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COVID-19

Benninghoff tests positive for COVID-19

BELLEFONTE — Another area politician has tested positive for COVID-19. House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R-Bellefonte), the No. 2 Republican in the Pennsylvania House, is quarantining at home after testing positive for a breakthrough case of COVID-19. According to statement from his office, Benninghoff is fully vaccinated. He was tested just before Thanksgiving when he began experiencing mild symptoms. Test results received on Monday confirmed the diagnosis, the statement said. Benninghoff has not been in the state Capitol since Nov. 18 and has been quarantining since ...

New variant cause for concern, not panic, Biden tells US

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden called the new coronavirus variant omicron a cause for concern but “not a cause for panic" Monday and said he was not considering any widespread U.S. lockdown. He urged Americans anew to get fully vaccinated, including booster shots, and return to face ...

Powell says COVID variant clouds inflation, economic outlook

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says that the appearance of a new COVID-19 variant could slow the economy and hiring, while also raising uncertainty about inflation. The recent increase in delta cases and the emergence of the omicron variant “pose downside risks to employment and economic activity and increased uncertainty for inflation,” Powell said Monday in prepared remarks to be delivered to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday. The new variant could also worsen supply chain disruptions, he said. Powell’s comments come after other Fed officials in ...

Doctor: Many South Africans ill in surge have mild symptoms

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s rapid increase in COVID-19 cases attributed to the new omicron variant is resulting in mostly mild symptoms, doctors say. “We’ve seen a sharp increase in cases for the past 10 days. So far they have mostly been very mild cases, with patients having flu-like symptoms: dry coughs, fever, night sweats, a lot of body pains,” said Dr. Unben Pillay, a general practitioner in Gauteng province where 81% of the new cases have been reported. “Most of these patients have been treated at home,” Pillay told an online press briefing Monday. ...

Merriam-Webster chooses vaccine as the 2021 word of the year

NEW YORK (AP) — With an expanded definition to reflect the times, Merriam-Webster has declared an omnipresent truth as its 2021 word of the year: vaccine. “This was a word that was extremely high in our data every single day in 2021,” Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s editor-at-large, told The Associated Press ahead of Monday’s announcement. “It really represents two different stories. One is the science story, which is this remarkable speed with which the vaccines were developed. But there’s also the debates regarding policy, politics and political affiliation. ...

Free COVID-19 testing returns to Clinton County

Free COVID-19 testing is coming back to Clinton County. During Monday's Clinton County commissioners' work session, commissioner Angela Harding announced that a COVID-19 testing center would be back in the county, starting today. The free walk-up testing site will set up shop at the Lock Haven University's East Campus gymnasium, located at 340 W. Main St. in Lock Haven. The location is the site of the former Lock Haven High School gymnasium. "It is open to the public and they are testing anyone in Clinton County ages three and older," Harding announced. "They have a maximum of 450 ...