Coronavirus weekly need-to-know: omicron subvariant, COVID test kit chemical & more

In the United States, more than 78.9 million people have tested positive for coronavirus as of Saturday, Feb. 26, according to Johns Hopkins University.

More than 947,000 Americans have died. Across the globe, there have been more than 433 million confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Additionally, more than 5.9 million worldwide have died from the virus. More than 215 million people in the U.S. are fully vaccinated to date — 64.8% of the population — and 93 million of those people have gotten a booster shot as of Feb. 25, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

The agency reports the weekly average of COVID-19 cases have dropped nationwide as of Feb. 16. Cases are 43% lower compared to the prior week’s average, the CDC says.

The omicron variant continues to dominate positive U.S. cases, including its subvariants, the week ending Feb. 19, according to the agency.

Here’s what happened between Feb. 20 and Feb. 25:

CDC relaxes COVID mask guidelines — but it depends where you live. What to know

In a major update, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased its mask guidelines in place to curb the spread of COVID-19 — after several states moved to lift their mandates in recent weeks — on Friday, Feb. 25.

It depends on COVID-19 levels where you are.

Now, it’s no longer advised to wear masks in public when indoors for most who are healthy in the United States, the agency says, based on new metrics being considered to “help communities decide what prevention steps to take based on the latest data,” the agency announced at a news briefing.

Here’s what you should know:

Can you get sick with omicron twice? Yes, but it’s rare, study suggests. What to know

Pandemic restrictions are easing in the United States, alongside declining coronavirus cases, but keep in mind that the virus is still around — particularly the omicron variant, which makes up all cases in the country and a majority across the globe.

A new study suggests you can get sick with omicron again after an initial infection of the variant, which itself is divided into subvariants, but it’s a rare occurrence.

After catching omicron subvariant BA.1, often called the original omicron strain that makes up most global virus cases, it’s possible to be reinfected with omicron subvariant BA.2, dubbed “stealth omicron,” soon after, according to a new Danish study published as a preprint on MedRxiv. It’s been submitted for publication and has not yet been peer reviewed.

“We provide evidence that Omicron BA.2 reinfections do occur shortly after BA.1 infections but are rare,” wrote researchers from Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut, the country’s leading infectious disease agency.

Continue reading for what the study found on BA.2 reinfections:

Woman denied bus ride over mask dies after the bus ran her over, California cops say

A woman died after she was run over by a bus driver who wouldn’t let her on board because she wasn’t wearing a face mask, California police said.

The woman tried to board a Valley Transportation Authority bus on Feb. 9 and was denied a ride, the San Jose Police Department said.

Masks are required on public transit in California and indoors in Santa Clara County, according to the Bay Area News Group. A VTA spokeswoman told the news outlet the woman refused to wear a mask to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

Keep reading below:

Chemical in COVID test kits can cause sickness if ingested, experts say. What to know

While at-home COVID-19 tests are considered safe and effective when used properly, a chemical found in some popular kits is leading to an increase in calls to poison control centers.

Sodium azide is potentially deadly in large amounts, but only small quantities are present in testing kits — enough to cause low blood pressure, heart palpitations, headache and dizziness if ingested, or burning and irritation to exposed skin, experts say.

“Sodium azide is a very potent poison, and ingestion of relatively low doses can cause significant toxicity. Fortunately, the amount of sodium azide in most rapid antigen kits is much lower than the amount expected to cause poisoning if swallowed by an adult,” according to the National Capital Poison Center.

Here’s what else you should know:

Police sergeant, father of 4 dies after ‘long battle’ with COVID in NJ. ‘True gentleman’

A police sergeant died after “a long battle” with COVID-19, leaving behind a wife and four boys in New Jersey, a sheriff’s office wrote in a post mourning the loss.

He “was a true gentleman and a man of God,” the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office in Toms River said in a Feb. 23 Facebook statement.

Sgt. Matthew S. Horton, 40, of Berkeley, died in the hospital on Tuesday, Feb. 22, after the sheriff was notified Friday that Horton’s illness was worsening, the Asbury Park Press reported. His death comes after his comrade, another sheriff’s officer, died on Feb. 14 in a car crash, according to the outlet.

Continue reading below:

Three who fled California in $20 million COVID fraud case caught in Europe, feds say

Three family members who went on the run to avoid prison in a $20 million COVID-19 fraud scheme have been arrested in Europe, federal authorities told news sources.

The U.S. Department of Justice is working to secure their extradition from Montenegro, spokesperson Nicole Navas Oxman told the Los Angeles Times.

Two had been on the run for six months.

Richard Ayvazyan, 43, and his wife, Marietta Terabelian, 37, disappeared in August ahead of their sentencing hearing, McClatchy News reported.

Ayvazyan and Terabelian, who later received 17 years and six years in prison, respectively, cut off their ankle monitors and fled their home in Tarzana, California, FBI officials said.

For more, keep reading here:

3-month-old boy dies of COVID after mom left him home with 9-year-old, Indiana cops say

An Indiana mom is facing felony charges after police say her 3-month-old died from COVID-19 complications after she left the baby with her 9-year-old son.

On Nov. 28, Indianapolis Metropolitan police went to the home of the 26-year-old mother of three, according to an affidavit. An officer found an unresponsive 3-month-old outside the home being given CPR by bystanders.

The baby was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital soon after.

After the officer noticed the home to be “filthy and in disarray,” he conducted a search and discovered there was no electricity or food, the affidavit said.

Continue reading about the case below:

Reporters Maddie Capron, Mitchell Willetts, Don Sweeney and Mariah Rush contributed to this report.

This story was originally published February 25, 2022 at 7:25 AM.

Julia Marnin

McClatchy DC

Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.