Reuters -
March 12, 2021
President Joe Biden signed his $1.9 trillion stimulus bill into law on Thursday, commemorating the one-year anniversary of a U.S. lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic with a measure designed to bring relief to Americans and boost the economy.
CNN -
March 12, 2021
A federal regulatory agency is approaching the deadline to decide whether masks should be required at workplaces in the United States, in response to an executive order by President Biden. On January 21, President Joe Biden's first full day in office, he signed an executive order that asked OSHA to consider if any new emergency temporary standards are needed to protect workers from Covid-19. That could include masks in workplaces, if necessary, the order said -- and such standards would need to be issued by March 15.
HealthDay -
March 12, 2021
Social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have prevented an anticipated outbreak of a rare polio-like syndrome in children, researchers report. Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) is a spinal condition that causes weakness in the limbs, impairs motor function and can lead to lifelong disabilities. It was first reported in the United States in 2012, with outbreaks recurring every two years. An outbreak was expected in 2020, but appears to have been snuffed out by social distancing measures during the pandemic…
NBC News -
March 12, 2021
States with Democratic governors had the highest incidence and death rates from Covid-19 in the first months of the coronavirus pandemic, but states with Republican governors surpassed those rates as the crisis dragged on, a study released Tuesday found.
NPR -
March 11, 2021
While some changes happened gradually, there was one day that marked the beginning of the new normal, though that wasn't clear as the day began. March 11, 2020. On that day in the United States, the pandemic future arrived all at once. … Dr. Fauci testifies: "It's going to get worse" … WHO declares a pandemic — and stocks plunge … In prime-time Oval Office address, Trump bans travel from Europe … Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson test positive for the virus … An NBA game is halted just before tipoff.
AP -
March 11, 2021
A Congress riven along party lines approved the landmark $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and Democrats claimed a major triumph on legislation marshaling the government’s spending might against twin pandemic and economic crises that have upended a nation. The House gave final congressional approval to the sweeping package by a near party line 220-211 vote precisely seven weeks after Biden entered the White House and four days after the Senate passed the bill.
TODAY -
March 11, 2021
Nursing home residents vaccinated against COVID-19 can get hugs again from their loved ones, and all residents may enjoy more indoor visits, the government said Wednesday in a step toward pre-pandemic normalcy. The policy guidance from [CMS] comes as coronavirus cases and deaths among nursing home residents have plummeted in recent weeks at the same time that vaccination accelerated. … They represent about 1% of the U.S. population, but account for 1 in 3 deaths, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
CNN -
March 11, 2021
Between January and April, case rates compared to young White people were about 1.5 times higher among young Asian people, about 2.5 times higher among young Black people and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders, nearly 4 times higher among young Hispanic people and about 4.6 times higher among young American Indians. After April, case rates among young White people started to increase, decreasing some disparities in this age group.
Yahoo! Finance -
March 11, 2021
U.S. states saw new jobless claims fall more than expected to reach a four-month low last week, as impending spring weather and more vaccine-driven business reopenings allow hiring to pick up. … New claims are more than likely to continue dropping into the spring and summer, assuming the vaccine rollout and improving COVID-19 case counts extend into the coming months.
CNN -
March 11, 2021
An increasing number of states and communities say they are planning to resume or expand in-person learning a year into the coronavirus pandemic, as new infections decline and vaccinations rise. North Carolina's governor on Wednesday announced an agreement on a bill with lawmakers -- still to be passed -- that would remove capacity limits from middle and high schools. … And leaders in other states, including Arizona, Oregon and New Mexico, say they've ordered or otherwise expect all their schools to offer in-person instruction in the next few days or weeks.
Politico -
March 11, 2021
The U.S. death rate increased by 15 percent last year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, making it the deadliest year in recorded U.S. history, the CDC will announce, according to two senior administration officials with direct knowledge of the matter. The agency will summarize its findings in an upcoming issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
CNN -
March 11, 2021
Staggering numbers of health care workers -- more than one in five -- have experienced anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder during the pandemic, new research has revealed. Health care workers have been working for long hours under strenuous conditions.
AP -
March 10, 2021
The House was expected to give final congressional approval Wednesday to the package, which aims to fulfill Democrats’ campaign promises to beat the coronavirus pandemic and revive the enfeebled economy. House and Senate Republicans have unanimously opposed the package as bloated, crammed with liberal policies and heedless of signs the dual crises are easing.
Reuters -
March 10, 2021
A highly infectious variant of COVID-19 that has spread around the world since it was first discovered in Britain late last year is between 30% and 100% more deadly than previous strains, researchers said on Wednesday. In a study that compared death rates among people in Britain infected with the new SARS-CoV-2 variant, known as B.1.1.7, against those infected with other strains, scientists said the new variant had “significantly higher” mortality.
Reuters -
March 10, 2021
It’s a life-threatening problem that’s been long predicted - but that few in the government or private sectors have yet done much to solve. Now the consequences are hitting some of America’s most vulnerable communities. … The results of inaction are stark: While U.S. communities of color are at higher risk for severe or fatal COVID-19 infections, white people have been vaccinated at twice the rate of Blacks and two-and-a-half times the rate of Hispanics, according to a March 1 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
HealthDay -
March 10, 2021
COVID-19 infection rates waxed and waned with pollen counts in 2020, according to tracking data gathered across 31 countries in every corner of the globe. … Pollen, sometimes influenced by humidity and temperature, explained 44% of the variability in COVID-19 infection rates between different regions of a country, on average, according to the report published online recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.