Employees who want to keep their jobs at Saint Agnes Medical Center in northeast Fresno will have to claim an exemption or show proof of vaccination against the coronavirus by Sept. 21 because of a mandate announced this month by the parent corporation, Trinity Health. The Michigan-based Catholic health system...
Ex-Bee Business Editor Beats Stage 4 Cancer Amid Pandemic Challenges
An itchy, oozing little sore at the top of my right ear had me mildly concerned. “I think I might have gotten a spider bite while sleeping,” I told the dermatologist. He took one look and shook his head. “I’m afraid not.” It was July 15, 2020. That same day,...
California Regulators Withdraw Latest Work Mask Rules
SACRAMENTO — California’s workplace regulators have withdrawn a controversial pending mask regulation while they consider a rule that more closely aligns with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s promise that the state will fully reopen from the pandemic on Tuesday. The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board’s revised rule, adopted last week...
California Board to Again Reconsider Workplace Mask Rules
SACRAMENTO — California’s workplace regulators are set to again reconsider controversial masking rules designed to protect employees against the coronavirus. A “special meeting’’ of the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board was hastily scheduled for Wednesday after State Health Officer Dr. Tomás Aragón sent a letter to the panel...
Sniffing Labrador Retrievers Join Thai Coronavirus Fight
BANGKOK — Thailand has started deploying a canine virus-detecting squad in hopes of quickly identifying people with COVID-19 as the country faces a surge in cases, with clusters at construction sites, crowded slum communities and large markets. Angel, Bobby and Bravo are among six Labrador retrievers that have been trained...
Loneliness Won’t End After COVID. Writer Says: ‘Find Your Linus Blanket’
It’s been more than a year since COVID-19 kept me from interacting with my most cherished friends. I felt lonely and isolated. Fortunately, I had my Linus blanket; that dependable, trustworthy, and emotional support item the Peanuts cartoon character took everywhere. Linus and his blanket were inseparable. We all need...
Donors Race to Aid India During COVID-19 Surge
The catastrophic wave of Covid-19 in India has prompted donors to send millions of dollars to the country, which Tuesday crossed the grim mark of more than 20 million cases of the killer disease. “The situation is desperate,” says Ashish Shah, senior director for philanthropy and community engagement at Indiaspora,...
COVID’s US Toll Projected to Drop Sharply by the End of July
NEW YORK — Teams of experts are projecting COVID-19's toll on the U.S. will fall sharply by the end of July, according to research released by the government Wednesday. But they also warn that a “substantial increase” in hospitalizations and deaths is possible if unvaccinated people do not follow basic...
‘Horrible’ Weeks Ahead as India’s Virus Catastrophe Worsens
NEW DELHI — COVID-19 infections and deaths are mounting with alarming speed in India with no end in sight to the crisis and a top expert warning that the coming weeks in the country of nearly 1.4 billion people will be “horrible.” India's official count of coronavirus cases surpassed 20...
COVID Treatment Has Improved, but Many Wish for an Easy Pill
If Priscila Medina had gotten COVID-19 a year ago, she would have had no treatments proven safe and effective to try. But when the 30-year-old nurse arrived at a Long Island hospital last month, so short of breath she could barely talk, doctors knew just what to do. They quickly...