Coronavirus

So many employees are sick with COVID or scared to come into work that it's disrupting public transit service. That is having an impact on the workforce and the economy.

With 7 million Californians infected, how risky is it to work? When is it safe for omicron-infected workers to return?

The number of California children diagnosed with COVID-19 during the omicron variant surge has "skyrocketed," challenging earlier notions that the coronavirus largely bypassed children. Child vaccination rates are relatively low, and children who contract COVID-19 could be at increased risk for rare conditions and diabetes.

Although state and federal rules require COVID tests to be free or covered by health insurance, people often have to pay hundreds of dollars upfront.

California hospitals are expecting COVID-19-infected patients to triple by the end of January, with the surge expected to last until the end of February.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, Democratic leaders in the Legislature and labor unions are negotiating how to bring back extra paid sick leave for COVID. One big issue: Will businesses get state help to offset their costs?.

As a third of hospitals report critical staffing shortages, California’s health department is considering issuing an order postponing many elective surgeries. Many procedures, including a lung transplant, already have been canceled.

In 19 California counties, less than a third of vaccinated residents are boosted. In some counties, it's less than 25%. One health official blames "pandemic fatigue."

The Valencia lab, a public-private venture between the state and PerkinElmer, processed only 1 to 8% of all Californians’ COVID tests in the first 10 months of the contract. And the lab was riddled with dozens of problems, according to an inspection report.

As COVID-19 infections rise, the Newsom administration renewed its mask mandate for indoor public places in California — exactly six months after lifting the last one.