Health & Fitness

Bay Area health officers recommend masking indoors; region has highest infection rate in California Twelve Bay Area health officers on Friday recommended that people wear masks indoors amidst a new swell of COVID cases and hospitalizations. The Bay Area now has California’s highest COVID infection rates fueled by omicron subvariants, according to a joint news release. KTVU's Emma Goss reports. SAN JOSE, Calif. - Twelve Bay Area health officers on Friday recommended that people wear masks indoors amidst a new swell of COVID cases and hospitalizations. The Bay Area now has California’s highest COVID infection rates fueled by omicron subvariants, according to a joint news release.  Although not required, masking is strongly recommended by the California D...

SALEM, Ore. -- Oregon's education and health departments are issuing a new "School Health Advisory for Continuity of Instruction." The new advisory insists schools use their layered approach of preventive measures, including masks, to retain in-person for the balance of the school year.  The advisory says a pre-pandemic protocol for respiratory disease outbreak is in place with the state experiencing a respiratory illness increase as people relax pandemic guidelines. The advisory is the first from the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) since March 2, 2022.  That advisory ended April 30.  The new advisory is effective today through August 31, 2022. ODE and OHA says they are prioritizing safety protocols needed to c...

May 14, 2022, 2:55amUpdated 3h ago By: News 12 Staff The New York state Department of Health is now recommending Long Islanders wear masks indoors again. The news come as both Nassau and Suffolk counties were classified as high-risk communities for COVID transmission. The Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention elevated Long Island to its highest risk level as COVID-19 cases have steadily risen in both Nassau and Suffolk counties due to the Omicron variant. Health officials add that the COVID spike on Long Island has been fueled by the end of mask mandates in crowded indoor buildings and other factors. "Our primary vaccination rates on Long Island aren't great. We've not done particularly well with boosters," says Dr. David Battinelli, of Northwell Health. "Long Island is a very d...

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EVANSTON, Ill. (WLS) -- Evanston is now at a "high" COVID community level, as defined by the CDC, due to rising hospitalizations, not just case numbers. Over the past seven days, Evanston has reported 397 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, up from 305 the week prior. US COVID death toll reaches 1 million; Biden marks grim milestoneAs a result, Evanston's Health and Human Services has made the following recommendations based on CDC guidelines: -Wearing a mask indoors in public irrespective of vaccination status including K-12 schools and other indoor public settings-Wearing a mask or respirator that provides greater protection if you are a high risk individual for severe disease-Wearing a mask if you have symptoms, a positive test, or have had an exposure to someone with COVID-19 -Socializing...

A toddler had to have a liver transplant after being struck down by the mysterious wave of hepatitis that has infected at least 110 American children and killed five. Two year-old Baelyn Schwab, from Aberdeen in South Dakota, initially fell ill on April 22 with hives, and ended up having a transplant just a fortnight later, on May 5. The youngster suffers from allergies, so her mom Kelsea wasn't overly concerned when she first spotted the welts last month. But Kelsea, who lost her baby daughter Laramie to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in December 2021, took Baelyn to their local emergency room anyway to be safe.  The toddler was sent home with allergy medication, only to wake-up with yellow eyes the next morning. Her condition rapidly deteriorated after she was brought back to hospi...

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends that people in 16 Michigan counties wear masks again in indoor, public places as the coronavirus surges and hospitalizations climb. The CDC updated its map Thursday evening that details community risk from COVID-19, showing all of metro Detroit now in the high-risk category as well as many counties in the northwestern lower peninsula. They are: Washtenaw, Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston, St. Clair, Chippewa, Mackinac, Emmet, Cheboygan, Antrim, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Manistee and Calhoun. In those 16 high-risk counties, the CDC recommends: Wearing a mask in indoor, public places. Staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines, including boosters if you're eligible. Getting tested if you're symptomatic. If you are ...

TOPEKA — Leading infection control and prevention experts at a Kansas hospital say COVID-19 numbers are trending up slowly but have yet to reach the surging levels seen in other countries. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported Friday 2,847 new COVID-19 cases and 29 new deaths since the previous week. The rolling seven-day average is 277 cases, a slight decrease from the previous week, but a stark increase since March, when the rolling average dropped below 100 cases.  Steve Stites, chief medical officer for the University of Kansas Health System, said looking at a heat map, there is a band moving across the central part of the country from Colorado, now into Kansas and Missouri. Hospitalizations are up, but deaths have remained ...

Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, county health officers across the San Francisco Bay Area issued a statement Friday, recommending that people take safety precautions including wearing masks in indoor public places, testing and keeping up with vaccinations. Health officers issued the recommendation as opposed to a mandate (as they have done in past surges) because while cases are skyrocketing, hospitalizations remain relatively low. The region is well protected from serious illness and death due to immunity from vaccinations and past infection, more so than it was before the emergence of the omicron variant. “I think we’re recognizing that there’s something in between a mandate and a world where nobody is covering their faces,” Marin County Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis told ...

UPDATE: Some N.J. school districts resume mask requirements as COVID cases rise Masks are now recommended for indoor public places and on public transportation in nine New Jersey counties for the first time since federal COVID-19 risk guidelines were updated in February. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention elevated the nine counties in the state to “high” transmission risk for COVID-19 as cases continue to steadily increase. New Jersey reported 5,309 confirmed positive tests on Friday, the first time more than 5,000 cases have been reported since late January during the winter omicron wave. The counties ranked as “high” risk include Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Gloucester, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean and Sussex, according to the CDC’s metrics. Eleven counties ...