JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa is experiencing a surge of new COVID-19 cases driven by two omicron sub-variants, according to health experts.
For about three weeks the country has seen increasing numbers of new cases and somewhat higher hospitalizations, but not increases in severe cases and deaths, said Professor Marta Nunes, a researcher at Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Analytics at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto.
Virus Outbreak
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Conservative Republican lawmakers have approved a measure that would prohibit Kansas or its cities, counties or school districts from imposing mask mandates to control the spread of any infectious disease.
Climate change will result in thousands of new viruses spread among animal species by 2070 — and that's likely to increase the risk of emerging infectious diseases jumping from animals to humans, according to a new study.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday the coronavirus is under better control in the United States. but the pandemic isn't over — and the challenge is how to keep improving the situation.
“We are in a different moment of the pandemic,” said Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, in an interview with The Associated Press.
A U.K. patient with a severely weakened immune system had COVID-19 for almost a year and a half, scientists reported, underscoring the importance of protecting vulnerable people from the coronavirus.
HONOLULU (AP) — A COVID-19 omicron variant hybrid called XE has been detected in Hawaii, the Hawaii state Department of Health said.
The department's laboratories division confirmed one case of XE in its latest variant report, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Friday.
Yet again, the U.S. is trudging into what could be another COVID-19 surge, with cases rising nationally and in most states after a two-month decline.
One big unknown? “We don’t know how high that mountain’s gonna grow,” said Dr.
Many Americans now can get a second COVID-19 booster, but it’s hard to tell who really needs another shot right now and who could wait.
The Food and Drug Administration authorized extra Pfizer or Moderna shots for anyone 50 or older and for some younger people with severely weakened immune systems.
BRISTOL, R.I. (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face of the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic, will deliver the keynote address at Roger Williams University's commencement ceremony, the Rhode Island school announced Monday.
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China continues to battle its worst COVID-19 outbreak, driven by the omicron variant, with health officials on Friday calling the situation “severe and complex."
The country has counted more than 56,000 cases since March 1, according to national health officials, who gave a press briefing Friday.
BEIJING (AP) — Even as authorities lock down cities in China's worst outbreak in two years, they are looking for an exit from what has been a successful but onerous COVID-19 prevention strategy.
The markets are crowded again. Traffic is jamming the roads. Migrant workers have returned to the cities. And young people are back at schools and universities — many of them for the first time in years.
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen in northwestern Pakistan shot and killed a female polio worker as she was returning home Wednesday after taking part in the country's latest anti-polio campaign, police said.
BOSTON (AP) — Dr. Paul Farmer, a U.S. physician, humanitarian and author renowned for providing health care to millions of impoverished people worldwide and who co-founded the global nonprofit Partners in Health, has died.
Average daily COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are continuing to fall in the U.S., an indicator that the omicron variant’s hold is weakening across the country.
Total confirmed cases reported Saturday barely exceeded 100,000, a sharp downturn from around 800,850 five weeks ago on Jan.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s parliament on Monday approved plans to provide a special time for COVID-19 patients to vote during the March 9 presidential election as the country grapples with a record-breaking omicron surge.
Students and staff at Massachusetts public schools won't have to wear face coverings indoors starting Feb. 28, Gov. Charlie Baker and state education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley said Wednesday.
The decision was made in consultation with infectious disease physicians, the state Department of Public Health, and other medical experts, they said.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea will no longer use GPS monitoring to enforce quarantines and will also end daily checkup calls to low-risk coronavirus patients as a fast-developing omicron surge overwhelms health and government workers.
COVID-19 vaccines are saving an untold number of lives, but they can't stop the chaos when a hugely contagious new mutant bursts on the scene, leading people to wonder: Will we need boosters every few months?
NEW YORK (AP) — Neil Young vs Joe Rogan seems like the strangest of cultural clashes.
Yet the 76-year-old rock star's protest over coronavirus-related content on Rogan's popular Spotify podcast has ignited a hot debate over misinformation and free speech, bruising a streaming service that has become the central way that millions of people around the world experience music.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s top infectious disease expert defended the move to expand the use of rapid testing despite accuracy concerns, as the country broke its daily coronavirus record for the third straight day.
NEW YORK (AP) — Neil Young's music will be removed from Spotify at his request, following the veteran rock star's protest over the streaming service airing a popular podcast that featured a figure criticized for spreading COVID misinformation.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California would allow children age 12 and up to be vaccinated without their parents’ consent under a proposal introduced Friday by a state senator who said youngsters “deserve the right to protect themselves” against infectious disease.
NEW YORK (AP) — Antibiotic-resistant germs caused more than 1.2 million deaths globally in one year, according to new research that suggests that these “superbugs" have joined the ranks of the world's leading infectious disease killers.
TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese minister responsible for containing COVID-19 while steering the world’s third largest economy toward growth says he is confident he can carry out that precarious “balancing act.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious disease expert, angrily accused a senator Tuesday of making false accusations that are leading to threats against him -- all to raise political cash.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The difficulty finding coronavirus test kits in many parts of California and delays in getting results are causing increasing frustration and contributing to the surge of infections that in just two weeks more than doubled the number of people in hospitals with COVID-19.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, said the nation should consider a vaccination mandate for domestic air travel, signaling a potential embrace of an idea the Biden administration has previously eschewed, as COVID-19 cases spike.