Tag: home

Categories
Health

New 12 months’s Eve at Dwelling

New Year's Eve at Home

Along with so many things, the pandemic has destroyed many Go to New Years traditions – no mad clubs, no personal ball drops, no kissing strangers at midnight, not even the annual party that you reluctantly went to year after year.

But before you leave the night completely behind and climb to bed at 11 a.m., here are a number of ways to ring in the new year.

This year the crystal ball will still fall from One Times Square, the confetti will still fall, and “Auld Lang Syne” will still play – it’s just that Times Square itself isn’t crowded with people.

“Many of the popular New Year’s Eve trademarks will be in Times Square,” said TJ Witham, a spokesman for the Times Square Alliance, a neighborhood nonprofit that helps orchestrate the night’s celebrations. “That said, the event will be specifically for television and online audiences, and public revelers won’t be in Times Square.”

A live stream of the event will begin at 6 p.m. Eastern on timessquarenyc.org, or you will be able to watch it on most networks. The planned special performances and musical performances include Gloria Gaynor performing her signature song “I Will Survive”.

According to the organizers, the celebrations of the night will recognize those Americans who will get us through the pandemic – Essential, frontline and rescue workers. Some of these staff will be the official special guests of the event – an honor given each year to those who represent “public service, resilience and the human spirit”.

The honor usually involves joining the New York City Mayor on stage to count down the last 60 seconds of the year. This time, the guests see the ball fall from a private, physically distant viewing area.

Do you have a New Years wish? Send yours to the Times Square Alliance virtual wall at timessquarenyc.org or on social media with #ConfettiWish. Around 100,000 of these hopes and dreams are printed on colored confetti that falls over Times Square around midnight.

Just because you can’t personally see the ball fall doesn’t mean that your personalized avatar can’t take your place.

The Times Square Alliance and its partners have organized a free, virtual Times Square experience. Once you’ve created your avatar, take a selfie with the crystal ball, view digital art along Times Square, take the elevator to the One Times Square observation deck, and play games like dancing or weightlessness. You can also collect celebratory confetti to amaze your avatar and an augmented reality fireworks show will appear on your screen at midnight.

To join the party, visit nye2021.com on your phone or tablet, or download the free NYE app.

Just because you’re stuck at home doesn’t mean you can’t travel the world and celebrate the New Year in different time zones.

Kick off at 6am New Zealand on Wednesday December 30th with fireworks from the Sky Tower in Auckland. Then Go to Seoul, South Korea where the Weverse Entertainment app is broadcasting a live concert on New Years Eve 2021 featuring BTS, GFRIEND and other K-pop bands. The show starts at 7:30 a.m. Eastern, and ticket prices range from $ 48 to $ 72 Singapore, or $ 36 to $ 54.

If you want fireworks again, a midnight light show starts at 10 p.m. East in Rio de Janeiro on Copacabana Beach. If you haven’t had enough virtual travel yet, Make your way to Vienna on Friday January 1st for a broadcast of the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert at 9 p.m. Eastern on PBS.

Categories
Health

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on nursing house rollout

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on nursing home rollout

West Virginia is well on its way to delivering Covid-19 vaccines in all long-term care facilities by the end of this year, Republican Governor Jim Justice told CNBC on Tuesday.

This would be a significant milestone in West Virginia’s efforts to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus. Although less than 6% of the state’s coronavirus cases account for about 31% of all Covid-19 deaths in West Virginia, according to the COVID Tracking Project run by journalists from The Atlantic . The figures are based on the latest available data for the past week.

West Virginia began administering shots at its long-term care facilities last week after the Food and Drug Administration granted Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine limited approval. The state has since received doses of Moderna’s vaccine after it was approved for emergency use on Friday.

West Virginia administered approximately 8,100 doses of Pfizer BioNTech at 71 of its 214 long-term care facilities last week, according to Maj. Holli Nelson, a spokesman for the West Virginia National Guard. On average, about 80% of people in a facility wanted to be vaccinated, she told CNBC. Vaccinations are running this week for employees and residents of the remaining long-term care facilities, Nelson said.

In an interview on Squawk on the Street, Justice said West Virginia could start vaccinations in nursing homes earlier than many parts of the country because it relied on local pharmacies.

“Our great National Guard and all of our health officials came up with the idea of ​​basically recruiting all local pharmacies,” Justice said. He added that West Virginia may have given its first dose of vaccine in its long-term care facilities “before many states start”. Both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines require two injections a few weeks apart.

Jim Justice, Governor of West Virginia.

Scott Halleran / Getty Images

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have partnered with Walgreens, CVS and select other pharmacy chains to deliver Covid-19 vaccines to nursing homes and assisted living facilities. CVS and Walgreens started delivering footage at some facilities on Friday before starting a wider rollout in the US this week.

More than 40,000 long-term care facilities have selected CVS to provide vaccinations through on-site clinics, CNBC previously reported. Walgreens will provide vaccinations in approximately 35,000 long-term care facilities.

Healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities were given priority by each state in their initial vaccine allocation plans. In West Virginia, in developing his own distribution plans, Justice “stated that his priority is to vaccinate residents and long-term care workers immediately,” West Virginia National Guard’s Maj .

“In our discussions, we opted for a slightly different approach than the plans used nationwide, as around 53-54% of our state’s pharmacies are not linked to the chain,” said Hoyer.

Long-term care facilities in the US are particularly hard hit by Covid-19 outbreaks. As the country’s epidemic worsened this fall, there was another spike in cases and deaths at the facilities. For this reason, the introduction of a vaccine comes at a critical time.

West Virginia is one of ten states where coronavirus cases are increasing on average by seven days, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Hospital admissions for Covid-19 patients also rose 8.4% in the past week. This is evident from the CNBC analysis of the data from the COVID tracking project.

– CNBC’s Nate Rattner contributed to this report.

Categories
Business

Individuals keep ‘residence for the vacations’ — or follow automobiles if touring

Americans stay 'home for the holidays' — or stick to cars if traveling

For many Americans, the classic Christmas carol “I’ll be home for Christmas” will literally describe their plans for this holiday weekend as most choose to celebrate on the spot amid the ongoing pandemic.

Only about a quarter of people across the country will travel for Christmas and New Years, compared with about a third last year, and most of them will be more likely to drive than fly or take the train, industry sources say.

AAA predicts that by January 3, at least 29% fewer trips will be made than in the same period last year. While up to 84.5 million Americans are choosing to travel despite the current surge in Covid, that is at least 34 million fewer than in 2019, the organization said. By comparison, AAA estimates Thanksgiving trips have decreased by up to 15% in the last month.

“During the year-end vacation, Americans often venture into longer, more lavish vacations,” said Paula Twidale, senior vice president at AAA Travel, in a statement. “That won’t be the case this year.”

More from Personal Finance:
Vacation trips are delayed, but last minute bookings might help
The promise of a vaccine can encourage travel, but some changes will last
According to the survey, men take more risks than women when traveling

Twidale cited public health concerns, official government guidelines against travel and a general decline in consumer sentiment as factors driving many to stay home. (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn that travel could increase your chances of getting and spreading Covid-19 on their website.)

Consumer finance website ValuePenguin found that only 23% of 1,000 Americans polled planned to travel this coming weekend, compared to 32% who said they were traveling for Thanksgiving.

Vacation property management software company Guesty reported in mid-December that bookings for accommodations for both Christmas and New Year’s Eve were still 15% down on 2019. (However, Guesty officials were optimistic that reservation rates could potentially close the gap by the end of the year, or at least land close.)

Americans who choose to travel in the next two weeks will likely do so by car. Road travel will account for 96% of vacation travel, according to the AAA, with 81 million Americans reaching the country’s highways. That would represent a year-over-year decrease of at least 25% – despite a shift towards cars and away from buses, planes and trains.

According to the AAA, car journeys will replace other travel modes thanks to “the flexibility, safety and convenience that car travel offers”. However, ValuePenguin found in its survey that 7% of those who travel during the December vacation will actually fly, up from the 3% who planned to do so for Thanksgiving. This may be due to cheaper airfares: AAA reports double-digit drops in average airfares.

Drivers will also save money on refilling their tanks this year. Gasoline prices are 33 cents per gallon cheaper than in 2019. However, some of these savings will burn off in traffic. AAA warns road drivers of around 20% more congestion on the country’s highways and secondary roads.

Where intrepid travelers go

Imgorthand | E + | Getty Images

Traveling but not staying with friends or family? You may find some savings in housing in your stocking. Guesty found that the average nightly rate for New Year’s reservations had gone down that month and was the same as in 2019. This is likely because hosts are lowering prices to encourage bookings as they are generally reluctant to travel.

And where are die-hard vacationers for Christmas and New Years? Amadeus Global Reservation System has determined that the top five US travel destinations with hotel occupancy rates of 50% or more are:

  1. Vail, Colorado
  2. Key West, Florida
  3. Sedona, Arizona
  4. Aspen, Colorado
  5. Fort Myers, Florida