Day: May 15, 2022

General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler parent Stellantis said on Sunday they are reinstating a requirement that employees wear masks in southeastern Michigan where there are high levels of COVID-19.

The Detroit Three automakers said in early March they would allow auto workers to stop wearing masks at workplaces where U.S. health officials said it was safe to do so.

That month, the automakers said they would adopt revised guidance by the U.S.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) allowing workers at U.S. facilities to not wear masks regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status, if those facilities were not in high-risk counties.

The masking guidelines issued in February shifted from a focus on the rate of COVID-19 transmission to monitoring local hospitalizations, hospital capacity and infection rates.

Six counties in southeastern Michigan – including Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw – are again listed by the CDC as having high COVID-19 levels. The CDC recommends wearing masks indoors in public settings in those counties.

Ford said it was temporarily reinstating a face mask requirement at all of its plants located in areas deemed high-risk by the CDC.

Stellantis said that starting on Monday, “company-issued face masks will again be required for employees, contractors and visitors at all Stellantis facilities” in those Michigan counties. The company added, “it is expected that the requirement will be in place for the next two weeks.”

GM said it “will be implementing COVID protection measures at our facilities in Oakland, Wayne, Livingston and Macomb counties given the CDC has now listed them as high risk.”

The United Auto Workers union said Sunday if “a facility is located in high-risk counties as identified by the CDC, they will require masking and physical distancing.”

GM and Ford both have their headquarters in Wayne County, while Stellantis’ North American headquarters is in Oakland County, while all three have numerous factories in southeastern Michigan.

The CDC says 4.25% of U.S. counties are currently listed as having high levels of COVID-19.

Source: Voice of America

North Korea reported 390,000 new fever cases detected Sunday, as an additional eight deaths brought the toll of known deaths to 50, according to state media.

Official KCNA said Monday that another emergency meeting of the Workers’ Party political bureau was held the previous day, where leader Kim Jong Un heavily criticized a delay in the transfer of medicines from state reserves to pharmacies, which were instructed to be open 24-hours-a-day over the weekend.

It said Kim issued an order to mobilize the People’s Army resources, including that of its medical personnel, to support the drive to stock pharmacies in the capital, Pyongyang. Kim called for “vigilance in the acute anti-epidemic war,” reprimanding the Cabinet and public officials for their “irresponsible work attitude and executing ability.”

North Korea had raised its COVID-19 readiness to a “maximum emergency epidemic prevention system” last Thursday when for the first time in the pandemic, it recognized the presence of the “malicious virus” within its borders. Analysis of samples taken from a group of fever-ridden people in Pyongyang produced one case of the coronavirus subvariant BA.2, also known as the “stealth” omicron variant.

North Korea appears to be limited in its testing capacity as it has not confirmed additional COVID-19 test results since then, though it has issued daily reports of its understanding of how the “explosive” spread of the fever of unknown origin is growing.

KCNA said, during on-site inspection of local pharmacies later Sunday, Kim found them to be in sub-quality condition, lacking storage space other than the display cases and some pharmacists not wearing white gowns.

North Korea’s official television station over the weekend offered self-treatment advice such as keeping mouths clean by frequently rinsing with salt water. Its main broadsheet, Rodong Sinmun, also encouraged people to take fruits rich in vitamin C and to avoid grilled and oily foods that are harder to digest.

Source: Voice of America