Study: COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 improved air quality, saved 800 lives in Europe

By UPI Staff

An almost empty Marina Street is seen in Barcelona, Spain, during a COVID-19 lockdown on March 21, 2020. Wednesday's report said Barcelona saw one of the largest decreases in air pollution-related deaths during the lockdown in 2020. 

 File Photo by Andreu Dalmau/EPA-EFE

Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Lockdowns during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 led to improved air quality that probably saved hundreds of lives across dozens of cities in Europe, according to a study published on Wednesday.

The lockdowns were responsible for dramatic improvements in air quality because restrictions resulted in fewer vehicles on the road, the study by experts at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said.

As a direct result, researchers said, about 800 fewer people died.

The study examined the air quality in nearly 50 cities across Europe and their corresponding death rates. Some of the top cities where improved air quality resulted in fewer deaths included Paris, London, Barcelona and Milan.

"The study compared government policies from 47 European cities from February to July 2020 and estimated the changes in pollution levels and related number of deaths avoided during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic," the London school said in a statement Wednesday.

Children ride scooters past the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France,

 during a COVID-19 lockdown on March 26, 2020. 

File Photo by Eco Clement/UPI

"Government measures for COVID-19 such as school and workplace closure, canceling public events and stay-at-home requirements had the strongest effect on reducing [nitrogen dioxide] levels. This is linked to the reduction in road transport and local mobility which is known to be a contributor to NO2 air pollution. Spanish, French and Italian cities had the largest decrease in NO2 of between 50% and 60% during the period."

The European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts funded the research, which was led by a team of statistical health and observation satellite modelers at the London school.

The research was published on Wednesday in Scientific Reports.

Other studies have shown that COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns in 2020 also had a dramatic effect on climate change, as it removed major sources of greenhouse gases from roads worldwide. A United Nations report last September said, however, that carbon emissions quickly returned after the lockdowns were lifted.

U.S. records most unprovoked shark attacks in 2021

Continuing a five-year trend, Florida topped global charts in the number of shark bites with 28 -- representing 60% of the U.S. total and 38% of unprovoked bites worldwide. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

Jan. 25 (UPI) -- The United States led the world with 47 unprovoked shark bites during 2021, the International Shark Attack File reported.

The annual report, a project of the Florida Museum of Natural History, revealed Monday that there were 73 unprovoked bites and 39 provoked incidents worldwide last year, resulting in nine deaths.

Unprovoked bites are defined as those in which a human is attacked in a shark's natural habitat; provoked bites occur when a person initiates interaction with a shark in some way. The International Shark Attack File investigated 137 alleged shark-human interactions worldwide in 2021. The group confirmed 73 unprovoked shark bites on humans and 39 provoked bites.

Continuing a five-year trend, Florida topped global charts in the number of shark bites with 28 -- representing 60% of the U.S. total and 38% of unprovoked bites worldwide.

Australia followed the United States in the highest number of unprovoked bites with 12 incidents. But three of those resulted in deaths, the most recorded by any nation during 2021.

In one case, a surfer was killed off New South Wales in May. Police said the man seemed to have seen the shark and tried to warn others. Two great white sharks, both measuring nearly 15 feet, were spotted by drones deployed above the waters near the beach.

A separate study by Australia's Taronga Conservation Society reported 17 total shark attacks in that country during 2021 as of late November.

Brazil had the the third-highest number of unprovoked attacks with three, including one fatality, the ISAF report showed.

In the United States, Florida's total of unprovoked attacks were followed in order by Hawaii (six), California (three) , South Carolina (four), North Carolina (three) , Georgia (two) and Maryland (one).

In one attack, a surfer died in late December in the water off Morro Bay State Park in California. His body was found by a fellow surfer shortly after the attack by a great white shark. It was the first fatal shark attack reported in San Luis Obispo County in 18 years.

Tyler Bowling, manager of the ISAF, said, "Shark bites dropped drastically in 2020 due to the pandemic. This past year was much more typical, with average bite numbers from an assortment of species and fatalities from white sharks, bull sharks and tiger sharks."

The report said the 47 unprovoked attacks in the United States "is 42 percent higher than the 33 incidents that occurred in 2020."

Bowling further noted that the number of unprovoked fatal attacks similarly remained high in 2021, with most occurring in the South Pacific. He said there were six confirmed deaths in Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand while single incidents occurred in South Africa, Brazil and the United States.

Annual fluctuations in shark-human interactions are common, the study said.

Despite 2020's and 2021's spike in fatalities, long-term trends show a decreasing number of annual fatalities, the study said.

"Year-to-year variability in oceanographic, socioeconomic and meteorological conditions significantly influences the local abundance of sharks and humans in the water."

Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research, says there are five ways to minimize the chance of getting bitten by a shark:
Don't go into water alone.
Don't go into water at dawn or dusk.
Don't go into water where's there a lot of fish or where people are fishing.
Don't go into water wearing jewelry.
Try to avoid splashing at the water's surface.

Shortage of semiconductor chips almost sacked some U.S. producers last year, report says


President Joe Biden holds a semiconductor chip during a briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., on February 24, 2021. Biden has met with industry executives and taken action over the past year to ease the shortage of semiconductor chips. File Photo by Doug Mills/UPI 

Jan. 25 (UPI) -- The semiconductor chip shortage left U.S. manufacturers and local buyers with less than five days worth of supplies at times last year, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, urging Congress to take action to bring some relief to the tech sector.

The department's report said that the chip shortage, a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, has seriously affected overseas manufacturing hubs and left U.S. industries vulnerable.

The information included in Tuesday's report came from an assessment that highlights results from a request for semiconductor information.

"The median inventory for consumers ... has fallen from 40 days in 2019 to less than five days in 2021," the report states.

"These inventories are even smaller in key industries. This means a disruption overseas, which might shut down a semiconductor plant for 2-3 weeks, has the potential to disable a manufacturing facility and furlough workers in the United States if that facility only has 3-5 days of inventory."

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the semiconductor supply chain remains fragile and called on Congress to pass a proposal for $52 billion in funding for the chips.

"While we don't expect long-term supply chain disruptions because of Omicron, any disruption has ripple effects," Raimondo said in a statement. "In 2021, auto prices drove one-third of all inflation, primarily because we don't have enough chips.

"Automakers produced nearly eight million fewer cars last year than expected, which some analysts believe resulted in more than $210 billion in lost revenue. It is both an economic and national security imperative to solve this crisis."

Raimondo noted that the report, which included data from 150 companies, found that demand for semiconductor chips has risen 20% from 2019 as bottlenecks narrowed access to them.

The commerce chief added that domestic chip production -- like the new Intel plant planned for Ohio -- will help the United States avoid supply chain shortages that have become commonplace in the COVID-19 era.

Home of off-Broadway's 'Perfect Crime' temporarily closed due to crime





Jan. 25 (UPI) -- An off-Broadway play appropriately titled Perfect Crime had to cancel some performances due to a real crime -- someone stole the copper pipes from the theater's basement.

Catherine Russell, general manager of the Theater Center on West 50th Street in New York City and lead actress in Perfect Crime, said she discovered something was amiss when the water and heat weren't working on Friday.

Russell said she went into the building's basement.

"I turned the water on and I realized water was spraying everywhere because there were no pipes to fill the water," Russell told WLNY-TV. "I discovered that thieves had taken all the copper pipes."

Russell found a door in the basement had been shattered and there were bullet casings on the floor. She said security cameras captured another attempted break-in on Sunday.

"Boy, that was one angry man," Russell told WABC-TV. "He was kicking with these big boots. Kicking, kicking, kicking, the glass door. Pretty violent."

The theater had to cancel about 12 performances between Perfect Crime and The Office: A Musical Parody, another show at the same venue.

Russell said police haven't made any arrests in the theft. She said repairs cost about $20,000.

"I got a weekend off and better piping and better security, so it has a happy ending," she said.

Florida police investigate anti-Semitic flyers alleging pandemic conspiracies

By UPI Staff




Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Police are investigating the distribution of anti-Semitic flyers in several cities in the United States, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The flyers allege that "every single aspect of the COVID agenda is Jewish" and were distributed to dozens of homes in South Florida.

Detectives from Broward County to Miami-Dade County are assisting the FBI in the investigation, and so far, a van found in another area of Florida has been linked to the flyers.

Surfside police said flyers were found in various locations in the city.

The flyers were distributed in small bags with rocks used for weight. They featured names of American policymakers.

Miami Mayor Dan Gelber promised increased patrols in the city as investigators try to trace the origin of the flyers.

The incident is not isolated. Hundreds of the similar anti-Semitic flyers spread across California during Hannukkah in November.

Other anti-Semitic campaigns were spread in Texas, North Carolina and Maryland

General Motors to invest $7B in electric vehicle manufacturing


Mary Barra, chairwoman and CEO of General Motors, announced a $7 billion investment in Michigan manufacturing will create or retain some 5,000 positions. 

File Photo by Molly Riley/UPI | License Photo


Jan. 25 (UPI) -- General Motors on Tuesday announced a $7 billion investment in its Michigan sites to increase electric truck and battery cell manufacturing capacity.

The automaker said the investment -- the largest in its history -- will create 4,000 new jobs and retain 1,000 existing positions.

"Today we are taking the next step in our continuous work to establish GM's [electric vehicle] leadership by making investments in our vertically integrated battery production in the U.S. and our North American EV production capacity," said Mary Barra, GM chairwoman and CEO.

"We are building on the positive consumer response and reservations for our recent EV launches and debuts, including GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Equinox EV and Chevrolet Silverado EV. Our plan creates the broadest EV portfolio of any automaker and further solidifies our path toward U.S. EV leadership by mid-decade."

GM said it plans to construct a new battery cell plant in Lansing, and convert an assembly plant in Orion Township to produce the Silverado EV and electric GMC Sierra. The company is also investing more than $510 million to upgrade the Lansing Delta Township Assembly and Lansing Grand River Assembly for future upgrades.

"These investments also create opportunities in Michigan for us to bring our employees along on our transition to an all-electric future," Barra said.

President Joe Biden said the GM investment will fuel a "historic" manufacturing comeback for the United States.

"From day one, my administration has been laser focused on making sure that America leads the manufacturing future of electric vehicles," he said.

Biden signed an executive order in August setting a goal for half of all new vehicles made in the United States to be electric in some form by the end of the 2020s.

"It's electric, and there's no turning back," he said at the time. "The question is whether we'll lead or fall behind in the race for the future."

The Biden administration also unveiled plans in December to build a large, nationwide charging network for electric vehicles, starting with half a million charges.

192 members of Congress sign Supreme Court amicus brief in Clean Air Act case

In a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, the state of West Virginia, the lead plaintiff, is trying to reign in the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency. File Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI | License Photo

Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Nearly 200 members of Congress on Tuesday signed an amicus brief in a Supreme Court case, urging it to affirm a lower court ruling that allows the Environmental Protection Authority to maintain its full powers to enforce the Clean Air Act.

The act calls for states and the EPA to solve multiple air pollution problems through programs based on the latest science and technology information.

The state of West Virginia, the lead plaintiff in the case, is trying to reign in the authority of the EPA. It argued in its petition to the Supreme Court that "the court below held that a rarely used, ancillary provision of the Clean Air Act grants an agency unbridled power-functionally 'no limits' -- to decide whether and how to decarbonize almost any sector of the economy."

West Virginia and other Republican-led states involved in the case argue that the provision "does not clearly give EPA authority to upend the power industry."

The petitioners argue that due to the lower court (District of Columbia Circuit Court) ruling, the "EPA now has a judicial edict not to limit itself to measures that can be successfully implemented at and for individual facilities. "

They further argued that the EPA can set standards "on a regional or even national level, forcing dramatic changes in how and where electricity is produced, as well as transforming any other sector of the economy where stationary sources emit greenhouse gases. Power to regulate factories, hospitals, hotels, and even homes would have tremendous costs and consequences for all Americans."

But the 192 Democratic members of Congress who signed the amicus brief argue that "based on their experience as members of Congress, amici understand the importance of relying on the expert judgment of administrative agencies in technical areas where scientific knowledge, regulatory best practices, and market conditions continue to evolve."

The Congress members on the brief say the statutory provision at issue was added through the 1970 amendments to the CAA, which sought to "speed up, expand and intensify the war against air pollution in the United States."

The brief urged the court to "either dismiss this case as having been improvidently granted, or reaffirm, once again, that the text of the CAA plainly authorizes the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions -- including those arising from existing stationary sources, such as fossil fuel-fired power plants."

The Supreme Court in October decided to hear the case. It is scheduled to be argued on Feb. 28.

523 acres of redwood forestland in Calif. donated to tribal group

Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Some 523 acres of redwood forestland in Mendocino County, Calif. -- known as The Lost Coast -- are being returned to a tribal council dedicated to its preservation and the history of Indigenous people who were once forced from the land.

The deal was announced Tuesday by Save the Redwoods League, which owned the land, and the InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council, a non-profit consortium comprised of 10 federally recognized Northern California Tribal Nations with cultural connections to the lands and waters of traditional Sinkyone and neighboring tribal territories.

The league purchased the 523-acre property, formerly known as Andersonia West, in July 2020.

"To ensure lasting protection and ongoing stewardship, the league has donated and transferred ownership of the forest to the Sinkyone Council, and the Council has granted the league a conservation easement," the group said in a news release.

Catherine Elliott, senior manger of land protection for Save the Redwoods League, said in a video about the deal, "We can't undo what's been done, but we can help return people to the forest and the forest to them."

Through the partnership, the Sinkyone Council "resumes guardianship of a land from which Sinkyone people were forcibly removed by European American settlers generations ago," the league said in the release. "As an act of cultural empowerment and a celebration of Indigenous resilience, this forest will again be known as Tc'ih-Léh-Dûñ, pronounced tsih-ih-LEY-duhn and meaning 'Fish Run Place' in the Sinkyone language."

Crista Ray, a tribal citizen of the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians and a board member of the Sinkyone Council, said, "Renaming the property Tc'ih-Léh-Dûñ lets people know that it's a sacred place; it's a place for our Native people. It lets them know that there was a language and that there was a people who lived there long before now."

Tc'ih-Léh-Dûñ is the league's second land donation to the Sinkyone Council. The first, in 2012, was the 164-are Four Corners property, north of Tc'ih-Léh-Dûñ. The council also granted the league a conservation easement on Four Corners.

RELATED Tribal leaders call for increased Internet service in Native communities

California Gov. Newsom, lawmakers announce deal for paid sick leave

By Darryl Coote

Local residents wait in line to receive the COVID-19 Moderna vaccine at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, Calif., on March 8, 2021. On Tuesday, state politicians announced they reached a deal to ensure workers sick with COVID-19 can get two weeks of paid leave. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

Jan. 26 (UPI) -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he has reached a deal with state lawmakers to ensure workers get up to two weeks paid leave if they fall sick with COVID-19.

The Democratic governor announced the deal in a joint statement with Toni Atkins, the California Senate pro tempore president; and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, stating the framework to extend the paid sick leave includes tax credits and tax relief for businesses.

It also includes funding to bolster testing and speed-up vaccination campaigns, support for frontline workers and the healthcare system as well as combat misinformation.

"By extending sick leave to frontline workers with COVID and providing support for California businesses, we can help protect the health of our workforce, while also ensuring that businesses and our economy are able to thrive," the three politicians said. "We will continue to work to address additional needs of small businesses through the budget."

Assembly Democratic leader Eloise Reyes said the deal was reached by both the House and Senate following "extensive negotiations" and that she looks toward to voting it into being.

The announcement was made months after a similar supplemental paid sick leave put in place last year for employers with 26 or more workers expired at the end of September.

California law mandates employers give at least three days of paid leave, but the supplemental COVID-19 sick leave that went into effect last year extended that to 80 hours

The new measure was sought by lawmakers as the recent and ongoing surge of the Omicron variant had labor unions, such as United Food and Commercial Workers, calling for the sick leave benefits to be put back in place.

"Make no mistake: today's agreement happened because workers who are on the frontlines of the pandemic demanded safety for ourselves, our families and our communities," Bob Schoonover, president of the Service Employees International Union, told KCRA in a statement. "We spoke up about the impossible choices we faced without enough sick time to recover from COVID-19 without our kids going hungry. We know we can't wait for employers to keep us safe -- we have to advocate for ourselves, and Gov. Newsom and legislators listened."

EXPLAINER: What’s known about ‘stealth’ version of omicron?

By LAURA UNGAR

A medical worker wearing protective gear collects a sample from a resident at a coronavirus test site in Xichen District in Beijing, Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. Hong Kong has already suspended many overseas flights and requires arrivals be quarantined, similar to mainland China's "zero-tolerance" approach to the virus that has placed millions under lockdowns and mandates mask wearing, rigorous case tracing and mass testing. 

(AP Photo/Andy Wong)


Scientists and health officials around the world are keeping their eyes on a descendant of the omicron variant that has been found in at least 40 countries, including the United States.

This version of the coronavirus, which scientists call BA.2, is widely considered stealthier than the original version of omicron because particular genetic traits make it somewhat harder to detect. Some scientists worry it could also be more contagious.

But they say there’s a lot they still don’t know about it, including whether it evades vaccines better or causes more severe disease.

WHERE HAS IT SPREAD?

Since mid-November, more than three dozen countries have uploaded nearly 15,000 genetic sequences of BA.2 to GISAID, a global platform for sharing coronavirus data. As of Tuesday morning, 96 of those sequenced cases came from the U.S.

“Thus far, we haven’t seen it start to gain ground” in the U.S., said Dr. Wesley Long, a pathologist at Houston Methodist in Texas, which has identified three cases of BA.2.

The mutant appears much more common in Asia and Europe. In Denmark, it made up 45% of all COVID-19 cases in mid-January, up from 20% two weeks earlier, according to Statens Serum Institut, which falls under the Danish Ministry of Health.

WHAT’S KNOWN ABOUT THIS VERSION OF THE VIRUS?

BA.2 has lots of mutations. About 20 of them in the spike protein that studs the outside of the virus are shared with the original omicron. But it also has additional genetic changes not seen in the initial version.

It’s unclear how significant those mutations are, especially in a population that has encountered the original omicron, said Dr. Jeremy Luban, a virologist at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

For now, the original version, known as BA.1, and BA.2 are considered subsets of omicron. But global health leaders could give it its own Greek letter name if it is deemed a globally significant “variant of concern.”

The quick spread of BA.2 in some places raises concerns it could take off.

“We have some indications that it just may be as contagious or perhaps slightly more contagious than (original) omicron since it’s able to compete with it in some areas,” Long said. “But we don’t necessarily know why that is.”

An initial analysis by scientists in Denmark shows no differences in hospitalizations for BA.2 compared with the original omicron. Scientists there are still looking into this version’s infectiousness and how well current vaccines work against it. It’s also unclear how well treatments will work against it.

Doctors also don’t yet know for sure if someone who’s already had COVID-19 caused by omicron can be sickened again by BA.2. But they’re hopeful, especially that a prior omicron infection might lessen the severity of disease if someone later contracts BA.2.

The two versions of omicron have enough in common that it’s possible that infection with the original mutant “will give you cross-protection against BA.2,” said Dr. Daniel Kuritzkes, an infectious diseases expert at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Scientists will be conducting tests to see if antibodies from an infection with the original omicron “are able to neutralize BA.2 in the laboratory and then extrapolate from there,” he said.

HOW CONCERNED ARE HEALTH AGENCIES?

The World Health Organization classifies omicron overall as a variant of concern, its most serious designation of a coronavirus mutant, but it doesn’t single out BA.2 with a designation of its own. Given its rise in some countries, however, the agency says investigations of BA.2 “should be prioritized.”

The UK Health Security Agency, meanwhile, has designated BA.2 a “variant under investigation,” citing the rising numbers found in the U.K. and internationally. Still, the original version of omicron remains dominant in the U.K.

WHY IS IT HARDER TO DETECT?

The original version of omicron had specific genetic features that allowed health officials to rapidly differentiate it from delta using a certain PCR test because of what’s known as “S gene target failure.”

BA.2 doesn’t have this same genetic quirk. So on the test, Long said, BA.2 looks like delta.

“It’s not that the test doesn’t detect it; it’s just that it doesn’t look like omicron,” he said. “Don’t get the impression that ‘stealth omicron’ means we can’t detect it. All of our PCR tests can still detect it.”

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO TO PROTECT YOURSELF?

Doctors advise the same precautions they have all along: Get vaccinated and follow public health guidance about wearing masks, avoiding crowds and staying home when you’re sick.

“The vaccines are still providing good defense against severe disease, hospitalization and death,” Long said. “Even if you’ve had COVID 19 before — you’ve had a natural infection — the protection from the vaccine is still stronger, longer lasting and actually ... does well for people who’ve been previously infected.”

The latest version is another reminder that the pandemic hasn’t ended.

“We all wish that it was over,” Long said, ”but until we get the world vaccinated, we’re going to be at risk of having new variants emerge.”

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.