COVID-19

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LeBron James Tests Positive for COVID-19

Lakers superstar is said to be asymptomatic, will miss several games

(Newser) - LeBron James, fresh off a suspension, is now sidelined by the NBA's health and safety protocols after testing positive for COVID-19. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar, who has said he is fully vaccinated, took a lateral flow test that returned a positive COVID-19 result on Tuesday, per TMZ Sports...

Shuttered in March 2020, Fiji Celebrates a 'Momentous Day'

Fiji is once again open to tourists, for first time in nearly 2 years

(Newser) - Since March 2020, the island nation of Fiji has had its doors shuttered to tourists, in an attempt to keep COVID from overwhelming the limited medical services available to its 1 million residents. On Wednesday, nearly two years after the tourism-dependent country's shutdown, locals once again started to welcome...

Omicron Was in Europe Before South Africa Raised the Alarm

First cases reported in Brazil, Japan

(Newser) - Brazil and Japan joined the rapidly widening circle of countries to report cases of the omicron variant Tuesday, while new findings indicate the mutant coronavirus was already in Europe close to a week before South Africa sounded the alarm. The Netherlands' RIVM health institute disclosed that patient samples dating from...

Quarantine Hotel Unusable After Guest Allegedly Sets Fire

31-year-old has been charged with arson

(Newser) - An hotel quarantine facility that was home to 163 occupants as of Sunday had one guest who stood out—and who allegedly set fire to the hotel that day. "We did have some issues with that female occupant that we were managing," the Queensland Police Acting Chief Superintendent...

BioNTech Founder: Omicron Unlikely to Cause Severe Cases

Ugur Sahin says vaccinated people should have protection against new variant

(Newser) - The seesawing of sentiment on the omicron variant continues. The co-founder of BioNTech, the company that partnered with Pfizer on a COVID vaccine, has weighed in with comments that are relatively optimistic. Ugur Sahin tells the Wall Street Journal that the company's existing vaccine should prevent serious illness among...

CDC Strengthens Booster Advice
CDC Strengthens
Booster Advice

CDC Strengthens Booster Advice

Agency now says everyone over 18 who is eligible should get another shot

(Newser) - While much is unknown about the new omicron COVID variant—including how effective existing vaccines are against it—the CDC is urging people not to take any chances. The agency strengthened its advice Monday to say that people over 18 should get a booster shot, New York Times reports. Earlier...

Couple Arrested After Leaving Quarantine Hotel

They tested positive after arriving in Amsterdam from South Africa Friday

(Newser) - Dutch military police arrested a husband and wife Sunday who had left a hotel where they were being quarantined after testing positive for COVID-19 and boarded a plane to fly home to Spain. A spokeswoman for the local security authority that covers Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport said Monday that an...

New Theme in Omicron Coverage: Missed Promises
New Theme
in Omicron
Coverage:
Missed Promises
the rundown

New Theme in Omicron Coverage: Missed Promises

Wealthier nations aren't meeting pledges to supply vaccine to developing countries

(Newser) - Stories about the emergence of the Omicron variant frequently point to the same stat: Only about 6% of Africa, where it was first detected, is vaccinated against the coronavirus. As a result, critics are pointing fingers at wealthy nations for failing to fulfill promises to get vaccines to developing countries:...

Biden Shares His Thinking on Omicron
Biden Shares
His Thinking
on Omicron

Biden Shares His Thinking on Omicron

It's a 'cause for concern, not panic,' president says of new variant

(Newser) - President Biden on Monday spoke about the emerging Omicron variant , calling it "a cause for concern, not a cause for panic." And he reiterated familiar advice from Dr. Anthony Fauci and the White House: Get vaccinated, including booster shots. "Dr. Fauci believes that the current vaccines provide...

More Hopeful Scenarios Emerge on Omicron Variant
Omicron Variant Detected
in North America
the rundown

Omicron Variant Detected in North America

It's in Canada, though not (officially) in US yet; so far, vaccinated patients are getting mild cases

(Newser) - As health officials around the world watch the Omicron variant, the first wave of headlines about actual patients appears to have a common theme: It's spreading quickly, but not necessarily leading to more severe cases, especially among vaccinated people. Coverage:
  • Early cases: A top Israeli health official, Dr. Sharon
...

South Africa President: Omicron Travel Bans Are Discriminatory

Cyril Ramaphosa says they won't stop the spread, must be lifted now

(Newser) - Travel bans are increasingly being put into place against South Africa amid fears related to the COVID-19 variant newly identified there, and the president of the country is not happy. The bans, which have been implemented in places including the US, Canada, UK, Israel, EU, and Japan, are not backed...

This Is Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year

'Vaccine' wins out for 2021

(Newser) - With an expanded definition to reflect the times, Merriam-Webster has declared an omnipresent truth as its 2021 word of the year: vaccine. “This was a word that was extremely high in our data every single day in 2021,” Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster's editor-at-large, told the AP ahead of...

Outbreak Shuts Team Down
Outbreak Shuts Team Down

Outbreak Shuts Team Down

NHL postpones 2 Islanders games to fight spread

(Newser) - The NHL has postponed two more games for coronavirus-related reasons, making it five so far this season. Upcoming New York Islanders games Sunday at the Rangers and Tuesday at the Philadelphia Flyers were postponed after additional players went into the NHL's COVID-19 protocol on Saturday. The Islanders would have...

2 Planes Flew in From South Africa. 61 People Had COVID

Dutch authorities are now testing passengers to see if they have worrisome omicron variant

(Newser) - Two flights arrived in the Netherlands on Friday, bearing some 600 passengers from South Africa, and also a good number of COVID cases—and those people are now being tested to see if they've got the newly emerging omicron variant . Reuters reports that 61 of the flights' passengers who...

One Potential COVID Treatment Not as Potent as Hoped

Merck's pill, awaiting FDA review, is less effective than preliminary tests suggested

(Newser) - The COVID virus keeps mutating , and drugmakers are racing to adapt along with it. But on that front, Merck reported some relatively disappointing news about a pill under development—molnupiravir turns out to be 30% effective at reducing hospitalizations and deaths, which is down from preliminary estimates of 50%, reports...

First Case of New Variant Detected in Europe
WHO Names Variant;
US Issues Travel Restrictions
the rundown

WHO Names Variant; US Issues Travel Restrictions

World Health Organization dubs it 'omicron' and calls it a 'variant of concern'

(Newser) - The world got an unwanted new arrival on Friday: omicron. Here's the latest on the worrisome new COVID variant:
  • New name: After an emergency review, the World Health Organization on Friday declared the emerging strain of COVID a "variant of concern," reports the Washington Post . The variant,
...

Aaron Rodgers' Toe Is Now the Subject of Discussion

He made a quip about 'COVID toe,' then clarified it definitely wasn't that

(Newser) - If you didn't expect to spend part of your week wondering about Aaron Rodgers' toe, welcome to the club. The Green Bay Packers quarterback's digit has been the subject of discussion since Tuesday, when Rodgers appeared on the Pat McAfee show and touched on the toe injury he...

New COVID Variant Is a &#39;Big Jump in Evolution&#39;
New COVID Variant Is
a 'Big Jump in Evolution'

THE RUNDOWN

New COVID Variant Is a 'Big Jump in Evolution'

EU countries rush to restrict travel from southern Africa

(Newser) - Almost two years after the first cases were detected in Wuhan, China, the fight against the coronavirus continues—and authorities are worried that a new variant detected in South Africa could be a major setback. The variant, currently known as B.1.1.529, has mutations that could make it...

France Decides on Third Shots but Not More Restrictions

As cases surge, officials cut gap between second and third shots to 5 months

(Newser) - France launched a plan Thursday to give COVID-19 booster shots to all adults, as it opted against a further lockdown or curfew to help combat an uptick in infections in the country. Coronavirus infections have jumped in France over the past few days, with daily new cases rising above the...

Germany Passes 100K COVID Deaths
Germany Passes
100K COVID Deaths

Germany Passes 100K COVID Deaths

Leader-in-waiting hasn't ruled out mandatory vaccinations

(Newser) - Official figures released Thursday show Germany has become the latest country to surpass 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Germany’s disease control agency said it recorded 351 additional deaths in connection with the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, taking the total toll to 100,119....

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