Tag Archives: coronavirus

Adams Rejects Guidance On Masks Despite High Alert

The New York Daily News reports: Mayor Adams is not reinstating the city’s indoor face mask mandate despite a recommendation from the city Health Department to do so in light of a recent uptick in coronavirus infections and hospitalizations. Guidance from the Health Department recommends that the government moves to “require face masks in all public indoor settings” when the …

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Apple Extends WFH Option, Reinstates Office Mask Rule

From Apple’s memo to employees today: Based on current conditions, we have two updates to share: First, we are temporarily asking team members to wear masks in common spaces, meeting rooms, hallways, and elevators—in general, all areas outside of your personal workspace. Second, we are extending the phase-in period of the pilot and maintaining two days a week in the …

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NYC Moves To High Level COVID Alert As Cases Climb

NBC New York reports: New York City raised its COVID alert level to high on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after warning of the possibility, as a fifth pandemic wave fueled by the most contagious COVID subvariants yet tighten their grip on the metro area and the nation. The five boroughs had been in a “medium” COVID alert state since …

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NYC Mask Mandate May Return Under High Alert Level

Bloomberg News reports: New York City is preparing to hit a high Covid transmission level in the coming days that would have it reconsidering mask requirements in public places. “If NYC’s Alert Level is raised to High, the City will consider requiring face masks in all public indoor settings,” according to guidance on the city health department’s website. New cases …

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NYC To Distribute 16M Tests Amid Latest COVID Surge

The New York Daily News reports: Mayor Adams announced Monday that the city is significantly expanding the number of COVID tests and masks it distributes to schools, libraries and houses of worship in a push to stem the growing number of coronavirus cases and to head off a future wave of the virus. Over the next month, the city plans …

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Kim Jong Un Blasts His Own Officials As COVID Rages

Agence France-Presse reports: North Korea’s Kim Jong Un criticised “irresponsible” officials over the country’s pandemic response and ordered the army to help distribute medicine, state media said on Monday, as Seoul offered Covid-19 aid. More than a million people have been ill with what Pyongyang refers to as “fever”, state media said, despite leader Kim ordering nationwide lockdowns in a …

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Anthony Fauci: I’d Quit If Trump Got Reelected [VIDEO]

The Insider reports: White House Chief Medical Advisor Anthony Fauci said on Sunday that if former President Donald Trump returned to the White House, he would not stay in the role. CNN’s Jim Acosta asked Fauci whether or not he had faith in Trump’s ability to deal with the pandemic and if he would continue his job under a Trump …

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North Korea Enters Nationwide COVID Lockdown

The Associated Press reports: North Korea imposed a nationwide lockdown Thursday to control its first acknowledged COVID-19 outbreak after holding for more than two years to a widely doubted claim of a perfect record keeping out the virus that has spread to nearly every place in the world. The outbreak forced leader Kim Jong Un to wear a mask in …

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House Panel: Meat Producers Faked Shortages To Avoid Lockdown And Wrote Trump’s Order Exempting Them

The Washington Post reports: The biggest players in the U.S. meat industry pressed “baseless” claims of beef and pork shortages early in the pandemic to persuade the Trump White House to keep processing plants running, disregarding the coronavirus risks that eventually killed at least 269 workers, according to a special House committee. In a report released Thursday, the committee alleges …

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Biden Marks “One Million Americans Lost To COVID”

Via press release from the White House: Today, we mark a tragic milestone: one million American lives lost to COVID-19. One million empty chairs around the dinner table. Each an irreplaceable loss. Each leaving behind a family, a community, and a nation forever changed because of this pandemic. Jill and I pray for each of them. To those who are …

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Gallup: Only 31% Worried About COVID As Cases Rise

Gallup reports: The steady increase in COVID-19 cases this past month is not disconcerting to Americans, as they are less worried now about the coronavirus than they were at the start of the year, and fewer are social distancing. Fewer than one in three U.S. adults (31%) say they are “very” or “somewhat worried” about getting COVID-19, statistically similar to …

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European Union Drops Air Travel Face Mask Mandate

Deutsche Welle reports: Face masks will not have to be worn in airports and on flights in Europe, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said on Wednesday. The easing of the measure will be effective as of May 16. However, authorities stressed masks were still the most effective way to …

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WH Expects 100M New COVID Cases Over Fall/Winter

The Hill reports: The White House is preparing for as many as 100 million Americans to get infected with COVID-19 during a wave this fall and winter, a senior administration official said Friday, but warns there will not be enough vaccines or treatments to protect everyone unless Congress provides new funding. A senior administration official told a small group of …

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WHO Estimates Global COVID Death Toll At 15 Million

The BBC reports: The Covid pandemic has caused the deaths of nearly 15 million people around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates. That is 13% more deaths than normally expected over two years. The WHO believes many countries undercounted the numbers who died from Covid – only 5.4 million were reported. In India, there were 4.7 million Covid …

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CDC: US Has Surpassed One Million COVID Deaths

NBC News reports: The U.S. on Wednesday surpassed 1 million Covid-19 deaths, according to data compiled by NBC News — a once unthinkable scale of loss even for the country with the world’s highest recorded toll from the virus. The number — equivalent to the population of San Jose, California, the 10th largest city in the U.S. — was reached …

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Sec. Antony Blinken Tests COVID+, Mild Symptoms

Via press release from the State Department: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken tested positive for COVID-19 this afternoon via a PCR test. The Secretary is fully vaccinated and boosted against the virus and is experiencing only mild symptoms. He tested negative on Tuesday and again as recently as this morning. The Secretary has not seen President Biden in person …

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Multiple Journos Test COVID+ After WH Nerd Prom

CNN Business reports: Trevor Noah joked about the event becoming a superspreader — and now the cases are rolling in. The annual White House Correspondents Dinner, along with the festivities held in the days before and after it, have led to the inevitable spread of Covid. In the days since WHCD weekend, reporters and staffers from CNN, ABC News, NBC …

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NYC Raises COVID Alert Level Amid Spike In New Cases

The New York Daily News reports: New York City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan declared Monday morning that the city has elevated its COVID threat level to a “medium risk alert” due to a recent increase in cases. It’s the first time Mayor Adams’ administration has upgraded the COVID threat level since he took control of City Hall on Jan. 1. …

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Airbnb: No More Refunds Because You Caught COVID

From Airbnb’s corporate blog: As we’ve seen the heroic effort of health authorities and medical advancements around the globe, almost two thirds of the world’s population have received at least one dose of a vaccination against COVID-19. And many countries have now implemented living with COVID-19 plans, as it becomes part of our world. As a result of this new …

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NYT: Coronavirus Cases Rising In Almost Every State

The New York Times reports: Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are rising in a majority of American states, in what appears to be the first widespread increase since the peak of the Omicron surge in January. Reports of new cases were nearly flat in the United States at the beginning of April, but as the month draws to a close, they …

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