U.S. health officials are reporting over 100,000 COVID-19 cases a day, a rate five times higher than this point last year.
Though studies suggest that the majority of people stop testing positive for COVID-19 within ten days of the onset of their illness, a notable subset of people report testing positive for longer.
While some people may still be infectious, the tests may also be picking up viral debris from people with a waning infection.
But experts said it’s difficult to know how to interpret the results. Some scientists believe the most sound thing to do is continue to isolate, while others disagree and say that prolonged isolation is unnecessary for most people who are otherwise healthy.
We’re updating this page with the latest news about the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the Seattle area, the U.S. and the world. Click here to see the rest of our coronavirus coverage and here to see how we track the daily spread across Washington.
Housekeepers struggle as U.S. hotels ditch daily room cleaning
After guests checked out of a corner room at the Hilton Hawaiian Village resort on Waikiki beach, housekeeper Luz Espejo collected enough trash, some strewn under beds, to stuff seven large garbage bags.
She stripped the linens from the beds, wiped built-up dust off furniture and scrubbed away layers of grime on the toilet and bathtub. She even got on her hands and knees to pick confetti from the carpet that a heavy-duty vacuum failed to swallow up.
Like many other hotels across the United States, the Hilton Hawaiian Village has done away with daily housekeeping service, making what was already one of the toughest jobs in the hospitality industry even more grueling.
Industry insiders say the move away from daily cleaning, which gained traction during the pandemic, is driven by customer preferences. But others say it has more to do with profit and has allowed hotels to cut the number of housekeepers at a time when many of the mostly immigrant women who take those jobs are still reeling from lost work during coronavirus shutdowns.
Many housekeepers still employed say their hours have been cut and they are being asked to do far more work in that time.
German police mount raids in COVID-19 aid fraud probe
Police raided homes and offices in northern and western Germany on Tuesday as part of an investigation into a case involving five men accused of fraudulently applying for 26 million ($28 million) worth of pandemic-linked aid.
The German government drew up a series of aid packages to help businesses withstand the impact of lockdowns and other restrictions at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
The suspects in this investigation — men aged 26 to 62 — are suspected of making at least 363 aid applications under false pretenses “for their own purposes and for companies that commissioned them,” according to a police statement. It’s believed to have resulted in a loss of several million euros, it added.
We’re stuck with COVID on ‘chronic’ basis, says Fauci
COVID is here to stay, the country’s top infectious disease expert said Sunday.
The persistence of the virus means yearly vaccine booster shots could be in store for everyone, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House chief medical adviser.
“We’re going to be dealing with this virus on a chronic basis,” Fauci said. “We really hope … it will reach a level low enough that it doesn’t disrupt us to the extent that it has over the past couple of years.”
In recent weeks, COVID case numbers have been increasing nationwide. Average daily case numbers have risen about 26% around the country, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Average daily case numbers in New York City have nearly doubled, to 4,214 as of Tuesday, according to the Health Department.
