Unvaccinated kids bore brunt of omicron wave, CDC report says
Almost 90% of U.S. children hospitalized for COVID-19 during the omicron wave this winter were unvaccinated, according to a government study.
Agencies monitoring Hawaii wastewater for COVID-19
HONOLULU — Federal authorities have begun monitoring Hawaii wastewater for COVID-19, while the state expects its own monitoring program to be fully operational this summer, officials said.
Shanghai reports more COVID deaths as factories pushed to reopen
Shanghai reported another seven COVID-19 deaths today local time as the financial hub grapples with a record outbreak that’s brought unprecedented disruptions to residents and threatens the country’s economic growth.
Shanghai quarantine: 24-hour lights, no hot showers
BEIJING — Beibei sleeps beside thousands of strangers in rows of cots in a high-ceilinged exhibition center. The lights stay on all night, and the 30-year-old real estate saleswoman has yet to find a hot shower.
Suit seeks to overturn renewed Philadelphia mask mandate
PHILADELPHIA — Several businesses and residents have filed suit in state court in Pennsylvania seeking to overturn Philadelphia’s renewed indoor mask mandate scheduled to be enforced beginning Monday in an effort to halt a surge in COVID-19 infections.
COVID cases likely three times more than reported
The number of COVID-19 cases in Hawaii are likely much higher than currently reported by the state Department of Health.
Hawaii laboratory detects case of omicron subvariant XE
HONOLULU — A COVID-19 omicron variant hybrid called XE has been detected in Hawaii, the state Department of Health said.
New COVID-19 variant now dominant in Hawaii
The state Department of Health confirmed Thursday that BA.2 is now the dominant COVID-19 variant throughout the state.
Hospitals report few COVID patients; demand for boosters up
As Hawaii lifts the mandatory mask mandate and Safe Travels Program, hospitals on the Big Island are generally seeing fewer COVID-19 patients, including Kona Community Hospital, which recently saw a six- day period during which no COVID-19 patients were admitted.
CDC extends travel mask requirement to May 3 as COVID rises
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it is extending the nationwide mask requirement for airplanes and public transit for 15 days as it monitors an uptick in COVID-19 cases.
A million empty spaces: Chronicling COVID’s ruthless US toll
Soon, likely in the next few weeks, the U.S. toll from the coronavirus will surpass 1 million. Through wave after wave, the virus has compiled a merciless chronology of loss — one by one by one. If losing one person leaves such a lasting void, consider all that’s been lost with the deaths of 1 million. From the first deaths on the West Coast to the soaring toll in New York, and then every place in between, the nation has been marked by unfathomable loss. COVID-19 has left an estimated 194,000 children in the U.S. without one or both of their parents. It has deprived communities of leaders, teachers and caregivers. It has robbed us of expertise and persistence, humor and devotion.
Over 100 new COVID cases reported in past week
There have been 1,327 new COVID-19 cases in Hawaii over the past week, according to state Department of Health data. Of the new weekly cases, 160 were reported on the Big Island.
COVID-19, overdoses pushed US to highest death total ever
NEW YORK — 2021 was the deadliest year in U.S. history, and new data and research are offering more insights into how it got that bad.
Philadelphia to restore indoor mask mandate as cases rise
Philadelphia became the first major U.S. city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate on Monday after reporting a sharp increase in coronavirus infections, with the city’s top health official saying she wanted to forestall a potential new wave driven by an omicron subvariant.
Mariupol mayor says siege has killed more than 10K civilians
KYIV, Ukraine — The mayor of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol said Monday that more than 10,000 civilians have died in the Russian siege of his city, and that the death toll could surpass 20,000, as weeks of attacks and privation leave the bodies of Mariupol’s people “carpeted through the streets.”
Ige doesn’t anticipate return of mask mandate
HONOLULU — Gov. David Ige said Monday he is not currently considering reinstating a mask requirement for public indoor spaces.
US orders consular staff to leave Shanghai amid COVID surge
BEIJING — The U.S. has ordered all non-emergency consular staff to leave Shanghai, which is under a tight lockdown to contain a COVID-19 surge.
COVID could be surging in the US right now and we might not even know it
The rise of COVID cases in some regions of the U.S., just as testing efforts wane, has raised the specter that the next major wave of the virus may be difficult to detect. In fact, the country could be in the midst of a surge right now and we might not even know it.
Experts say US suspension of COVID aid will prolong pandemic
LONDON — In the latest Senate package targeted at stopping the coronavirus, U.S. lawmakers dropped nearly all funding for curbing the virus beyond American borders, a move many health experts slammed as dangerously short-sighted.
Appeals court OKs Biden federal employee vaccine mandate
NEW ORLEANS — President Joe Biden’s requirement that all federal employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 was upheld Thursday by a federal appeals court.
