Health News Roundup: Hong Kong families despair as COVID rules may separate them from children; Italy reports 38,375 coronavirus cases on Saturday, 210 deaths and more

Distributors McKesson Corp, AmerisourceBergen Corp and Cardinal Health Inc along with J&J had until Friday to decide whether enough cities and counties nationally had opted to join the landmark settlement to justify moving forward with it. Hong Kong reports record daily COVID cases and 83 deaths Hong Kong reported a record 26,026 daily COVID-19 infections on Sunday and 83 deaths, as an outbreak of the highly transmissible Omicron variant overwhelms healthcare facilities and proves hard to control.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Hong Kong families despair as COVID rules may separate them from children

Guada, a mother of two young children and pregnant with twins, cries herself to sleep at night, worried that Hong Kong's severe COVID-19 rules will separate her from her kids or force her to give birth alone. Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 in Hong Kong, including infants and children, are put into isolation facilities with no family contact allowed, as authorities enforce their "dynamic zero" COVID policy.

Italy reports 38,375 coronavirus cases on Saturday, 210 deaths

Italy reported 38,375 COVID-19 related cases on Saturday, against 40,948 the day before, the health ministry said, while the number of deaths rose to 210 from 193. Italy has registered 154,416 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February 2020, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the eighth highest in the world. The country has reported 12.7 million cases to date.

COVID-related diabetes may be temporary; racial disparities widen with Omicron infections

The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that has yet to be certified by peer review. COVID-related diabetes may be temporary

Hong Kong allows COVID home testing as daily cases soar

Hong Kong health authorities said on Saturday they would adjust COVID testing procedures to allow some people to test from home to ease long queues at designated testing centers, as the city's outbreak proves increasingly hard to control. Health secretary Sophia Chan said a record 17,063 new COVID-19 daily cases had been recorded, and 66 deaths in the past 24-hours in the city of 7.4 million.

Drug distributors, J&J agree to finalize $26 billion opioid settlement

The three largest U.S. drug distributors and drugmaker Johnson & Johnson have agreed to finalize a proposed $26 billion settlement resolving claims by states and local governments that they helped fuel the U.S. opioid epidemic. Distributors McKesson Corp, AmerisourceBergen Corp and Cardinal Health Inc along with J&J had until Friday to decide whether enough cities and counties nationally had opted to join the landmark settlement to justify moving forward with it.

Hong Kong reports record daily COVID cases and 83 deaths

Hong Kong reported a record 26,026 daily COVID-19 infections on Sunday and 83 deaths, as an outbreak of the highly transmissible Omicron variant overwhelms healthcare facilities and proves hard to control. The global financial hub has imposed some of the most stringent COVID restrictions in the world to cope with the coronavirus spike, leading some executives to leave and frustrating some residents.

U.S. eases COVID indoor mask guidelines for most of country

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday dramatically eased its COVID-19 guidelines for masks, including in schools, a move that means 72% of the population reside in communities where indoor face coverings are no longer recommended. The new masking guidelines shift from a focus on the rate of COVID-19 transmission to monitoring local hospitalizations, hospital capacity and infection rates.

UAE drops face masks outdoors, quarantine for COVID contact cases

The United Arab Emirates, the Middle East tourism and commercial hub, over the weekend ended a requirement to wear face masks outdoors and obligatory quarantine for COVID-19 contact cases. Fully-vaccinated passengers arriving in the country will no longer require PCR tests, said the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority in updated guidance that went into effect on Saturday.