Coronavirus | COVID-19 Updates

Updates and coverage about COVID-19, the novel coronavirus.

Talks over remote work for US Treasury employees suspended, union says

NTEU said it wants the bureau to return to negotiations on the pilot program as envisioned in the original agreement.

13 days ago

DoD is pausing civilian COVID vaccine mandate after court ruling

Defense Department civilians will not be fired or required an exemption from COVID-19 vaccination while the lawsuit plays out.

5 months ago

Management

Pentagon pushes maximum telework through January 2022

The health protection condition status for the Pentagon Reservation hasn't changed, but officials are tightening restrictions and safety measures for the worksite.

DOJ says federal inmates on home confinement can stay out of prison

More than 35,000 inmates were released as part of the effort to ease pandemic conditions as long as they met certain criteria, including they were not likely a danger to others.

7 months ago

OPM again extends special pandemic hiring authority

Agencies have just over six more months to make use of Schedule A hiring authorities for pandemic response.

7 months ago

Judge blocks Biden vaccine mandate for federal contractors

The judge found that the states opposing the mandate are likely to succeed in their claim that the president exceeded authorization from Congress when he issued the requirement in September.

7 months ago

Archbishop: Catholic troops can refuse COVID-19 vaccine

Archbishop for the Military Services, USA releases new guidance on COVID-19 vaccines for Catholic troops.

9 months ago

VA staff have a few days left to get COVID vaccines or get fired

Tens of thousands of staffers either have not started the vaccine regiment yet or have not filed paperwork showing their vaccine status.

10 months ago

Sen. Brian Schatz stands at a podium.

Fears about safety of federal works sparks reform effort on Capitol Hill

Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, led the introduction of a bill that would require agencies to involve employees in pandemic response plans.

24 months ago

Extend contractor reimbursement period, trade groups urge Congress

Trade groups are urging lawmakers to extend the window for reimbursing government contractor costs for COVID-19 connected disruptions and cost increases, set to close Sept. 30.

24 months ago

Guam National Guard service members prepare to disinfect Guam Department of Labor offices in Hagatna May 12, 2020.

Troops who stepped up for COVID-19 pandemic response are eligible for these two medals

Troops who mobilized for COVID-19 support are eligible for the Armed Forces Service Medal or Humanitarian Service Medal.

2 years ago

Senate ethics panel drops inquiry into Loeffler stock trades

The Senate Ethics Committee found no evidence of wrongdoing by Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia after investigating stock trades she made weeks before the coronavirus caused markets to plunge.

2 years ago

Judge rules US must release $679M in tribal virus relief funds

The U.S. Treasury Department must release $679 million in coronavirus relief funding for tribes that it intended to withhold while a court challenge over the agency’s initial round of payments to tribal governments played out in court, a federal judge ruled late Monday.

2 years ago

Lawmakers question federal prisons’ home confinement rules

Democratic lawmakers are raising questions about the federal Bureau of Prisons’ release of high-profile inmates and are calling for widespread testing of federal inmates for COVID-19.

2 years ago

Could Congress provide IT modernization funding to states?

States' IT systems have been overwhelmed as a record amount of citizens have filed for unemployment.

2 years ago

Democrats charge OSHA isn’t protecting front-line workers

Democrats charge that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been “largely invisible” during the pandemic and has not found ways to combat it.

2 years ago

NIH wants digital health technologies to contain coronavirus

With areas across the United States starting to reopen, the National Institutes of Health wants digital health technologies to protect against another spread.

2 years ago

USPS facility stays open despite local lockdown order

A U.S. Postal Service distribution facility in Denver that handles 10 million pieces of mail a day for Colorado and Wyoming remained open Friday despite being ordered to shut down by city health officials.

2 years ago

What will work look like going forward? The federal CIO outlines possible changes

Federal Chief Information Officer Suzette Kent said the federal government will be "rethinking" processes that usually occurred in person.

2 years ago

US extends heightened border enforcement during coronavirus

Customs and Border Protection has been sending Mexican and Central American migrants they encounter along the southwestern border back to Mexico in about two hours.

2 years ago

'More productive than ever’: Agency IT officials see benefits from telework

Increased productivity raises questions about the future of work for federal employees.

2 years ago

VA researching prostate cancer drug as potential coronavirus cure

A full trial of the drug degarelix is expected to take at least four months.

2 years ago

Trump names former pharma exec to lead ‘Operation Warp Speed’

Operation Warp Speed is operating largely independently of the existing White House coronavirus task force, which is also shifting its focus toward vaccine development.

2 years ago

A delicate balancing act: The US government must juggle a pandemic and the FY21 budget

It’s time for the government to show it can do two big things at once, and do them right.

2 years ago

US sees 1st detained immigrant death from coronavirus

A family representative identified the deceased as Carlos Ernesto Escobar, a diabetic who left El Salvador with his mother and sisters in 1980 and lived in the Los Angeles area.

2 years ago

Telework programs at DoD could stick around after coronavirus

The Department of Defense has expanded several capabilities to enable mass telework. Now it's discussing which ones may stick around permanently.

2 years ago

Black robes or bathrobes? Virus alters how the Supreme Court functions

The justices will hear arguments this month by telephone for the first time since Alexander Graham Bell patented his invention in 1876.

2 years ago

The coronavirus has turned this unlikely federal agency into a predictor of economic recovery

A statistical bureau that typically takes months to release data is now doing it in near-real time as senior leaders seek to reopen the American economy.

2 years ago