Experts: Don't count on mild flu season amid COVID-19 "The message is be prepared for a bad flu season on top of a bad COVID season," says Edward Belongia, MD. CIDRAP

The Southern Hemisphere had a very light flu season in 2020, with Australia seeing only 315 cases over its winter, down 99.8% from the 130,000 cases seen in most years. But flu experts say that, while the low numbers could portend a similar scenario in the Northern Hemisphere, it would be a foolhardy not to prepare for high caseloads this winter.

CDC redefines COVID-19 close contact, adds brief encounters NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials Wednesday redefined what counts as close contact with someone with COVID-19 to include briefer but repeated encounters. For months, the Centers for... AP NEWS

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials Wednesday redefined what counts as close contact with someone with COVID-19 to include briefer but repeated encounters.

EU to link national COVID-19 tracing apps together BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Commission on Monday launched an EU-wide system devised to link national COVID-19 tracing apps together in its latest effort to slow down the coronavirus... AP NEWS

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Commission on Monday launched an EU-wide system devised to link national COVID-19 tracing apps together in its latest effort to slow down the coronavirus pandemic.

Latest on the worldwide spread of coronavirus The European Union will be ready to approve new measures to support member states should economies suffer further, its vice president said, as a surge in COVID-19 cases prompts more restrictions. Reuters Staff U.S.

(Reuters) - The European Union will be ready to approve new measures to support member states should economies suffer further, its vice president said, as a surge in COVID-19 cases prompts more restrictions.

As the coronavirus races across the country, it has reached every corner of a nursing home in Kansas, infecting all 62 residents inside. There are so few hospital beds available in North Dakota that patients sick with the virus are being ferried by ambulance to facilities 100 miles away. And in Ohio, more people are hospitalized with the virus than at any other time during the pandemic.

Two new peer-reviewed studies are showing a sharp drop in mortality among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The drop is seen in all groups, including older patients and those with underlying conditions, suggesting that physicians are getting better at helping patients survive their illness.

"We find that the death rate has gone down substantially," says Leora Horwitz, a doctor who studies population health at New York University's Grossman School of Medicine and an author on one of the studies, which looked at thousands of patients from March to August.

The study, which was of a single health system, finds that mortality has dropped among hospitalized patients by 18 percentage points since the pandemic began. Patients in the study had a 25.6% chance of dying at the start of the pandemic; they now have a 7.6% chance.

How can you track community spread of COVID-19 in your area? Experts weighed in on how community spread can be measured and monitored, and what you should do if cases increase in your area. YahooNews

When it comes to measuring the prevalence of the coronavirus, one term frequently comes up: community spread.