COVID Infections Hit New Highs

The United States now regularly reports over 100,000 new coronavirus infections daily, and many states are discussing the possibility of new lock downs. Greece and Britain have already locked down again, while Italy, France, and Germany announced regional lock downs for areas suffering from severe COVID outbreaks. The U.S. now faces the uncontrolled community spread, and it has made no serious effort to mitigate the virus going into the winter months.

Coronavirus is out of control because governments insisted on resuming in-person classes. A study from the University of Edinburgh analyzed 131 separate countries to find that reopening schools increased the Rt# by 24 percent. That was one of two policy failures that led to Rt increases. Lifting bans on group gatherings increased the Rt# by 25 percent. Resumption of in-person schooling during the pandemic amounts to the greatest bi-partisan policy failure, aside from failing to have a national containment strategy in the first place.

The rapid increase of COVID infections is giving rise to new, deadlier mutations. Denmark discovered a new COVID strain in minks that is deadlier, more contagious, with more severe symptoms. The Denmark mink strain has a 5 percent mortality rate, resists COVID vaccines in development, and can cause diarrhea and intestinal damage. It has a shorter incubation period and a higher contagion rate. The mink mutation is also present in Utah, Wisconsin, and Michigan. However, there is no evidence that it has infected a human in the U.S.

Researchers found that a new mutation of COVID that started in Houston is now the dominant strain, at least in Texas. The new Texas strain is more infectious and causes more severe symptoms than earlier strains. Altogether, researchers found 285 mutations to the SARS-COV-2 genetic sequence in the new Texas strain.