New England Patriots fly health care workers to the Super Bowl | Covid-19

PROVIDENCE — Dozens of vaccinated well being care employees scored a free journey to the Tremendous Bowl on Sunday, courtesy of the New England Patriots and the Kraft household.

The 76 employees come from all six New England states and work quite a lot of healthcare jobs which have put them on the entrance strains of the battle in opposition to the coronavirus pandemic. They flew to Tampa on the Patriots’ staff aircraft Sunday to observe the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

All bills of the journey, together with two nights of resort lodging, had been lined by the Patriots and staff proprietor Robert Kraft and his household, who stated they needed to point out their appreciation for the resilience and sacrifice proven by well being care employees throughout the pandemic.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker praised the healthcare employees Sunday at Logan Airport earlier than they lifted off.

“Truthfully when you concentrate on a few of these nice Patriot slogans — ‘do your job,’ ‘no days off’ — there’s most likely no group over the course of this pandemic who has demonstrated that extra day after day after day than our well being care employees,” Baker stated.

Right here’s a have a look at different coronavirus developments all through New England:

Rhode Island

Wintry climate prompted Rhode Island to shutter all of its state-run COVID-19 testing services Sunday.

Check websites are anticipated to reopen on Monday. State officers say individuals who had scheduled a check on Sunday received’t must make new appointments however ought to simply present up at their scheduled testing website when it reopens.

Rhode Island’s seven-day common of latest instances continues to fall, from 748 on Jan. 23 to 393 on Saturday. No new information was introduced on Sunday.

Connecticut

Well being officers’ warning to Connecticut residents to keep away from gathering in teams exterior their very own family for Sunday evening’s Tremendous Bowl included the information that 4 extra instances of a extremely infectious variant of the coronavirus have been detected within the state.

Connecticut now has 20 confirmed instances of B117, a mutation that was first reported in the UK and is taken into account extra simply transmittable.

“Connecticut’s numbers are getting into the best path,” Division of Public Well being Commissioner Deidre Gifford stated in an announcement. “We don’t need the spike in instances that we noticed after the vacations, so please benefit from the sport along with your family members solely. Vaccines are being administered at a gradual tempo so if we will all decrease unfold only a bit longer, we’ll be in a a lot safer, more healthy place within the close to future.”

The B117 variant has been discovered in additional than 30 states. Officers in Germany stated final week that it now accounts for six% of instances there.

Two different variants, originating in South Africa and Brazil, haven’t been reported in Connecticut, the New Haven Register reported.

New Hampshire

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen reintroduced a invoice to offer rural communities with emergency help to repair water techniques after the pandemic created massive finances shortfalls.

Greater than 80% of small water techniques in New Hampshire reported decreased income because the pandemic, in keeping with the Rural Neighborhood Help Partnership. That’s hampering their capability to take care of and restore water system gear and infrastructure.

The Emergency Help for Rural Water Techniques Act would supply $1 billion in emergency grants, low- and zero-interest loans and mortgage forgiveness for struggling small and rural water and wastewater techniques throughout the nation.

“With native governments struggling beneath the financial weight of COVID, we’ve seen large budgetary shortfalls that threaten their capability to take care of essential infrastructure like water techniques,” Shaheen stated in an announcement Friday.

Shaheen, a Democrat, reintroduced the invoice with U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina. Related laws is pending within the U.S. Home.

New Hampshire’s seven-day common for brand spanking new instances has decreased over the previous two weeks from 804 on Jan. 23 to about 386 on Saturday. Eight extra deaths had been introduced on Saturday, bringing the state’s whole to 1,098.

Vermont

Vermont is continuous to search for any potential variants of the coronavirus by way of genetic sequencing of specimens taken from numerous components of the state, stated Well being Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine.

He stated Friday that the state is anticipating its first consequence early this coming week.

The variant first recognized in the UK has now been detected in 33 states and is anticipated to point out up in Vermont, he stated.

“It’s regular for viruses to mutate however a number of the variants lately discovered could require us to strengthen our prevention measures,” Levine stated.

Vermont reported almost 130 new confirmed instances of COVID-19 on Saturday, for a statewide whole because the pandemic started of 12,900 instances. A single extra demise was reporting, bringing the state’s whole to 183.

Vermont’s seven-day common of latest instances has dropped barely previously two weeks, from about 142 on Jan. 23 to simply beneath 134 on Saturday.

Maine

Almost 150,000 Maine residents have now acquired an preliminary dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

That’s in keeping with the newest numbers from the state that had been introduced Sunday. On high of at the very least 140,180 individuals who have acquired their first shot, one other almost 51,630 folks in Maine have acquired their second dose.

Maine’s seven-day common for brand spanking new instances decreased to about 270 on Saturday, down from greater than 480 on Jan. 23.

On Sunday, the Maine Heart for Illness Management reported a single extra COVID-19 demise, bringing the state’s whole to 635.