Pandemics

Dr. Mamadu Baldeh, one of only four physicians managing the COVID-19 unit and the only one doing so while still overseeing the infectious diseases unit, is photographed outside the Connaught Hospital where he works in the capital Freetown, Sierra Leone Friday, May 8, 2020. Despite the loss of colleagues, Baldeh is fighting not only to save his coronavirus patients but also to provide quality care for those afflicted with other infectious diseases as he and other health care workers fight for a better system. (Vicki Remoe/VRC Marketing via AP)

Sierra Leone doctor in dedicated mission against COVID-19

Sep. 23, 2020 3:08 AM EDT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Dr. Mamadu Baldeh can’t forget the 18-year-old who came into his hospital with COVID-19, gasping for air until the day he died. This suffering was all too real for Baldeh, who battles asthma just as that young man did. At the time, Baldeh, 32, was the only physician treating...

FILE - In this Sept. 16, 2020, file photo Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield appears at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on a

200,000 dead as Trump vilifies science, prioritizes politics

Sep. 23, 2020 12:58 AM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — “I did the best I could,” President Donald Trump said. Huddled with aides in the West Wing last week, his eyes fixed on Fox News, Trump wasn’t talking about how he had led the nation through the deadliest pandemic in a century. In a conversation overheard by an...

FILE - In this June 5, 2020, file photo, a surfer walks on a sparsely populated Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. Hawaii's governor says that starting Oct. 15, travelers arriving from out of state may bypass a 14-day quarantine requirement if they test negative for COVID-19. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)

The Latest: Honolulu to allow some activities to resume

Sep. 22, 2020 11:34 PM EDT

HONOLULU -- Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell says the city plans to allow some activities that were shut down last month to control the spread of the coronavirus to resume under new guidelines. The mayor said Tuesday the city will allow social gatherings of up to five people, including at beaches and hiking trails. ...

Nevada mulls data reporting as rapid tests grow more common

Sep. 22, 2020 10:18 PM EDT

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — As facilities throughout the United States prepare to expand the use of rapid coronavirus tests, Nevada officials are weighing how to incorporate them into the data they present to the public. Since the start of the pandemic, the state has relied heavily on molecular tests –...

FILE - In this May 28, 2020, file photo, a woman passes a fence outside Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery adorned with tributes to victims of COVID-19 in New York. The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus topped 200,000 Tuesday, Sept. 22, a figure unimaginable eight months ago when the scourge first reached the world’s richest nation with its sparkling laboratories, top-flight scientists and towering stockpiles of medicines and emergency supplies. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

'Unfathomable': US death toll from coronavirus hits 200,000

Sep. 22, 2020 9:16 PM EDT

The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus topped 200,000 Tuesday, by far the highest in the world, hitting the once-unimaginable threshold six weeks before an election that is certain to be a referendum in part on President Donald Trump's handling of the crisis. “It is completely unfathomable that...

FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020 file photo Wesley Thomas works out at Fitness SF Transbay during the coronavirus outbreak in San Francisco. A steady drop in coronavirus cases across California cleared the way Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, for the wider reopening of businesses in nine counties, including much of the Bay Area, the state said. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu,File)

California reopens more widely as infections hit lowest rate

Sep. 22, 2020 8:22 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — More of California was cleared to reopen additional businesses Tuesday, including most of the San Francisco Bay Area and one of Southern California's largest counties, as coronavirus infection rates have fallen to their lowest level of the pandemic. Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state health...

In this image made from UNTV video, Muhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria, speaks in a pre-recorded message which was played during the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, at UN headquarters in New York. The U.N.'s first virtual meeting of world leaders started Tuesday with pre-recorded speeches from some of the planet's biggest powers, kept at home by the coronavirus pandemic that will likely be a dominant theme at their video gathering this year. (UNTV via AP)

The Latest: Nigeria urges vaccine to be available to all

Sep. 22, 2020 8:15 PM EDT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Latest from the U.N. General Assembly (all times EDT): 8:15 p.m. The president of Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, is calling for the “uninhibited supply of safe and effective coronavirus vaccines for all.” African nations have been outspoken in...

Colorado Governor Jared Polis makes a point about the increase in the state's new coronavirus cases over the past three weeks during a news conference Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado announces mandatory furlough for state workers

Sep. 22, 2020 6:32 PM EDT

DENVER (AP) — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced mandatory furloughs of state workers due to pandemic-related budget cuts and warned Tuesday about a third wave of coronavirus outbreaks if the state’s upward trend continues. The number of days are based on an employee’s annual salary with...

Nevada group protests mask mandate outside governor's home

Sep. 22, 2020 6:18 PM EDT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — About 100 people gathered outside the Nevada governor's private home in Las Vegas to protest a mask mandate intended to limit the spread of COVID-19. Political action committee No Mask Nevada planned the Monday demonstration after Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak implemented the order, the...

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert walks through the Capitol rotunda to a COVID-19 briefing Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Utah governor increases pandemic restrictions in 2 cities

Sep. 22, 2020 6:05 PM EDT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Gov. Gary Herbert will increase pandemic restrictions in two Utah cities. But he stopped short of implementing any mask mandates as COVID-19 cases continue to surge in the state, state officials announced Tuesday. Herbert is imposing new restrictions in the cities of Provo and Orem...

Latest Pandemics News