A construction worker walks past the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games logo on a street in Beijing on December 11, 2021. JADE GAO/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A construction worker walks past the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games logo on a street in Beijing on December 11, 2021.
No tickets will be sold for the upcoming winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing due to the "grave and complicated situation of the COVID-19 pandemic."
Instead, organizers announced Monday that they would invite groups of spectators to attend the games in person.
"The organisers expect that these spectators will strictly abide by the COVID-19 countermeasures before, during and after each event as pre-conditions for the safe and sound delivery of the Games," the Beijing 2022 organizing committee said in a statement.
The International Olympic Committee previously said they would sell tickets only to spectators living in mainland China who met certain COVID-19 safety requirements.
Fans weren't allowed in the stands during the summer Olympics in Tokyo last year.
The winter games won't require athletes to be vaccinated against COVID-19, but those who are unvaccinated will have to quarantine for 21 days when they arrive in Beijing. The IOC also implemented other policies to prevent the spread of COVID during the competition, such as a "closed-loop" system that limits participants to certain Olympics-related areas and other permitted locations and isolates them from China's general public.
The winter Olympic Games will take place from Feb. 4-20, and the winter Paralympic Games will occur from March 4-13.
China has been working to quell a series of COVID outbreaks in the weeks before the games, recently putting more than 20 million people across the country in some form of lockdown, the Associated Press reported. Last week Beijing reported its first locally transmitted case of the omicron variant, according to media reports.
JERUSALEM, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Israel's Health Ministry said on Monday it would shorten the mandatory isolation period for those who test positive for COVID-19 to five days from seven days, following an initial cut last week, provided they are asymptomatic.
Until last week, the isolation period was 10 days.
The latest decision, which takes effect on Wednesday, brings Israel in line with recommendations in the United States.
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A negative home antigen test is also required before ending isolation, the ministry said.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said a spike in infections due to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and the amount of people in isolation has become a burden on the Israeli economy.
"This decision will allow on the one hand to continue to ensure public health, and on the other hand, though difficult, sustain the economy in this period so we can safely get through this wave," Bennett said.
The country's pandemic-response coordinator, Salman Zarka, said the health ministry has found that people are at their most contagious during the first three days after infection.
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Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; editing by Barbara Lewis and Mark Heinrich
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Former Houston Methodist doctor files lawsuit
A former Houston Methodist doctor has filed a lawsuit against Houston Methodist asking for Methodist to detail the effects of the vaccines and financial reports.
HOUSTON - A Houston doctor, who was in the spotlight late last year after being suspended by Houston Methodist Hospital for spreading information related to COVID-19 they called "harmful to the community," has responded with a lawsuit.
Dr. Mary Bowden, an ear, nose and throat specialist, who runs a private practice in River Oaks, announced the suit on Monday morning.
BACKGROUND: Houston Methodist suspends privileges of doctor accused of spreading COVID-19 misinformation
In the lawsuit, she's asking for data from Methodist detailing the effects of the vaccines and financial reportes.
Dr. Bowden, who had provisional privileges at Houston Methodist, resigned in mid-November 2021 after the public back-and-forth with the hospital.
FOX 26 Reporter Randy Wallace has more as a Houston Methodist doctor has resigned after tweets she made regarding COVID-19. (Editor's note: This video is from an earlier report of the story.)
In a series of tweets, Houston Methodist Hospital wrote that Dr. Bowden had been using her social media to express political opinions about the COVID-19 vaccine and treatments. Methodist also confirmed Dr. Bowden had never admitted a patient at the hospital.
Dr. Bowden had tweeted that "Vaccine mandates are wrong" and shared about her battle to give her patients Ivermectin, a controversial drug hailed as a treatment for COVID-19 by some.
Houston Methodist said Dr. Bowden was "spreading dangerous misinformation which is not based in science."
In a press conference back in November, Dr. Bowden said she did not appreciate the way Methodist handled the situation. She says it led to her name being "vilified" and people calling her "the sister of the devil."
She added that she was focusing on treating the unvaccinated. "Eliminate the mandates, let people have a choice."
MORE: Houston doctor accused of spreading misinformation by Houston Methodist fires back
Activists asking New Mexico legislature for stimulus payments and tax credits for families making less than $35,000 a year
by: Julian Resendiz
Flashing highway message boards along Interstate 25 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, urge people in both English and Spanish to stay home amid the coronavirus outbreak on Thursday, April 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)
EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) Hispanic families in New Mexico particularly those who are Spanish-speaking, live in rural areas or lack lawful immigration status are still being disproportionally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and need help from their state legislature, a coalition of grassroots organizations says.
Were calling on them to provide funding to help support and stabilize this segment of the community that is falling behind the rest of the state, said Marcela Diaz, a member of Somos un Pueblo Unido.
The various organizations under the banner of New Mexico Economic Relief Working Group on Thursday sent a letter to legislators requesting tax credits and stimulus payments to the working poor in the state.
The group presented the results of a new poll showing the disproportionate effects of the pandemic on Hispanics. The poll says 26 percent spent all of their savings last year and have gone into debt, while 60 percent have less than $1,000 in savings and 30 percent arent paying their bills on time.
The poll says 28 percent of Hispanics in New Mexico earned less than $20,000 a year in 2021, in some cases because their hours were cut or they were sent home when schools and businesses shut down or reduced operations.
On the health front, 25 percent of Latinos in New Mexico have a family member who has died of COVID-19. This has to do with lack of adequate access to medical care and higher rates of underlying conditions that place their lives at risk once they contract the coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) state that Hispanics are twice as likely as non-Hispanic whites to develop type 2 diabetes, for instance.
This emphasizes that Latinos have suffered higher infection and casualty rates than non-Hispanic whites and are twice more likely to be hospitalized, said Gabe Sanchez, lead researcher for BSP, which conducted the bilingual, telephone and internet survey of 1,000 Hispanics in New Mexico
Sanchez said those who live in rural settings, speak primarily Spanish, lack immigration status or are female are experiencing the most severe economic challenges. Immigration status prevented some from getting the federal stimulus checks and language barriers and lack of information kept others from applying for state aid.
The bottom line is that a large number of Latinos in the state are having to make difficult choices with the money they do have.
Mirna Lazcano, a member of the Albuquerque-based El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos, says her own family has faced some of those difficult choices.
During the pandemic, my husband, who works in construction, and I have accumulated financial debt since they cut our hours. We have both gotten sick from COVID, she said. We live day to day to pay bills and keep the utilities on. [] We shop the least expensive brands (of groceries) and limit the amount of meat we eat.
Lazcano, who cleans houses and babysits for a living, said she has gone to food banks to make sure her family has enough to eat.
The members of New Mexico Economic Relief Working Group are calling on their state legislature to allocate $15.6 million to the Human Services Department so low-income adults can get a $600 stimulus payment. Theyre also calling for tax credits and other benefits for families making less than $35,000 a year.
The New Mexico legislature is in session next week.
SALT LAKE CITY Starting next week, hospitals and clinics under Intermountain Healthcare will have new visiting policies, which they say will be in place temporarily to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Intermountain announced Saturday that the new rules are being created to "help further protect caregivers, keep patients safe, and help reduce the spread of COVID-19" as they're seeing an increase in patients and as the omicron variant continues to infect record-breaking amounts of people.
The new rules will take effect Tuesday, and they include limiting visitation hours and requiring masks.
Under the new and temporary policy, Intermountain is only allowing overnight visitors for pediatric patients, laboring and postpartum mothers, patients suffering form dementia, or those who are critically ill or receiving "end of life" care.
Visiting hours will be from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
"This avoids visitors removing their mask while sleeping, which increases possible exposure to our caregivers," the company's announcement read.
They added that visitors must wear masks at all times in all hospitals and clinics, including private rooms. Patients are also asked to wear masks at all times while they're with a caregiver, if feasible.
SALT LAKE CITY Starting next week, hospitals and clinics under Intermountain Healthcare will have new visiting policies, which they say will be in place temporarily to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Intermountain announced Saturday that the new rules are being created to "help further protect caregivers, keep patients safe, and help reduce the spread of COVID-19" as they're seeing an increase in patients and as the omicron variant continues to infect record-breaking amounts of people.
The new rules will take effect Tuesday, and they include limiting visitation hours and requiring masks.
Under the new and temporary policy, Intermountain is only allowing overnight visitors for pediatric patients, laboring and postpartum mothers, patients suffering form dementia, or those who are critically ill or receiving "end of life" care.
Visiting hours will be from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
"This avoids visitors removing their mask while sleeping, which increases possible exposure to our caregivers," the company's announcement read.
They added that visitors must wear masks at all times in all hospitals and clinics, including private rooms. Patients are also asked to wear masks at all times while they're with a caregiver, if feasible.
Provisional name given to any recently discovered coronavirus of medical significance
Novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a provisional name given to coronaviruses of medical significance before a permanent name is decided upon. Although coronaviruses are endemic in humans and infections normally mild, such as the common cold (caused by human coronaviruses in ~15% of cases), cross-species transmission has produced some unusually virulent strains which can cause viral pneumonia and in serious cases even acute respiratory distress syndrome and death.[1][2][3]
The following viruses could initially be referred to as "novel coronavirus", before being formally named:
All four viruses are part of the Betacoronavirus genus within the coronavirus family.
The word "novel" indicates a "new pathogen of a previously known type" (i.e. known family) of virus. Use of the word conforms to best practices for naming new infectious diseases published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2015. Historically, pathogens have sometimes been named after locations, individuals, or specific species.[12] However, this practice is now explicitly discouraged by the WHO.[13]
The official permanent names for viruses and for diseases are determined by the ICTV and the WHO's ICD, respectively.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei a 2020 study from Alabama University found a more than ten-fold increase in use of expressions such as "Chinese virus" or "Wu flu virus" on Twitter compared to before the outbreak. The researchers voiced concerns whether such terminology could hinder public health efforts or be stigmatizing. No such effects were observed in the wake of the MERS outbreaks being referred to as "Camel flu virus" or "Middle East virus".[14]
We're tracking the latest on the coronavirus outbreak and the global response. Sign up here for our daily newsletter on what you need to know.
The number of new people getting the Covid-19 vaccine is at one of the lowest points since the rollout began, according to a review of the latest U.S. government data, even as average daily infections approach 800,000.
By Shereen Siewert, Wausau Pilot & Review
Last week, a majority of Supreme Court justices ruled that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has the authority to regulate workplace safety, but not public health. A vaccine/testing requirement, the court ruled, is an issue of public health.
Though the ruling meant that OSHA at this time does not have the authority to require private-sector workers to be vaccinated or undergo testing, Congress could pass legislation to pave the way for that authority. Barring that unlikely scenario, the mandate is no longer in place with significant exceptions.
The court did leave the door open for OSHA to regulate workplaces where COVID-19 represents a direct threat, such as places where people work close to others or where they work around vulnerable people. The court opinion noted, As its name suggests, OSHA is tasked with ensuring occupational safety that is, safe and healthful working conditions.
So who is still covered by federal vaccine mandates? A list compiled by CNET includes:
The ruling comes even while the newest data shows COVID-19 cases spreading, especially among nursing home residents who are unvaccinated or vaccinated but not boosted.
Notably, the courts ruling does not overturn local and state mandates, while employers are still free to require vaccinations with some limitations. In 20 states, proof-of-vaccination requirements are prohibited. Wisconsin is not one of them.
The court also ruled that because tax dollars are involved, the government can require health care providers who receive Medicare and Medicaid funds to require employees to be vaccinated, according to a report by Al Tompkins, of Poynter.
That ruling largely affects nursing homes and long-term care facilities where employee vaccination rates have lagged far behind hospitals, he said. The latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that just over one in four nursing home workers in the country has gotten fully vaccinated with a booster shot. About 80% of nursing home workers have gotten initial vaccine doses.
In the Wausau area, vaccination rates at nursing homes vary widely. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, just 30 percent of healthcare personnel at Pride TLC Therapy and Living Campus in Weston have received a completed COVID-19 vaccination series as of Jan. 2, 2022.
At Rennes Health and Rehab Center in Weston, the staff vaccination rate for the same time period is 63.4%, while at North Central Health Care the rate is 82.84 percent, according to government data. Perform your own search to compare vaccination rates at local facilities here.
Among the key points in the court order, released last week:
Although Congress has indisputably given OSHA the power to regulate occupational dangers, it has not given that agency the power to regulate public health more broadly.
Requiring the vaccination of 84 million Americans, selected simply because they work for employers with more than 100 employees, certainly falls in the latter category.
The Act (Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970) empowers the Secretary to set workplace safety standards, not broad public health measures.
The Acts provisions typically speak to hazards that employees face at work. And no provision of the Act addresses public health more generally, which falls outside of OSHAs sphere of expertise.
Although COVID-19 is a risk that occurs in many workplaces, it is not an occupational hazard in most. COVID-19 can and does spread at home, in schools, during sporting events, and everywhere else that people gather. That kind of universal risk is no different from the day-to-day dangers that all face from crime, air pollution, or any number of communicable diseases. Permitting OSHA to regulate the hazards of daily lifesimply because most Americans have jobs and face those same risks while on the clockwould significantly expand OSHAs regulatory authority without clear congressional authorization.
A vaccine mandate is strikingly unlike the workplace regulations that OSHA has typically imposed. A vaccination, after all, cannot be undone at the end of the workday. Contrary to the dissents contention, imposing a vaccine mandate on 84 million Americans in response to a worldwide pandemic is simply not part of what the agency was built for.
The minority, sharply opposed to the split ruling, had this to say:
When we are wise, we know not to displace the judgments of experts, acting within the sphere Congress marked out and under Presidential control, to deal with emergency conditions. Today, we are not wise. In the face of a still-raging pandemic, this Court tells the agency charged with protecting worker safety that it may not do so in all the workplaces needed. As disease and death continue to mount, this Court tells the agency that it cannot respond in the most effective way possible. Without legal basis, the Court usurps a decision that rightfully belongs to others. It undercuts the capacity of the responsible dissenting federal officials, acting well within the scope of their authority, to protect American workers from grave danger.
Many large employers used the threat of an OSHA mandate as a foundation for their own self-imposed vaccine mandate. Among some of the largest employers that require vaccinations or approved exemptions, according to a list compiled by CNET:
The courts decision to nix the OSHA vaccine or testing requirements for large private employers does not affect the Biden administrations order for federal employees, including members of the military or federal contractors, nor does it forbid employers from imposing their own requirements. The question remains whether they will continue to do so.
The Supreme Courts decision does not prevent local governments from imposing them. Many of the nations tourism hot spots have done just that. Among them:
New Orleans: Anyone 5 or older must have proof of at least one vaccine shot or a negative result from a COVID-19 test taken within the past 72 hours to enter many indoor venues that appeal to tourists. In this city of food, that includes restaurants, bars, hotels and outdoor events of more than 500 people if total attendance is more than 50% of the outdoor venues capacity. Starting Feb. 1, the city will require proof of full vaccination for anyone 5 or older or a negative COVID-19 test taken within the past 72 hours.
New Orleans went into modified Phase 3 this week, which also now requires masks in all indoor spaces outside the home.
Los Angeles: All customers served in the indoor part of a food or beverage establishment and other types of indoor venues must show proof of full vaccination before entry, including restaurants, bars, hotel ballrooms, gyms and fitness venues, movie theatres, sports arenas and museums.
The California Department of Public Health is requiring masks to be worn in all indoor public settings, regardless of vaccine status, until Feb. 15.
Minneapolis: Starting Jan. 19, people will have to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to get into restaurants or events that serve food or drinks. On Jan. 26, the policy also applies to all ticketed events.
New York City: The city has some of the strictest requirements in the country for attending sporting events, theater performances, dining indoors, using a gym or entering a bar.
Children ages 5 to 11 are now required to have proof of vaccination for public indoor activities. They must show they have received at least one dose of a vaccine. Starting Jan. 29, children ages 5 to 11 must also show proof of full vaccination.
People aged 12 and older participating in public indoor activities are now required to show proof they have received two vaccine doses, except for those who have received one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Boston: Starting Saturday, the city requires proof of COVID-19 vaccination for indoor dining, fitness venues, theaters and arenas. Starting March 1, children 5 to 11 must show proof of one dose of vaccine. On May 1, children 5 to 11 must show proof of full vaccination.
Philadelphia: Philadelphia establishments that sell food or drink for consumption onsite will require that everyone who enters has completed their COVID vaccinations. The city is not requiring booster doses. This mandate will not be applied in K-12 and early childcare settings, hospitals, congregate care facilities, special population providers that serve food, residential or healthcare facilities, grocery stores, convenience stores, or other establishments that primarily sell food and drink for offsite use, or in Philadelphia International Airport, except in traditional seated restaurant or seated bar style locations.
Chicago: With the new year, the city began requiring proof of vaccinations for people going to indoor dining, bars, fast food establishments, coffee shops, food courts, dining areas of grocery stores, banquet halls, and hotel ballrooms, indoor gyms and fitness venues, indoor entertainment and recreation venues where food or beverages are served including, but not limited to, movie theaters, music and concert venues, live performance venues, sports arenas and performing arts theaters. Some businesses say they are seeing a drop in customers since the vaccine mandate began.
Washington, D.C.: Starting Saturday, the District begins requiring proof of vaccination at gathering places where people will be required to show proof of at least one dose. Then on Feb. 15, patrons will be required to show proof of two doses.
More than 400 colleges and universities require vaccines for students and staff who teach, learn, work in-person on campus.
