COVID-19

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is set to become the latest government official to travel to China amid rising tensions between the two countries. The worsening relations are leaving American companies facing an uncertain environment.

Economy

How high tensions between China and the U.S. are impacting American companies

11:56am August 26, 2023

by David Gura

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is set to travel to China at a time when U.S. executives and investors are facing increasing uncertainty and risk doing business there.

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Health & Safety

North Carolina's COVID-19 hospitalization numbers rise but remain low compared to 2022

4:52pm August 11, 2023

by David Ford

Just as they have every summer since the pandemic began, COVID-19 cases are once again on the rise across the country including North Carolina and here in the Triad. But a return to masking and social distancing isn’t likely.

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Children learning in a Winston-Salem/Forsyth County classroom

Education

Forsyth County public school enrollment on the rise after COVID-19 declines

2:34pm August 11, 2023

by Amy Diaz

Public school enrollment in Forsyth County is on the rise after a dip in 2021. But it’s still been steadily declining over the past 15 years.

A COVID booster is administered in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Health & Safety

Coronavirus FAQ: Is it wiser to get a booster now or wait for the new fall booster?

2:23pm August 11, 2023

by Fran Kritz

Maybe it's not a full-blown summer surge but COVID numbers are ticking up. For those with concerns due to personal risk factors or the start of the school year, the booster question is top of mind.

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 are ticking up. But even if illnesses keep rising, it appears unlikely that they will hit previous summer peaks.

Health & Safety

The CDC sees signs of a late summer COVID wave

5:59pm July 28, 2023

by Rob Stein

In July, coronavirus infections, hospitalizations and emergency room visits have inched up. Recent summers have seen a bump in COVID-19. This year's rise looks modest so far.

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A new study finds a gap in excess deaths opened between Republicans and Democrats in 2021, after vaccine access was widened to all adults. Here, a Walgreens worker prepares vaccine shots for school staff in Dayton, Ohio, in February 2021.

A political gap in excess deaths widened after COVID-19 vaccines arrived, study says

2:17pm July 25, 2023

by Bill Chappell

After vaccines became widely available in 2021, "the excess death rate among Republican voters was 43% higher than the excess death rate among Democratic voters," Yale researchers say.

This colorized transmission electron micrograph of a human white blood cell (bottom) shows the HLA antigen — the uneven red areas on the cell's exterior surface. A variant of the HLA gene could play a role in warding off COVID symptoms.

Health & Safety

You know those folks who had COVID but no symptoms? A new study offers an explanation

3:14pm July 20, 2023

Everybody knows someone — maybe it's you — who got COVID but never got sick or who thinks they never got COVID at all. A new study found one possible reason, involving a certain gene and common colds.

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In-N-Out is barring employees in five states from wearing masks unless they have a doctor's note, according to internal company emails leaked on social media last week. An In-N-Out Burger signs is seen on June 8, 2010, in Baldwin Park, Calif.

In-N-Out Burger bans employees in 5 states from wearing masks

5:57pm July 19, 2023

by Jonathan Franklin

The new mask policy will apply to employees in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Texas and Utah. Employees in California and Oregon can choose to wear a company-provided N95 mask.

Business

An outdoor dining upgrade is coming to downtown Greensboro

6:00am June 16, 2023

by David Ford

Greensboro restaurant-goers will have several enhanced dining locations from which to choose this weekend with the addition of new outdoor patios at more than a dozen downt

A face mask languishes in the grass in Krakow, Poland. With the state of emergency over, some people are relishing freedom from masks while others believe masking up is still a wise preventive measure.

Health & Safety

We asked, you answered: How do you feel about the end of the COVID-19 'emergency'

4:04pm May 26, 2023

With the WHO and CDC lifting the COVID-19 pandemic "emergency," we asked readers what was on their minds at this inflection point. Their reflections run the gamut, and also reveal some clear themes.