ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Florida’s power struggle over wearing masks in school to guard against coronavirus infections landed Monday before a judge considering a lawsuit that challenges Gov. Ron DeSantis’ order reserving the mask decision for parents. The three-day hearing before Leon County Circuit Judge John C. Cooper pits pro-mask…
Lockdowns or vaccines? 3 Pacific nations try diverging paths
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Cheryl Simpson was supposed to be celebrating her 60th birthday over lunch with friends but instead found herself confined to her Auckland home. The discovery of a single local COVID-19 case in New Zealand was enough for the government to put the entire country into strict…
California to require COVID-19 vaccine or test for teachers
SAN FRANCISCO — California will become the first state in the nation to require all teachers and school staff to get vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday. The statewide vaccine mandate for K-12 educators comes as schools return from summer break amid growing concerns of…
Bangladesh vaccinating Rohingya refugees amid virus surge
DHAKA,Bangladesh — Bangladesh’s government and aid agencies started vaccinating Rohingya refugees Tuesday as a virus surge raises health risks in the sprawling, cramped camps where more than 1 million people who fled Myanmar are sheltering. The highly transmissible delta variant is driving an infection surge across Bangladesh, with around 20,000…
Thousands jam Philippine vaccination sites over false news
MANILA, Philippines — Thousands of people jammed coronavirus vaccination centers in the Philippine capital, defying social distancing restrictions, after false news spread that unvaccinated residents would be deprived of cash aid or barred from leaving home during a two-week lockdown that started Friday. Officials placed Metropolitan Manila backed under lockdown…
Mask mandate reinstated in San Francisco Bay Area amid surge
SAN FRANCISCO — Health officials in San Francisco and six other Bay Area counties announced Monday that they are reinstating a mask mandate for all indoor settings as COVID-19 infections surge because of the highly contagious delta variant. The new mandate — which applies to everyone, regardless of their vaccination…
Louisiana Rep. Higgins says he, wife, son have coronavirus
NEW ORLEANS — Republican Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana, a critic of mask mandates and public health restrictions during the pandemic, said he, his wife and son have contracted the coronavirus. He made the announcement on Facebook Sunday night and said he and his wife had been infected last year,…
Fired Tennessee vaccine official received dog muzzle in mail
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee’s former top vaccination official received a dog muzzle in the mail a few days before she was fired this week in what she has said was an attempt to use her as a scapegoat to appease lawmakers, a newspaper reported. “Someone wanted to send a message…
Summer setback: COVID deaths and cases rising again globally
COVID-19 deaths and cases are on the rise again globally in a dispiriting setback that is triggering another round of restrictions and dampening hopes for an almost normal summer of fun. The World Health Organization reported Wednesday that deaths climbed last week after nine straight weeks of decline. It recorded…
Virus cases jump 1,200 in South Korea amid slow vaccination
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea is seeing a steep rise in coronavirus infections unseen since the worst of its outbreak last winter as it slips into another surge while most of its people are still unvaccinated. The 1,212 new cases confirmed by Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on…
Indonesia court sentences firebrand cleric to 8 months' jail
JAKARTA, Indonesia — An Indonesian court sentenced a politically influential firebrand cleric to eight months in prison on Thursday for violating health protocols by holding gatherings attended by thousands of supporters during the coronavirus outbreak. The panel of three judges at East Jakarta District Court, which was under heavy police…