INDIANAPOLIS — Here are Sunday's latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic, including the latest news on COVID-19 vaccinations and testing in Indiana.
Registrations for the vaccine are now open for Hoosiers 5 and older through the Indiana State Department of Health. This story will be updated over the course of the day with more news on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beijing seals off more residential areas, reports 12 cases
Beijing officials have sealed off several residential communities in the city’s northern district after two cases of COVID-19 were found. Residents in Chaoyang district were sealed off on Saturday, and will not be allowed to leave their compound.
Beijing is on high alert as it prepares to host the Olympic Games opening on Friday. The city is also setting up 19 points in the area to test residents every day until Friday.
A disease response official said at a briefing that a total of 12 cases were reported in the capital in the last 24 hours but they include people who were already under some kind of pandemic control measures. The city conducted multiple rounds of testing for millions of residents this past week.
Latest US, world numbers
There have been more than 74.23 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States as of 6:30 a.m. Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been more than 883,930 deaths recorded in the U.S.
Worldwide, there have been more than 372.84 million confirmed coronavirus cases with more than 5.65 million deaths and more than 9.95 billion vaccine doses administered.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness like pneumonia, or death.
Marion County Public Health Department shares vaccination, testing sites
The Marion County Public Health Department announced a list of its current COVID-19 vaccination and testing locations as it continues to offer the services for free to anyone interested.
MCPHD is operating one COVID-19 testing site — a drive-thru clinic at 3838 N. Rural St., just north of 38th Street on Indianapolis' northeast side. Current hours for that site are Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. The clinic offers only PCR testing.
Anyone seeking a test at the location is encouraged to register and make an appointment online at MaronHealth.org/indycovid. Appointments are not required but will cut down the wait time significantly, the department said.
MCPHD is offering the COVID-19 vaccine at its district health offices, ACTION Health Center and three other locations in Marion County.
Below is the list of MCPHD's vaccine clinic locations and times through February:
- MCPHD Northeast District Health Office, 6042 E. 21st St.: Mondays noon-4 p.m., Tuesdays 3-7 p.m., and Feb. 12 8 a.m.-noon.
- MCPHD Eagledale Plaza Health Office, 2802 Lafayette Road, Suite 13: Tuesdays 8 a.m.-noon.
- MCPHD Northwest District Health Office, 6940 N. Michigan Road: Thursdays 3-7 p.m., Feb. 5 and Feb. 26 8 a.m.-noon.
- MCPHD South District Health Office, 7551 S. Shelby St.: Mondays 3-7 p.m., Fridays 8 a.m-noon, Jan. 29 and Feb. 19 8 a.m.-Noon
- MCPHD ACTION Health Center, 2868 N. Pennsylvania St.: Wednesdays 3-5 p.m., Feb. 12 9 a.m.-noon
- Indianapolis Public Library Martindale-Brightwood Branch, 2436 N. Sherman Drive (ages 12+ only): Tuesdays-Fridays 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
- Indianapolis Public Library College Avenue Branch, 4180 N. College Ave. (ages 12+ only): Tuesdays-Fridays 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
- IndyGo Carson Transit Center, 201 E. Washington St. (ages 12+ only): Tuesdays-Thursdays 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Omicron drives US deaths higher than in fall's delta wave
The highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus is driving the daily American death toll higher than during last fall’s delta wave. Deaths are likely to keep rising for days or even weeks.
The seven-day rolling average for daily new COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. has been climbing since mid-November. It reached 2,267 on Thursday. That surpasses a September peak of 2,100 when delta was the dominant variant. Now omicron is estimated to account for nearly all the virus circulating in the nation.
Andrew Noymer is a public health professor at the University of California, Irvine. He says omicron will push the U.S. over a million deaths.