Jan 06 Omicron surge sidelines 800 police, firefighters in Los Angeles By Brian Melley, Associated Press A dramatic surge in coronavirus cases has sidelined more than 800 Los Angeles city police and firefighters and led to slightly longer ambulance and fire response times. Continue reading
Jan 06 Schools, hit by teacher shortages due to COVID-19, rely on administrators and parents By Michael Melia, Associated Press Principals, superintendents and counselors are filling in as substitutes in classrooms around the United States as the surge in coronavirus infections further strains schools already struggling with staffing shortages. Continue reading
Jan 05 Watch 6:34 Unvaccinated children among those driving COVID surge in Louisiana hospitals By William Brangham The omicron variant now accounts for 95 percent of COVID cases in the United States. Public health officials say its effects are milder than the delta variant, but omicron’s high transmissibility is still sending large numbers of people into the… Continue watching
Jan 05 CDC advisers endorse Pfizer COVID boosters for younger teens By Lauran Neergaard, Mike Stobbe, Associated Press An influential government advisory panel is recommending COVID-19 boosters for younger teens. Boosters already are recommended for everyone 16 and older. Continue reading
Jan 05 Tennis star Novak Djokovic denied entry to Australia over visa, will not compete in tournament By John Pye, Associated Press The Australian Border Force issued a statement early Thursday local time saying Djokovic failed to provide appropriate evidence to meet entry requirements and "has visa has been subsequently canceled."… Continue reading
Jan 05 Grammy Awards postpone ceremony, citing omicron COVID variant risk By Associated Press The Recording Academy said Wednesday it made the decision to postpone the ceremony "after careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts, the artist community and our many partners."… Continue reading
Jan 05 WATCH: CDC urges 'up to date' COVID shots but won't change definition of 'fully vaccinated' By Zeke Miller, Mike Stobbe, Associated Press The move to keep the existing definition of fully vaccination — either two doses of the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna or a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine — comes as health officials warned of waning… Continue reading
Jan 05 Under strain, France allows some health care workers to keep working while positive for COVID-19 By John Leicester, Associated Press France is allowing health care workers who are infected with the coronavirus but have few or no symptoms to keep treating patients rather than self-isolate. Continue reading
Jan 05 Chicago cancels classes after union backs remote learning By Sophia Tareen, Associated Press Chicago schools have canceled classes after the teachers union voted to switch to remote learning due to record COVID-19 levels. Continue reading
Jan 03 Watch 9:02 COVID surge continues to upend Americans' travel plans, return to school By Amna Nawaz, Shoshana Dubnow COVID continues to spread quickly throughout the U.S. on the first Monday of the new year, forcing airlines and businesses to limit operations as many workers are falling ill or testing positive. The surge from the omicron variant is disrupting… Continue watching