COVID-19

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Australia Busts Out Toy Koalas, Welcomes Back Tourists

After a 2-year hiatus, fully vaccinated travelers are now welcome

(Newser) - International tourists and business travelers began arriving in Australia with few restrictions on Monday, bringing together families in tearful reunions after separations of two years or longer forced by some of the most draconian pandemic measures of any democracy in the world, reports the AP . Australia closed its borders to...

Hong Kong Faces Grim COVID Dilemma
Hong Kong Faces
Grim COVID Dilemma
THE RUNDOWN
Feb 19, 2022 10:15 AM CST

Hong Kong Faces Grim COVID Dilemma

Cases have surged out of control, but living with COVID is not an option

(Newser) - Before the pandemic and a harsh crackdown on dissent upended life in Hong Kong, the territory was often considered China's "window on the world." But now, with omicron infections raging out of control, Hong Kong finds itself trapped between two worlds: The West, where countries are loosening...

California Is First State to Switch to 'Endemic' Policy

Newsom says the goal is 'to be prepared without being paranoid'

(Newser) - California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday announced the first shift by a state to an "endemic" approach to the coronavirus pandemic that emphasizes prevention and quick reactions to outbreaks over mandates. It's a milestone nearly two years in the making that harkens to a return to a more...

Many Families Aren't Applying for COVID Funeral Funds

Some are struggling with FEMA's strict documentation requirements

(Newser) - In March last year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency launched a program to reimburse families for funerals for loved ones who died from COVID-19. With daily deaths currently at an average of well over 2,000, it is still a benefit needed by far too many families, but it is...

Djokovic: I'll Scrap Wimbledon Over Forced Vaccination

World's No. 1 men's tennis player says he'd give up future titles: 'That is the price that I'm willing to pay'

(Newser) - Novak Djokovic's Aussie saga has passed, but a month after his deportation after showing up unvaccinated to play in the Australian Open, the Serbian tennis star says he'd give up future trophies rather than undergo forced vaccination. "Yes, that is the price that I'm willing to...

Levi's Exec Says Her COVID Views Cost Her a Job

Jennifer Sey spoke out against school lockdowns

(Newser) - A former Levi's exec is calling out her longtime employer in an essay, saying she was forced out of her job because of her views about school COVID lockdowns. In the essay on the Substack channel Common Sense , Jennifer Sey writes that she got into hot water with the...

COVID Patient Has Tested Positive 78 Straight Times

Man has asked Turkish government for help after 14 months of isolation

(Newser) - Since late 2020, Muzzafer Kayasan has taken 78 COVID-19 tests. Every one has come back positive. The result is that he's spent 14 months in isolation, either in a Turkish hospital or at home, Business Insider reports. The 56-year-old leukemia patient, who's home now in Istanbul, has gotten...

Cops Show Up at Dawn at Ambassador Bridge

Trucker protest seemed to dissolve peacefully as police moved in to enforce injunction

(Newser) - A tense standoff at a US-Canadian border crossing crucial to both countries' economies appeared to be dissolving peacefully Saturday as Canadian police moved in to disperse the nearly weeklong blockade, and demonstrators began leaving without resistance. Many protesters drove away from the Ambassador Bridge spanning the river between Detroit and...

FDA Slows Down Push for Shots to Young Kids

Also, effectiveness of boosters appears to wane after 4 months

(Newser) - Friday saw two notable developments on the vaccine front:
  • Young kids: The FDA is putting the brakes on its rush to approve Pfizer shots for children 5 and younger, reports the Wall Street Journal . At this point, it looks like April at the earliest. On Friday, the agency reversed course
...

US Urges Canada to End Bridge Blockade

Trudeau is willing to 'respond with whatever it takes' to end COVID protests

(Newser) - The Biden administration urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government Thursday to use its federal powers to end the truck blockade by Canadians protesting the country’s COVID-19 restrictions, as the bumper-to-bumper demonstration forced auto plants on both sides of the border to shut down or scale back production. For...

Trucker Blockade Hits Auto Industry in US, Canada
Canada Calls
Border Blockade
'Very Grave'
THE RUNDOWN
Feb 10, 2022 7:32 AM CST

Canada Calls Border Blockade 'Very Grave'

Ford says auto industry is suffering

(Newser) - Protesters are continuing to blockade North America's busiest border crossing—and the auto industry is starting to suffer. The Ambassador Bridge, which carries around 25% of the traffic between the US and Canada, has been blocked for days by protesters—most of them in pickup trucks but some in...

Fauci Is Optimistic About Way Out of the Pandemic

He says US is exiting 'full-blown' phase

(Newser) - Almost exactly two years after he warned that the coronavirus "almost certainly is going to be a pandemic," Dr. Anthony Fauci says the US is on the way out of the "full-blown pandemic phase" of the crisis. The top White House medical adviser tells the Financial Times...

After a 'Staggering 13 Centuries,' This Pub Is Closing

Ye Olde Fighting Cocks, which claims to be UK's oldest pub, could still see new life with new owners

(Newser) - Thousands of pubs, clubs, and restaurants across England have been forced to shutter for good due to the pandemic, but the latest UK watering hole to announce it's closing its doors is an especially devastating blow. After what one YouTube channel calls a "staggering 13 centuries of pulling...

'New Yorkers, This Is What We Have Been Waiting For'

State is lifting mask mandate for more indoor public spaces

(Newser) - New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says the state is lifting its mask mandate for most indoor public spaces—but it will remain in place for now in schools as well as healthcare facilities and a few other settings. The governor cited declining COVID infection rates and hospitalizations, the Albany Times ...

J&J Is Pausing COVID Vaccine Production

Move is said to be temporary, but some are raising concerns

(Newser) - The only Johnson & Johnson plant that had been making usable batches of the company's COVID-19 vaccine is no longer producing it, a move that could reduce the global supply of the vaccine by a few hundred million doses, sources tell the New York Times . J&J quietly made...

Omicron Found in Wild NYC Deer
Omicron Found
in Wild NYC Deer
Feb 8, 2022 6:11 PM CST

Omicron Found in Wild NYC Deer

This is the first time variant has been found in wildlife, researchers say

(Newser) - An unwelcome first in Staten Island: Deer in the New York City borough are the first wild animals known to be infected with the omicron variant, researchers say. Scientists tested blood samples from deer captured during a sterilization program and found that 14.5% out of 131 deer had antibodies...

Canada's Trucker Protest Inspires a Copycat

Vehicles clog streets near Parliament in New Zealand

(Newser) - The Canadian trucker protest over COVID rules shows no sign of letting up, and it's now inspired a copycat protest in New Zealand. NDTV reports that trucks and campervans clogged streets near Parliament in Wellington on Tuesday. Protesters in the vehicles and on foot objected to vaccine mandates and...

In Return to Jobs, a Huge Gender Gap

BLS stats show 1M-plus men went back to job market in Jan. amid pandemic; only 39K women did

(Newser) - The pandemic struck a huge blow to the American workforce, but January's jobs report brought some hopeful news, with employers adding 467,000 jobs last month. But the news appears to be better for men than for women, per Axios , which cites a "jaw-dropping" gender disparity in labor...

900K Americans Have Died of COVID
US COVID Death Toll
Approaches 1M
Feb 5, 2022 2:20 PM CST

US COVID Death Toll Approaches 1M

900,000 people have died, officials say

(Newser) - The US death toll from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is inching closer to 1 million as the Omicron variant rages throughout the world, the AP reports. More than 10% of the 900,000 Americans lost to the virus died after Dec. 12, per Reuters . “If you had told most...

WHO: Europe Is Entering 'Plausible Endgame' to COVID

Upcoming period 'should be seen as a cease-fire that could bring us enduring peace'

(Newser) - The director of the World Health Organization’s Europe office said Thursday the continent is now entering a “plausible endgame” to the pandemic and the number of coronavirus deaths is starting to plateau. Dr. Hans Kluge said at a media briefing that there is a "singular opportunity" for...

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