There are many considerations to take into account when naming a new disease. We hear about some of the pitfalls the World Health Organization avoided when it came up with Covid-19. Also, an American couple tries to make the best of their cruise ship quarantine; some Chinese people travelling in the US are getting tired of being asked if they’re sick; the long and unfounded history of migrants bringing disease to the US; plus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US has deployed disease detectives to combat the coronavirus.

(Photo: Passengers wear face masks to protect against the spread of the Coronavirus as they arrive on a flight from Asia at Los Angeles International Airport, California, on January 29, 2020. Credit: Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images)

I want to first thank all the great guests we have had on Walls & Ceilings’ videos with our Publisher Jill Bloom. 

Kruger has been told to develop proposals to maximise the role of volunteers, community groups, faith groups, charities and social enterprises in the fight against coronavirus

In the face of spiralling demand, Kirsty Marrins reports on a sector that has taken the leap online to communicate across a pandemic

Many charities rely on their Christmas campaigns for an end of year fundraising boost – but with the pandemic raging, will this still be the season of goodwill? Leesa Harwood shares her thoughts with Rebecca Cooney in the first of our Christmas 2020 fundraising series

Atlanta — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released guidelines intended to help businesses, as well as schools and mass transit operations, safely reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In women-dominated industries such as health care, as well as those in which women aren’t well represented, including construction and the trades, female workers are facing unique challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Washington — Workers’ opinions about returning to the office amid the COVID-19 pandemic vary greatly based on each individual’s situation, but most want their employer to take certain actions to ensure their safety when they do, results of a recent survey show.

Itasca, IL — The best path to safer, more collaborative and more productive work environments in the United States involves employers guiding COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

Hyattsville, MD — Workers in protective services had the highest rate of COVID-19 deaths in 2020, according to a recently published report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Washington — The American Hotel and Lodging Association has developed what it calls “enhanced” cleaning guidelines and workplace protocols “to meet the new health and safety challenges and expectations presented by COVID-19.”

Washington — Aimed at protecting restaurant/food and beverage workers from exposure to COVID-19, a new OSHA safety alert lists measures employers should take during the pandemic.

Los Angeles — Adverse working conditions at fast-food restaurants – as well as worker and customer failure to comply with physical distancing and mask-wearing protocols – may put fast-food employees in Los Angeles at greater risk of contracting COVID-19, according to a recently released report from the University of California, Los Angeles and UC Berkeley.

Los Angeles — Nearly a quarter of the fast-food workforce in Los Angeles County tested positive for COVID-19 during the first 18 months of the pandemic, a likely result of adverse working conditions and shaky compliance with safety measures, a recent report from the University of California, Los Angeles and UC Berkeley suggests.

Washington — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published guidance on cleaning and disinfecting non-emergency vehicles used to transport patients with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19, as well as safeguarding their drivers.

Atlanta — Aimed at protecting wildland firefighters from exposure to COVID-19, a new website from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention features answers to a series of frequently asked questions.

Washington — The United Mine Workers of America and the United Steelworkers are suing the Department of Labor and the Mine Safety and Health Administration in an effort to compel MSHA to issue an emergency temporary standard on infectious diseases amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Silver Spring, MD — More than 3 out of 4 nurses say their employer isn’t providing a safe workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic, results of a recent National Nurses United survey indicate – a finding the labor union claims underlines the impact of businesses “reopening too soon.”

Washington — The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on workplace safety is among the issues explored in the AFL-CIO’s annual report on the state of safety and health protections for U.S. workers.

Silver Spring, MD — Global Nurses United is demanding stronger COVID-19 guidance from the World Health Organization, including a call for more personal protective equipment for health care workers and acknowledgement from WHO on how the virus is spread.

Silver Spring, MD — Pushing back on calls to roll back certain workplace safety rules, National Nurses United contends hospital industry cost-cutting has put health care worker safety at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the “current staffing and capacity crises.”

Washington — The full extent of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on the nation’s workforce will likely remain unclear because of the lack of a comprehensive national system to gather such information, according to the AFL-CIO’s annual report on the state of safety and health protections for U.S. workers.

Washington — The AFL-CIO and National Nurses United are part of a coalition of labor unions and organizations that has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Labor and OSHA, petitioning a federal court to direct the agency to issue a permanent standard on COVID-19 focused on health care workers.

Silver Spring, MD — Claiming the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is “once again responding to political pressures from those desperate to remove any safety protocols during this deadly pandemic that is still causing unacceptable numbers of infections, hospitalizations and deaths every day,” the nation’s largest union and professional association of registered nurses is calling on the agency to reverse its most recent COVID-19 guidance.

Springfield, IL — New guidance issued by the Illinois Department of Public Health is intended to help staffing agencies and employers protect temporary workers from exposure to COVID-19.

Washington — In an effort to protect retail employees from exposure to COVID-19, OSHA has issued a safety alert.

Tumwater, WA — A new guidance document from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is intended to help grocery store employers protect workers from contracting – and potentially spreading – COVID-19.

Washington — To help protect retail pharmacy workers from exposure to COVID-19, OSHA has issued a safety alert.

Washington — A new OSHA safety alert lists measures employers should take to protect stockroom and loading dock workers during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Washington — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published guidance to help nail salon employers protect their workers from exposure to COVID-19.

Boston — Grocery store workers who interact with customers may be five times more likely to contract COVID-19 than their colleagues who don’t have direct contact with customers, results of a recent study led by researchers from Harvard University show.

Falls Church, VA — Former OSHA administrator David Michaels is among more than a dozen health and safety experts calling on the Biden administration to update and strengthen Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance to help prevent COVID-19 transmission.

Portland, ME — A new online training course launched by the University of Southern Maine’s Cutler Institute focuses on protecting retail workers from exposure to COVID-19.

Washington — In response to new data and updated recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, OSHA has updated its COVID-19 guidance in an effort to help employers protect at-risk or unvaccinated workers.

Tampa, FL — COVID-19 mortality rates among adults with lower levels of education who worked in the labor, service and retail industries were nearly five times higher than other groups in 2020, results of a new study by the University of South Florida show.

When it comes to respiratory protection, what important lessons have been learned from COVID-19?

Washington — OSHA is requiring the recording of adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines only when vaccination is required by the employer, the agency says in an addition to its series of frequently asked questions on protecting workers from exposure to the coronavirus.

Washington — OSHA is withdrawing the non-recordkeeping portions of its emergency temporary standard for COVID-19 focused on health care workers, the agency announced Dec. 27.

Washington — Retaliation against workers who report unsafe or unhealthy conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic is illegal, OSHA is reminding employers.

Washington — Facing a staffing shortage and an increased number of complaints related to the COVID-19 pandemic, OSHA must improve the efficiency of its Whistleblower Protection Program, an audit report from the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General concludes.

Washington — A new fact sheet from OSHA details protections for employees who report workplace health and safety concerns related to COVID-19, and includes other relevant information for whistleblowers.

Washington — OSHA has published COVID-19-related guidance intended to help employers in the oil and gas industry reduce exposure among workers, including personnel in the subindustries and those whose tasks “make up the broader oil and gas industrial sector.”

Washington — The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has “continued to fulfill its mission” during the COVID-19 pandemic by performing safety and environmental inspections for offshore oil and gas operations, the Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General concludes in a report issued Sept. 21.

Atlanta — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published a series of fact sheets for airport, airline and transit employers to help protect their workers from exposure to COVID-19.

Washington — OSHA has warned Arizona, South Carolina and Utah to adopt their own version of the agency’s emergency temporary standard on COVID-19 for health care workers or face possible revocation of their State Plan status, according to multiple reports.

Sacramento, CA — Additional revisions to California’s emergency temporary standards on COVID-19 have been adopted by the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, to include the California Department of Public Health’s latest recommendations for reducing the spread of the disease.

Oakland, CA — Two fact sheets, along with an updated FAQ document, from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health highlight the latest revisions to the state’s emergency temporary standards on COVID-19 – adopted April 21 by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board.

Sacramento, CA — California’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board has voted to adopt non-emergency COVID-19 prevention regulations.

Washington — In the absence of an emergency temporary standard on infectious disease from OSHA amid the COVID-19 pandemic, North America’s Building Trades Unions and CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training have developed national guidance on infectious disease exposure control practices for construction sites.

Washington — Two new fact sheets from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are intended to help fitness center employers and workers reduce the spread of COVID-19.