COVID-19: Coverage of the pandemic from MPR News

The latest news, resources, guides and tips to help you stay up to date on the coronavirus pandemic.

What it really takes to keep schools open during the omicron surge
Schools are just starting to get regular access to testing; teachers are still paying out of pocket for masks and air purifiers; and qualified substitutes and bus drivers can be hard to find.
How do I know if I have a cold, the flu or COVID-19?
Symptoms of common colds, the flu and COVID-19 can overlap, so experts say testing is the best way to determine what you have. 
COVID vaccines may briefly change your menstrual cycle, but you should still get one
The new research affirms what many individuals had reported. But it also shows the changes to the menstrual cycle are mostly minor and brief, more akin to a sore arm than a dangerous reaction.
Supreme Court conservatives seem skeptical of vaccine-or-test mandate for businesses
Conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court appeared skeptical Friday of the Biden administration's vaccine-or-test mandate it imposed on large companies amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
As COVID-19 surges in schools, will districts return to distance learning?
As the omicron variant races through Minnesota, we're seeing more kids getting sick, and school staff, too. MPR News education reporter Elizabeth Shockman joined host Cathy Wurzer with the latest on how schools across the state are managing the pandemic — and whether some might go back to distance learning.
MN sports roundup: Wave of COVID-19 cancellations continues
Another week, another sports update. Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson talked Vikings, Lindsay Whalen and the wave of COVID-19 cases and cancellations that continues to wash over all of sports.
What we know about the symptoms — and the severity — of the omicron variant
Researchers are looking at data from U.S. cases to determine if the variant causes milder disease. Even if the answer is yes, they say, rates of hospitalization could be high during the surge.
New Minnesota COVID-19 testing sites start opening Friday
Minnesota’s newest COVID-19 community testing site will open at the National Guard Armory in Anoka on Friday. The Guard will also help raise the capacity of a similar site in downtown St. Paul. The state is boosting testing capacity amid the spike in omicron variant cases. 
COVID claims Twin Cities writer, activist Mel Reeves
Reeves, 64, spent decades chronicling and participating in the region’s protest movements. The publisher of the Spokesman-Recorder, where he worked as community editor, said Reeves embodied the newspaper’s tradition as a "voice for the voiceless."
Minnesota AG Ellison quarantining outside U.S. with COVID-19
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison says he’s quarantining outside the country after testing positive for COVID-19. In a statement Wednesday night, Ellison said he was experiencing only mild symptoms thanks to having been vaccinated and boosted.