3 TOKYO (AP) — Portuguese surfer Frederico Morais has announced that he tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss the sport’s Olympic debut in Japan. Morais, 29, issued a statement on social media Friday evening. “This is likely the saddest video I’ve ever had to post. In 2019 I qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics that were postponed because of COVID-19. And now, because of the virus I won’t be able to compete nor represent my country,” he said in an Instagram video. The Portuguese Olympic team said Morais would not travel to Tokyo as planned. “I was very careful. I have been fully vaccinated for over a month, but I ended up contracting the virus,” Morais said in a statement issued through Portugal's Olympic team. “I feel fine and I will carry out my isolation. I will be following every second of our team.” The International Surfing Association had no immediate comment but its deadline to register alternates is Saturday at 3 p.m. Morais … [Read more...]

BOSTON (AP) — Cambridge and Nantucket are joining Provincetown as the latest Massachusetts communities to recommend donning face masks indoors again as new outbreaks of COVID-19 are emerging in the Bay State. Boston Acting Mayor Kim Janey also said Thursday that the city's public school students will be required to wear face masks when classes start in September. Gov. Charlie Baker, meanwhile, said Thursday he doesn't plan to reimpose statewide restrictions. The Republican rescinded most of the state mandates at the start of the summer as Massachusetts has achieved one of the highest vaccination rates in the nation. “If communities believe they need to pursue strategies that are more effective and appropriate to them, then they should do so,” Baker added while speaking at an event on Cape Cod. Provincetown issued new virus safety recommendations Monday after recording more than 250 new cases of COVID-19 following a busy Fourth of July weekend. Officials in the popular tourist … [Read more...]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Soaring hospitalizations of mostly unvaccinated COVID-19 patients are putting medical staffs in Louisiana under stress for a fourth time, as state officials continue the plea for people to get the shots that can prevent the disease. Hospitalizations were nearing the 1,000 mark Friday as Gov. John Bel Edwards prepared to talk about the latest surge and the need for vaccinations at a Friday afternoon news conference. Louisiana has among the nation's lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates. “Our staff is feeling stretched. Our staff is also as you can imagine disheartened that we are going through this not one, two, three, but four times," said Dr. Katherine Baumgarten, Medical Director of Infection Prevention for the 40-hospital Ochsner Health system. “This time it is even harder because we know that this is largely preventable.” In New Orleans, Mayor LaToya Cantrell issued an advisory this week “strongly recommending” that people wear masks indoors, regardless of … [Read more...]

MARTINEZ (KPIX) — Officials with local government offices all the way up to the White House are contemplating whether mask requirements could return as the Delta variant continues to drive a spike in COVID cases. For the vaccinated who are reluctant to return to that practice, health officials say it’s time to consider it. READ MORE: Pedestrian Killed In San Jose Hit-and-Run Crash “Some people are going to wear the mask and some people are going to be very defiant,” said a Martinez woman, contemplating a return to mask mandates. “Because once it was lifted, I think it’s hard to go back.” On Thursday, health officials from Contra Costa, Santa Clara and San Francisco counties urged businesses to implement mandatory COVID vaccination policies amid the rapid rise COVID cases fueled by the Delta variant. Meanwhile, Three East Bay counties — are currently seeing COVID case numbers that would put them back in the Purple Tier if California was still using that color-coded … [Read more...]

WHITE HOUSE - As Pakistan deals with a surge in COVID-19 cases due to the delta variant, the Biden administration is sending 3 million doses of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine Friday, set to arrive in the country Sunday. The doses, sent through COVAX, the United Nations vaccine-sharing mechanism, are in addition to the 2.5 million doses of Moderna already donated to Pakistan, a White House official told VOA. Pakistan’s national vaccination campaign has largely relied on Chinese vaccines, but the U.S. donations are helping officials overcome critical shortages of Western-developed anti-coronavirus shots. Pakistani expatriate workers are required to receive European or U.S. vaccines so they can resume working abroad, where governments have not yet approved Chinese vaccines. White House officials said the administration is “proud to be able to deliver these safe and effective vaccines” to Pakistanis. “We are sharing these doses not to secure favors or extract concessions. Our … [Read more...]

close Video Fox News Flash top headlines for July 23 Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. A new study suggests that a Sinopharm vaccine offers poor protection from COVID-19 among the elderly, raising questions for dozens of countries that have given the Chinese company’s shots to their most vulnerable populations. A survey of blood samples taken from 450 people in Hungary at least two weeks after their second Sinopharm dose found that 90% under 50 years old developed protective antibodies. But the percentage declined with age, and 50% of those over 80 had none. The study by two Hungarian researchers was posted online this week but not yet reviewed by other scientists. Three outside experts said they had no problems with the methodology of the study of the vaccine developed by Sinopharm’s Beijing Institute of Biological Products. "This is very, very worrying that these people, who are high-risk, … [Read more...]