The U.S. is experiencing yet another COVID-19 surge driven by the most transmissible variant known to date, but warnings about the new wave are “muted” and the data is not entirely clear.
While most people who have been ill with COVID-19 make a full recovery, millions suffer from long COVID. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released in May found that about 1 in 5 adults between 18 and 64 had a health problem likely caused by a previous COVID-19 infection.
We’re updating this page with the latest news about COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the Seattle area, Washington state 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.
9:54 am
Scars of COVID persist for sickest survivors, their families
Freddy Fernandez almost wasn’t here, on his couch in his Missouri home, his baby on his lap, gnawing on the pulse oximeter that he uses to check his oxygen levels after a months-long bout with COVID-19.
Freddy, who was unvaccinated, spent five months hospitalized a four-hour drive away from the couple’s home in the southwest Missouri town of Carthage on the most intense life support available. The 41-year-old father of six nearly died repeatedly and now he — like so many who survived COVID-19 hospitalizations — has returned home changed.
While more than 1 million died from COVID in the U.S., many more survived ICU stays that have left them with anxiety, PTSD and a host of health issues. Research has shown that intensive therapy starting in the ICU can help, but it was often hard to provide as hospitals teemed with patients.
“There is a human cost that the patient pays for ICU survivorship,” says Dr. Vinaya Sermadevi, who helped care for Freddy throughout his stay at Mercy Hospital St. Louis. “It is almost like going to war and having the aftermath.”
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—Heather Hollingsworth, The Associated Press
8:28 am
Cyprus president tests positive for COVID-19, mild symptoms
The president of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, has tested positive for the coronavirus, a government official said Tuesday.
In line with existing protocols, the president cleared his schedule, including commemorations of the 48th anniversary of Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus, an event that cleaved the east Mediterranean island nation along ethnic lines.
According to Health Ministry figures, Cyprus had a 12.6% coronavirus infection rate between July 8 and July 14. The country reported 7 COVID-19-related deaths during the same period for an overall death toll of 1,086 since the start of the pandemic.
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—The Associated Press
7:06 am
WHO: COVID triples across Europe, hospitalizations double
The World Health Organization said Tuesday that coronavirus cases have tripled across Europe in the past six weeks, accounting for nearly half of all infections globally. Hospitalization rates have also doubled, although intensive care admissions have remained low.
In a statement on Tuesday, WHO’s Europe director, Dr. Hans Kluge, described COVID-19 as “a nasty and potentially deadly illness” that people should not underestimate. He said super-infectious relatives of the omicron variant were driving new waves of disease across the continent and that repeat infections could potentially lead to long COVID.
WHO said the 53 countries in its European region, which stretches to central Asia, reported nearly 3 million new coronavirus infections last week and that the virus was killing about 3,000 people every week. Globally, COVID-19 cases have increased for the past five weeks, even as countries have scaled back on testing.
Read the story here.
—The Associated Press
Seattle Times staff & news services
