Coronavirus

LaPlace mom sentenced to 12 months in prison for $282K PPP loan fraud

BY MICHELLE HUNTER | Staff writer
Mar 21, 2024

A LaPlace mother who pleaded guilty to conspiring with her children in a scheme to defraud the federal government's Paycheck Protection Program and other COVID-19 financial assistance programs…

CDC says those who test positive for COVID-19 no longer need to isolate for 5 days

BY MIKE STOBBE | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mar 1, 2024

NEW YORK — Americans who test positive for COVID-19 no longer need to stay in isolation for five days, U.S. health officials announced Friday.

A $2.8 million memorial to COVID victims is being built in Jefferson Parish

By DREW BROACH | Staff writer
Feb 18, 2024

Names of 1,400 or more Jefferson residents could be added

A fresh batch of COVID vaccines is arriving in Louisiana. Here’s what you should know.

By EMILY WOODRUFF | Staff writer
Sep 20, 2023

A new coronavirus shot that protects against the latest variant is now available at many chain pharmacies and should be widely available statewide by the end of the week, according to state he…

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US approves updated COVID vaccines to rev up protection this fall

BY LAURAN NEERGAARD | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sep 12, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. approved updated COVID-19 vaccines Monday, hoping to rev up protection against the latest coronavirus strains and blunt any surge this fall and winter.

Dillard University orders masking as COVID cases rise in Louisiana

BY JILLIAN KRAMER | Staff writer
Aug 25, 2023

Loyola also alerts students and employees, but without mask mandate

COVID cases and hospitalizations spike in Louisiana as new variant spreads

By KASEY BUBNASH | Staff writer
Updated Aug 11, 2023

COVID-19 is on the rise again in Louisiana, with confirmed cases and hospitalizations more than doubling statewide between the end of May and early August.

Could COVID become like the flu in Louisiana? Here's how the virus is changing.

BY REBECCA HOLLAND | Staff writer
Jul 24, 2023

The COVID virus has morphed into a form that spreads more easily but is less severe, Louisiana health experts say. That means the virus, which once all but shut down the state and killed more …

Photos: Former site of Sears in Metairie has been transformed into a new Ochsner Medical complex

BY CHRIS GRANGER | Staff photographer
Jan 31, 2023

Read more: Ochsner's new medical complex at Clearview opening Wednesday: 'You name it and we have it here'

Flu, COVID, other viruses spread ahead of holidays, keeping pressure on Louisiana hospitals

By EMILY WOODRUFF | Staff writer
Dec 16, 2022

COVID is on the rise; Tamiflu is hard to find

Louisiana will receive $45M for much-needed public health infrastructure

By EMILY WOODRUFF | Staff writer
Dec 7, 2022

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will give Louisiana $45.7 million to bolster public health infrastructure over the next five years, the agency recently said. The funding is part…

New COVID boosters, which include omicron variants, approved for kids as young as 5

By LAURAN NEERGAARD | AP Medical Writer
Updated Oct 12, 2022

The FDA and the CDC approved the shots Wednesday.

Roy Moore argues to revive Pastor Tony Spell's lawsuit over Louisiana's COVID restrictions

By KEVIN McGILL | Associated Press
Updated Oct 5, 2022

Roy Moore, a former Alabama Supreme Court justice, is one of Spell's attorneys.

Citing decreasing COVID numbers, Ochsner drops mask requirement

By EMILY WOODRUFF | Staff writer
Sep 26, 2022

Masks are optional in most areas, except for those working with immunocompromised patients

As updated COVID boosters arrive in Louisiana, where can you find one and who should get it?

By EMILY WOODRUFF | Staff writer
Sep 8, 2022

Hospitals and pharmacies expect the new vaccines to arrive in the coming days

COVID cases climb among Louisiana schoolchildren after schools return from summer

BY CHARLES LUSSIER | Staff writer
Updated Sep 4, 2022

As students in Louisiana have returned to school from summer break so has COVID, with cases among school-age children nearly quadrupling while other age groups show little change.

CDC advisers weigh who needs updated COVID booster and when

BY LAURAN NEERGAARD | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sep 1, 2022

COVID-19 boosters updated to match the newest omicron strains are about to roll out, and government advisers met Thursday to decide who should roll up their sleeves — and when.

FDA approves updated COVID boosters that target new omicron variants

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Aug 31, 2022

WASHINGTON — The U.S. on Wednesday authorized its first update to COVID-19 vaccines, booster doses that target today’s most common omicron strain. Shots could begin within days.

Moderna sues Pfizer over patents behind COVID-19 vaccine

By TOM MURPHY | AP Health Writer
Aug 26, 2022

COVID-19 vaccine maker Moderna is suing Pfizer and the German drugmaker BioNTech, accusing its main competitors of copying Moderna’s technology in order to make their own vaccine.

Biden's loan 'forgiveness' program's pluses, minuses -- and how they could affect Louisianans

By KEN STICKNEY | Staff writer
Updated Aug 30, 2022

A University of Louisiana at Lafayette economist says the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness program may make a substantive dent in what individual students owe.

First Lady Jill Biden tests positive for COVID and has 'mild' symptoms, White House says

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Aug 16, 2022

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — First lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 and was experiencing “mild symptoms,” the White House announced Tuesday.

CDC drops quarantine, screening recommendations for COVID-19

BY MIKE STOBBE and COLLIN BINKLEY | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Aug 11, 2022

NEW YORK — The nation's top public health agency relaxed its COVID-19 guidelines Thursday, dropping the recommendation that Americans quarantine themselves if they come into close contact with…

Evictions are spiking nationally. 'It's very depressing,' homeless New Orleans mom says.

By MICHAEL CASEY | Associated Press
Updated Aug 10, 2022

Two months behind on rent, she chose to live in her car with her young son.

Tulane University ends routine COVID-19 testing without symptoms

By GABRIELLA KILLETT | Staff writer
Aug 6, 2022

Tulane said its vaccination and booster rates have strengthened students, faculty and staff.

Joe Biden tests negative for COVID-19, ends 'strict isolation,' his doctor says

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE | Associated Press
Updated Jul 27, 2022

The president completed his course of treatment with the drug Paxlovid.

Omicron variants fuel Louisiana longest COVID surge, but fewer severe cases seen

BY EMILY WOODRUFF | Staff writer
Jul 23, 2022

Louisiana is in the thick of its longest COVID surge and there isn't a plateau in sight. But this time around, with most of the population having some protection from vaccines or prior infecti…

President Joe Biden tests positive for COVID-19, White House says

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Updated Jul 21, 2022

The president has begun taking Paxlovid, an antiviral drug.

Louisiana nursing homes report 19 COVID-related deaths in July, more than twice as many as June

BY FAIMON A. ROBERTS III and James Wilkins | Staff writers
Jul 21, 2022

The recent rise in new coronavirus cases is being felt in Louisiana's nursing homes, which have reported a sharp increase in COVID-related deaths in the last three weeks, according to data fro…