Coronavirus News

Montana Virus Liability Bill Advancing Through Legislature

A bill that would protect businesses and health care providers from coronavirus-related lawsuits is advancing quickly through the Montana Legislature, after the state’s Republican governor said the measure was necessary to remove a statewide mask mandate put in place by …

California May Prioritize Age Before Essential Workers for Vaccine

Advocates for farmworkers, teachers, grocery store clerks and other essential workers are worried they will have to wait until this summer to be vaccinated against the coronavirus as California considers giving priority to older residents. State officials said the move …

Top Trading Firms Vow to Help Merchants Sailors Stuck on Ships Due to Coronavirus

Over 300 leading companies said on Tuesday they would work together to help hundreds of thousands of merchant sailors stuck on ships for many months due to COVID-19 in a crisis that risks creating more dangers at sea. About 90% …

United Airlines CEO Urges Employers to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccines

United Airlines may make the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for employees, and other companies should do the same, United Chief Executive Officer Scott Kirby told workers at a meeting on Thursday, according to a transcript reviewed by Reuters. A United spokeswoman …

Biden Orders OSHA to Step Up COVID Workplace Safety Guidance, Enforcement

The Biden Administration has instructed federal workplace safety officials to do more to help halt the spread of the coronavirus on the job. On his first full day on office, President Joseph Biden signed an executive order asking the Occupational …

California OKs Using Moderna Vaccine After Illness Reports

California says it’s safe to resume using a batch of Moderna coronavirus vaccine after some people fell ill and a halt to injections was recommended. The decision frees up more than 300,000 doses to counties, cities and hospitals struggling to …

In Third Lockdown, England Seeing ‘No Evidence of Decline’ in COVID-19 Cases

A third pandemic lockdown appears to be having little impact on rates of COVID-19 in England, researchers warned on Thursday, with prevalence of the disease “very high” and “no evidence of decline” in the first 10 days of renewed restrictions. …

Prioritizing High-Risk Individuals for Vaccines May Not Be Necessary, Research Says

A new study suggests that prioritizing vaccination of high-risk individuals has only a marginal effect on the number of COVID-19 deaths. To obtain significant improvements, it would be better if a very large fraction of a city or town population …

California COVID-19 Benefits Fraud, Cyber Attack Could Reach $9.8B

California may have paid out nearly $10 billion in phony coronavirus unemployment claims – more than double the previous estimate – with some of that money going to organized crime in Russia, China and other countries, according to a security …

Initial Reactions to UK Supreme Court’s Ruling on Business Interruption Claims

Insurers, policyholders and industry observers have issued comments on the UK Supreme Court’s ruling that insurers should pay small businesses for many business interruption claims from the COVID-19 lockdowns. The UK Supreme Court dismissed appeals by six insurers – Hiscox, …