COVID-19

The state will now shift to addressing the coronavirus as endemic rather than epidemic. The change will officially begin on Friday.

Despite the politicized rhetoric around masking in schools, federal judges have ruled that schools can be required by law to protect medically vulnerable children.

St. Louis journalist Kathy Gilsinan wrote her book about the COVID-19 pandemic while in its midst.

The BA.2 subvariant is about 30% more transmissible than the original omicron variant and is fueling a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Europe.

Missourians are encouraged to use tests obtained through the state before processing ends after March 31.

The Department of Missouri Corrections will lift its coronavirus pandemic visitor restrictions on April 1. Visitors can see loved ones in state prisons without wearing a mask or taking a health screening test prior to entry.

On the last day before the legislature takes a week off, the House also passed legislation including banning discrimination in schools against traditionally Black hairstyles and creating nurseries in women’s prisons.

The St. Louis mandate that requires people to wear masks in public indoor spaces is scheduled to expire late Sunday, but local officials still recommend masking in crowded areas.

Local public health programs at the forefront of the nation’s pandemic relief efforts, particularly for poor people without health insurance who are most at risk of getting sick, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky told Washington University medical students on Thursday.

Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis, St. Louis' health director, on Monday told the Board of Aldermen’s Health and Human Services Committee that city officials could drop mask requirements, given new CDC guidance. But Hlatshwayo Davis said she would continue to recommend that people wear a mask indoors.