Coronavirus category, Page 4
Health care vaccine mandate remains as some push for an end
LOWRY CITY, Mo. — At Truman Lake Manor in rural Missouri, every day begins the same way for every employee entering the nursing home’s doors — with a swab up the nose, a swirl of testing solution and a brief wait to see whether a thin red line appears indicating...
Covid could create crisis in Alex Murdaugh murder trial
Two jurors in the double murder trial of disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh have covid, leaving the future of the proceedings in some doubt as they enter their fourth week on Monday. Judge Clifton Newman decided keep the trial going in the packed Colleton County courtroom after the remaining...
CDC adds covid vaccines to list of routine vaccines for kids and adults
ATLANTA — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has added covid-19 vaccinations to a list of suggested routine immunizations, but they in no way mandate vaccines. The CDC’s vaccine schedule, released Thursday, does not set requirements for vaccines in schools or in the workplace. State and local jurisdictions decide...
How will life change once the covid-19 emergency ends?Video
WASHINGTON — The declaration of a covid-19 public health emergency three years ago changed the lives of millions of Americans by offering increased health care coverage, beefed-up food assistance and universal access to coronavirus vaccines and tests. Much of that is now coming to an end, with President Joe Biden’s...
President Biden to end covid-19 emergencies on May 11
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden informed Congress on Monday that he will end the twin national emergencies for addressing covid-19 on May 11, as most of the world has returned closer to normalcy nearly three years after they were first declared. The move to end the national emergency and public...
U.S. proposes once-a-year covid shots for most Americans
WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials want to make covid-19 vaccinations more like the annual flu shot. The Food and Drug Administration on Monday proposed a simplified approach for future vaccination efforts, allowing most adults and children to get a once-a-year shot to protect against the mutating virus. This means Americans...
Lunar New Year tourism hopes fizzle as Chinese stay home
BANGKOK — A hoped-for boom in Chinese tourism in Asia over next week’s Lunar New Year holidays looks set to be more of a blip as most travelers opt to stay inside China if they go anywhere. From the beaches of Bali to Hokkaido’s powdery ski slopes, the hoards of...
New ‘kraken’ mutation of the covid-19 virus is most contagious subvariant yet
Medical experts say the new covid-19 mutation dubbed “kraken” is the most contagious subvariant of the virus to emerge since the pandemic began — and it’s becoming the dominant strain in the United States. As cases of this latest subvariant, known as XBB.1.5, surge across the northeastern section of the...
Tourists may get refunds over covid measures says E.U. court
BERLIN — Travelers whose package tours were ruined by the imposition of restrictions to combat the covid-19 pandemic may be entitled to at least a partial refund, the European Union’s highest court said Thursday. The European Court of Justice weighed in after being asked for its opinion by a court...
Japan, South Korea protest China visa stoppage in covid spat
TOKYO — Japan and South Korea defended their public health restrictions on travelers from China on Wednesday, a day after China stopped issuing new visas in both countries in apparent retaliation. South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said he finds it “significantly regrettable” that China stopped issuing short-term visas to...
Unvaccinated Djokovic back, year later at Australian Open
Novak Djokovic had just wrapped up last season by winning the ATP Finals for a record sixth time when, rather than looking ahead to 2023, his mind immediately went back to the way 2022 began: He was unable to compete in last year’s Australian Open after being deported from the...
New covid variant — dubbed ‘kraken’ — found in Western Pa.
A new strain of covid nicknamed the “kraken” for its dominance over previous strains of the virus has been found in the Western Pennsylvania region, health officials said. Officially known as XBB.1.5, the new covid variant has jumped from just 1% of cases to become the dominant strain in the...
What we know about the ‘kraken’ covid variant XBB.1.5 and why it’s causing concern
A new covid-19 variant that first was detected last year quickly has become the dominant strain in the U.S. Nicknamed the “kraken variant” by some, it surged through the nation and now has been identified in at least 28 other countries, according to the World Health Organization. Here are your...
Explainer: Is China sharing enough covid-19 information?
TAIPEI, Taiwan — As covid-19 rips through China, other countries and the World Health Organization are calling on its government to share more comprehensive data on the outbreak. Some even say many of the numbers it’s reporting are meaningless. Without basic data like the number of deaths, infections and severe...
As covid surges in China, U.S. begins testing more travelers
NEWARK, N.J. — Shubham Chandra knows how dangerous the coronavirus can be: He lost his dad during the pandemic. So when he cleared customs at Newark Liberty International Airport and saw people offering anonymous covid-19 testing, he was happy to volunteer. “It’s a minimum amount of effort to help a...
Beds run out at Beijing hospital as covid-19 spreads
BEIJING — Patients, mostly older people, laid on stretchers in hallways or took oxygen while sitting in wheelchairs as a covid-19 outbreak stretched public health facilities’ resources in China’s capital Beijing, even after its reported peak. The Chuiyangliu hospital in the city’s east was packed Thursday with newly arrived patients....
Move on from covid? Child care disruptions continue
Forty-seven. That’s how many days of child care Kathryn Anne Edwards’ 3-year-old son has missed in the past year. RSV, covid-19 and two bouts of the dreaded preschool scourge of hand, foot and mouth disease struck one after another. The illnesses were so disruptive that the labor economist quit her...
More European nations tighten covid rules for China flights
PARIS — France, Spain and England will implement tougher covid-19 measures for passengers arriving from China, authorities said Friday. France’s government is requiring negative tests, and is urging French citizens to avoid nonessential travel to China. France is also reintroducing mask requirements on flights from China to France. French health...
E.U. doesn’t follow Italy with covid checks on China arrivals
BRUSSELS — The European Union is assessing Beijing’s rollback of its strict anti-infection controls but refrained Thursday from immediately following EU member Italy in requiring coronavirus tests for airline passengers coming from China. Health officials from the 27-member bloc promised to continue talks on seeking a common approach to travel...
Lack of info on China’s covid-19 surge stirs global concern
BEIJING — Moves by several countries to mandate covid-19 tests for passengers arriving from China reflect global concern that new variants could emerge in its ongoing explosive outbreak — and that the government may not inform the rest of the world quickly enough. There have been no reports of new...
13 former Allegheny County employees sue over coronavirus vaccine mandate
Thirteen former Allegheny County employees are suing the county after it denied their requests for religious and medical exemptions to receive the coronavirus vaccine. In a federal lawsuit, the employees allege the county breached an employment contract and violated the First and Fourteenth amendments when it terminated unvaccinated employees after...
U.S. will require covid-19 testing for travelers from China
The U.S. announced new covid-19 testing requirements Wednesday for all travelers from China, joining other nations imposing restrictions because of a surge of infections. The increase in cases across China follows the rollback of the nation’s strict anti-virus controls. China’s “zero covid” policies had kept China’s infection rate low but...
China to scrap covid-19 quarantine for incoming passengers
BEIJING — China will drop a COVID-19 quarantine requirement for passengers arriving from abroad starting Jan. 8, the National Health Commission announced Monday in the latest easing of the country’s once-strict virus-control measures. Currently, arriving passengers must quarantine for five days at a hotel, followed by three days at home....
China races to vaccinate elderly, but many are reluctant
BEIJING — Chinese authorities are going door to door and paying people older than 60 to get vaccinated against covid-19. But even as cases surge, 64-year-old Li Liansheng said his friends are alarmed by stories of fevers, blood clots and other side effects. “When people hear about such incidents, they...
Loved or hated, Fauci’s parting advice: Stick to the science
WASHINGTON — Long before the bobbleheads and the “Fauci ouchie,” Dr. Anthony Fauci was a straight-shooter about scary diseases — and “stick with the science” remains his mantra. Fauci steps down from a five-decade career in public service at the end of the month, one shaped by the HIV pandemic...
