Novel Coronavirus

WBUR's ongoing coverage of the new coronavirus.

At-home COVID-19 tests. (Photo Illustration by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Which COVID test should you take, and how do you get reimbursed?

COVID-19 testing somehow gets more confusing by the day. Here's an explainer on the different tests available, when they should be used, and how to get reimbursed for buying them.

Health

Jan 21, 2022

An ICU floor at UMass Memorial Hospital in Worcester. (Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Nurses union urges state to declare state of emergency

The Massachusetts Nurses Association say hospitals across the state need to tighten visitation and extend quarantine for workers who catch COVID.

Health

Jan 21, 2022

Nurses care for a COVID-19 positive patient at UMass Memorial Hospital on Dec. 4, 2020 in Worcester, Massachusetts. (Allison Dinner/AFP/Getty Images)

State changes COVID reporting to distinguish between primary and incidental hospital cases

Primary refers to patients hospitalized because they have a serious case of COVID-19. The incidental patients are those who happen to test positive when they arrive with some other urgent...

Health

Jan 21, 2022

How to get your vaccination QR code onto your phone

Massachusetts gives the vaccinated a new option to access their COVID vaccination record electronically, and it comes with a QR code.

Health

Jan 19, 2022

Epidemiologists warn impacts of omicron could linger 'if you declare victory too quickly'

“Epidemics are symmetrical: just as many people get infected on the downside as the upside,” said Justin Lessler, an epidemiologist who is part of the COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub.

Health

Jan 19, 2022

Rona Tsantinis-Roy stands behind the counter at Athens Pizza, a pizza shop in Brimfield her father owned for many years. Tsantinis-Roy‘s father Tony Tsantinis died of COVID-19 last month, when efforts to find space at a hospital that could offer him a higher level of care to treat him could not be found. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

As health care breaks down in Massachusetts, patients die waiting for care

Rona Tsantinis-Roy says doctors suggested her father might have survived if he’d been transferred to a larger hospital. Typically, that’s what happens when a patient at a community hospital needs...

Health

04:55Jan 14, 2022

CDC vaccination cards. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Brookline announces vaccine requirement at businesses and venues

The town's order mirrors Boston's, which also goes into effect on Saturday and will be rolled out in phases.

Health

Jan 12, 2022

Brighton High School nurse Lauren O'Malley-Singh. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Forced to improvise COVID policies, school nurses are reaching a 'breaking point'

As WBUR’s Gabrielle Emanuel reports, much of the burden has fallen on school nurses, who say they are having to come up with policies on the fly.

Health

04:25Jan 12, 2022

Mass. Gov. Charlie Baker speaks on the daily COVID numbers in Mass. at the State House on December 21, 2021. (Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty)

Gov. Baker defends COVID-19 response during latest surge

The Republican said school classrooms are the best place for students even as cases of the disease have shot up statewide, driven by the super-contagious omicron variant, emphasizing that the...

Health

Jan 12, 2022

New wastewater measurements of COVID show a sharp decline. (Courtesy MWRA)

'Unambiguously good news': Sharp decline in COVID wastewater levels in Boston area

New data suggest omicron cases have peaked in the Boston area. But, experts warn, we are not out of the woods yet. The strained health care system will likely feel...

Health

Jan 12, 2022

Gov. Charlie Baker speaks to press in June of 2021. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

26 million rapid COVID-19 tests will be earmarked for K-12 and child care, Baker announces

The governor also announced DPH guidance that says rapid antigen tests should suffice for schools, employers and child care centers who require people to get tested in order to return...

Health

Jan 11, 2022

WATCH: Gov. Baker gives updates on COVID testing

There have been numerous reports of long lines and wait times at coronavirus testing sites across Massachusetts, as the state sees the highest case rates thus far since the pandemic...

Health

Jan 11, 2022

Gloria Caballero holds her 10-year old daughter Andrea Michelle for warmth, in the bitter cold, as they wait to receive a COVID-19 test at the St. Rose School in Chelsea. They arrived at 9:00 AM despite the clinic did not open until 1:00 PM and stood in a long line with many others that stretched down Broadway. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Long test lines, increasing cases return to COVID-weary Chelsea

"These huge lines had already gone away, and now it's like we're at the start of 2020 again."

Health

03:20Jan 11, 2022

State issues COVID-19 booster mandate for nursing home workers

More nursing home workers will now be forced to roll up their sleeves and get a COVID-19 booster — or risk losing their jobs.

Health

Jan 9, 2022

FILE - James Robson, a biomedical engineering graduate student, holds a swab and specimen vial in the new COVID-19, on-campus testing lab, Thursday, July 23, 2020, at Boston University in Boston. The United States has improved its surveillance system for tracking new coronavirus variants such as omicron, boosting its capacity by tens of thousands of samples since early 2021. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Making sense of this week's omicron news

The numbers in Massachusetts are worse than they’ve ever been, so it's time to bring you a special update.

Health

Jan 7, 2022

Security officer John Wood stands watch in the triage area of the emergency department at Mass General Hospital. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

COVID hospitalizations jump 40% in one week

Massachusetts now has more COVID-19 patients hospitalized than at any point since May 2020, surpassing the tally of patients during last winter's surge as the omicron variant continues to spread...

Health

Jan 7, 2022

Gosnold Treatment Center, a drug addiction treatment facility in Falmouth, Massachusetts, pictured on Jan. 13, 2021. (Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Addiction and mental health treatment programs struggle with staffing amid COVID surge

Many are reverting back to policies put in place early in the pandemic, such as telemedicine. Some have stopped accepting new patients altogether.

Health

03:20Jan 7, 2022

Stuck in a long line for a COVID-19 test in Mass.? Here's why

In many cases, "there's not actually a shortage of tests," says CIC Health CEO Tim Rowe. "It's really just the health care logistics work to stand up testing sites and...

Health

03:02Jan 7, 2022

COVID cases in Massachusetts, comparing the winter of 2020-2021, and the winter of 2021-2022. (Roberto Scalese/WBUR)

How this COVID surge compares to last winter, and when it could peak in Massachusetts

With the sharp increase in COVID-19 numbers in Massachusetts, we’re hearing experts describe the wave of infection “like a hockey stick” because it’s shooting up so far and so fast.

Health

05:48Jan 6, 2022

While talks for more COVID testing sites continue, Boston tries to make existing sites more efficient

It's unclear how much help testing sites opening up later this month would be for the current demand for tests. Some public health experts have noted that we could expect...

Health

Jan 5, 2022

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Which COVID test should you take, and how do you get reimbursed?

Nurses union urges state to declare state of emergency

State changes COVID reporting to distinguish between primary and incidental hospital cases

How to get your vaccination QR code onto your phone

Epidemiologists warn impacts of omicron could linger 'if you declare victory too quickly'

As health care breaks down in Massachusetts, patients die waiting for care

Brookline announces vaccine requirement at businesses and venues

Forced to improvise COVID policies, school nurses are reaching a 'breaking point'

Gov. Baker defends COVID-19 response during latest surge

'Unambiguously good news': Sharp decline in COVID wastewater levels in Boston area

26 million rapid COVID-19 tests will be earmarked for K-12 and child care, Baker announces

WATCH: Gov. Baker gives updates on COVID testing

Long test lines, increasing cases return to COVID-weary Chelsea

State issues COVID-19 booster mandate for nursing home workers

Making sense of this week's omicron news

COVID hospitalizations jump 40% in one week

Addiction and mental health treatment programs struggle with staffing amid COVID surge

Stuck in a long line for a COVID-19 test in Mass.? Here's why

How this COVID surge compares to last winter, and when it could peak in Massachusetts

While talks for more COVID testing sites continue, Boston tries to make existing sites more efficient