Here are things to know for Tuesday, Dec. 28:
1. CDC shortens quarantine time from 10 days to 5
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U.S. health officials on Monday cut isolation restrictions for asymptomatic Americans who catch the coronavirus from 10 to five days, and similarly shortened the time that close contacts need to quarantine.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said the guidance is in keeping with growing evidence that people with the coronavirus are most infectious in the two days before and three days after symptoms develop.
The decision also was driven by a recent surge in COVID-19 cases, propelled by the omicron variant.
2. Break-in reported at COVID-19 testing site in Richmond, police confirms
People with an appointment for COVID-19 testing at a Richmond site were unexpectedly met with a sign on the door that stated the location was closed on Monday.
According to authorities, the sign did not explain that the site was closed due to an overnight break-in.
Steve Kupperman said he found out his COVID-19 test came back positive, but not from the staff at the temporary testing site located in the 300 block of S. Ninth St.
Kupperman said he had been lethargic and experiencing flu-like symptoms and decided to take a test.
“We tried going online to get a test, you know, through Walgreens and CVS, but every place is booked for about the next week,” he said.
3. Texas exhausts supply of monoclonal antibody treatment as omicron cases surge
The isolation for people with COVID is now a little shorter. On Monday, the CDC said people who don’t have symptoms only need to isolate for five days and then proceed to wear a mask for the following five.
“Given what we currently know about COVID-19 and the Omicron variant, CDC is shortening the recommended time for isolation from 10 days for people with COVID-19 to five days, if asymptomatic, followed by five days of wearing a mask when around others. The change is motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the 1-2 days prior to the onset of symptoms and the 2-3 days after. Therefore, people who test positive should isolate for 5 days and, if asymptomatic at that time, they may leave isolation if they can continue to mask for five days to minimize the risk of infecting others,” according to the guidelines on the CDC website.
4. Gov. Greg Abbott intervened to put a positive spin on Texas’ power grid
The two most powerful people overseeing Texas’ electric grid sat next to each other in a quickly arranged Austin news conference in early December to try to assure Texans that the state’s electricity supply was prepared for winter.
“The lights are going to stay on this winter,” said Peter Lake, chair of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, echoing recent public remarks by Gov. Greg Abbott.
Two weeks earlier, Abbott had told Austin’s Fox 7 News that he “can guarantee the lights will stay on.” The press conference that followed from Lake and the chief of the state’s independent grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, came at the governor’s request, according to two state officials and one other person familiar with the planning, who were not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
5. Couple says they paid shipping company over $22,000 to send their belongings despite delay
When the Bieltz family moved from Puerto Rico to Sugar Land, they figured the belongings they paid thousands of dollars to have shipped would be delivered in about two weeks. However, it was anything but timely.
“It was… $22,500,” said John Bieltz.
He and his wife Merrily say they are frustrated and confused.
“We paid a lump sum up front and we thought that was to get our possessions from point A to point B,” John said.
But the Bieltz family says around a month and a half after their belongings were supposedly shipped out by Transparent International, the company gave them an unwanted delivery instead.