pandemic

Stories 801 - 820 | << Prev   Next >>

South Korea Closes Down as 'Massive Outbreak' Nears

Churches and baseball stadiums are empty now

(Newser) - Churches were closed, and professional baseball games were played in empty stadiums on Sunday as South Korea stepped up measures nationwide to fight a resurgence in coronavirus cases that has raised concerns that the epidemic is getting out of control. The 397 new cases reported by South Korea's Centers...

Kentucky Derby Organizers Do a 180 on Spectators

Decision to allow fans to attend this year's event in September is reversed

(Newser) - Organizers tried to figure out a way to keep the Kentucky Derby horse race safe for fans this year amid the coronavirus pandemic, but those efforts have apparently come to naught. Per WLKY , Churchill Downs announced Friday it wouldn't be allowing spectators after all at the Sept. 5 event...

It's a Zombie Attack, but With Social Distance

Company in Tokyo gets creative during pandemic with drive-thru scares

(Newser) - It’s a living nightmare—but a socially distanced one, per the AP . "Zombies" attack vehicles, smearing them with artificial blood. But the customers inside the cars are safely separated from their stalkers by the windows. Production company Kowagarasetai, roughly translated as "Scare Squad," has launched a...

A Rare Admission From Kim Jong Un
A Rare Admission
From Kim Jong Un

A Rare Admission From Kim Jong Un

Leader admits plan for 'great socialist country' was a failure, calls for January meeting

(Newser) - Kim Jong Un's ambitious five-year plan to boost the North Korean economy and create a "great socialist country" has been "seriously delayed," he said Thursday in Pyongyang—and he's called for a rare Workers' Party congress at the start of the new year to try...

COVID-19 Case Traced Back to Huge Biker Rally

Experts feared it could become a 'super-spreader' event

(Newser) - Health officials are ringing alarm bells after a COVID-19 case was traced back to South Dakota's huge biker rally, CNN reports. The South Dakota Department of Health said Tuesday that someone who went to One-Eyed Jack's Saloon in Sturgis on Aug. 11 has tested positive, so anyone else...

COVID-19 Smell Loss Study Supports an Infection Theory

The theory being that the coronavirus infects the brain and central nervous system

(Newser) - A small study out of Europe is the first to look at how smell loss associated with COVID-19 differs from that caused by a severe cold or the flu—and the findings bolster the theory that the coronavirus infects the brain and central nervous system, per a press release . A...

Berlin's Reopened Brothels May Disappoint

Erotic massages are allowed, but sex isn't permitted until September

(Newser) - Berlin's brothels are back open for the first time in five months, but there's a caveat: No sex allowed. While prostitution is legal in Germany, sex acts remain banned until September under coronavirus restrictions, reports AFP . At this point, clients—required to wear a mask and provide contact...

Trump Slams 'Terrible' Virus Surge in NZ, PM Pushes Back

Jacinda Ardern takes US president to task for his description of her country's recent outbreak

(Newser) - President Trump called out New Zealand this week for its sudden mysterious uptick in COVID-19 cases, and now the country's prime minister is pushing back on his wording. At a Monday rally in Minnesota, Trump pointed out the country's recent outbreak, noting that nations held up globally as...

550 People Who Went to Strip Club Got Some Bad News

Worker tests positive for COVID at Toronto's Brass Rail Tavern, dinged for flouting safety protocols

(Newser) - A worker at a Toronto strip club has tested positive for COVID-19, but that isn't the only problem the venue has. Per the Guardian , health officials in the Canadian city say that up to 550 additional people may have been exposed to the virus at the Brass Rail Tavern,...

COVID-19 Is Bad News for Naked Bikers

This year's Philly Naked Bike Ride is no more

(Newser) - The coronavirus pandemic has slammed the brakes on this year's Philly Naked Bike Ride. The annual event, which usually draws thousands of nude cyclists for a trip around Philadelphia and its tourist sites, had been set for later this month. But organizers who had been gearing up for it...

No Classes After Teachers Say They'd Be No-Shows

Arizona district planned to restart despite not meeting state guidelines

(Newser) - There'll be no classes Monday after all in Arizona's JO Combs Unified School District. In "an overwhelming response," too many staff members said they don't feel safe going back yet, the superintendent wrote to families. Online classes are canceled, as well, the Hill reports, because...

Garbage Falls in Italy, but There's All That PPE

UN, environmental groups warn of danger to seas from microplastics

(Newser) - Italy produced 10% less garbage during its coronavirus lockdown, but environmentalists warn that increased reliance on disposable masks and packaging is imperiling efforts to curb single-use plastics that end up in oceans and seas. Researchers estimate that during the peak months of Italy's lockdown in March and April, the...

Texas Has a New Coronavirus Problem
A New COVID-19
Problem Hits
Texas

A New COVID-19 Problem Hits Texas

'We're not having enough people step forward'

(Newser) - Anyone can get a coronavirus test at the CentroMed clinic in San Antonio, but on a recent day, the drive-thru was empty. Finally two masked people in a maroon SUV pulled straight on through with no wait. With hundreds of deaths reported each day, students returning to class and football...

25% of Young Adults Seriously Considered Suicide in June

CDC looks at America's mental health during the pandemic

(Newser) - The pandemic-related mental health crisis experts have been warning about seems to have arrived. A quarter of adults aged 18 to 24 say they've seriously contemplated suicide in the past month, according to a CDC survey of 5,412 people conducted from June 24 to 30. Young adults aren'...

Biden: We Need a 3-Month Mask Mandate, Starting Now

It should be nationwide, he says

(Newser) - Joe Biden is calling for a nationwide protective mask mandate, citing health experts' predictions that it could save 40,000 lives from the coronavirus over the next three months. "Wearing the mask is less about you contracting the virus," Biden said, "it's about preventing other people...

Imported Chicken Wings Test Positive for COVID-19

A Chinese city finds COVID-19 on food from Brazil

(Newser) - If you're in Shenzhen, China, think twice about buying imported chicken wings—which might just contain the coronavirus, CNN reports. That's according to a municipal statement that a surface sample of frozen wings from Brazil tested positive Wednesday during a screening in the city's Longgang district. Health...

New Zealand Isn&#39;t Free of the Virus After All
COVID-19
Returns to
New Zealand

COVID-19 Returns to New Zealand

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern puts Auckland on lockdown

(Newser) - New Zealand put its biggest city on lockdown Tuesday after four new COVID-19 cases cropped up in the same household, Sky News reports. That means Auckland residents are being told to work at home and leave only for essential needs while nurseries, schools, bars, and restaurants are shut down for...

Putin: We Just Won the COVID-19 Vaccine Race

Russia's leader says they have a vaccine that's ready to roll

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin says Russia has registered a COVID-19 vaccine—a dramatic first among world nations—and one of his adult daughters has already been inoculated, Reuters reports. "I know that it works quite effectively, forms strong immunity, and I repeat, it has passed all the needed checks," he...

Customer Orders 'Priciest Facemask in the World'

3.6K white and black diamonds add to the glitz

(Newser) - An Israeli jewelry company is working on what it says will be the world's most expensive coronavirus mask, a gold, diamond-encrusted face covering with a price tag of $1.5 million, the AP reports. The 18-karat white gold mask will be decorated with 3,600 white and black diamonds...

America Smashes Coronavirus Record
America Smashes
Coronavirus Record

America Smashes Coronavirus Record

Yet the official tally is perhaps 10% of the real caseload, health officials say

(Newser) - Confirmed coronavirus cases in the US hit 5 million Sunday—by far the highest of any country—more than four months into a sustained outbreak, the AP reports. That's the number from Johns Hopkins University, but health officials believe the actual number is perhaps 10 times higher, or closer...

Stories 801 - 820 | << Prev   Next >>