Category Archives: Health and Lifestyle

Health and Lifestyle, Local

New questions emerge about another Western Washington COVID testing provider

[LACEY, Wash.] – (MTN) Parked outside an empty auto repair shop in Lacey, a banner and a handmade sign declares COVID testing is available provided by OnPoint Testing. The company has 36 test sites in the Western United States, four in Washington and three in Oregon. Reviews complain about “free” tests requiring cash-only payments, unsanitary practices, delayed, inaccurate, or missing results. The owners of OnPoint went to great lengths to obscure their connections back to a Texas company that sells new and used credit card process equipment, and a “lab” connected to a strip mall in San Bruno, California.

A review of the OnPoint Testing website provided no information on the company, the owners, nor a privacy or HIPAA policy. Attempts to make connections to OnPoint to any lab, NPI, or CLIA were initially fruitless.

Searching locations and reviews on Yelp yielded another phone number for the company, attached to a testing location in San Bruno, California. The test site is located in a small strip mall on 650 El Camino Real, shared with Confidence Auto Rental and Sales. A call to the used car dealership went to voicemail and there was no return call. Google and Yelp indicate the dealership is still in business, but its URL, confidenceautos.com, redirects to ASNCars.

Yelp reviews are littered with complaints about OnPoint COVID-19 Testing and connect to a different phone number than listed on the company’s website

The phone number for OnPoint on Yelp did connect to customer service for the company and was answered after a brief hold.

Additional searching found a website for OnPoint Lab in Sugarland, Texas. This led researchers down another dead end. OnPoint Lab does offer COVID testing but is more focused on DNA and urine collection. A search on Open Corporates indicates the lab has been open since 2014. A call to their phone number was answered promptly. The person who answered indicated they had no connection to OnPoint COVID-19 testing.

Equipped with a repeating name, and with OnPoint COVID-19 Testing claiming they have an authorized lab, a review of CDC-approved labs yielded a result. OnPoint Testing CLIA number is 05D2244336 and the address for the facility is the same address as the testing site in San Bruno, California – 650 El Camino Real. The phone number for the lab is different from the 800 number listed on the OnPoint website, and the 650 number listed on Yelp.

OnPoint Testing CDC-approved lab, operating under a waiver due to COVID protocols created by the 2020 CARES ACT, is listed at being inside this building after a CDC CLIA lab search

The third phone number connects to Jason A Kendall on the website for LabProspects in Atascadero, California. It also connects to ATOWN LAB, at the same address. ATOWN LAB has a sparse website hosted on Square, with an option for blood draws and COVID testing. The CDC CLIA number for that facility is 05D2211187, and connects to a company called US Health Laboratories, with an address in Sherman Oaks, California.

Calling the phone number associated with ATOWN LAB and US Health Laboratories went to voicemail for ATOWN LABS. In what was another apparent dead end, there is no connection back to OnPoint COVID-19 Testing, ATOWN LAB, or US Health Laboratories, beyond a shared phone number in the CDC CLIA database.

LabProspects, based out of North Carolina, is a web portal where companies can connect with approved medical labs for services. The company is not affiliated with any COVID testing or any of the people or companies listed in this story.

Running out of options, researchers took three final steps. A search on ICANN indicated that the domain for OnPoint COVID-19 Testing was registered in February 2021 with GoDaddy by a company or agent from Texas. Using Open Corporates, there was a company incorporated in Delaware in March 2021 using the name OnPoint Testing, Inc. A final search on LinkedIn for OnPoint Testing provided a new lead. Sherif Mohamed lists himself as the Co-Founder of Onpoint Testing, in San Bruno, California. The start date of the role on his bio is March 2021. Mohamed also lists himself as the Founder and CEO of Shoperr, DigitalShopper Global, and CardMachineOutlet.com. Although he lists Onpoint Testing in San Bruno, his profile on LinkedIn indicates he is in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. That provided an additional connection to the ICANN data, and where the website for OnPoint COVID-19 is registered.

Sherif Mohamed lists himself as the CEO and co-founder of Onpoint Testing in San Bruno, California

A social search on Twitter found Mohamed and his lightly used personal account, with retweets from CardMachineOutlet. Through Mohamed’s account, the multiple retweets of Card Machine Outlet on Twitter have the same logo found on LinkedIn and indicate the company is located in Richardson, Texas.

A Sherif Mohamed is also listed as the owner of EZ Clinical Labs in New Jersey. The Instagram page has been deleted and the Facebook page has been inactive since August 2021. The website for the company lists three COVID test locations in New Jersey. The phone number is active and a person did answer the phone. Like OnPoint COVID-19 Testing, the website does not have a posted privacy or HIPAA policy, doesn’t list a CLIA number, or provides information on who owns the lab. Malcontent News cannot verify that the Sherif Mohamed associated with EZ Clinical Labs is the same Sherif Mohamed who is the CEO of OnPoint Testing.

A search for Shoperr listed two addresses. One in San Mateo, California, and another at 740 E. Campbell Road, Richardson, Texas. Malcontent News does not claim that Shoperr is associated with OnPoint COVID-19 testing.

A search for Digital Shopper Global led to a dead website. The search also linked to an abysmal Better Business Bureau rating of the company and multiple allegations of fraud. The address listed was 740 E. Campell Road, Richardson, Texas, but with a different suite number from Shoperr.

That left a final option, Card Machine Outlet. The company website lists an address of 740 E. Campell Road, Richardson, Texas, with a different suite number as Digital Shopper Global. Like Digital Shopper Global, Card Machine Outlet has a one-star BBB rating with multiple claims of fraud. Open Corporate shows CardMachineOutlet.com, LLC was dissolved by the State of Texas on August 22, 2021, due to “tax forfeiture.” A search on the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts website indicated that as of January 27, the company remained “involuntary ended.” The Comptroller site also listed a business address as 2435 North Central Expressway, Suite 440, Richardson, Texas, 75080. the contact us page for CardMachineOutlet lists both addresses connected to the company. A call to the number indicates the company is still operating.

To this point, all of the evidence that connects Mohamed to OnPoint COVID-19 Testing appears circumstantial, beyond the LinkedIn profile indicating that he is the CEO and co-founder. Searches for OnPoint led down multiple dead-ends with loose connections back to Mohamed, including OnPoint Logistics, and the CDC CLIA Lab in San Bruno, California.

Job listings for roles at OnPoint Testing indicate the positions are in Richardson, Texas. Indeed lists a job for a Supplies and Procurement specialist, also in Richardson, Texas at the 740 E. Campell Road address. The same job is listed on Glassdoor.

A review of the LinkedIn business page for CardMachineOutlet showed a single job listing on LinkedIn – for a medical assistant in Lacy [sic], Washington. OnPoint COVID-19 Testing has a location at 663 Sleater Kinney Road SE, Lacey, Washington, which has since moved to 4207 Pacific Ave SE.

Job listing for a Medical Assistant in Lacey, Washington listed by CardMachineOutlet.com on LinkedIn, January 27, 2022

The same job is listed on Indeed and ZipRecruiter, under CardMachineOutlet.com.

Job Description:

Onpoint testing is looking to hire a full-time/part-time MA!

Your job responsibilities will include:
– Nose swabs
-Mouth Swabs
-Patient intake
-Patient checkout

We are purely a COVID testing site.

Company Description

CardMachineOutlet.com is the nation leader in credit card equipment and processing service

job description listed on Ziprecruiter for a medical assistant in lacey, washington working for creditcardoutlet.com

The job posting lists 4207 Pacific Ave SE as the address for the testing location. The picture of the mobile van used for testing on the OnPoint COVID-19 Testing website shows the vehicle located at the Pacific Ave SE address and matches the building.

Google is full of reviews complaining the test location was closed despite having an appointment, delayed test results, or receiving no results at all. People who got tested were required to pay $69 in cash. OnPoint COVID-19 Testing states on its website the company does not accept insurance or gets government reimbursement. A number of consumer complaints mention SDI Labs.

OnPoint COVID-19 Testing location in Lacey, Washington on Pacific Ave SE

SDI Labs, Inc. CLIA number is 05D0642622 listed to an address in La Mirada, California. On April 10, 2020, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval under the Emergency Use Authorization Act for the company to evaluate COVID test samples. The individual who requested the waiver was Ozman Modiuddin, CEO of Specialty Diagnostic (SDI) Laboratories.

OnPoint COVID-19 testing had images of sample test results showing SDI Labs, Inc., as the provider, but since removed them. The company has been in business since 1987, and a review of records found a single Better Business Bureau complaint not related to COVID testing. There is nothing that indicates that Modiuddin is connected to Mohamed or any of his current or previous business enterprises. Mohiuddin, nor SDI Labs have come up in any other research on other COVID testing facilities or processing labs beyond some companies sharing a registered agent. That wouldn’t be unusual and is not proof of any impropriety.

An archived image from Google that use to be on the OnPoint COVID-19 Testing website for the SeaTac Airport location in Washington. Multiple people have complained about SDI Labs in review, but there is no evidence that SDI Labs has a direct relationship with OnPoint COVID-19 Labs or its alias CardMachineOutlet

The Thurston County government website lists OnPoint as a testing location. Magen Johnson, Public Information Specialist with Thurston County, indicated the list is not an endorsement of any test provider by the county. The document is meant to be a resource for community members to be aware of possible testing locations. Johnson indicated that there would be a review of the information about OnPoint COVID-19 Testing.

Consumers have been advised to avoid mobile pop-up clinics. With so many people seeking COVID tests, desperation can take over for people who need testing for travel, work, or to visit family. People should carefully consider where they get a COVID test, and the requirements they put in place to get tested.

Breaking News, Health and Lifestyle, Local

As COVID rages, what’s next for Washington state

[KIRKLAND, Wash.] – (MTN) Washington state has set new records for COVID cases and hospitalizations, straining every aspect of life and leaving many to wonder, what is next?

Malcontent News has been tracking the Omicron wave in South Africa and the United Kingdom and using the data from these nations to build models for Washington. The path the current surge is taking aligns closely with the progression in South Africa.

New Cases

It took 28 days for the first SGTFs to show up in PCR tests in South Africa at a significant number, to the peak in cases. If Washington follows the same path, new cases in the state should peak on Jan. 17. The last update from the Washington State Department of Health (WSDOH) was supportive of an approaching statewide peak. An analysis of new case data indicated that the Olympic Peninsula, Central Puget Sound, the South Sound counties out to the Pacific Coast have already peaked. In Eastern Washington, many areas are still seven to ten days away.

In South Africa and Europe, cases declined rapidly. If Washington follows the same pattern, new daily cases will be 50 percent of peak by Feb. 2, and then drift to a plateau of 30 to 35 percent of the peak. The plateau will hold until Feb. 14, before starting to decline again.

Washington moved to test only symptomatic and close contacts on Jan. 4. Over the weekend Seattle Children’s Hospital reported they were incapable of testing most pediatric cases for COVID at urgent care clinics, reserving the dwindling supply to only the sickest of patients. The University Washington Medicine is struggling to test staff and immediate family, in compliance with the United States Centers for Disease Control CDC) guidelines.

Clark County residents have appealed to the state for additional testing resources and more access to booster shots. Among the eight locations receiving National Guard support by Jan. 24 for additional testing resources, Vancouver, Washington was not among the locations.

The University of Washington Virology lab is struggling to provide test results to Washington, and some Oregon healthcare providers, processing 12,000 to 14,000 a test a day. On Sunday, 31.9 percent were positive, creating some doubt that a peak in cases has arrived.

Hospitalizations

Hospitalizations are a trailing indicator. We predicted on Dec. 26. that Washington hospitals would run out of available resources by Jan 15. Governor Jay Inslee deployed the national guard and suspended all non-emergency surgeries on Jan. 13, to support overwhelmed hospitals.

In South Africa, seven percent of new Omicron cases resulted in hospitalizations. The unvaccinated made up 82 percent of all COVID hospitalizations. That rate was between 22 and 31 percent of the earlier Delta wave. The exact difference is hard to track after South Africa changed its testing criteria on Dec. 24, testing only people who were symptomatic or had close contacts. Adjusting for South Africa’s higher hospitalization rate versus the United States, and accounting for the lower hospitalization rate among Omicron patients, we initially estimated Washington would experience a 1.14 to 1.34 percent hospitalization rate. Currently, it is between 1.8 and 2.4 percent depending on the hospital region.

The single biggest factor that impacts the outcome of a COVID infection is age. In South Africa, only 5.7 percent of the population is over 60, while 34.1% is under 19. Although it is true that only 26% of the population is fully vaccinated, in Gauteng Province, which bore the brunt of the Omicron wave, 44 percent of the population is fully vaccinated.

In Washington, Stevens, Pend Oreille, Skamania, Asotin, Ferry, Whitman, Klickitat, and Columbia Counties have lower vaccination rates. According to the WSDOH on Thursday, 80 percent of all COVID hospitalizations statewide were unvaccinated – which mirrors the data released from South Africa on Sunday.

In South Africa, the surge of new hospitalizations peaked 10 to 14 days after the new cases reached a peak. If Washington follows that path, new hospitalizations will peak at the end of January.

Despite reports that many cases resulted in short hospitalizations, this was among vaccinated individuals. South Africa found that among unvaccinated individuals, the progress of illness was no different than prior strains of COVID.

The number of hospitalized COVID patients peaked in South Africa on Dec. 31 and remained almost unchanged through Jan. 6. Currently hospitalized coronavirus patients in the African nation are still at 83 percent of peak. The decline has been slow.

For Washington hospitals, this will be an insurmountable challenge. Although the governor announced a pause in elective surgeries statewide on Thursday, many hospitals had already voluntarily taken that step to expand resources. MultiCare reported ten days ago they were forced to implement CDC crisis staffing standards, having COVID positive workers who are experiencing mild to moderate symptoms continue to work.

An analysis of available hospital resources indicated that additional emergency staffing and converting PACUs to COVID wards added 60 to 75 acute care and 10 to 15 ICU beds statewide. With over 250 new COVID patient admissions a day, that added capacity was likely wiped out over the weekend.

If Washington follows the same hospitalization trend, by Jan. 26 the worst of the surge will be hitting our facilities. The number of COVID patients will peak on Feb. 4, and hold until Feb. 10. Although a decline will be accelerating by Feb. 20, a load of 83% of the peak would be unsustainable.

On Friday the WSDOH reported there were 2,135 COVID patients in Washington hospitals, an all-time record. Hospitalizations are increasing 50 percent every week. The IHME model projects almost 4,000 hospitalized coronavirus patients on Feb. 4, either in acute care or the ICU. If Washington follows South Africa, the number would reach 5,038 and then sustain at that level for two weeks before dropping to 4,000.

Last Monday patients were being transferred out of King County to Moses Lake, Richland, and Missoula, Montana. King County hospitals, University of Washington Medicine, and Harborview Medical Center are caring for a record number of COVID patients. In Spokane, Providence and MultiCare hospitals can’t take transfers. Doctors reported angry and desperate phone calls from rural hospitals trying to move patients to larger facilities.

MultiCare and Providence hospitals on both sides of the mountains have deployed tents again. In Everett, Providence Hospital was treating patients in the emergency department waiting room and the halls are lined with patients waiting for beds.

Deaths

Looking to South Africa, the number of deaths from Omicron was significantly lower compared to Delta. The age of the population, a 66% vaccination rate for those over 50, a historically lower COVID death rate compared to Europe and North America, and more available resources contributed to the better outcomes. Additionally, it is summer in South Africa.

COVID-related deaths started to increase on Dec. 11. It is unknown if deaths have reached a peak yet, but on Jan. 16, the 7-day moving average was 105 deaths a day. All signs in South Africa indicate the Omicron surge is reaching its finality.

In Washington, the population is older and in poorer health. Vaccination rates are higher, but almost one-third of the entire population is not only unvaccinated but politically indoctrinated into the status being part of their identity. They not only dismiss vaccination but all proven public health measures such as indoor mask wear.

Unlike prior waves in Washington, Omicron overwhelmed the larger and better equipped Puget Sound region facilities first. Idaho is starting to surge with new cases and Oregon is straining under its own tidal wave of cases. COVID patients in Eastern Washington will have fewer options than ever before.

If Washington follows the same as South Africa, COVID-related deaths will start to peak in mid-February.

Services and Infrastructure

It is estimated eight to ten percent of all American workers are sick, caring for a sick family member, or quarantining. The United States was already dealing with a worker shortage in 2021, which has been made worse by Omicron. By early February, up to 25 percent of all Washington workers could be sidelined with COVID.

Some of the impacts have already rippled through the region. Empty store shelves, recently restocked after the mountain passes reopened, will struggle to stay full. Pharmacists are warning people to refill their medications now, unsure of their ability to serve the community and have an adequate supply of pills.

Postal workers are driving routes for 12 to 16 hours to fulfill deliveries, and school districts are looking for parent volunteers or moving to virtual learning. In some cities such as Seattle, students have staged walkouts due to high infection rates. In Lakewood, the Walmart Super Center was forced to close for three days for a deep cleaning after 63 workers became sick with COVID.

The day-to-day impact for everyone will include school and daycare closures, spotty store shelves, delayed deliveries, and businesses forced into short-term closures due to a lack of staff. The economic fallout could last for much longer.

Without a dramatic increase in support, state healthcare workers and Washington residents will face a brutal five to six weeks where only the absolute sickest individuals will be able to get medical services, and basic goods and services will require patience to find.

Breaking News, Health and Lifestyle, Local

Gov Inslee suspends surgeries and deploying national guard to support COVID overwhelmed hospitals

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[OLYMPIA, Wash.] – (MTN) Washington Gov Jay Inslee and Washington State Secretary of Health Dr Umair Shah announced that all Washington hospitals will suspend non-urgent procedures and 100 national guard members are being deployed to support COVID overwhelmed hospitals.

Earlier on Thursday Washington State Hospital Association Executive Vice President Taya Briley, RN said, “This is the worst situation hospitals in Washington state have been in compared to any prior point during the pandemic,” adding, “We are experiencing a crisis across our medical system.”

As part of Gov Inslee’s announcement 100 National Guard troops are being activated to provide additional testing resources at four hospitals. Additionally, they are adding funding for 200 more traveling healthcare workers, expanding the contract to 1,200 specialists. Gov Inslee told reporters that 875 traveling medical workers were already deployed. The Adjutant General of the Washington State National Guard Major General Bret Daugherty added that 17 national guard members were already deployed and the rest would be in place by Jan. 24.

Last week the Washington State Medical Association appealed for National Guard support and aid in discharging hundreds of hospitalized patients that have no placement in long-term care facilities. To provide assistance, the state will be providing funds to add another 200 staff in long-term care facilities, which would help place up to 240 patients out of hospitals. Another 75 people still hospitalized are also awaiting guardianship, and the state will move to streamline that process. No timeline was given on how fast that would happen.

The impact of these changes is questionable. Currently, over 250 people a day are being admitted to Washington hospitals due to COVID. That number is forecasted to double over the next three weeks according to the IHME.

The Delta Wave over the summer never reached a true conclusion. In early December there were still 610 COVID patients in Washington hospitals. Hospital occupancy rates were also high because elective surgeries, cancer treatments, and other critical care had been postponed for almost two years. Additionally, pediatric hospitals were close to full due to RSV, a common childhood viral infection.

The first Omicron case was detected in Washington on Nov. 29. Over the weekend of Dec. 4, several high school wrestling matches turned into super spreader events with cases across the entire I-5 corridor and across the Cascades to Yakima. Unlike previous waves, Western Washington hospitals filled up first. During the previous weekend and on Monday, some patients were transferred by air ambulance out of Puget Sound to Moses Lake, Richland, and Missoula, Montana.

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Private COVID testing provider with 11 locations in Washington accused of fraud

Update January 12, 2022 10:45 AM: King County Public Health has responded to our inquiry.

[SOUTH BARRINGTON, Ill] – (MTN) More than 300 pop-up COVID test sites operated by the Center for COVID Control are under legal scrutiny after thousands of consumer complaints about the test centers being a scam.

This evening, officials in Massachusetts, Oregon, and Texas have opened up criminal investigations. USA Today reported last week that complaints about the company were piling up. People who were tested reported it took days to receive results if they received them at all. Consumers complained they received negative test results in Florida while still waiting in line to be swabbed.

The test sites require people to provide their driver’s license and insurance information. In Florida, WINK Channel 11 in Fort Myers reported their investigators had their driver’s licenses photographed and their insurance cards.

Attempts to call the customer service line resulted in longer wait times, with people unable to contact the company.

The company operates 11 test sites in Washington, including in regions where federal, state, and county resources are hard to find. Locations in Bellevue, Seattle, Lynnwood, and Yakima have had long lines.

Center for COVID Control test locations in Washington

  • 1525 A St NE Suite 107, Auburn
  • 1504 145th Pl SE, Bellevue
  • 2606 Wetmore Ave, Everett
  • 7801 Bridgeport Way W, Lakewood
  • 17425 Hwy 99 Suite F, Lynnwood
  • 1700 SE Mile Hill Dr, Port Orchard
  • 500 Aloha St, Seattle
  • 417 7th Ave S, Seattle
  • 5955 6th Ave, Tacoma
  • 6720 Regents Blvd Suite 112, University Place
  • 1731 S 1st Street Suite 220, Yakima

Washingtonians seeking a legitimate testing site can visit the Washington State Department of Health.

Residents of Portland, Oregon, and Seattle raised concerns about the company as far back as October. A pop-up site emerged on Capitol Hill. Untrained staffers at outside tents told people to swab the nose themselves and handled samples without PPE. There were numerous complaints about improper test procedures, requiring their driver’s license, and never receiving test results. Some filed complaints with the Washington State Attorney General and claimed there wasn’t any follow-up.

The Instagram for the company has a handful of images with multiple complaints of never receiving test results and calling the operation a scam.

The Center for COVID Control is an offshoot of BullsEye Axe Lounge in South Barrington, Illinois. Opened in 2019 by Aleya Siyaj and her spouse Akbar Syed, the lounge and bar is a popular location for drinks and ax throwing. When the COVID wave struck in late 2020, the business was forced to close due to public health measures. In November 2020, a donut shop Siyaj opened in 2017 was forced into default. Three weeks later, Siyaj pivoted to offering COVID tests.

What started as BullsEye Free Drive-Thru Testing became the Center for COVID Control, LLC on Dec. 2, 2020, when the company was incorporated in Illinois. A year later, a second LLC was created in Florida on Oct. 25. After filing in Florida, that number of sites across the nation exploded to over 300. Neither registered agent responded to our inquiries about the company.

Syed’s video posted on YouTube showed an insider view of the operation behind the Center for COVID Control. The video was deleted by Syed after a story on Medium broke about the company but was reposted. The video, filmed at night at a suburban one-story office park, has a Boiler Room vibe. Luxury cars line the parking lot, while the inside offices appear little more than an empty shell. At the end of the video, an employee brags about making $1.45 million a year in salary to Syed.

On Reddit, former employees allege that the Center for COVID Control is collecting driver license information so they can send repeated reimbursement requests to the federal government for tests that never happened.

For communities such as Yakima and Lakewood, the loss of public trust in the testing centers is devastating. In Yakima, people have waited for hours and sometimes turned away when they run out of tests.

On Wednesday morning, King County Public Health told Malcontent News they are looking into the reports about the company.

Breaking News, Health and Lifestyle, Local

Washington hospitals are on the brink as COVID cases spiral upward

Editor’s Note: An early version of this story reported that the first Omicron case detected in the United States has been changed from Dec. 15 to Nov. 15.

[OLYMPIA, Wash.] – (MTN) The Washington State Department of Health (WSDOH) reported the 7 day moving average for new COVID cases had jumped to 1,047.9 over the weekend, obliterating previous records. There were 1,773 people hospitalized with COVID across Washington on Sunday, just shy of the previous record set on Sep. 6, 2021.

With an estimated 242 new COVID-related hospitalizations a day, hospitals in the Evergreen State are on the brink of running out of beds and staff. The I-5 corridor from the Canada border to the Columbia River has the highest case rates in Washington, sparked by several super spreader events in Thurston and Pierce Counties on Dec. 4.

COVID cases have exploded in Eastern Washington, including Spokane, Yakima, and Moses Lake. New cases are forecasted to peak in King County by the end of this week but are expected to continue to surge in Eastern Washington.

The updated IHME forecast model is catastrophic for Washington, projecting 3,189 acute care and 804 ICU patients hospitalized with COVID by Feb. 4. Malcontent News estimates there are 375 staffed acute care and 95 ICU beds available in Washington state, with a coming surge of 2,000 more patients in less than a month.

The Washington State Hospital Association made dire predictions last week. Dr. Francis Riedo, medical director for infection control and prevention at EvergreenHealth in Kirkland, told reporters that the state has “never been closer” to moving to crisis standards of care.

In the same briefing, Dr. John Lynch, medical director of Harborview Medical Center’s infection control program, said that UW Medicine and Harborview Medical Center had more COVID patients under care than at any previous point in the epidemic.

The situation is already dire for Puget Sound hospitals, will more than 97 percent of acute care beds occupied. King County Public Health reported 255 new COVID hospitalizations from Friday to Sunday – a rate of a new hospitalization once every 28 minutes. Hospitalizations in King County have surged 110 percent in a week as new cases skyrocket.

Earlier projections based on case data from South Africa and the United Kingdom estimated that King County hospitalization rates would be by 20% to 30% from the previous Delta wave. Projections reduced the percentage of COVID cases that resulted in hospitalization from 4.7% to 1.14%. Based on data from the first week of January, the rate is almost double – 2.13% – driving hospitalizations to a higher level than previously forecasted.

EvergreenHealth in Kirkland reported 44 hospitalized COVID patients, including one pediatric patient and another four in Monroe. A majority, 70 percent, were hospitalized due to COVID. The remainder is hospitalized for other reasons and co-infected with coronavirus. Five patients are fully vaccinated with boosters, including one in intensive care.

On Monday night, Seattle Children’s Hospital advised parents that its four walk-in urgent care clinics would not accept patients without an appointment due to the unprecedented patient load.

The Washington State Medical Association appealed to Gov. Jay Inslee to declare a crisis and deploy the national guard to support area hospitals. Previous options, including stopping elective surgeries, limiting day procedures, and “boarding” patients in emergency departments, are already being done.

“The time has come to admit that stopping electives and non-urgent care is not enough. We must declare the crisis that our health system is in,” the Jan. 6 letter stated. Cassie Sauer, the Washington State Hospital Association CEO, also signed the letter.

Unlike Idaho, Montana, and Alaska, which had to use crisis standards of care last fall, Washington state will not allow a single facility to move to the emergency protocols. The declaration would come from the state and only occur after all possible options to extend services were exhausted. Under crisis standards of care, patients could be denied care based on need, survival chances, and available resources. Washington developed computer software with Massachusetts and Wisconsin to determine who would receive care. Last week, Oregon announced it was adopting the same computer program.

The physical, mental, and emotional toll of two years of a COVID crisis has decimated the ranks of hospital workers across the country. Omicron is highly contagious and has significant vaccine escape, resulting in hospital workers being sickened. As hospitalizations have surged in the first ten days of January, the number of staffed beds available has slowly declined.

On Thursday, leadership at MultiCare, which runs 11 hospitals across Washington state, reported they had moved to crisis staffing standards in Western Washington. The standard, announced by the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Dec. 23, can require workers who are sick with COVID to continue to work if necessary to continue to provide patient care.

The Omicron variant arrived in the United States on Nov. 15 and has shattered all previous records for new cases, daily new hospital admissions, and total hospitalizations. One model projects that nation will face another 300,000 hospitalized with COVID by the middle of February, an impossible task for all existing hospital resources.

On Dec. 26, Malcotent News forecasted Washington state hospitals would reach crisis standards of care by Jan. 15, without significant national guard support or FEMA intervention.

Health and Lifestyle, Local, National

There is no such thing as Flurona or Deltacron

[KIRKLAND, Wash.] – (MTN) A review of the genetic information shared on GISAID by researchers in Cyprus, who claimed to have discovered a new COVID strain created by the antigenic shift between the Delta and Omicron variants, appears to be inaccurate.

Multiple virologists and scientists have reviewed the shared data and universally agree that the “variant” is not an antigenic shift, by a chimera likely caused by testing patients who were co-infected with Delta and Omicron. The story was broken by Bloomberg on Saturday and picked up by multiple news outlets including CNBC and Forbes.

Dr. Tom Peacock, a virologist with the Imperial College of London, explained in a Twitter thread that recombinations of tests samples are common and that this wasn’t caused by poor quality control in the lab or bad science.

Dr Leontios Kostrikis, the head of the University of Cyprus’ biotechnology and molecular virology lab, announced to reporters on Saturday his findings and shared them in the GISAID database. By Sunday both Bloomberg, who broke the story, and Dr Kostrikis were on the defensive insisting this was an antigenic shift.

In an e-mail, Dr Kostrikis wrote to Bloomberg that his findings “indicate an evolutionary pressure to an ancestral strain to acquire these mutations and not a result of a single recombination event.”

A study published on Oct. 14 called Genome Recombination between Delta and Alpha Variants of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), explored recombination versus antigenic shift, and the need for due diligence before declaring a new variant has been identified. The study examined seven reports of the Alpha and Delta strain recombinations and found that when the lineages were traced, the combination of the two into a new and unique virus, antigenic shift, did not occur.

The study concluded, “we must intensively monitor and carefully inspect such marked genetic variations to ensure their proper characterization.”

The hype around “deltacron,” mirrors a similar scare around “flurona.” Headlines announced the findings of people co-infected with Influenza and COVID, which people misinterpreted as a new virus. Although Influenza and COVID are both viruses, the similarity ends there. Creating a new virus through an antigenic shift between the two would be like trying to breed a cougar with an elephant.

A meta-analysis published on Jun. 25, 2021, found almost one percent of confirmed COVID cases were among people co-infected with Influenza from December 2019 to September 2020.

Doctors and immunologists have explained that co-infection between multiple variants is possible, as is co-infection with Influenza or RSV. It is also possible for a coinfected person to spawn a new COVID variant if they were coinfected with two different strains at the same time. It appears in Cyprus, this isn’t the case.

Dr. Todd Wolynn, CEO of Kids Plus Pediatrics in Pittsburgh and an expert on medical misinformation and disinformation, explained why the headlines move faster than the science. “Before social media there use to be a saying, if it bleeds, it leads,” he said.

“Now with social media, if it scares it’s shared.”

On Friday the New York Times reported there were more than 900,000 confirmed COVID cases reported in the United States, representing a single-day record that would not include weekend or holiday data. Despite continued reports of the Omicron variant being mild, the United States also reached an alarming milestone, setting a new hospitalization record – 138,051 with 17,000 new hospitalizations because or with COVID a day.

Officials believe new COVID cases will peak in King County during the next seven to ten days. The IHME forecasts new coronavirus cases will peak at 38,000 on Feb. 4 in Washington. On Saturday the Washington State Department of Health reported 10,000 residents have died of COVID since Feb. 29, 2020.

Health and Lifestyle, Local

After a faculty revolt over the weekend, Seattle University moves to virtual learning due to COVID

[SEATTLE, Wash.] – (MTN) Seattle University reversed course on Tuesday, moving classes to virtual through January after outraged faculty started to organize for a no-confidence vote over the weekend.

In an update to students and faculty on Dec. 17, Seattle University intended to return to in-person instruction at the start of the new semester. Less than a week later, leadership changed direction, moving classes to a virtual setting for the first week of January.

Over the weekend, faculty started to stage a revolt and were moving to do a no-confidence vote against the leadership of the Seattle U. On Tuesday afternoon, the university demured and announced classes would be virtual through January.

“Current projections suggest that the Omicron-driven wave will continue to grow rapidly before cresting over the next few weeks. While early research continues to indicate that the variant is less severe and results in milder illness compared to earlier variants, especially among vaccinated people, there is still a great deal of uncertainty. Public health officials are urging all of us to do what we can to help minimize its spread, mitigate burdens on the health care sector and protect our communities and those at higher risk. Extending our period of online instruction through the end of the month will give us time to gather additional information as it becomes available. As we have done throughout the pandemic, we will respond to that information with the safety of our community members and the quality of our students’ educational experience as our paramount considerations.“

There has not been a peer-reviewed study that shows that Omicron is less severe than Delta published to date. Anecdotal data shows that hospitalizations are lower, and the vaccinated have less severe symptoms. A number of contributing factors including demographics, behaviors, vaccinations, therapies, and disease acquired immunity have made determining the severity of the Omicron variant in an ethical way challenging.

The IHME forecast predicts hospitalizations won’t peak for another month in Washington. There has been debate over being hospitalized with COVID versus because of COVID. For hospital resources and staff, the point is moot. Whether infected with or because, patients still need to be placed in isolation wards, require staff to follow safety guidelines to prevent infection, and consume PPE. These factors increase the amount of time, staff, and equipment that is used to care for the hospitalized.

The United States set a global record for confirmed COVID cases on Monday, reporting more than one million positive tests. Hospitalizations broke the previous record set during the Delta wave during the summer on Tuesday afternoon, soaring above 103,000.

Health and Lifestyle, Local, National

Record number of new COVID cases in Washington as hospitalizations climb

[OLYMPIA, Wash.] – (MTN) The Washington State Department of Health reported that the rate of new COVID cases exploded to 541.9 per 100,000 residents on Monday. The same report showed that coronavirus-related hospitalizations increased 49 percent in a week, from 736 on Dec. 26 to 1,099 on Jan. 2.

Several factors impacted today’s report, which may not show the true impact of COVID in Washington. Most tests sites were closed on New Year’s Day across the state, and numerous Western Washington test locations were closed on Dec. 30, 31, and Jan. 2 due to weather, power issues at one location, and insufficient staff. The hospitalization data appeared incomplete to the Malcontent News research team and will likely be updated tomorrow with more data.

A staggering 26 counties have extreme transmission, with another eight experiencing high transmission. Pierce County has the highest case rate in Washington, 771.0 per 100,000 people.

In King County, 25 people on average are hospitalized a day with COVID, breaking the previous record set during the Delta wave in September. Through Dec. 30, hospitalizations are up 81 percent, and the new case rate of 685.1 has never been higher.

The IHME forecasts hospitalizations will peak in early February, and COVID-related deaths will peak in March.

It wasn’t all bad news in the report. The number of Washingtonians who have received booster shots increased significantly from last week. There is strong evidence from multiple studies and hospitalization data from Israel, Europe, and the United Kingdom, that a third booster dose provides robust protection from severe COVID.

In welcome news to many parents, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized booster shots for 12 to 15-year-olds today and shortened the waiting period for the age group from six months after the second dose to five.

On Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci indicated that the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) was reconsidering new isolation and quarantine guidelines based on feedback. The CDC has faced withering criticism from healthcare providers and frontline workers for cutting quarantine time in half and relying on the honor system for those who are infected by asymptomatic.

Although Omicron has become the dominant strain in the United States, data out of Connecticut and Washington indicates it won’t squeeze Delta out. Complicating treatment and mitigation, ten percent of COVID cases continue to be Delta or so-called Delta Plus.

According to the New York Times, the United States recorded 1,003,043 new COVID cases on Monday, shattering all previous records. The 7 day moving average is approaching 500,000 new cases a day, which Malcontent News believes is a red line for United States hospitals.

There are now 102,479 people hospitalized with COVID, an increase of 41% from a week ago. Daily new hospital admissions now exceed all previous waves, except the first one, which peaked on Jan. 9, 2021. The United States will set a new all-time hospitalization record if the rate of increase remains unchanged during the coming week.

Testing resources in the United States are stretched to the breaking point, with laboratories processing a near-record number of tests daily. Monday night, the Georgia Department of Health tweeted they could not provide an updated COVID report because there is so much data.

University of Washington Medicine (UWM) officially takes over testing sites from King County on Tuesday. UWM announced that they would no longer provide prophylaxis COVID testing for work and travel, reserving resources only for people who are symptomatic or had close contact with someone infected with the coronavirus.

Speculation on how severe the Omicron variant is compared to Delta continues to run rampant. Disease acquired immunity, vaccinations, boosters, and demographic differences between nations have made reaching a concrete conclusion difficult. There is growing evidence that for the vaccinated, especially with boosters, the Omicron variant is mild to moderate for most.

For the unvaccinated, the data is less conclusive. In South Africa, hundreds have died in the last two weeks. While hospitalizations appear to have peaked, the number has remained almost unchanged for a week while the number of ICU patients and those requiring ventilators has grown. A study published by the United Kingdom Health Security Agency tracked 815 hospitalized Omicron patients with a median age of 45.5. The report found that 57 people had died in the group – seven percent. The ages of those who died ranged from 41 to 99.

Health and Lifestyle, Local

Experts come together to discuss COVID and the Omicron variant

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[KIRKLAND, Wash.] – (MTN) Malcontent News is hosting a panel discussion, COVID Variant Omicron, Fact, Fiction, and Fantasy on Sunday, January 2, 2022, at 5:00 PM. The panel includes scientists, doctors, disinformation and mental health experts, and two COVID survivors. Free tickets are available through Eventbrite, and the virtual event will have a question and answer section at the end.

The panelists are from across North America and are experts and advocates in their chosen topics.

  • Melanie Matheu, Ph.D. in Immunology
  • T.J. Hardy, MPH, MCHES, CCEMT-P, Field Epidemiologist, State of Colorado – Region 7
  • Dr. Zachary Rubin, MD Pediatrics – Allergy and Clinical Immunologist
  • Dr. Todd Wolynn, MD, MMM – CEO Kids Plus Pediatrics
  • Ethan Seracka, LMFT, Vice President NAMI Eastside
  • Lindsay Alexander, Retired CIA, security consultant and expert on disinformation
  • Beth Pardo, COVID survivor, long hauler, and advocate
  • Natalie Keller, COVID survivor who spent weeks on a ventilator while pregnant

On Nov. 8, a scientist in Botswana doing genomic sequencing of COVID samples noticed three high mutated cases in a group of diplomats who had recently returned from South Africa. Three days later, Doctor Sikhulile Moyo shared his discovery on GISAID. In South Africa, Lancet Labs started seeing the same mutations. Less than two weeks later, cases of the unusual variant were growing exponentially. On Nov. 24, working with Dr. Alex Sigal and other scientific researchers, the South Africa Department of Health submitted its findings to the World Health Organization and two days later, the WHO designated the new COVID variant, Omicron.

In less than two months, Omicron has swept across the world, creating 400,000 new cases a day in the United States and stretching test resources to the breaking point. 90,000 people are hospitalized with COVID, the same level as the week of Feb. 7 and Aug. 17. Currently, ten-thousand people a day are being admitted with or due to COVID. The rate of new hospitalizations was only higher during the first wave in early 2021, before vaccines.

Health and Lifestyle, Local, National

The arrival of 2022 brings an Omicron tidal wave and the wrong message about the severity

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◼ Covid hospitalizations have surged 32% in Washington since December 20
◼ University of Washington Medicine suspends elective surgeries through January 14
◼ 25% to 30% of statewide COVID tests are positive
◼ Washington reported a record number of new COVID cases yesterday
◼ A UK report tracking the progress of hospitalized Omicron patients found 7 percent died within 28 days of admission, similar to hospitalized patients in South Africa
◼ Seattle Public Schools delays class restart on Monday to mass test students and teachers

[KIRKLAND, Wash.] – (MTN) Confusion is growing among Washingtonians who will return to work and school on Monday as pundits, health experts, and government leaders send mixed messages about the COVID variant Omicron.

The Washington State Department of Health (WSDoH) reported a new record for confirmed COVID cases on Christmas Even – 6,140. A literal and metaphorical perfect storm of the Christmas holiday, severe weather closing many Western Washington test locations for days, and laboratories becoming overwhelmed, have created an incomplete picture of new case growth.

The University of Washington announced beginning on Jan. 4, they will only test people who are symptomatic or have had close contact with a previously confirmed COVID case. Testing for work or travel requirements will no longer be supported.

The challenge facing testing labs is how samples are processed. During previous COVID waves, samples were tested as a pool, which increases efficiency. Technicians take four or five partial samples from individual test swabs and combine them together. The combined samples are PCR tested and if the result was negative, the individual samples tested together are marked negative. If the pool came back positive, each sample within the pool would be tested to identify the positive results. According to the UW Virology Lab, test samples this past week have been 25% to 30% positive, making pool testing ineffective.

Every Region in Washington State Has High or Extreme New Case Transmission

RegionCountiesPopulation12+ Fully Vaccinated16+ with BoostersCOVID Cases 7 Day MA
EastAdams, Asotin, Ferry, Garfield, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Wahkiakum, Whitman705,47549.9%34.5%130.4
NorthIsland, San Juan, Skagit, Whatcom474,35062.5%40.8%201.1
North CentralChelan, Douglas, Grant, Okanogan272,12556.3%38.0%140.9
NorthwestClallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, Mason451,80059.8%43.2%214.7
Puget SoundKing, Pierce, Snohomish4,054,80067.2%39.9%403.7
South CentralColumbia, Franklin, Kittitas, Walla Walla, Yakima694,05051.9%33.9%153.6
SouthwestClark, Cowlitz, Klickitat, Skamania660,20056.6%36.5%214.8
WestGrays Harbor, Lewis, Pacific, Thurston474,07557.1%38.9%296.3
Data provided by the Washington State Department of Health on December 30, 2021 – vaccination rate data is through December 28, 2021, and booster data is through December 29, 2021

In South King County one test site in Auburn reported 49% of tests were positive for COVID. The total number of tests being run decreased significantly this past week due to weather and staff-related closures of test sites in Western Washington.

While headlines and soundbites describe Omicron as mild, an important detail is being left out – only if you’re vaccinated, boosted, and otherwise healthy. As the United States entered the last day of 2021, more than 90,000 Americans were hospitalized for COVID and more than 10,000 are being hospitalized each day.

Headlines around the world this afternoon announced, Omicron hospitalization risk lower than delta, vaccines provide good protection, U.K. study says. The U.K. Health Agency SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and variants under investigation in England Technical briefing: Update on hospitalisation and vaccine effectiveness for Omicron VOC-21NOV-01 (B.1.1.529) was published in full on Dec. 31.

“The previous finding of reduced overall risk of hospitalisation for Omicron compared to Delta is confirmed by the updated Study 1. In addition, both studies find a substantial reduction in risk of hospitalisation for Omicron cases after 3 doses of vaccine compared to those who are unvaccinated, with overlapping estimate ranges. Both studies have been run on relatively small numbers of hospitalised cases and will require iteration. Despite the estimated reduction in hospitalisation risk and preserved vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation, the very high number of Omicron cases means that there may still be large numbers of admissions to hospital.”

In August 2021, King County Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin mentioned the N95 Project as a trusted source for N95 masks. A check on the website showed that a 50 count box of N95 masks are available for $40.00, and a package of 10 count children sized KN95 masks are available for $10.50. We recommend wearing N95 or KN95 masks indoors as they provide the best protection against COVID when properly fitted.

NO PROMOTIONAL CONSIDERATION HAS BEEN GIVEN OR REQUESTED FROM PROJECT N95 OR ANY MANUFACTURER OF MASKS

CNBC reported this morning, “The latest data from the U.K. Health Security Agency found the risk of hospitalization for people infected with omicron is about a third of that posed by the delta variant.”

This appears to be good news but ignores multiple factors. First and foremost, this is more than double the relative risk that South Africa has reported. This is likely due to South Africa having a much younger and relatively more healthy population than Europe and North America.

Considering the potential impact on the United States, the United Kingdom has a much higher vaccination and booster shot rate. According to the U.K. Department of Health, 82% of all residents 12 and older were fully vaccinated through Dec. 22. Additionally, more than two-thirds of UK residents 12 and older who are eligible for a booster shot, have received one. Booster doses were recently introduced in the United States for adolescents 16 to 17 years old and are expected to expand to children 12 to 15 years old as early as next week.

Further analysis of United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) data indicated only the New England states have a similar percentage of vaccinated residents. Among all US states, only Vermont and Maine had similar vaccination and booster rates to the UK. Hospitalization data in the first four hot spots of Hawaii, New York, Florida, and Washington do indicate that vaccines are helping to keep more people out of the hospital, but are not encouraging.

Vaccination Rates of United Kingdom Countries vs Most Vaccinated US States

UK Country12+ Fully Vaccinated12+ with BoosterMost Vaccinated US States12+ Fully Vaccinated18+ with Booster
Scotland84%58%Rhode Island85%46%
Wales83%55%Vermont84%54%
England82%55%Connecticut84%41%
Northern Ireland81%48%Maine84%48%
Washington78%41%
Texas67%31%
California77%36%
Florida74%31%
United Kingdom vaccination rate data from the BBC, December 23, 2021, using National Health Service data from December 19 to December 22, compared to the United States from the CDC, December 31, 2021 – Texas and California added to provide a benchmark among the states with the largest populations

In Washington, the most vaccinated counties are six to ten percent below the United Kingdom. San Juan County is the closest, with 77% full vaccinated and 58% boosted. The least vaccinated counties are 50 to 55 percent below the UK.

Vaccination Rates in Five Largest Washington Counties

CountyPopulationPopulation VaccinatedVaccinated with Boosters
King2,293,30074%43%
Pierce917,10055%34%
Snohomish844,40064%36%
Spokane527,60053%34%
Clark512,80057%36%
Data from the Washington State Department of Health, December 30, 2021

New York City is about a week ahead of Seattle in the progression of Omicron, and from Dec. 22 to Dec. 30, hospitalizations for COVID more than doubled, while the number of COVID patients in the ICU almost doubled. With hospitals in Washington state already full and reports of Idaho Panhandle hospitals once again being overwhelmed with coronavirus cases, hospitalists are growing concerned that medical facilities will be overrun.

Miami-Dade County in Florida is seven to ten days behind Seattle. According to the New York Times, Florida has the fourth fastest-growing hospitalization rate in the country outpacing New York and Washington. Officials in Hawaii have requested 700 medical personnel from FEMA as hospitalizations surge. So many people are sickened from Omicron that inter-island air travel and ambulance services on O’hau are starting to be impacted. Officials in Maui announced that a booster shot is now required to be considered fully vaccinated.

The Dec. 31 report from the UK Health Agency also showed alarming data for clinical outcomes for people once they are hospitalized. The study reviewed 815 individuals with laboratory-confirmed Omicron cases where were admitted to the hospital within the last 28 days. The median age was 45.5 years old and 57 died from COVID-related illness – a seven-percent mortality rate among hospitalized patients. The age of those who died was between 41 and 99, and the median time was just five days after collecting their test sample for genomic sequencing.

South Africa has observed similar outcomes among the hospitalized. The NICD has reported 848 COVID-related deaths in the last 14 days, including 81 Friday. In Gauteng Province, The number of hospitalized COVID patients is up almost 300% from a month ago – 85 percent are unvaccinated. As Omicron is progressing among the hospitalized the ratio of patients on oxygen, in the ICU, and on ventilators is higher or equal to November, when the wards were full of Delta patients.

On Dec. 20, the WSDoH reported there were 610 hospitalized COVID patients in Washington – the lowest number since August. On Dec. 28, the number had leaped to 897. Harborview Medical Center in Seatle went from three COVID patients to 27 in the same time period.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has contributed to the confusion while outraging the medical community. Leaders announced on Dec. 27 new guidelines which shorten quarantine and isolation time in half for asymptomatic and mild cases of COVID. As part of the announcement, the CDC said they were following available data. When pressed to present studies or supporting evidence during a Dec. 29 media briefing, a CDC spokesperson indicated data was not available. The foundation of the new recommendations is dependent on the honor system, and that people will follow the guidelines, including wearing a properly fitted N95, KN95, KN94 mask for an additional five days.

If You Test Positive for COVID – Isolate

Everyone, regardless of vaccination statusStay home for 5 days.
If you have no symptoms or your symptoms are resolving after 5 days, you can leave your house.

Continue to wear a mask around others for 5 additional days.

If you have a fever, continue to stay home until your fever resolves.

If You Were Exposed to Someone with COVID – Quarantine

If you:
Have been boosted

OR
Completed the primary series of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine within the last 6 months

OR
Completed the primary series of the Jassen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine within the last 2 months		Wear a mask around others for 10 days.

Test on day 5, if possible.

If you develop symptoms get a test and stay home.

But, If You Were Exposed to Someone with COVID – Quarantine

If you:
Completed the primary series of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine over 6 months ago and are not boosted

OR
Completed the primary series of Jassen/Johnson & Johnson over 2 months ago and are not boosted

OR
Are unvaccinated		Stay home for 5 days. After that continue to wear a mask around others for 5 additional days.

If you can’t quarantine you must wear a mask for 10 days.

Test on day 5 if possible.

If you develop symptoms get a test and stay home

Among nations dealing with surges of Omicron cases, only South Africa has adopted similar isolation and quarantine requirements. In politically charged low vaccination rate counties across the United States, it is highly unlikely these guidelines will be followed.

Seattle Public Schools announced they were suspending all classes on Monday so that staff, faculty, and students can get COVID testing. The district was able to secure 60,000 tests and designated several schools at mass testing sites. Social media was full of questions from parents in other large school districts such as Lake Washington and Bellevue, wondering why a similar pause wasn’t being initiated. The Northshore School District has been pool testing the student body for months. A program that has been very effective at keeping the number of cases within the district down.

The continued messaging of Omicron being mild is frustrating hospital leaders. “There are very, very few people who get the common cold who end up in the hospital,” explained Hilton Raethel, Healthcare Association of Hawaii’s President and CEO in an interview with KHON. “And our hospital counts are going up every single day and, again, the common cold generally does not land you in the hospital — COVID can and COVID will.”