Health

News coverage and resources related to COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

The phone number — 1-800-232-0233 — follows the launch earlier this week of a federal website to order the tests.

Previous versions of the coronavirus didn't transmit as easily outdoors thanks to airflow that dispersed viral particles. But what about the highly transmissible omicron variant?

Owners of several bars and restaurants want a judge to toss the mayor’s recent COVID-19 order requiring proof of vaccination or a recent negative test to enter public places serving food and drink, calling it a “significant hurdle” to business.

Minnesota’s newest COVID-19 data remains clouded by severe post-holiday reporting lags, making it difficult to know if the state’s past the current surge peak, or still climbing.

January is the first month since July 2021 that more than 36 million families in the U.S. did not receive money from the expanded child tax credit program. For some, the consequences are already dire.

COVID cases and deaths are rising again in nursing homes across the country due to the highly contagious omicron variant. Staffing shortages are adding to strain and workers report "moral distress."

The people who take care of and educate children under 5 years old, who are too young to be vaccinated, are in a special kind of hell right now.

Wednesday was the first day of the latest restaurant vaccination mandates in Minneapolis and St. Paul. We wanted to hear how it went, and listeners answered — here's what you shared with Minnesota Now.

Ehresmann, 59, the state’s infectious disease director and one of the key players in the state’s battle against COVID-19, will retire Feb. 2 after 30 years in public health, officials said Thursday.