Tag Archives: coronavirus

CBS News reports: A day ahead of the scheduled rollout of free COVID-19 tests distributed by the Biden administration, some Americans are already placing orders for their free deliveries through a form posted by the U.S. Postal Service. The White House announced last week that it would publicly launch the site covidtests.gov on Wednesday. However, some early visitors to the …

The Daily Mail reports: An anti-vax Czech folk singer has died after deliberately catching Covid to obtain a health pass to allow her to visit the sauna and theatre. Hana Horka, the vocalist for the band Asonance, died on Sunday after contracting the Delta variant at the age of 57, according to her son Jan Rek. She voluntarily exposed herself …

The Associated Press reports: The fast-moving omicron variant may cause less severe disease on average, but COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. are climbing and modelers forecast 50,000 to 300,000 more Americans could die by the time the wave subsides in mid-March. The seven-day rolling average for daily new COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. has been trending upward since mid-November, reaching …

NPR reports: Sotomayor has diabetes, a condition that puts her at high risk for serious illness, or even death, from COVID-19. She has been the only justice to wear a mask on the bench since last fall when, amid a marked decline in COVID-19 cases, the justices resumed in-person arguments for the first time since the onset of the pandemic. …

The New York Times reports: Stations in lower-income areas in Brooklyn, Queens and Upper Manhattan, where residents are less likely to be able to work from home and typically depend more on public transit, have rebounded far faster than stations in office-heavy sections of Manhattan, including some that were once the busiest in the system, where many workers are still …

ABC News reports: Hawaii will require visitors to the state to have received a COVID-19 vaccine booster if they want to skip quarantine. Currently, under the rules of the state’s “Safe Travels” program, travelers who don’t want to quarantine for five days must either be fully vaccinated — meaning two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine or one shot …

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports: Scott Quiner, 55, of Buffalo, was flown from the Twin Cities to Texas over the weekend, an attorney representing the family said. Scott Quiner’s case drew widespread attention last week after Mercy Hospital said it would disconnect the ventilator on Thursday. Quiner, who was unvaccinated, had been in the hospital’s ICU since Nov. 6 with critically …

The Associated Press reports: Greece imposed a vaccination mandate Monday for people 60 and older, as the country’s vaccination rate remains below the European Union average and a spike in infections has put sustained pressure on Greek hospitals. Older people failing to get vaccinated will face penalties, starting at a 50-euro ($57) fine in January and followed by a monthly …

ABC News reports: No public tickets will be sold to next month’s Beijing Olympics due to COVID-19, the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee said. Instead, groups of spectators will be invited to the games, and “the organizers expect that these spectators will strictly abide by the COVID-19 countermeasures before, during and after each event,” the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee said. The …

Politico Europe reports: Moderna hopes to market a combined booster vaccination for COVID-19, influenza and RSV — a common respiratory virus — as soon as the fall of 2023, CEO Stéphane Bancel said Monday. Bancel, speaking on a panel at the World Economic Forum, said the combination vaccine would enable people to get broad protection against illnesses caused by respiratory …

USA Today reports: France passed a law Sunday that will exclude unvaccinated people from all restaurants, sports arenas, and other venues, one of the strictest measures taken by a country to stop the spread of COVID-19. French President Emmanuel Macron had hoped to push the bill through faster, but it was slightly delayed by resistance from lawmakers both on the …

The Associated Press reports: The World Health Organization said Sunday that a U.N.-backed program shipping coronavirus vaccines to many poor countries has now delivered 1 billion doses, but that milestone “is only a reminder of the work that remains” after hoarding and stockpiling in rich countries. A shipment of 1.1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Rwanda on Saturday included the …

Washington DC’s WTOP radio station reports: Virginia’s freshly inaugurated governor, Glenn Youngkin, signed executive orders removing school masking requirements across the state on Saturday afternoon. Since that moment, Arlington and Alexandria school systems have joined Fairfax County Public Schools in reminding families that masking policies remain in place. Responding to a question posed by WTOP’s Nick Ianelli — who has …

The Washington Post reports: A federal website where Americans can order free coronavirus rapid tests will be launched Wednesday and allow each household to order up to four tests, senior administration officials said. The website, called covidtests.gov, will require that users provide their names and addresses to receive the tests. The government purchased 500 million rapid tests that will be …

The Associated Press reports: Get ready to learn more Greek letters. Scientists warn that omicron’s whirlwind advance practically ensures it won’t be the last version of the coronavirus to worry the world. Every infection provides a chance for the virus to mutate, and omicron has an edge over its predecessors: It spreads way faster despite emerging on a planet with …

CNN reports: West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said he was feeling better, two days after a COVID-19 diagnosis, according to a statement from the governor’s office. “Thankfully, I am feeling much better today,” Justice said. “I desperately want to get out of this house and back to serving our state. I am not one to lay around.” The governor continues …

CNN Business reports: People trying to fly from the United States to China may soon be confronted with an unthinkable scenario: Starting next week, there are likely to be no commercial flights bound for the country as Beijing tries to keep coronavirus infections out ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics. Beginning January 19 and continuing for at least two weeks, …

Via press release from the Justice Department: A Florida man pleaded guilty today in the Southern District of Florida to a $6.9 million conspiracy to defraud Medicare by paying kickbacks and bribes to obtain doctors’ orders for medically unnecessary lab tests that were then billed to Medicare. The defendant exploited the COVID-19 pandemic by bundling COVID-19 testing with other forms …

NPR reports: President Biden announced Thursday that the administration will be buy another 500 million at-home COVID-19 tests for Americans, in addition to the 500 million already being procured. A website will launch next week so Americans can order the free tests, Biden announced. He also said the White House will make high-quality masks available for free, with details coming …

Religion News Service reports: The Vatican has tightened its COVID-19 regulations by requiring the use of FFP2 masks (similar to N95 masks) inside and making vaccinations and booster shots mandatory for employees and visitors wishing to enter the Vatican Museums and gardens. In an attached document, the Vatican also issued fines for people who do not respect the new regulations. …