Category: Breaking News

The Walmart Supercenter in Linden has been closed to customers in the wake of the recent spike in COVID-19 cases across the region, the company said. The store, on West Edgar Road, was closed on Tuesday and is expected to reopen Thursday morning. “As you know, several areas across the country have begun seeing a renewed increase in positive COVID-19 cases, and we want to assist health officials working against the pandemic. In support of this effort, we have chosen to temporarily close our Linden store location… as part of an ongoing company-initiated program,” Walmart said in a statement released to NJ Advance Media Wednesday morning. “This will allow extra time for a third-party specialist to further sanitize the store and will also give our associates additional time to restock shelves and prepare the store to once again serve the community,” the company statement added. “We plan to reopen the store to customers at 6 a.m. on Thursday, December 30.” Although Walmart did not indicate whether there have been widespread COVID infections at its Linden store, a report by NBC4 New York said dozens of employees have tested positive for the virus. Continue reading “NJ Walmart closes after Employee covid outbreak”

Bark, Bark, Bark – Isolate, Isolate, Isolate

I now have enough information and research that has come in to give you my opinion and a safety warning. This is an important conversation we must have.

The decision to cut isolation time in half for those with asymptomatic COVID-19 is sparking a backlash among employee representatives and experts who say big business sparked the decision more than science did. A worker shortage of flight attendants calling out sick made Christmas travel a nightmare across the U.S. But other industries such as retail and restaurants could be similarly impacted, leading businesses into temporary yet unintentional shutdowns – a politically unpopular way to curb the spread that President Biden is trying to avoid. Just after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday it would cut isolation time for asymptomatic people infected with COVID-19 from 10 days to five, Anthony Fauci, the president’s top medical adviser told CNN the reason for the change had to do with getting people back to work faster. With cases expected to surge, Fauci said, “One of the things we want to be careful of is we don’t have so many people out.” “If you are asymptomatic and you are infected, we want to get people back to the jobs, especially those with essential jobs,” Fauci said. “They can get back to the workplace, doing things that are important to keep society running smoothly.” The CDC said the change was driven by science showing that the majority of virus transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the first two days prior to onset of symptoms and the two to three days after. But just last week, Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian wrote the agency requesting the isolation be reduced to five days, arguing that over 90 percent of the airline’s workforce is fully vaccinated while noting that airline workers wear masks in airports and on planes. Continue reading “Rising omicron cases CDC new guidelines threatens business”

SYDNEY/ROME (Reuters) – Daily COVID-19 infections have hit record highs in the United States, swathes of Europe and Australia as the new Omicron variant of the virus races out of control, keeping workers at home and overwhelming testing centres. Almost two years after China first reported a cluster of “viral pneumonia” cases in the city of Wuhan, the regularly mutating coronavirus is wreaking havoc in many parts of the world, forcing governments to rethink quarantine and test rules. Although some studies have suggested the Omicron variant is less deadly than some of its predecessors, the huge numbers of people testing positive mean that hospitals in some countries might soon be overwhelmed, while businesses might struggle to carry on operating because of workers having to quarantine. The average number of daily COVID-19 cases in the United States has also hit a record high over the past seven days, according to a Reuters tally.

Continue reading “COVID-19 cases surge around world, raising testing and quarantine fears”

Former Surgeon General Jerome Adams advised against following recent COVID-19 guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) asserting that some people infected with the virus could end their quarantine after just five days. “I love the CDC. Grew up wanting to work there and have been one of their most ardent defenders.

I never dreamed the day would come when I would advise people NOT to follow their guidance,” Adams said in a tweet on Tuesday. “They wouldn’t even follow it for their own family.” Continue reading “Trump’s surgeon general condemns CDC guidance”

(Reuters) – The Omicron variant was estimated to be 58.6% of the coronavirus variants circulating in the United States as of Dec. 25, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday. The agency also revised down the Omicron proportion of cases for the week ending Dec. 18 to 22% from 73%, citing additional data and the rapid spread of the variant that in part caused the discrepancy. “We had more data come in from that timeframe and there was a reduced proportion of Omicron,” a CDC spokesperson said. “It’s important to note that we’re still seeing a steady increase in the proportion of Omicron.” The fast-spreading variant was first detected in southern Africa and Hong Kong in November, with the first known case in the United States identified on Dec. 1 in a fully vaccinated person who had traveled to South Africa. Since then, the strain has rapidly spread across the world and driven a surge in U.S. infections, causing widespread flight cancellations and dashing hopes for a more normal holiday season. The Delta variant, which had been the dominant strain in the past few months, accounts for 41.1% of all U.S. COVID-19 cases as of Dec. 25, the public health agency’s data showed. Former U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said on Twitter that if the CDC’s new estimate of Omicron prevalence was precise, then it suggests that a good portion of the current hospitalizations may still be driven by Delta infections. The agency said the data includes modeled projection that may differ from weighted estimates generated at later dates.

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