This health department stops ‘all COVID-19 related work’ after Missouri AG threat

The local health department of a rural southern Missouri county is halting its COVID-19 response efforts after Attorney General Eric Schmitt wrote agencies this week demanding they drop mitigation measures. The Laclede County Health Department, which serves a 35,000-person county northeast of Springfield, made the announcement in a Facebook post Thursday morning that it was suspending “all

Idaho hospitals begin rationing health care amid COVID surge

Idaho public health leaders announced Tuesday that they activated “crisis standards of care” allowing health care rationing for the state’s northern hospitals because there are more coronavirus patients than the institutions can handle. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare quietly enacted the move Monday and publicly announced it in a statement Tuesday morning —

No swimming at Cleveland-area beach after 285,000 gallons of combined sewage flows into Lake Erie

During the dog days of summer Northeast Ohioans look for some relief in the refreshing waters of Lake Erie. “It’s a beautiful day, you know we just want to come out and have a good time,” said beachgoer Sherrie Stanley. But on Sunday, heavy morning rain got in the way causing a combination of stormwater

States scale back virus reporting just as cases surge

Several states scaled back their reporting of COVID-19 statistics this month just as cases across the country started to skyrocket, depriving the public of real-time information on outbreaks, cases, hospitalizations and deaths in their communities. The shift to weekly instead of daily reporting in Florida, Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota marked a notable shift during

‘Not backed by science’: L.A. County sheriff will not enforce mask mandate

Sheriff Alex Villanueva said he “will not expend our limited resources” to ensure residents are following the order. He instead asked for voluntary compliance. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said he will not enforce the reinstated indoor mask mandate because it contradicts guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a statement Friday, Villanueva said the department

LA beaches close after 17m gallons of untreated sewage discharged into bay

Health officials face anger over hours-long delay before notifying public of danger Seventeen million gallons of untreated sewage were discharged into California’s Santa Monica Bay between Sunday evening and early Monday morning, spurring beach closures, as well as criticism of how health officials notified the public about potential safety risks. The problems came to a