#COVID cases continue to rise in #NYC, to 33 per lakh per day, while hospitalizations are fluctuating around 1.6. September 4 was our first day since May with more than three #COVID19 deaths.
Even if COVID alone doesn't reach the threshold of 60 cases I set for Outbreak mode, once flu and RSV season starts the combined total may be that high.
I'm going to an in-person singing lesson, but #CovidIsNotOver so I still #WearAMask in elevators, trains, pharmacies, nursing homes and supermarkets!
The #NYC fall #COVID wave is rising slowly, now up to 35 #COVID19 cases and 1.7 hospitalizations per lakh per day. Deaths also inched up, from 23 to 24 in the past 30 days.
We should be getting the first report on flu and RSV on October 24; when we started last year the RSV wave was already underway.
#CovidIsNotOver so I #WearAMask in crowded spaces like elevators, trains and buses, and #MaskUp where there are vulnerable people: nursing homes, doctors' offices, pharmacies and supermarkets!
#COVID cases continue to climb slowly in #NYC, now up to 36 per lakh per day. #COVID19 hospitalizations are at 1.9 per lakh, and deaths are steady at 24 in the past 30 days.
Here's hoping this is the peak. If it is, I'm going to hold off for a few weeks to #GetBoosted. My doctor gave me the #flu shot today, but isn't doing COVID shots.
#CovidIsNotOver so I #WearAMask in elevators, trains, planes and buses, and #MaskUp in doctors' offices, nursing homes, pharmacies and supermarkets!
#COVID case counts have dropped in #NYC: from 428 per lakh per day the week ending September 15 to 398 the week ending September 22! #COVID19 hospitalizations have also dropped from 23 to 21. Deaths in the most recent 30-day "complete" period have dropped from 24 to 18.
This could be incomplete data even though it says "complete"! But it's the first time that all three indicators have dropped in this wave.
#CovidIsNotOver so I still #WearAMask in trains, doctors' offices and supermarkets!
The early fall #COVID wave in #NYC seems to be ending! #COVID19 cases were down to 311 per lakh per day as of September 29, hospitalizations were at 20, and deaths at 20 in the most recent 30 days with complete data.
I'm relieved, since I have a few in-person karaoke events coming up.
Of course #CovidIsNotOver so I #WearAMask in confined spaces like elevators, trains, buses and planes; #MaskUp in places with vulnerable people like doctors' offices, hospitals, pharmacies and supermarkets!
As the early fall #COVID wave in #NYC continues to recede, cases have dropped to 232 per lakh per day and hospitalizations to 17. Deaths are a lagging indicator, so we're up to 26 deaths in the most recent 30 days with complete data.
I'm home trying to get through some kind of sinus infection - two negative #COVID19 rapid tests, two days apart.
#CovidIsNotOver and I don't want to give this respiratory infection to anyone so I asked someone else to host the in-person karaoke meetup!
Happy #FluSeason! I just went to check the #NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's PDFs and was redirected to a new website combining #influenza #RSV and #COVID data with dynamic charts, based on data that's also regularly uploaded to GitHub!
There was a #flu spike in September.
Last year I asked for them to make the raw data available and was told to put in a FOIL request. I'm glad they implemented my request, and look forward to using the data in my dashboard!
The new #NYC Respiratory Illness Data dashboard is great for an overview. It suggests that just as our #COVID wave is subsiding we're getting a #flu wave and maybe an #RSV wave.
My dashboard doesn't seem to be updating, which suggests they may have moved all the COVID data to GitHub.
I'm now 10 days into my current sinus infection - #COVID19 rapid tests negative - and feeling better, but not 100%.
#CovidIsNotOver and I #WearAMask in trains, elevators, doctors' offices and supermarkets!
The new #NYC Dashboard is showing that #COVID emergency room visits have continued to drop in the week ending October 25, while #flu increased and #RSV stayed the same.
I love how they combine all three and show directionality. But what's missing is the relative context and thresholds: Are #influenza visits getting high enough to worry about? Are #COVID19 visits low enough we can stop worrying about them?
This is what I tried to address with my posts upthread. Stay tuned!
The #flu headline in today's dashboard looks scary: 83% increase! But hang on...
The chart shows that #influenza visits to hospital emergency rooms have risen to 0.22%. That means for every 100,000 people who go to the ER, 99,978 don't test positive for the flu.
The fall #COVID wave is over, but #COVIDIsNotOver and the #COVID19 hospitalizations are slightly lower than flu - 0.18%.
The page reports other respiratory viruses, great reasons to #MaskUp especially in hospitals, buses and trains!
Finally getting a chance to look into the new #COVID #flu and #RSV open data from the New York City Health Department, and there are some things that concern me.
The biggest thing is that while we have raw counts of cases and deaths, they only give emergency room data as the percentage of hospitalizations and visits with a respiratory disease diagnosis.
I set my thresholds at hospitalizations per lakh population, and I can't calculate that any more.
https://github.com/nychealth/respiratory-illness-data/blob/main/data/emergencyDeptData.csv
I settled on 6 hospitalizations per lakh population per day as my threshold for coming out of Outbreak Mode by looking at previous #COVID19 and #influenza outbreaks. I have only a vague idea what's a safe percentage of hospitalizations due to respiratory diseases.
The #NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is leaving up the historical #COVID data, but not providing historical data for these new measures, so we can't correlate them with previous outbreaks…
https://grieve-smith.com/ftn/2024/05/how-do-we-know-its-safe/
I shouldn't be writing this. I have no training in medicine or epidemiology. I'm just some random person. And if you have something from a better trained source that tells you how to manage your exposure to airborne infectious diseases like COVID, the flu or RSV in order to avoid passing it on to
The #NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's new Respiratory Disease portal is a big improvement over the old flu and RSV weekly static PDF files, combined with #COVID data. And it makes sense to put them all in a new repo with a new format.
But when they rolled out the new repo, they stopped uploading #COVID19 data to the old repo, and didn't generate new flu or RSV PDFs. So the site I built last year is not updating at all.
But today I got it to display some data from the new repo!
I have now replaced the charts based on stale #NYC and CDC #COVID data with new charts based on the weekly #COVID19 case and death data, and case counts for #flu and #RSV, provided by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene!
The fall COVID wave is definitely over, but it looks like the #influenza and #RSVirus waves are hitting at the same time this year; last year the flu wave was a month after RSV.
#COVIDIsNotOver so #WearAMask in trains and doctors' offices!
There's a tiny uptick in #COVID cases in #NYC, but #COVID19 deaths are down to 20 in the month of November! As far as I'm concerned, #COVIDIsNotOver until we go at least a month with no deaths, but this year has been encouraging!
But it's #FluSeason and #flu cases have already passed last year's peak. The #RSV wave seems to be tapering off, or at least rising more slowly.
I hosted in-person karaoke this week, but I still #WearAMask in elevators, trains, doctors' offices and supermarkets!
Got a tip from @WeeklyAmericanPandemicDeaths that the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have quietly resumed posting data about the spread of #COVID #flu and #RSV!
The New School is on vacation for two weeks, so I finally have time to update my dashboard!
Nationwide 7-day average hospitalizations for #COVID19 have dropped to 0.8 per lakh, and #RSVirus has risen to 0.8 per lakh, but it's #influenza putting people in the hospital!
Cautiously optimistic because #flu and #RSV cases and hospitalizations are going down in #NYC for the first time in this #FluSeason! Nationwide, #RSVIrus hospitalizations are also dropping, and #influenza is rising slower. I'm hoping they will continue to drop in time for next week's live band karaoke!
#COVID cases and deaths are still low; only 18 #COVID19 deaths in the first four weeks of December!
#COVIDIsNotOver and nor are RSV or the flu, so I #WearAMask in trains and doctors' offices!
Very relieved that in the week ending January 2 in #NYC, #flu and #RSV cases, and emergency room visits and hospitalizations, are all declining, and there's no sign of a new #COVID wave. Just bought my ticket for live band karaoke!
There are #COVID19 waves elsewhere in the US, so I'm keeping an eye out.
#COVIDIsNotOver and it's still #FluSeason so I #WearAMask in crowded spaces like elevators, trains and buses, #MaskUp around vulnerable people in doctors' offices, pharmacies and supermarkets!
#Flu cases and emergency room visits continued to drop in #NYC the week ending January 10. #RSV and #COVID cases and ER visits are higher than baseline but remain a small fraction of respiratory illness cases and hospital visits.
Nationwide US data now seems complete, showing a Christmas #influenza spike and New Year's #COVID19 and #RSV bump.
#COVIDIsNotOver and it's still #FluSeason so #GetVaxxed if you haven't already, and #wearAMask in elevators, trains, doctors' offices and supermarkets!
In #NYC the week ending January 17, #flu cases and emergency room visits are now below where they were the week ending November 22. #RSV and #COVID cases and ER visits remain higher than baseline, but are a small fraction of respiratory illness cases and hospital visits.
#COVIDIsNotOver and it's still #FluSeason - and things are still bad in other parts of the country, so it's not too late to #GetVaxxed!
I #WearAMask in elevators, trains, buses, doctors' offices, pharmacies and supermarkets!
In the United States the week ending January 17, #flu hospitalizations were down to 2.9 per lakh, the same as the week ending December 6. #COVID and #RSV hospitalizations were still low and dropping.
#COVIDIsNotOver and there may be local outbreaks, but in general it's relatively low.
As long as people are dying I #WearAMask in elevators, trains, buses, doctors' offices, pharmacies and supermarkets.
#Flu cases and emergency room visits are almost back to baseline in #NYC, and so are #COVID cases. #RSV has been at about 27 cases per lakh per day since the end of December, which is higher than baseline, but contributes to 0.32% of emergency room visits.
#COVIDIsNotOver and there were 37 deaths from #COVID19 in the past four weeks, compared with 20 deaths in December.
As long as people are dying I #WearAMask in elevators, trains, buses, taxis, doctors' offices, pharmacies and supermarkets.
In the United States the week ending January 24, hospitalizations for #flu #COVID and #RSV continued to drop, to a total of 4.7 per lakh per day.
#COVIDIsNotOver and there are still local hotspots, but let's hope we have a nice long break before the next nationwide outbreak!
As long as people are dying I #WearAMask in elevators, trains, planes, ferries, buses, doctors' offices, hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies and supermarkets.
#Flu and #COVID cases and emergency room visits are back to baseline in #NYC. #RSV may be decreasing, but none of them are contributing heavily to hospitalizations.
Most hospitalizations in January 26-31 appear to be from "the common cold": enterovirus/rhinovirus and old coronaviruses.
#COVIDIsNotOver and there were 24 deaths from #COVID19 in January, but that may rise.
As long as people are dying I #WearAMask in elevators, trains, buses, taxis, doctors' offices, pharmacies and supermarkets.
We're now at 20-26 #flu cases per lakh per day, way down from the peak of 389. Still more than 10x the baseline or 1-2 outside of #FluSeason, but last year we didn't reach this level until April.
#RSV is about the same level. It didn't get much higher this season, and we've seen this many cases every week for almost two months.
#COVID is about half the number of cases, about what we saw in October-November of last year. 41 #COVID19 deaths in January.
I still #WearAMask in trains and markets!
Once again displaying #CovidWastewater on my #NYC #RespiratoryIllness dashboard!
For a while I embedded the #COVID #wastewater Tableau chart from the New York State Department of Health. But I had to update it manually, and it got out of date.
Now the NYC Department of Environmental Protection seems to be reliably updating the city's Open Data portal with the most recent data!
Counts have been low lately; let's hope it's a while before the next wave!
The #NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene need to figure out a way to indicate when an increase in an indicator is within the normal range of fluctuation. Yes, hospitalizations for the #flu went up from 0.34% of all hospitalizations to 0.57%, but those are tiny percentages!
#COVIDIsNotOver and it's still #FluSeason so these numbers are higher than the baseline, but not that much higher.
41 people died of #COVID in January, so I #WearAMask in trains, doctors' offices and supermarkets!
There is a very slight uptick in #flu and #RSV cases in #NYC, which may indicate that we're going to have a relatively rare double wave this #FluSeason, but it's still less than 1% of hospitalizations.
#COVIDIsNotOver but #COVID cases are at some of the lowest levels since the virus emerged, and there were 30 deaths in the four weeks ending February 7.
You can help prevent a second wave of #influenza and #RSVirus if you #WearAMask on elevators, trains, buses, doctors' offices and supermarkets!
I was hopeful because it looked like someone at the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had managed to keep the RESP-NET data updated with #COVID #flu and #RSV hospitalizations, but they haven't updated since January.
I wish I could say #NYC was better at providing #COVID19 #Wastewater data for timely warning of new outbreaks, but the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene only updates the city's Open Data portal once a month.
The #NYC Department of Environmental Protection sampled #COVID #wastewater on six different dates in February, but for some reason the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene only updates them once a month.
We're definitely betwen waves! The #COVID19 wastewater levels are much lower than the July 2024 and February 2025 peaks, and even lower than the levels we saw in March-October last year!
#COVIDIsNotOver so I still #WearAMask in elevators, trains, planes, doctors' offices and supermarkets!
#COVID #flu and #RSV case and hospitalization counts are all dropping in #NYC as of February 28. #COVID19 deaths are also down, with only 10 reported in February so far (but that is likely to go up).
I'm in Seattle for about a week, and the numbers are similar. I ate lunch indoors and I'm going dancing with friends tonight!
#COVIDIsNotOver so I still #WearAMask in elevators, buses, planes, trains, and crowded ferries, pharmacies and supermarkets!
In #NYC as of March 7, #COVID #flu and #RSV case counts are all down. Emergency room visits are down for #COVID19 and #RSVirus. They're slightly up for #influenza but that's probably within the normal range of variation.
I'm really happy that the winter waves for all three diseases were relatively mild, and I hope it's a good long time before we have another bad wave!
With 10 deaths in February #COVIDIsNotOver so I still #WearAMask in elevators, trains, planes, pharmacies and supermarkets!
In #NYC as of March 14, #COVID and #RSV cases are down, and so are #RSVirus emergency department visits as a percentage of all ED visits. #influenza cases and #COVID19 and flu ED visits are slightly up, but it's all within normal fluctuations.
No new COVID deaths were reported, so we're on track for another relatively low-death month.
But #COVIDIsNotOver as long as people are going to hospitals and dying, so I still #WearAMask in elevators, trains, planes, buses, pharmacies and supermarkets!
In #NYC as of March 21, counts of #RSV cases and emergency department visits continue to drop, and we've only seen 5 deaths from #COVID in all of February, and 5 in the first three weeks of March!
There are slight increases in cases and emergency department visits for #COVID19 and the #flu so that's something to watch out for.
#COVIDIsNotOver as long as people are going to hospitals and dying, so I still #WearAMask in elevators, trains, planes, buses, hospitals, pharmacies and supermarkets!
#RSV cases and emergency department visits in #NYC are dropping again as of March 28, #flu is rising slightly and #COVID is staying low. 11 deaths from #COVID19 in March.
#COVIDIsNotOver and some people I know have gotten sick recently, so I still #WearAMask in elevators, trains, buses, pharmacies and supermarkets. I'm also excited for #OutdoorDining in the warmer weather!
All the respiratory disease indicators decreased in #NYC the week ending April 4! Cases and emergency department visits for #COVID #flu and #RSV all down. #COVID19 concentrations in #Wastewater for March are out, and they're down too!
There were only 5 deaths from COVID in February, and only 11 in March. We've had several weeks with no deaths recorded; could we go a whole month?
Until then #COVIDIsNotOver and I'll #WearAMask in elevators, trains, supermarkets, doctors' offices and pharmacies!
As of April 11, all #COVID #influenza and #RSV indicators continue to drop in #NYC. 0 deaths reported from #COVID19 so far in April, 11 in March.
Until we have a month with zero deaths (and maybe after that), #COVIDIsNotOver and I still #WearAMask in elevators, trains buses, planes, doctors' offices, supermarkets and pharmacies!
The #NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has added two more #COVID deaths to its counts for March, bringing the total to 13, but so far there have been 0 #COVID19 deaths reported in April.
Plus, all the other indicators are down - cases and emergency room visits. #Flu and #RSV are down too!
We may soon see a month without a death from COVID. Until then, #COVIDIsNotOver and I'm still going to #WearAMask in elevators, trains, buses, planes, supermarkets, pharmacies and doctors' offices!
One more #COVID death has been added to the week ending March 7 in #NYC, bringing the total for March to 14, but there have still been 0 #COVID19 deaths reported for April!
All the other indicators continue to drop, for #flu and #RSV as well, including cases and emergency room visits.
I'm eating indoors sometimes and singing karaoke, but #COVIDIsNotOver so I still eat outdoors often, and #WearAMask in elevators, trains, buses, planes, supermarkets, pharmacies and doctors' offices!
It's May 7 and #NYC has not reported a single #COVID death in all of April. If we don't get any late reports I think this will be the first month without a #COVID19 death since March 2020!
#Wastewater concentrations for April are in and they're also down, as are case counts for COVID, the #flu and #RSV.
#COVIDIsNotOver and I'll be monitoring the case and wastewater counts. If they start trending up I'll take more precautions again!
And from now on I'll always #WearAMask in doctors' offices!
Sadly, they're reporting 5 #COVID deaths the week ending May 2, so we can't say there were zero deaths in #NYC in April. But there were zero #COVID19 deaths for four straight weeks, from March 29 through April 25!
COVID cases are also down below 8 per lakh per day, the lowest in three years. #RSV and #flu cases are all down as well, though they're not yet at the summer baselines yet!
#COVIDIsNotOver so I still #WearAMask in pharmacies, doctors' offices, hospitals and nursing homes!
Another week with no new #COVID deaths reported in #NYC! That makes 71 #COVID19 deaths so far in 2026, and only 24 since February 1.
COVID, #RSV and #flu cases and emergency room visits are all down as well. COVID cases are below previous troughs, but #RSVirus and #influenza cases are still above the summer baselines.
Until the next wave I've stopped wearing a mask in elevators and trains, but #COVIDIsNotOver so I still #WearAMask in pharmacies, doctors' offices, hospitals and nursing homes!
Angus Andrea Grieve-Smith