SANTA FE, New Mexico — New Mexico’s governor and dozens of other elected officials are urging the state’s business community to require that employees be vaccinated against Covid-19 or alternatively undergo regular testing. The letter sent at week’s end to employers and business groups said the action is necessary to stop the current increased spread
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FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida — The Covid-19 outbreak in the United States has crossed 100,000 new confirmed daily infections. It’s a milestone last exceeded during the winter surge and driven by the highly transmissible delta variant and low vaccination rates in the South. Health officials fear that cases, hospitalizations and deaths will continue to soar if
Continue Reading By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Business Top US retail and food chains have updated their mask policies since the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week that fully vaccinated people should wear masks indoors in areas with substantial Covid-19 transmission. That designation includes more than two-thirds of US counties. The CDC changed its
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EL PASO, Texas — El Paso hit an important vaccination milestone on Friday with the number originally linked to herd immunity. 70% of the eligible El Paso population, 12 and older, are now fully vaccinated against Covid-19. But there’s a word of caution, as the goalpost is moving for herd immunity due to the Delta
Continue Reading AUSTIN, Texas — Texas school districts will not be required to conduct contact tracing this year if a student contracts Covid-19, according to new guidelines issued by the Texas Education Agency this week. The agency said districts should notify parents if the district learns of a student who has been a close contact to someone
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LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — New Mexico State University is following in the footsteps of some other universities around the country and requiring that all students and staff be vaccinated against Covid-19 or undergo weekly tests. NMSU announced Friday that all students would need to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 30 or agree to weekly
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AUSTIN, Texas — The rates of new Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are showing steeper increases than past surges, state health officials said Wednesday. Health officials are stressing the need to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus in the hopes of containing a third Covid-19 wave from the delta variant. In a video conference, Chris
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EL PASO, Texas — El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser and County Judge Ricardo Samaniego sent a letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday, imploring him to allow local school districts the authority to implement face mask mandates if they so choose. In the letter, the pair said local districts should be able “to decide
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WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to seek authorization to make Covid-19 vaccines mandatory for all active duty troops as soon as this week, following President Joe Biden’s directive that the military examine how and when it could make that happen. Austin’s “inclination is towards making the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory” for
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WASHINGTON, DC — The Biden administration is taking the first steps toward requiring nearly all foreign visitors to the U.S. to be vaccinated for the coronavirus, a White House official says. The requirement would come as part of the administration’s phased approach to easing travel restrictions for foreign citizens to the country. No timeline has
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ATLANTA, Georgia — The highly-infectious Delta variant now accounts for an estimated 93.4% of all coronavirus cases now occurring in the United States, according to figures published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday. This includes several sub-lineages of Delta, all of which are classified as variants of concern. Together, they made up
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LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — All students and staff at Las Cruces Public Schools will be required to wear face masks indoors to prevent the spread of Covid-19 when classrooms reopen, Superintendent Ralph Ramos announced Tuesday evening. “All LCPS students and staff will be required to wear masks indoors during the school day and during
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a new moratorium on evictions that would last until October 3, ending some of the political pressure being placed on President Joe Biden. The new moratorium could help keep millions in their homes as the coronavirus’ delta variant has spread and states
Continue Reading LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — New Mexico State University will require faculty and other workers to be fully vaccinated for Covid-19 by Sept. 30, or they will have to undergo weekly testing. The mandate was announced Tuesday by university officials, who said in a statement that they were still discussing vaccination and testing requirements for
Continue Reading As stricter rules and mask mandates return, frustration is building particularly among those who are fully vaccinated against coronavirus. CNN’s Dan Simon reports how some California residents say they feel they’re being punished for the inaction of others.
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — The Biden administration will extend a Trump-era border policy that allows for the swift expulsion of migrants encountered at the US-Mexico border indefinitely, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday, as tens of thousands of migrants continue to cross into the United States monthly. The public health authority, known as
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. on Monday finally reached President Joe Biden’s goal of getting at least one COVID-19 shot into 70% of American adults — a month late and amid a fierce surge by the delta variant that is swamping hospitals and leading to new mask rules and mandatory vaccinations around the country. In
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EL PASO, Texas — Of the 14 coronavirus deaths occurring in El Paso County last week, public health officials confirmed Monday that three of those fatalities involved people who were fully vaccinated. That brought the total number of El Paso virus deaths to date among those vaccinated to ten, with officials noting that all of
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — One of El Paso’s top infectious disease experts is recommending that students pack their face masks in backpacks as they head back to school. Dr. Ogechika Alozie spoke about back-to-school safety on Monday’s edition of ABC-7’s Good Morning El Paso. He said he’s concerned about the high-transmissibility of the Delta
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, is warning of “some pain and suffering in the future” as coronavirus cases continue to rise. Fauci, speaking on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday, said he doesn’t foresee more lockdowns in the U.S., but warned that the situation surrounding the coronavirus pandemic will continue to
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FORT BLISS, Texas — Military personnel and all others visiting Fort Bliss must return to wearing face masks indoors on the U.S. Army post due to “substantial community transmission” of Covid-19 in the El Paso area, the commanding general said in a new order that takes effect immediately. In a memo drafted late Friday and
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas — Three cases of the very contagious Covid-19 Delta variant have been confirmed in El Paso, all among unvaccinated people. The announcement came from El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser and County Judge Ricardo Samaniego at a briefing on Friday afternoon. The three variant cases involved women in their 20s, 40s and 60s,
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CLINT, Texas — The Clint Independent School District has reported a case of Covid-19 at Clint High School. The district would not disclose whether the infected person was a student or staff member. People who were in close contact with the infected individual received notification, and the district said operations would continue as usual at
Continue Reading PROVINCETOWN, Massachusetts — Adding more insight into the Centers for Disease Control’s updated mask guidance, newly published details of the Provincetown outbreak raise concern that the now-dominant Delta variant may be able to spread among fully vaccinated people. Following multiple large gatherings in Provincetown, Mass., from July 3-17, investigators identified 469 Covid-19 cases, two-thirds of
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — The Delta coronavirus variant surging across the United States appears to cause more severe illness and spread as easily as chickenpox, according to an internal document from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The document — a slide presentation — outlines unpublished data that shows fully vaccinated people might spread the
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — President Joe Biden is stepping up efforts to get shots in people’s arms, including calling on states, territories and local governments to do more to incentivize vaccination by offering $100 to those who get vaccinated and reimbursing small- and medium-sized businesses for offering their employees paid leave to get their family members vaccinated. It
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LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — New Mexico State University is once again requiring everyone on campus to wear face masks indoors, regardless of their Covid-19 vaccination status. The news comes just days after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued updated guidance on masks for vaccinated Americans. On Thursday, the university issued a statement
Continue Reading MEXICO CITY, Mexico — Hours after authorities raised the Covid-19 alert level in the face of surging infections, especially among young people, residents packed a Mexico City plaza on a pleasant evening in the charming Coyoacan borough. Among them was Mario Estrada Flores, a lanky 21-year-old college student, who along with nine friends — all
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SANTA FE, New Mexico — Beginning Aug. 2, all New Mexicans will again be eligible for a $100 incentive for getting a dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham made the announcement late Thursday afternoon in a Twitter post. State officials said no more than one $100 incentive will be distributed per person.
Continue Reading SANTA FE, New Mexico — New Mexico will mandate that all state government employees get the coronavirus vaccine or face weekly Covid-19 testing, moving in sync with federal authorities to shore up rates of immunization. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Thursday at a news conference that New Mexico will join the federal government, California and
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