Coronavirus

Americans will likely need an annual COVID-19 booster shot. According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, who serves as chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ... more

Should at-home COVID-19 tests be taxable? Technically, the short answer is 'no'. But some shoppers have found that at certain stores, like Walgreens, sales tax has been applied to past transactions. The New York State ... more

Upstate Medical University will offer COVID-19 testing at the State Fairgrounds on Sunday for the next three weeks. Syracuse.com reports the move is in response to the increased demand for testing. The testing site at ... more

Public health officials in Ontario County are making new moves as part of evolving guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as New York State. On Tuesday, hours after Governor Kathy ... more

New York is moving to self-reporting for contact tracing. Governor Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday that the state is launching websites this week for residents to add their own information about close contacts. "We're moving to ... more

Beginning this weekend at-home COVID-19 tests will be covered by health insurance. The news came on Monday as the Biden Administration faced mounting criticism over the ineffective rollout of COVID-19 tests since the start of ... more

Congressman John Katko has tested positive for COVID-19. The 24th District Republican said in a statement Monday he is vaccinated and has received a booster shot. He says he is experiencing only mild symptoms. Katko ... more

Ontario County is hosting a COVID-19 booster clinic Tuesday. It's at the county Highway office on County Road 48 in Canandaigua from 4-7PM. The Pfizer booster will be offered for those 18 and older and ... more

The Oneida County Health Department says it will no longer provide contact tracing for those who test positive for COVID-19. CNY Central quotes County Executive Anthony Picente as saying “The surging omicron variant has led ... more

Yates County Sheriff Ron Spike has announced the temporary suspension of visitation at the Yates County Jail, to contain the potential spread of COVID-19. Jail visitation has been stopped previously during the pandemic, once in ... more

Rochester Regional Health has announced new visitation guidelines that will take effect Tuesday. The change is being made due to the transmissibility of the Omicron variant and the increased number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the ... more

The state Department of Health announced Saturday that it was ordering 40 hospitals to pause all non-essential, non-emergency surgeries, due to COVID-related shortages of beds. Spectrum News reports the hospitals have met state’s threshold for ... more

Schuyler County has received a shipment of at-home COVID-19 test kits and will begin distributing them this week. According to County Administrator Fonda Chronis, “The state has sent COVID test kits to all counties so ... more

Wayne County contact tracers are overwhelmed. According to public health officials, the substantial uptick in COVID-19 cases over the last two weeks has made it impossible for the local and state team of contact tracers ... more

How many people hospitalized with COVID-19 are 'incidental' admissions? This week Governor Kathy Hochul required that hospitals begin reporting how many people were admitted because they had COVID-19 symptoms compared to those who were there ... more

Last week Rochester General Hospital made headlines when its emergency department was forced to go on diversion. This means it had to turn away non-life threatening situations. It was temporary, and within hours of the ... more

New Yorkers will soon be able to apply for pandemic rental aid. The Democrat and Chronicle reports State Supreme Court Justice Lynn Kotler, of the 1st Judicial District, issued a preliminary injunction ordering the state ... more

Auburn Community Hospital, the Cayuga County Health Department and the city of Auburn are offering joint guidance on what do if you test positive for COVID-19. The Citizen reports they're advising anyone with a positive ... more

Livingston County received a lot fewer at-home COVID-19 test kits than it expected, so the county is cancelling a planned countywide distribution event this Saturday. Instead, according to a news release: Livingston County did receive ... more