COVID-19

The coronavirus variant has now been located in 18 states, including Georgia.

Florida has screened just 4.5% of positive COVID tests for variants over the past six months. In contrast, California, which has now traced six omicron cases, screened almost 15% of its positive cases in the same time period.

From early July through the end of October, Duval County was the site for 1,575 deaths involving COVID-19.

A bill in the Florida Senate would shield religious services from being shut down because of state emergency orders. It wouldn’t preclude religious leaders from acting on their own to conduct services virtually.

Jacksonville doctors say they've been anticipating a surge in COVID cases this winter, and that could be exacerbated by the new omicron variant originating from South Africa. But much about omicron remains unknown.

A federal judge said a new state law aimed at preventing vaccine mandates forces state-run agencies to decide what law to follow — state or federal.

The library was shut down almost four months ago to use as a monoclonal antibody treatment site. Mayor Lenny Curry says a "dramatic reduction in COVID-19 cases" means the library can reopen.

The number of new COVID cases in Duval County climbed to 299 last week. But that weekly number is still far lower than it’s been for most of the past year.

The COVID case rate continues to fall in Duval County. The latest data from the state Department of Health show 308 new cases countywide last week, and just a 2.4% testing positivity rate — down from a peak of almost 27% at the end of July.

An appellate court panel stopped short of deciding a lawsuit that seeks to force Alachua and Duval schools to let parents opt children out of mask requirements. But in a seven-page order, the panel said the districts have been “remarkably open in their defiance” of the state.