin Public Health, identified people who had close contact with the person and completed COVID-19 tests. While they wait for any additional positive test results, theyre limiting entry to the building.

Were erring on the side of caution, said Brenda Marshall, assistant director. Were already taking a lot of precautions with the materials, quarantining them and disinfecting high-touch surfaces.

As of Friday, SJBPH reported that 256 La Plata County residents have tested positive for the disease and 50 Archuleta County residents have tested positive. The health department also said 74 nonresidents have tested positive in the two counties.

Weve been sort of expecting it and prepared because its a pandemic. But when it actually lands, it is still a shock, Marshall said. Were aware that a lot of the community use the library, and we want to keep people safe. Thats part of the weight of it.

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Positive COVID-19 case reported at Bayfield library - The Durango Herald

News Release

Monday, September 14, 2020

A National Institutes of Health-funded study found that people with substance use disorders (SUDs) are more susceptible to COVID-19 and its complications. The research, published today in Molecular Psychiatry, was co-authored by Nora D. Volkow, M.D., director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The findings suggest that health care providers should closely monitor patients with SUDs and develop action plans to help shield them from infection and severe outcomes.

By analyzing the non-identifiable electronic health records (EHR) of millions of patients in the United States, the team of investigators revealed that while individuals with an SUD constituted 10.3% of the total study population, they represented 15.6% of the COVID-19 cases. The analysis revealed that those with a recent SUD diagnosis on record were more likely than those without to develop COVID-19, an effect that was strongest for opioid use disorder, followed by tobacco use disorder. Individuals with an SUD diagnosis were also more likely to experience worse COVID-19 outcomes (hospitalization, death), than people without an SUD.

The lungs and cardiovascular system are often compromised in people with SUD, which may partially explain their heightened susceptibility to COVID-19, said Dr. Volkow. Another contributing factor is the marginalization of people with addiction, which makes it harder for them to access health care services. It is incumbent upon clinicians to meet the unique challenges of caring for this vulnerable population, just as they would any other high-risk group.

NIDAs Dr. Volkow and Rong Xu, Ph.D., of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, analyzed EHR data collected until June 15, 2020, from 360 hospitals nationwide. The EHRs were de-identified to ensure privacy.

The study population consisted of over 73 million patients, of which over 7.5 million had been diagnosed with an SUD at some point in their lives. Slightly more than 12,000 were diagnosed with COVID-19, and about 1,880 had both an SUD and a COVID-19 diagnosis on record. The types of SUDs investigated in the study were tobacco, alcohol, opioid, cannabis, and cocaine.

The complicating effects of SUD were visible in increased adverse consequences of COVID-19. Hospitalizations and death rates of COVID-19 patients were all elevated in people with recorded SUDs compared to those without (41.0% versus 30.1% and 9.6% versus 6.6%, respectively).

Additionally, African Americans with a recent opioid use disorder diagnosis were over four times more likely to develop COVID-19, compared to whites. Results showed that hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and renal diseases, which are risk factors for COVID-19, were more prevalent among African Americans than whites with opioid use disorder.

According to the authors, the study findings underscore the need to screen for, and treat, SUDs as part of the strategy for controlling the pandemic. Additional research needs to be done to better understand how best to treat those with SUDs who are at risk for COVID-19 and counsel on how to avoid the risk of infection.

*This research was funded by NIDA, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute on Aging, all parts of NIH, as well as the American Cancer Society and The Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative of Cleveland.

About the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA): The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA supports most of the worlds research on the health aspects of drug use and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to inform policy, improve practice, and advance addiction science. Fact sheets on the health effects of drugs and information on NIDA research and other activities can be found at http://www.drugabuse.gov, which is compatible with your smartphone, iPad, or tablet. To order publications in English or Spanish, call NIDAs DrugPubs research dissemination center at 1-877-NIDA-NIH or 240-645-0228 (TDD) or email requests to drugpubs@nida.nih.gov. Online ordering is available at drugpubs.drugabuse.gov. NIDAs media guide can be found atwww.drugabuse.gov/publications/media-guide/dear-journalist, and its easy-to-read website can be found at http://www.easyread.drugabuse.gov. You can follow NIDA on Twitter and Facebook.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH):NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.

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Substance use disorders linked to COVID-19 susceptibility | National Institutes of Health - National Institutes of Health

ENID, Okla. Oklahoma saw an increase of 1,237 COVID-19 cases on Saturday that included a jump of 144 in Fort Supply, corresponding with hundreds of positive tests at a detention facility confirmed by the state Department of Corrections the day before.

William S. Key Correctional Center reported 221 inmates are positive for COVID-19 in the open-dorm, minimum-security prison, according to the ODOC website. Four inmates have been hospitalized and 21 have recovered. There have been seven staff members test positive, with four recovered, according to ODOC on Friday.

Oklahoma State Department of Health had reported 30 COVID-19 cases in the Woodward County town of Fort Supply, where William S. Key is located, on Friday, but the number of positives rose to 174 on Saturday as the case reports began to catch up on the OSDH website.

Overall, in Oklahoma there have been 75,804 cases of the virus confirmed by OSDH since March, when the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the state. Of those, 10,901 are active, a single-day increase of 408, and 63,960, or 84.4%, have recovered.

There have been 943 who have died because or due to complications of the virus, with four of those announced on Saturday.

Two men and two women in the 65 and older age group from Creek, Garvin, Rogers and Wagoner counties made up the most recently confirmed deaths associated with the virus, according to OSDH.

The number of COVID-19 cases, recoveries and deaths associated with the virus all rose in the week of Sept. 11-17 as compared to the prior week, according to the OSDH weekly report.

There were 6,618 cases confirmed during the week of Sept. 11-17, a 16.7% increase over the week of Sept. 4-10, according the OSDH weekly report released Friday. During the same time period, 5,583 recovered cases were noted, an increase of 9.8% in a week-to-week comparison.

Deaths rose by 31.7%, with 54 reported Sept. 11-17 compared to 41 the week before.

Hospitalizations also were higher in the past week, with 380 confirmed, a 24.6% increase over the prior period.

In a breakdown of age groups, those between 15-24 made up the highest percentage, 25.4%, of the new cases between Sept. 11-17, while the 65-74 age group recorded the highest number of deaths at 17, according to the OSDH report.

Oklahoma currently ranks 26th in the number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and 20th in the cumulative incidence, per 100,000, of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S.

The OSDH maintains Oklahomans should seek out testing, with or without symptoms, to assist with contact tracing efforts regarding the virus. OSDH also reports that the recent numbers show community transmission is reflected in the current trend of data, and Oklahomans should practice social distance, wearing masks and frequent hand-washing.

Garfield County saw a single-day increase of 26 cases on Saturday, with 289 of those active and 1,157 recovered, according to theOSDH COVID-19 website. Enid also saw an increase of 26 cases, with 275 active and 1,091 recovered.

Other Northwest Oklahoma county case increases on Saturday were 131 in Woodward, 14 in Alfalfa, five in Kingfisher, two in Blaine and one each in Grant, Major and Noble. Case increases in cities and towns included 12 in Helena, three in Woodward, two in Hennessey and one each in Cashion,Cherokee, Drummond, Dover, Kingfisher,Longdale, Mooreland,Okeene, Pond Creek and Watonga. Canton saw a reduction of one case.

The 18-35 age group continues to lead the increase in cases, with 473 on Saturday, according to the OSDH website. The age group made up 36.6% of all cases in the state, according to OSDH data. Other new case gains were 261 in the 36-49 age group, 207 in the 50-64 age group, 148 in the 65 and older age group, 134 in the 5-17 age group and 13 in the 0-4 group.

Cumulative totals of confirmed cases as of Saturday were 1,563 in the 0-4 age group, 7,077 in the 5-17 age group, 27,765 in the 18-35 age group, 16,017 in the 36-49 age group, 13,178 in the 50-64 age group and 10,199 in the 65 and older age group. There were five listed as unknown age. The average age of those who have tested positive for COVID-19 is 39.1.

Of those Oklahomans testing positive, 39,851 have been women and 35,929 have been men. There were 28 listed as unknown gender, according to OSDH data on Saturday.

Of the overall 943 deaths in the state in which the virus was the cause or a contributor, 757 have been 65 and older and 147 have been ages 50-64, making up a combined 95.8% of the total. There have been 28 deaths in the 36-49 age group, 10 in the 18-35 age group and one in the 5-17 age group. More men, 515, than women, 428, have succumbed to the virus, according to OSDH on Saturday.The average age of those who have died is 74.7.

OSDH reports 75.3% of those who have died have had a pre-existing condition. Of the deaths, 387 or 41.2% have been long-term care or nursing home cases, according to OSDH. There have been2,485cases among long-term care residents and 1,446cases among staff, according to Friday's Executive Report.

Data shows deaths in 65 of Oklahoma's 77 counties, with 180 in Oklahoma County; 152 in Tulsa County; 68 in Cleveland County; 47 in Rogers County; 40 in Washington County; 33 in McCurtain County; 30 in Creek County; 24 in Wagoner County; 23 in Delaware County; 21 in Muskogee; 20 in Caddo County; 19 in Pittsburg County; 18 in Garfield County; 17 inLeFlore County; 16 in Canadian County; 13 each in Kay and Osage counties; 12 in Comanche County; 10 each in Adair, Grady, Jackson, Lincoln, Mayes and Sequoyah counties; nine in Pottawatomie County; eight each in Carter, Greer, and Texas counties; seven in Cherokee County; six each in McClain and Payne counties; five each in Garvin, Okmulgee, Seminole and Stephens counties; four each in Bryan, Haskell, Hughes, Johnston, McIntosh, Okfuskee and Ottawa counties; three each in Cotton, Nowata, Pawnee and Pontotoc counties; two each in Choctaw, Kingfisher, Kiowa, Latimer, Noble and Tillman counties; and one each in Atoka, Beckham, Blaine, Craig, Dewey, Harper, Logan, Love, Major, Marshall, Murray, Pushmataha and Roger Mills counties.

COVID-19 data per county released Saturday by OSDH shows Garfield with 1,464 cases, 1,157 recovered, 289 active and 18 deaths, all in Enid, reportedSept. 17,Sept. 12,Sept. 11,10,4,Aug. 29,27,26,18,15,14,13, and6,July 28and23,June 21andApril 10; Kingfisher with 318 cases, 290 recovered, 26 active and two deaths, both in Hennessey, reportedSept. 1andAug. 27; Woodward with 309 cases, 136 recovered and 173 active; Noble with 140 cases, 116 recovered, 22 active and two deaths, including aBillings man in the 65 and older age range; Blaine with 108 cases, 89 recovered, 18 active and one death, a Canton man, reportedAug. 28; Woods with 93 cases, 30 recovered and 63 active; Major with 70 cases, 58 recovered, 11 active and one death, awoman in18-35 age groupin April; Alfalfa with 56 cases, 21 recovered and 35 active; Grant with 38 cases, 30 recovered and eight active.

CumulativeCOVID-19 cases by city or townin Northwest Oklahoma include 1,384 in Enid (275 active); Fort Supply 174 (165 active); 145 in Hennessey (seven active); 121 in Woodward (30 active); 111 in Kingfisher (nine active); 84 in Alva (58 active); 51 in Watonga (11 active); 43 in Helena (29 active); 38 in Okarche (three active); 33 in Fairview (three active); 31 in Mooreland (one active); 21 in Canton (three active); 20 in Garber (two active); 18 in Cashion (three active) 17 in Ringwood (four active); 13 each in Dover (four active), Waukomis(two active) and Seiling (one active); 12 in Medford (one active); 11 in Lahoma; nine in Billings (two active); seven each in Cherokee (four active), Fairmont (two active), Lamont, Longdale (one active),Okeene (one active), Pond Creek (one active) and Orlando (two active); six in Nash (four active); five each in Ames (two active), Covington and Kremlin; four each in Drummond (two active), Freedom, Hitchcock, Meno (two active) and Mulhall; three each in Cleo Springs, Jet, Marshall, Wakita and Waynoka (three active); two each in Deer Creek (one active) and Hillsdale; and one each in Burlington (one active), Carmen (one active) and Goltry, according to data released by OSDH on Saturday. Residents living in areas with under 100 in population or those with unknown addresses may be recorded as "other."

In Enid, there have been 747 cases, with 579 recovered and nine deaths from the 73701 ZIP code, primarily the eastern half of the city, and 628 cases, with 506 recovered and nine deaths from 73703, or the western half, according to OSDH data on Saturday. There also has been one recovered case in the 73705 ZIPcode, which is listed as Vance Air Force Base athttps://www.unitedstateszipcodes.org/.

COVID-19 cases per county in Oklahoma as reported by the Oklahoma State Department of Health Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020. SOURCE: OSDH

COVID-19 cases per city in Oklahoma as reported by the Oklahoma State Department of Health Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020. SOURCE: OSDH

Long-term care or nursing home COVID-19 cases listed by OSDH in Garfield County include 24 cases with 18 recovered and five deaths at Golden Oaks; 15 cases with 14 recovered and one death at Kenwood Manor; 12 cases with nine recovered at The Living Center; seven cases with six recovered at The Arbors;three cases with two recovered at Greenbrier Nursing Home and one case at Greenbrier Village Residential Living; two recovered cases each at Enid Senior Care and The Commons; and one recovered case at Garland Road Nursing and Rehab Center, according to OSDH data released Friday evening.

COVID-19 cases in area long-term care facilities include one recovered case at Summers HealthCare in Blaine County; one recovered case at Community Health Center in Grant County; one recovered case at Billings Fairchild Center in Noble County; two recovered cases each at First Shamrock Care and Countrywood Assisted Living and Memory Care and 69 cases with 64 recovered and two deaths at Hennessey Nursing & Rehab, in Kingfisher County; two recovered cases each at Beadles Nursing Home and Share Medical Center in Woods County; 19 cases with 16 recovered at Mooreland Heritage Manor and 23 cases with 15 recovered at Woodward Skilled Nursing in Woodward County; and five recovered cases at Center of Family Love in Okarche, just south of the Kingfisher County line, in Canadian County, according to OSDH.

State Health Department officials areencouraging Oklahomans to get testedfor COVID-19, saying recently that due to adequate supplies, residents no longer need to exhibit symptoms or report exposure to someone with the virus to get in line for testing.

Free testing for COVID-19 is ongoing at the Garfield County and other state Health Departments. Testing is by appointment only for Blaine County, 521 W. 4th, Watonga, (580) 623-7977; Garfield County, 2501 S. Mercer, Enid, (580) 233-0650; Grant County, 115 N. Main, Medford, (580) 395-2906; Kingfisher County, 124 E. Sheridan, courthouse annex room #101, Kingfisher, (405) 375-3008; Major County, 501 E. Broadway, Fairview, (580) 227-3362; Noble County, 300 Fir St., Perry, (580) 336-2257; Woods County, 511 Barnes St., Alva, (580) 327-3192; and Woodward County, 1631 Texas Ave., Woodward, (580) 256-6416. For a full list of county drive-through testing, go tohttps://coronavirus.health.ok.gov/drive-thru-testing. Some health department also advise the public to check their Facebook pages for more information regarding testing.

Emergency warning signs for COVID-19 are trouble breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion or inability to arouse, bluish lips or face, according to the CDC. More information can be found athttps://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html.

Those with symptoms of COVID-19 should call ahead to local emergency rooms. Those with minor symptoms should contact their regular physicians.

Resources and information on COVID-19 can be obtained by calling 211 or going tohttps://covidresources.ok.gov/.

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OSDH: Oklahoma COVID-19 positives up by 1237; Fort Supply jump reflects hundreds of prison cases - Enid News & Eagle