Is Dc Shut Down Again Today

A line forms at a walk-up COVID-nineteen testing site last calendar week at Farragut Square, just blocks from the White House. Jacquelyn Martin/AP hibernate caption

toggle caption

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

A line forms at a walk-up COVID-19 testing site concluding week at Farragut Foursquare, just blocks from the White Business firm.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Washington, D.C., is experiencing a major pandemic surge — making information technology the highest-risk identify for COVID-19 infection in the nation.

D.C. experienced an boilerplate of 1,192 new cases per mean solar day over the by seven days, and 169 cases per 100,000 people as of Monday, according to data from the Center for Systems Scientific discipline and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Despite relatively loftier vaccination rates, D.C. is experiencing a surge because of several factors, according to Dr. Neil J. Sehgal, an assistant professor of health policy and direction at the Academy of Maryland Schoolhouse of Public Wellness.

"I suspect what we are seeing in D.C. is the collision of increased opportunity for transmission due to the demographics of the Commune, a missed policy opportunity to prevent manual, and the transmission dynamics of omicron — while vaccinated people are less likely to contract or transmit, with omicron, clearly both are happening," he told NPR.

Loading...

Demographically, the D.C. area skews younger than the rest of the country; about 50% of residents of the District are betwixt the ages of 20 and 49.

"Earlier vaccines were available, we learned that transmission in the United States was largely driven by adults twenty to 49 years of historic period," Sehgal said. "People historic period twenty-49 are only more transmission-efficient."

That's thanks to an increased likelihood of in-person work, a greater likelihood of household manual due to raising immature children and a greater gamble of socializing outside the dwelling, particularly during the holidays, he said.

What actions D.C. is taking

Nardos Amare checks in people at a COVID-19 testing site exterior Benning Stoddert Recreation Heart last week in Washington, D.C. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide explanation

toggle caption

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Nardos Amare checks in people at a COVID-19 testing site outside Benning Stoddert Recreation Centre terminal week in Washington, D.C.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Like many places across the state, the hunt for an at-domicile COVID-19 exam in the District meant long lines. The city started distributing complimentary test kits to residents prior to the holidays as COVID-19 case numbers reached new highs, alongside offering on-site testing.

The testing program, which includes daily distribution of rapid test kits at public libraries, stands out confronting surrounding areas where tests tin exist harder to come past.

D.C. COVID-19 public testing sites are set to be closed on New Yr's Eve and New year'south Day, just the city volition still exist distributing test kits at select locations.

An indoor mask mandate would have helped cut down on manual before information technology got then bad, Sehgal said. But the city dropped the requirement in November (it had a mask and social distancing advisory in place instead).

Sehgal said he and other health experts called on Mayor Muriel Bowser to bring the mandate back when cases began rising in the District simply afterwards Thanksgiving.

"We know at present that omicron was circulating alongside delta at that time, and the reluctance to keep reasonable, science-based precautions in place seeded the manual that we are seeing today," Sehgal said. "At that point nosotros were on the 'flat' part of the exponential growth curve, but with every infected person passing the virus on to more than one other person on average, y'all can come across how cases would keep to climb."

Now, the urban center has over again cracked down on requirements for masks and vaccines. On Dec. 21, the city brought the mask mandate back through at least Jan. 31. At the time, Bowser said that she did not regret having dropped the mandate earlier and that "as weather condition warranted, we've inverse our interventions, and we are changing them again."

Starting Jan. 15, D.C. businesses — including restaurants, bars, gyms, and music venues and certain meeting spaces — will be required to ask patrons ages 12 and older for proof of vaccination to enter. When enforcement begins, patrons will only demand to evidence proof of one shot to enter. By February. 15, ii shots volition be required for entry.

For the latest on the coronavirus in the D.C. area, follow member station WAMU's coverage here .

robinsonbhars1951.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.npr.org/2021/12/28/1068417547/the-nations-capital-is-the-worst-place-for-covid-19-infections-right-now

Share this post