Oregon health officials reported 10,606 new coronavirus cases last week, up 8% from the previous week.
The rise in identified coronavirus cases ended two weeks of reported declines, underscoring how little is known about the true number of infections in Oregon and nationally.
The new cases are an undercount of the virus current spread in Oregon, not least because of the ubiquity of at-home tests, which often are not reported to officials. Among publicly reported tests, the positivity rate has consistently stayed above 10% since May 6, with no immediate signs of retreat. Oregons initial drop in known cases three weeks ago coincided with a dip in testing over the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Three Oregon counties are now at federally designated high risk of COVID-19 transmission: Lane, Douglas and Jackson counties. People in those areas should wear masks in public indoor settings, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and should get tested if they have symptoms.
Most of the rest of Oregon is at medium risk, including Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas and 17 other counties. People in those counties should consider wearing masks if they are at risk of severe disease.
And yet, one of the clearest markers of the diseases toll, hospitalizations, remains steady. COVID-19 patients occupied just under 300 beds Monday, down from a peak of 327 about a week ago. Oregon Health & Science University previously forecast the current wave would peak in the first half of June at 313 occupied beds.
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Since it began: Oregon has reported 785,032 confirmed or presumed infections and 7,707 deaths.
Hospitalizations: 299 people with confirmed coronavirus infections are hospitalized, down 21 since Monday, June 6. That includes 27 people in intensive care, down seven since June 6.
Vaccinations: As of June 6, the state has reported fully vaccinating 2,918,829 people (68.4% of the population), partially vaccinating 287,910 people (6.7%) and boosting 1,657,743 (38.8%).
New deaths: Since June 6, the Oregon Health Authority has reported 48 additional deaths connected to COVID-19.
Fedor Zarkhin
Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK| The Gaston Gazette
North Carolina reported 26,785 new cases of coronavirus in the week ending Sunday, down 3.6% from the previous week. The previous week had 27,795 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.
North Carolina ranked 12th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 0.9% from the week before, with 753,773 cases reported. With 3.15% of the country's population, North Carolina had 3.55% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 31 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.
Johns Hopkins University data reported incorrect death totals for some North Carolina counties in the May 30 report, figures that were revised later that week.
Gaston County reported 450 cases and 11 deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 413 cases and one death. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 67,535 cases and 863 deaths.
Across North Carolina, cases fell in 49 counties, with the best declines in Wake County, with 4,879 cases from 5,266 a week earlier; in Guilford County, with 1,300 cases from 1,533; and in Forsyth County, with 1,018 cases from 1,193.
>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases
Within North Carolina, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Mitchell County with 541 cases per 100,000 per week; Swain County with 498; and Wake County with 439. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.
Adding the most new cases overall were Wake County, with 4,879 cases; Mecklenburg County, with 2,875 cases; and Durham County, with 1,348. Weekly case counts rose in 48 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Cabarrus, Durham and Pitt counties.
In North Carolina, 434 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 16 people were reported dead.
A total of 2,799,515 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 25,094 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 85,515,795 people have tested positive and 1,011,275 people have died.
>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States
USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, June 12.
Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:
Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:
Hospitals in 30 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 31 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 29 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.
The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.
Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK| Fremont News-Messenger
New coronavirus cases increased 4.1% in Ohio in the week ending Sunday as the state added 18,247 cases. The previous week had 17,530 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.
Ohio ranked 39th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 0.9% from the week before, with 753,773 cases reported. With 3.51% of the country's population, Ohio had 2.42% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 31 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.
Sandusky County reported 73 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 59 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 14,285 cases and 239 deaths.
Within Ohio, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Gallia County with 237 cases per 100,000 per week; Morgan County with 221; and Athens County with 214. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.
Adding the most new cases overall were Franklin County, with 2,542 cases; Cuyahoga County, with 2,003 cases; and Hamilton County, with 1,611. Weekly case counts rose in 57 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Hamilton, Franklin and Warren counties.
>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases
Across Ohio, cases fell in 31 counties, with the best declines in Stark County, with 467 cases from 556 a week earlier; in Mahoning County, with 370 cases from 429; and in Medina County, with 240 cases from 297.
In Ohio, zero people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, zero people were reported dead.
A total of 2,798,900 people in Ohio have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 38,657 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 85,515,795 people have tested positive and 1,011,275 people have died.
>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States
USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, June 12.
Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:
Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:
Hospitals in 30 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 31 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 29 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.
After climbing through April and May, COVID-19 cases are falling gradually in Frederick County.
The local positivity rate clocked in at 11.35% on Saturday, the last day for which data was available. This measure, a comparison of the total COVID-19 tests administered and the ones that are positive, has been on a consistent, if slow, decline since May 23, when it hit 15.27%.
New daily cases peaked most recently on May 20 at 126. Frederick County added 56 new cases on Saturday, for a total of 49,027 reported cases since March 2020.
Despite the recent decline in COVID-19 metrics, however, they tower over where they stood a year ago.
On June 13, 2021, Frederick County had a positivity rate of 0.94%. The case rate was 1.10 per 100,000 residents. The rate was 23.28 as of Friday.
Frederick County Health Department spokeswoman and epidemiologist Rissah Watkins said the difference between this year and last can partly be attributed to the contagious variants of the virus now circulating locally, such as omicron and delta.
By and large, people have also been taking fewer precautions than they were last year, Watkins said. Although more are vaccinated, fewer are wearing masks and keeping their distance from one another.
As of June 13, 2021 when children 5 to 11 had yet to become vaccine-eligible 52.8% of Frederick Countys population was fully vaccinated. Now, that percentage is close to 80.
Im very impressed by Frederick County, Watkins said of the rate.
The countys COVID-19 Community Level dropped to low on May 31, after being considered medium from May 19 through 30.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calculates a regions community level by looking at hospital beds in use, hospital admissions and the total number of new COVID-19 cases.
When an area is experiencing low community levels, the CDC recommends masking for people with COVID-19 symptoms or a positive test and those exposed to someone with the virus.
The Frederick County Health Department recommended that everyone consider masking in public indoor settings when community levels were considered medium.
Frederick County jumped from low to medium when its seven-day cumulative case rate dropped below 200 per 100,000 residents, Watkins said.
In April and May, Watkins said the increasing COVID-19 transmission in Frederick County could be partly explained by the local circulation of the highly contagious omicron variant, BA.2.
The bump in cases could have been because people this year felt more comfortable gathering, such as to celebrate holidays like Ramadan, Passover and Easter, than they have earlier in the pandemic, Watkins said in April.
When cases start increasing, the acceleration happens pretty quickly, Watkins said but the decline is always slower.
One side of the mountain is always steeper than the other, she said.
It took almost three weeks for the countys positivity rate to drop by 3.92 percentage points. For comparison, this measure climbed 6.88 percentage points from May 1 to 23.
Hospitalizations from COVID-19 hit a recent high on May 23, with 17 beds filled with patients diagnosed with the virus. This number had dropped to seven as of Sunday.
Frederick County has recorded five deaths from COVID-19 so far this month, compared to the two it recorded during May, Watkins said.
Follow Angela Roberts on Twitter: @24_angier
Find an updated count of COVID-19 cases in California and by county on our tracker here.
Latest Updates
Baby formula plants werent inspected during the start of the pandemic
FDA says new Pfizer shots for children appear to be effective
New Jersey man caught selling unregistered pesticides under guise of combating COVID-19
Air travelers into the US wont have to test for COVID-19 starting Sunday
FDA hearings to decide the fates of vaccinations for kids
10:07 a.m.: Baby formula plants werent inspected during the start of the pandemic
U.S. regulators have historically inspected baby formula plants at least once a year, but they did not inspect any of the three biggest manufacturers in 2020 thats according to federal records reviewed by the Associated Press.
The FDA has consistently inspected infant formula facilities annually, but in early 2020, the FDA pulled most of its safety inspectors from the field because of the pandemic. So it skipped thousands of routine plant inspections.
The baby formula plant inspection gap is getting new scrutiny from Congress and government watchdogs. Thats because one Michigan factory had to be closed for contamination, turning a supply shortage into a full-blown crisis that sent parents scrambling to find formula.
9:13 a.m.: FDA says new Pfizer shots for children appear to be effective
A review by federal health officials says that Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine appears safe and effective for children under 5, the only group not currently eligible for vaccination.
As reported by the Associated Press, the latest review from the Food and Drug Administration is a key step toward an expected decision to begin vaccinating babies, toddlers and preschoolers as soon as June 21.
Parents have been waiting months to protect Americas youngest children, who number roughly 18 million.
On Wednesday, the FDA will ask an outside panel of experts to vote on whether to recommend the shots.
8:47 a.m.: New Jersey man caught selling unregistered pesticides under guise of combating COVID-19
A New Jersey man has admitted to illegally selling unregistered pesticides as a COVID-19 defense to government and municipal entities.
According to the Associated Press, Paul Andrecola pleaded guilty on Thursday in federal court in Camden to wire fraud and other charges.
A criminal complaint alleges the 63-year-old Burlington County man made and sold pesticides that werent registered with the EPA as required. The pesticides also werent on the EPAs list of products deemed effective against COVID-19.
Andreola and others allegedly put another companys EPA registration numbers on his product and sold them to federal and local entities for $2.7 million.
Hes scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 11.
10:28 a.m.: Air travelers into the US wont have to test for COVID-19 starting Sunday
The Biden administration plans to drop the requirement for air travelers coming to the United States to test negative for COVID-19 before departure, starting on Sunday, as reported by NPR.
According to an official from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the requirement is no longer needed and will lift on Sunday, June 12 at 12:01 a.m. ET.
Since December, travelers have had to present a negative COVID-19 test results taken no more than a day before departure or proof of recovery from the virus within the last 90 days.
However, the CDC said itll reassess the decision in 90 days and could reinstate it if a new variant of concern developed.
9:39 a.m.: FDA hearings to decide the fates of vaccinations for kids
Next week brings a marathon of hearings as the U.S. decides whether to open COVID-19 vaccinations to kids younger than 5, as reported by the Associated Press.
On Wednesday, both Moderna and Pfizer will argue their case. Each company aims to offer a different dose and number of shots.
If the Food and Drug Administration authorizes one or both types of shots, there will still be another question should young children get vaccinated or just those at high risk?
Kids under 5 are the only group not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in the U.S.
If all the steps fall into place, the shots should be available later this month.
9:25 a.m.: Small businesses are facing a summer of uncertainty
Small businesses that depend on outdoor crowds and free-spending tourists arent sure what to expect this summer.
Consumers likely have a lot of pent-up demand after more than two years of the pandemic. According to the Associated Press, the U.S. Travel Association predicts travel spending will be slightly above pre-pandemic levels.
But consumers are also facing some significant financial headwinds. Inflation is making day-to-day living more expensive, which could leave less money for discretionary spending.
Gas prices are up more than 60% from a year ago and hotel rooms and airfare are pricier as well, putting pressure on travel budgets.
COVID-19 still remains a looming presence.
9:53 a.m.: New Novavax COVID-19 vaccine may be an option for those with religious concerns
A COVID-19 vaccine that could soon win federal authorization may offer a booster for the U.S. military: an opportunity to get shots into some of the thousands of service members who have refused the other coronavirus vaccines for religious reasons.
Already, at least 175 active duty and reserve service members have received the Novavax vaccine, according to the Associated Press.
Some have traveled overseas at their own expense to get it.
The Novavax vaccine meets the Defense Department's requirements because it has the World Health Organization's emergency use approval and is used in Europe and other regions.
Military officials say many troops who refuse the shots cite certain COVID-19 vaccines remote connections to fetal tissue.
Lab-grown cell lines descended from fetuses from decades ago were used in some early-stage testing of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and to grow viruses used to manufacture the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The vaccines do not contain fetal cells.
Novavax says that no human fetal-derived cell lines or tissue were used in the development, manufacture or production of its vaccine.
9:33 a.m.: WHO says COVID-19 origins are still unclear
Experts drafted by the World Health Organization to help investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, further research is needed to determine how COVID-19 first began.
As reported by the Associated Press, the WHO say they need a more detailed analysis of the possibility it was a laboratory accident. That request makes a sharp reversal of the U.N. health agencys initial assessment of the pandemics origins.
The WHO concluded last year that it was extremely unlikely that COVID-19 might have spilled into humans from a lab.
In a report released Thursday, WHOs expert group said key pieces of data are still missing to help scientists understand how the pandemic began.
9:22 a.m.: Virus testing pop-ups are the new normal in China as a part of its 'zero-COVID' strategy
Thousands of coronavirus testing sites have popped up on sidewalks across Beijing and other Chinese cities in the latest development in the countrys zero-COVID strategy, according to the Associated Press.
Regular testing of residents is becoming the new normal as the Chinese Communist Party sticks steadfastly to the zero-COVID approach that is increasingly at odds with the rest of the world.
The move follows a recent outbreak in Shanghai that spread so widely that authorities locked down the entire city for two months to end it.
Authorities have decided that early detection is needed if theyre going to control omicron outbreaks without extreme measures that cause major economic disruption.
9:43 a.m.: FDA to approve more traditional vaccine, Novavax, as fouth COVID-19 shot option
A more traditional kind of COVID-19 vaccine is a step closer to becoming the fourth option for U.S. adults.
According to the Associated Press, advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted Tuesday to recommend authorization of shots made by Novavax.
Its a protein vaccine, a more conventional technology than the dominant Pfizer and Moderna shots and the lesser-used Johnson & Johnson option.
If the FDA ultimately agrees, the Novavax shots could be an option for adults who havent yet gotten vaccinated.
The company eventually hopes to offer its shots as a booster, like theyre used in some other countries.
9:34 a.m.: Moderna says updated COVID-19 vaccine offers even better protection against omicron
Moderna says its experimental COVID-19 vaccine that combines its original shot with protection against the omicron variant appears to work, according to the Associated Press.
COVID-19 vaccine makers are studying updated boosters that might be offered in the fall.
Moderna says its combination booster candidate increased omicron-fighting antibodies more than just another dose of the original.
Todays vaccines still offer strong protection against COVID-19 hospitalization and death, but protection against milder infections wanes, especially as the virus continues to mutate. Health authorities are considering whether to order a change in the vaccine recipe.
Moderna announced its preliminary study results on Wednesday.
9:15 a.m.: New Hampshire vaccine protesters who shut down meeting wont face charges
New Hampshires attorney general says he wont bring criminal charges against protesters who disrupted an executive council meeting in September before it began and forced its postponement.
As reported by the Associated Press, angry opponents of the Biden administrations vaccine mandate moved around the room at St. Anselm College on Sept. 29.
They shouted shut it down before the meeting could get underway. Attorney General John Formella said Tuesday that the state would not have been able to prove any potential criminal charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
The postponement delayed a council vote on $27 million in federal aid to boost New Hampshires vaccination efforts.
9:44 a.m.: An FAQ for some of your questions about COVID-19 reinfection
Heres a scenario lets say you got sick with COVID-19 back in January, so you figured you were done with the virus for a while.
But then you began feeling a scratchy throat, a runny nose and more, so you took an at-home test just in case. Youve just tested positive for COVID-19 again.
You may be wondering, how could this happen? Is it possible to get COVID again just a few months or weeks after recovering from a case?
NPR asked four specialists to answer some frequently asked questions about reinfection.
Two things they found: Newer omicron variants are more transmissible and make reinfection more likely than earlier in the pandemic, but vaccination can also help prevent reinfection.
9:31 a.m.: Special Olympics drops COVID-19 vaccination requirement after threatened with fines
The Special Olympics has dropped a coronavirus vaccine mandate for its games in Orlando after Florida moved to fine the organization $27.5 million for violating a state law against such requirements.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis recently announced the organization had removed the requirement for its competition in the state, which is scheduled to run from June 5 to June 12.
The Florida health department notified the Special Olympics in a letter Thursday that the organization would be fined $27.5 million for 5,500 violations of state law for requiring proof of coronavirus vaccination for attendees or participants.
9:12 a.m.: Beijing restaurants and shops reopen as COVID-19 cases fall
Diners are returning to restaurants in most of Beijing for the first time in more than a month as authorities further ease pandemic-related restrictions.
According to the Associated Press, the move comes after a small COVID-19 outbreak in the capital was largely eradicated under Chinas strict zero-COVID approach.
Museums, cinemas and gyms are allowed to operate at up to 75% of capacity and delivery drivers can once again bring packages to a customers door.
The Community Party remains wedded to a zero-COVID strategy that exacts an economic cost and keeps people in their homes, even as many other countries take a more relaxed approach.
1:04 p.m. Sacramento County continues to 'strongly recommend' but not require masking
Sacramento County health officials continue to advise all people to wear masks in indoor public places as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations increase in the region, but will not be requiring it.
"We continue to follow state guidance and strongly recommend masking," Sacramento County Public Health Officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye said Monday. "Businesses can choose to make masking mandatory, especially if they have a lot of interaction with the general public or if they are seeing an increase in cases among employees or if they have an outbreak."
Last week the county was placed in the highest COVID-19 risk level by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control as cases and hospitalizations continued to increase. In what's known as the "high" community level, the CDC recommends that all people wear masks in indoor public spaces.
As of Friday, 167 patients were in hospitals in the county with COVID-19, including 21 in the ICU. Kasirye said that while hospitalizations are high, they are far below the peaks earlier this year.
The county saw many of its highest numbers of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the first months of 2022, including 657 patients on January 25, the countys all-time highest number since the start of the pandemic. Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 297,787 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 3,052 deaths in Sacramento County.
Kasirye said she's hopeful that those figures may soon plateau but that summer travel and other gatherings mean residents should still be careful.
"There are some early indications that there may be a slowdown, but it's too early to tell," she said.
"Of course, our hope is that we are getting to the peak of this recent surge and that we will start seeing a decline. But with [an] increase in travel, there is that increased risk of exposure, so people do need to be careful. People do need to continue wearing masks."
10:05 a.m.: Sacramento City schools mask mandate starts today
It was so sudden and terrifying. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, people we knew suddenly couldnt breathe, suddenly were rushed to the hospital or not and suddenly died - sometimes in a matter of days.
In the first month, March 2020 65 people died in Florida.
In the second month, nearly 1,300.
At the end of 2020 nearly 22,000.
Palm Beach County suffered nearly 2,000 deaths by the end of the first year.
By the first week in June 2022, it was nearly 75,000 in the state and about 5,000 in the county.
The United States hit the mark of 1 million deaths by mid-May, two years and two months since the pandemic began.
The Palm Beach Post in the early days of the pandemic set off to write an obituary for everyone who died in Palm Beach County, but we were quickly overwhelmed.
The grim toll went way beyond the numbers:
There was Mark Greenberg, 88. The first person to die in Palm Beach County was an ad man for a major New York publisher, rubbing elbows with the likes of former New York City Mayor Ed Koch and fitness guru Richard Simmons.
There was Reno Boffice, 61, upper schoolprincipal of a local charter school whose sister was pleading to the community in order to get him plasma treatment … but it was too late.
There was the inseparable Boynton Beach couple, Vincent and Edna Daddario, 87, and 84, respectively, who were married for 60 years and died two days apart.
There was Michael Garone, 91, the former nurse, police officer and ballplayer who was once mistaken for a mob hitman.
And so many, many more …
When retired postal worker Christine Delores Armour went to the Good Samaritan Medical Center emergency room in mid-March, a doctor asked the 88-year-old how she was, and she said, "I'm not used to sitting still."
She had worked in the U.S. Postal Service for three decades and been active in her church and community right up until early March, when she came down with what turned out to be pneumonia.
"They called her the Eveready bunny," daughter Patricia Armour said.
Lost to coronavirus: Retired postal worker not used to sitting still
The virus came for Dorothy Bernsteins husband first, then it stole her solace.
With children out of state, wary of travel, and friends in self-isolation, Bernstein was left to grieve in solitary confinement the loss of her husband of 60 years. Julian Dick Bernstein died March 28 at Boca Raton Regional Hospital from pneumonia andCOVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Lost to coronavirus: Becoming a widow in quarantine
A retired Columbia University administrator traveled several weeks ago to a memorial service in New York.
Then, his son said, 85-year-old Norman Mintz came back home. And died.
Norman Mintz was an academic who, decades earlier, scaled the ranks at Columbia to serve as its executive vice president for academic affairs; he was an intellectual, a reader and social mingler who curated a wealth of knowledge, said his sons Douglas and Geoffrey.
Lost to coronavirus: Columbia administrator loved academia, the arts
Peter Szabo fled the Soviet Union with his wife. And the electrical engineering professor endured a legal battle with his employers at Florida Atlantic University. But he was killed by something he couldn't see.
Szabo died March 27 from thecoronavirusat JFK Medical Center in Atlantis. He was 67.
"He was very smart. Extremely intelligent. Outgoing, his wife, Raisa, said. A very good human being.
Lost to coronavirus: Ex-FAU professor survived Soviets, but not virus
In teal gloves, a blue surgical mask and a black dress, Deniz Kilic stood with a handful of friends at a safe distance on April 5 to bury her mother.
Though they were not allowed to sit in seats at Palm Beach Memorial Park, likely a restriction to reduce the potential spread ofcoronavirus, she knelt before a single folding chair to face her open laptop.
There, on the screen, nearly 50 friends and family members sat in a video conference to say goodbye to Azade Azzie Kilic.
Lost to coronavirus: A visitor from New York dies in Delray
Norman Feinberg built a mens apparel company in an age where deals were made face-to-face, on a handshake and based on relationships cultivated by road-worn salesmen.
The 89-year-old, who founded the firm Mannor Corp. in 1972, died of complications from pneumonia and the coronavirus on March 28 at JFK Medical Center.
Lost to coronavirus: Old school salesman, designer, apparel king
Meryl Salkin didnt think she would fall in love again after her husband of 30 years, George, passed away.
The romantic in Ken Lassiter changed that.
Ive never been with anybody so beautiful that was so easy to love, Lassiter, 85, said. We felt like teenagers.
Lost to coronavirus: A love for the ages cut short by COVID-19
It started off as a happy spring break vacation. There was pool time at grandpas oceanside South Palm Beach condo, walks along the beach and a trip to Lion Country Safari where Tom Craciun and his twin granddaughters fed the giraffes.
Less than two weeks later, Craciun was dying fromcoronavirus. His daughter, Nancy Jean Pierce, and her family were back home in Austin, Texas, suffering from fevers and chills.
Lost to coronavirus: Daughter feels 'so lied to' after vacation ends with infections, dad's death
To those who knew them, Stuart and Adrian Baker were the kind of people who did things unconditionally, said their son-in-law, Antonio De Corral.
They were wonderful people, who had a lot of friends and family, always willing to help out, and were very loved by their neighbors here and in New York and other areas.
But then they got sick from coronavirus.
Lost to coronavirus: Boynton area couple die within six minutes of one another
She was surprised by how much she and her husband, Peter, liked Palm Beach, one friend wrote on adeaths tribute page, about Susan McPherson Gottsegen after she died of complications from COVID-19.
More time for each other and involvement with the music she loved, said Cynthia De Carlo.
Lost to coronavirus: Palm Beach music lover, patron
A Town of Palm Beach resident who tested positive for thecoronavirushas died, and town officials said Thursday that the number of cases has grown to six.
Carole Brookins, according to a tweet by Joe Glauber, a senior fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute, was a former U.S. executive director at the World Bank.
Lost to coronavirus: Former World Bank exec is first Palm Beach fatality
Leona Thorner never forgot to write a card for a birthday or anniversary.
Selwyn Thorner was always someone a person could rely on.
The matriarch and patriarch of the Thorner clan and the glue that held the family together, as his 79-year-old brother, Robert, said, had been married for 65 years.
They died three days apart. Both tested positive for thecoronavirus.
Lost to coronavirus: Together 65 years, Delray-area couple die three days apart
Ron Ross hospital nurses promised his daughters they would call when he started to die.
In the same moment that call came, so, too, did a call from his wifes nurse. She was in the same hospital as her husband also infected with the virus, and told her daughters she wanted to leave.
Lost to coronavirus: Florida Boxing Hall of Fame inductee dies
One of the best things about getting older is the freedom to do whatever you darn well please. But Iris Mensh always did that anyway.
She would cook a very well-rounded meal for everyone, but she never touched a vegetable, said Iris daughter Kimberly Weinberg, laughing. She would make us eat Brussel sprouts, but she would never eat them.
Lost to coronavirus: Beauty queen took a bite out of life, but never veggies
Korean War veteran Howard Garlin fell ill on his 89th birthday.
His companion of 15 years, Iris Greenberg, knew something wasnt right, so she called 911 and the Bronx native was taken to JFK Medical Center.
That was it, I never spoke to him again, said Greenberg, who met Garlin at bereavement counseling after both had lost their spouses.
Lost to coronavirus: Korean War vet honored fellow soldiers
Larry Kushner spent a decade trying to clear his name from a fraud conviction, but fell victim to thecoronavirus.
The father of 13, a resident of suburban Boynton Beach and New Jersey, died April 11 at age 68 in Palm Beach County. The place and circumstances could not be learned.
Lost to coronavirus: Father of 13 was a family man full of life
James Jim Picciano and his wife, Elise, checked into Boca Raton Regional Hospital on March 25. For 10 days, they had felt sick. She was coughing; he had chest pain.
The retired Boca Raton couple tested positive for thecoronavirus, just as family and doctors had suspected.
Lost to coronavirus: Former iron worker with soft spot for baseball, funny stories
Ralph J. Monahan, a snowbird from Arcade, N.Y., was a talented woodworker who taught industrial arts for 34 years.
He remodeled a 100-year-old farmhouse in western New York. He built cabinets, tables and chairs.
Lost to coronavirus: Master woodworker, scout leader, tried to see doctor, got weaker and weaker
Rick Ross gathered with old pals for a reunion of retired city police officers.
"We shared stories and enjoyed each other's company," Chris Yannuzzi, a former Boynton Beach detective,posted April 19 on a tributes page. Yannuzzi, who also served as Ocean Ridge police chief, remembered his friend as a "lifelong public servant taken way too soon."
Lost to coronavirus: Former Boynton police officer, lifelong public servant, Rick Ross
Perry Buchalter went in a matter of weeks from welcoming his second grandchild and retiring after four decades in the health care business to dying of COVID-19, the illness caused by thecoronavirus.
Many co-workers and friends reached out after Buchalter, of Jupiter,died April 7 at 63at Jupiter Medical Center, his wife, Lisa Gendal, said.
Lost to coronavirus: Recent retiree, new grandfather taken by virus
Nelson Nelms, a retired farmer and proud Korean War veteran, had plenty of people to talk to. He lived with his daughter and her family in a spacious two-story house, white with red trim, where he insisted on helping with chores, even though he had lost his eyesight nearly 15 years ago to macular degeneration.
Lost to coronavirus:: After eight years, weekly prayer sessions end with preacher's illness, uncle's death
Glorivi and Alexander Andujar were more than brother and sister they were best friends.
Of five siblings, Glorivi, 39, and Alex, 41 were the closest. They did everything together, from backyard barbecues, big family dinners and holiday parties to supporting each other through lifes challenges.
But they never thought they would die together.
Lost to coronavirus: Its not easy, says mother of son, daughter who died days apart
When Sandra Aprilah met John Cole Jr. on a dating app three or four years ago, she had no idea he would be her caregiver in the final weeks of her life.
She was looking for companionship and maybe a little more.
Lost to coronavirus: 'Loving woman had premonition of death
Jean-Claude Henrion rode motorcycles all over the world. When the French national came to Florida to bike the countryside, he fell victim to thecoronavirus, his family said.
Henrion, 72, died March 30 at JFK Medical Center in Atlantis, from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, as well as cardiovascular disease.
Lost to coronavirus: French adventurer catches virus, dies in Florida
Retired Army intelligence specialist Steven Nolan and his wife took a cruise down the Nile in late February. Adelina Nina Camacho said she believes by the time the couple flew home, both she and her husband had thecoronavirusthat would result in his death.
"We were on the plane already sick," Camacho said.
Lost to coronavirus: Birthday cruise along the Nile became a death sentence
Patti Wagner wasn't the life of the party. Patti Wagner was the party.
The spunky, creative, generous woman known as Nana or Nan to her sprawling family had a creative streak and a sense of humor that made her a magnet for those around her.
Many workers find themselves, consciously or not, mimicking the way their bosses behave. They witness managers answering emails from bed, and feel they should do the same.
So some bosses are taking a firmer line on using their leave. Jim Canales, head of the Barr Foundation, a philanthropic organization focused on arts, education and climate, got Covid about a month ago. Mr. Canales spent the past two years urging his team to take care of themselves, and he knew that working through his illness would undermine that message. He sent out a morning email to his staff noting that it was Friday the 13th, Mercury was in retrograde and he had tested positive for Covid and wasnt planning to be available for meetings or emails.
I cant preach a message of self-care for two years and then behave in a different way, he said.
Mr. Canales refashioned his organizations sick leave policies during the pandemic, with the aim of encouraging employees to actually make use of their time off. He relabeled sick days as health days, so workers know they can be used to take care of family members, too. That health leave was also made unlimited, so nobody felt the pressure to save it up for the future.
But even as some employers are encouraging workers to use their time off, many others are dropping benefits introduced during the pandemic. This spring, Amazon announced a return to its prepandemic sick leave. Walmart stopped offering emergency paid leave for most of its workers with Covid at the end of March, instead asking employees to use their regular bank of paid time off and sick days.
Some argue the disappearance of sick days is preventing them from making full recoveries. Angela Lewis, who works at a speakers bureau, tested positive for coronavirus last month, along with the rest of her household. Her son stayed home from school and her husband, who is self-employed, slept. Ms. Lewis, meanwhile, dropped a note in Slack to say she had Covid and then forged through her standard workweek, though her congested head felt like it weighed 100 pounds.
Some people kind of have a badge of honor, like Yeah, I worked through it, it was fine, she said. Ultimately, I could say I did the same.
ALBANY With the first Republican debate in the governors race scheduled for Monday night on WCBS-TV, the roster of in-person candidates has shrunk by one, as Andrew Giuliani proudly unvaccinated against the coronavirus announced on Sunday that he will not be allowed to attend.
Mr. Giuliani, the son of the former New York City mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, said on Sunday that he had been informed late last week that the station would not permit him in the studio unless he sent proof of his vaccination status something he said he would not do and suggested might be unconstitutional.
I chose very clearly that I was not going to get the shot, said Mr. Giuliani, 36, in an impromptu news conference on Sunday outside CBS headquarters in Manhattan, saying he had looked at the data on the vaccination and decided against it.
As of Sunday, according to a New York Times database, 91 percent of New Yorkers of all ages have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and 78 percent of residents are fully vaccinated.
Mr. Giuliani preceded his news conference by releasing a letter he sent to WCBS, the CBS networks flagship affiliate, arguing that their policy was arbitrary and serves to discriminate against a political candidate and their access to equal opportunity and religious liberty.
In a statement, WCBS said that its broadcast center requires that visitors are vaccinated against the coronavirus, and that the policy which dates to last year was made in consultation with health care experts, government officials and the many unions representing our employees.
Any candidate who doesnt meet this requirement is encouraged to participate in Mondays debate remotely, the station said, adding it hoped the debate would allow Republican candidates to share their views on matters of importance to the residents of New York State.
The debate is scheduled to feature other Republican candidates for governor, including Representative Lee M. Zeldin, the partys anointed nominee; Rob Astorino, the former Westchester County executive; and Harry Wilson, a corporate turnaround expert.
At Sundays news conference, Mr. Giuliani said he had natural immunity to Covid-19, which has killed more than one million Americans, and that he had offered to take multiple tests to prove he was not infected, but that he had nonetheless been disinvited from the debate.
Instead, Mr. Giuliani said he would, in fact, participate virtually, a prospect that was almost immediately criticized by Mr. Zeldin, who tweeted that the remote option is a nonstarter, while adding the reason to have him virtual is ridiculous.
Mr. Astorino echoed this, saying that all four candidates should be onstage, and that discriminatory and unscientific vaccine mandates wouldnt prevent transmission of the disease. (The vaccines have been proven to prevent most serious cases of the disease.)
Mr. Giuliani, who is making his first run for public office and has been regularly campaigning with his father, has argued that the candidates should debate almost every day before the June 28 primary, while also railing against mandates for emergency medical workers and others, something he reiterated on Sunday.
Im obviously seeing consequences in what I believe is my informed decision on this, he said, adding that if elected, he will throw all of these mandates in the dust bin of history.
Due to the global increase in coronavirus cases caused by theBA.5 subvariant, the World Health Organization (WHO) currently classifiesit as a "variant of concern." Experts at Germany's top health agency have warned that infections will likely increase this summer.
Germany's Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the country'snational public health organization, reported on June 9that the omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are growing faster than all other variants andconcludedthe two could soon be responsible for the majority of the country's cases.
The BA.5 variant already accounts for 10%of current infections twice as many as last week.
The BA.5 variant had already raised concerns in South Africa in early May, but the subsequent wave was relatively small and is currently subsiding.
In Portugal, however, BA.5 is already responsible for 80% of all new infections. The variant is more contagious than its predecessors, like BA.2. Along with being harder for neutralizing antibodies to locate, BA.5 is more transmissible than other omicron subvariants.
Like other omicron subvariants, BA.5 infections are milder than infections with other COVID strains, like delta.
Cases in Germany could pick up again like they did in the winter, health experts warn
The protection provided by COVID vaccines or past infection slowly decreases over time as antibody levels drop.
That means no one is fully protected from BA.5 new infections are possible despite vaccination and/or past infection and occur more frequently than with past variants.
But there have been fewer deaths and hospital admissions. According to experts, this is because many millions of people are vaccinated or have antibodies, making the general immunity of the population higher than at the start of the pandemic.
Nevertheless, the RKI recommends that the elderly and people in risk groups get another their booster vaccine for extra protection.
The COVID vaccines currently available target the variant of the spike protein that was active at the beginning of the pandemic.
However, the virus has evolved and sharpened its ability to evade the antibodies offered by the vaccines.
Despite that, BA.4 and BA.5 appear to be less dangerous. Some experts say that's because the new variants are more likely to infect the upper respiratory tract than the lungs, causing fewer deaths than earlier in the pandemic, when the lungs were more impacted.
Vaccines may not be able to protect well against mild BA.5 infection
The period of time between infection and initial symptoms is shorter in omicron variants than in delta around three days on average.
The protection offered by a basic two-dose vaccine against omicron infection is not optimal, but it still protects against severe cases of illness. A booster vaccine ensures that more antibodies are formed, offering more protection.
Although omicron with its various subtypes is usually much milder than delta, severe symptoms can also occur in rare cases. Additionally,it is not yet clear what long-term consequences an omicron infection can have.
Julius Garza, 14, plays computer games while mourning the loss of his father, who died from COVID-19 in December 2020, in Converse, Texas. Julius remembers more than his brother Aidan about what life was like before that day late in 2015 when Margaret and David adopted the boys. "Dad dying was so far the saddest thing that has ever happened in my life," he says. "I can never forgive that."
Brothers Julius Garza, 14, and Aidan Garza, 12, say a prayer in honor of their father, David Garza, who died from COVID-19. On the 30th of every month, the Garza family commemorates the life of father and husband David, whose birthday was on April 30 and who died on December 30, 2020.
Margaret Garza hugs her son, Julius. His birth mother abandoned him and his brother, and his birth father was sent to prison for abusing his stepsister, pushing them into the foster care system. Now, Julius is struggling to understand losing David after all he went through.
Justise McGowan, 13, also lost her father, who died from COVID-19 in May 2020. She sits on the stairs on the day of her father's birthday, in Matteson, Illinois. "One million COVID deaths, one million empty chairs around the family dinner table, each irreplaceable losses," said President Joe Biden in a televised statement after the US recently surpassed 1 million deaths.
Justise's mother, Dr. Sandra McGowan-Watts, has been trying to maintain as much of her daughter's routine as possible. Last summer, when the bushes in her yard needed to be trimmed, Justise found her dad's hedge trimmers and got to work. "She does the things that he would do," says McGowan-Watts.
Justise pulls a baking sheet of cookies from the oven, a tradition she shared with her father. Life changed for many children overnight, and they have been struggling with the emotional challenges.
No government program at any level is tracking American children, such as Aidan and his big brother Julius, who have lost a parent. But researchers have estimated that more than 213,000 kids have lost at least one primary caregiver to COVID-19.
Aidan often talks about his dad in the present tense, as if David were still right across the living room, sitting in his favorite chair, calling the 12-year-old over to watch a "Star Wars" film. "He's such a warm guy," says Aidan. "Every time I would hug him, I feel like I'm touching a cloud."
Aidan, Julius and Margaret pray together next to David's urn, which they call "the vessel." Margaret made sure that her sons received counseling after their dad died. While many are looking forward to the end of the pandemic, families such as Aidan and Julius' show its profound and enduring impact. "Our 'normal' is not going to be like anyone else's, because we lost someone," says Margaret.
Author: Kevin Mertens (with material from Reuters)
This article has beentranslated from German.
The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care announced on Friday that it's phasing out a state-sponsored COVID-19 testing program that thousands of child care programs across the commonwealth have relied on over the last year.
The announcement which came two weeks after the state relaxed quarantine guidelines for child care, but before federal approval of COVID-19 vaccinations for children under 5 only adds to the uncertainty for day care providers on how best to keep children and staff safe.
Winding down the testing program
In an email to child care providers, the state Department of Early Education and Care announced it will end the COVID-19 testing program at the end of this month. The program, which has been run by the nonprofit Neighborhood Villages, provided tests to centers each month and included a system for reporting and tracking positive cases.
The state's contract with Neighborhood Villages was set to expire at the end of this month, and child care providers told GBH News this spring that they were worried the program might not be renewed. Even though the program is ending, the state says it will continue to provide free rapid antigen tests to providers on a quarterly basis through the end of December.
The state is also closing drive-through testing sites in Braintree and Tewksbury that were exclusively serving child care staff and families with kids in those programs. State officials have not yet said whether they'll continue offering a "surveillance" program of weekly PCR tests that several hundred child care providers have been using.
One of the centers that's been participating in the PCR testing program is Temple Beth Shalom in Needham. The program serves about 220 children and is run by Ellen Dietrick, who told GBH News she's worried the state will end PCR testing.
"I think that testing is one of the very few methods we have to protect these under-fives," Dietrick said, noting kids that age are terrible at social distancing and still unvaccinated.
The state's email on Friday said Neighborhood Villages will continue to offer a phone hotline through the end of August, "to support the implementation of recently updated guidance and other COVID-19 related inquiries."
Relaxing state quarantine guidelines
Day care providers were already feeling uneasy with new quarantine guidance issued by the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services about two weeks ago.
On May 25, EOHHS announced that, effective immediately, children were no longer required to quarantine if they've been exposed to someone who has COVID-19. The guidelines said those children should continue attending child care programs, and that while testing is recommended for those kids, it's not required.
The state says the changes were made to be more consistent with the guidelines for K-12 schools, after-school and camp programs. Still, the abrupt shift left some child care providers feeling less protected.
"So theoretically, you could have a young child who has a family filled with positive family members including their own parents ... and according to these guidelines, that exposure does not mean that the child should stay home," said Lauren Cook, CEO of Ellis Early Learning, which serves 250 children at three child care locations in Boston. "And we've seen at Ellis, based on our experience, that it is highly likely a young child will test positive within probably five days of the parents being positive."
The new guidelines also say that children who do test positive for infection can return to child care settings after they've quarantined for five days, as long as they're asymptomatic and able to mask.
Cook pointed out, though, that many programs provide breakfast, lunch and a snack each day.
"So that's three instances where kids are maskless," she said. "And then naps are usually over an hour where kids are maskless. So are we defining 'able to mask' as children who are taking their masks off for all those periods of time?"
Unlike public schools, most child care providers are private organizations that can make up their own rules. But Cook said she'd likely receive pushback from parents if her program adopted rules that were more stringent than state guidelines. She said she plans to poll parents to see if there's support for a policy that she feels would be more protective.
For the youngest kids, vaccinations haven't started yet
The scaled-back testing program and quarantine requirements come before children under 5 can get vaccinated. That could soon change, as the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are expected to approve vaccinations for the youngest children as soon as this week. But it will likely be months before a significant percentage of kids get shots.
"At this point, these little ones have no protection at all," said Ellen Dietrick at Temple Beth Shalom. "There's nothing. And some can't even wear masks."
She emphasized that child care staff are also at risk.
"These teachers are going to a work environment where no one is vaccinated. They are the only vaccinated individual in a room of 20 people," Dietrick said. "So protecting them is really critical. I mean, we have to protect them or we can't run the program. If they are out sick, that affects 20 families."
The state of child care funding is uncertain
The uncertainty over testing comes as child care programs also face the possible end of a state grant program that has helped keep them open during the pandemic.
A system known as C3 grants (which stands for Commonwealth Cares for Children) was set up last year using federal funds to help keep child care organizations from closing due to a loss of revenue because of the pandemic. Now that the one-time federal funding is gone, the grant program is set to expire this month.
"It has been a godsend," William Eddy, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of Early Education and Care, said of the C3 grants. "It helped programs that were on the verge of collapse stay alive."
Ellen Dietrick said the grants have been enormously helpful to programs like hers in Needham.
"Most people are using it to pay for staff salaries, bonuses, anything to keep our teachers," Dietrick said. "That is the most important thing."
Others used the grants to help when they got behind on rent while closed because of the pandemic, she said. And programs have come to rely on the funds.
"Many of us don't know how we'll continue without getting the funding for next month," she said. "And I mean, we're talking about in three weeks."
The future of the grant program depends on where things land in current budget negotiations between the state Senate and House of Representatives, Eddy said. That budget is due at the end of the month.
"We asked for them to continue [the C3 grant program] for the six to eight months, and hope they do," Eddy said.
The Massachusetts Legislature is negotiating what could be a boost in funding for early education after a special legislative commission issued a report in March that called for a significant increase.
"The commission recommendation said there are over 230,000 children who are currently eligible for subsidy care who are not receiving it right now," Eddy said. "And so they said we should prioritize trying to help them. They came up with recommendations to prioritize the early educator workforce, which is struggling mightily."
That prioritization is beginning to be seen in draft House and Senate budgets, Eddy said, and he's closely watching what comes out of their negotiations.
"I'm hopeful that the state Legislature is going to put a record investment into early education programs and our workforce in the FY23 state budget," Eddy said.
