In the United States, more than 82 million people have tested positive for coronavirus as of Friday, May 13, according to Johns Hopkins University.
To date, more than 999,000 people in the U.S. have died, including about 2,000 since last week. Worldwide, there have been more than 520 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, including about 4 million new cases since one week ago.
Additionally, over 6.2 million have died from the virus globally. Roughly 220 million people in the U.S. are fully vaccinated as of May 13 — 66.4% of the population — and nearly 102 million of those people have gotten their first booster shot, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
Roughly 95% of the U.S. lives in a location with low or medium COVID-19 Community Level, the agency says as of May 13. About 4% of Americans reside in an area with a high COVID-19 Community Level. For them, it’s recommended to wear a mask while indoors in public.
The CDC reports the weekly average of COVID-19 cases has risen nationwide as of May 4. Cases are 21.4% higher compared to the prior week’s average, according to the CDC.
The omicron BA.2 subvariant dominated positive U.S. cases for the week ending May 7.
Here’s what happened between May 8 and May 13:
New omicron subvariant now makes up nearly half of US COVID cases. What to know
A new omicron subvariant is on the rise and now makes up nearly half of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data estimates updated on May 10.
Throughout the country, infections and hospitalizations are increasing, the agency reported on May 5. All current cases are caused by the omicron family.
Here’s what to know about the new subvariant, or sublineage, known as BA.2.12.1.
Read more here:
Biden marks COVID ‘tragic milestone’ in US at global summit
President Joe Biden appealed to world leaders at a COVID-19 summit Thursday, May 12, to reenergize a lagging international commitment to attacking the virus as he led the U.S. in marking the “tragic milestone” of around 1 million deaths in America. He ordered flags lowered to half-staff and warned against complacency around the globe.
“This pandemic isn’t over,” Biden declared at the second global pandemic summit. He spoke solemnly of the once-unthinkable U.S. toll: “1 million empty chairs around the family dinner table.”
The coronavirus has killed more than 999,000 people in the U.S. and at least 6.2 million people globally since it emerged in late 2019, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Other counts, including by the American Hospital Association, American Medical Association and American Nurses Association, have the toll at 1 million.
This at-home COVID test could give you a wrong result. Don’t use it, FDA warns
The Food and Drug Administration is warning to avoid using another at-home COVID-19 that could give a wrong result when used.
Do not use the Skippack Medical Lab SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Test (Colloidal Gold), according to an agency alert published May 10.
“This test is not authorized, cleared, or approved by the FDA for distribution or use in the United States,” the FDA said, adding that it “is concerned about the risk of false results when using this test.”
Meatpackers ignored COVID-19 spread to keep operating, House report says
The nation’s biggest meatpackers ignored warnings that COVID-19 was spreading through their plants, hyped claims of impending shortages and helped draft a Trump administration order to keep the facilities running during the early days of the pandemic, a congressional investigation found.
A report released Thursday, May 12, by a House panel examining the nation’s pandemic response portrayed a coordinated campaign by major meatpacking companies and their Washington lobbyists to enlist senior officials of then-President Donald Trump’s administration in an effort to circumvent state and local health departments’ attempts to control the spread of the virus in meatpacking facilities.
Democratic Representative James Clyburn, who chairs the panel, said “shameful conduct” of meatpacking executives “prioritized industry production over the health of workers and communities, and contributed to tens of thousands of workers becoming ill, hundreds of workers dying, and the virus spreading throughout surrounding areas.”
Woman sold fake negative COVID tests for $200 to travelers at Utah airport, feds say
A woman is accused of selling fake negative COVID-19 tests at a Utah airport, prosecutors said.
Linda Tufui Toli pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on Wednesday, May 11, according to plea documents.
Toli sold the bogus tests while she worked at XpresCheck, a COVID testing company that provided COVID-19 testing in the Salt Lake City International Airport, court documents state.
For more, keep reading:
Cruise ships return to Santa Barbara after COVID break. Are visits boosting business?
As cruise ship visits have returned to Santa Barbara — with 15 visits on this year’s spring schedule from mid-March through May — local businesses also have been seeing the return of economic impacts in varying degrees that come with the cruise ship passengers.
The cruise ship program resumed with the first visit on March 16, after being paused for two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When cruise ship passengers disembark, the first place where they arrive is Sea Landing in the Santa Barbara Harbor, where co-owner Jaime Diamond said she often sees passengers returning with bags from restaurants or other nearby shops.
The story continues below:
McClatchy reporter Helena Wegner, Noozhawk reporter Serena Guentz, Associated Press reporters Zeke Miler and Maria Cheng, and Bloomberg News reporter Mike Dorning also contributed to this report.
This story was originally published May 13, 2022 9:34 AM.
Julia Marnin is a McClatchy National Real-Time reporter covering the southeast and northeast while based in New York. She’s an alumna of The College of New Jersey and joined McClatchy in 2021. Previously, she’s written for Newsweek, Modern Luxury, Gannett and more.
