What is Coronavirus?

COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus causing the World Health Organization (WHO) to classify this outbreak as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Symptoms include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Anyone experiencing emergency signs such as difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion or bluish lips or face should immediately seek medical attention.

For the latest updates and more information go to:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce

What You Should Know

Older adults and people who have severe underlying chronic medical conditions like heart or lung disease or diabetes seem to be at higher risk for developing more serious complications from COVID-19 illness. The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person and the best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus. The CDC urges citizens to monitor your health and practice social distancing. Social distancing means staying out of crowded places, avoiding group gatherings, and maintaining distance (approximately 6 feet) from others when possible.

• Workplace, School, and Home Guidance
• People at Risk for Serious Illness from COVID-19
• How COVID-19 Spreads
• Symptoms
• Steps to Prevent Illness
• Testing
• Frequently Asked Questions
• What to Do If You Are Sick with COVID-19
• Stigma Related to COVID-19
• What You Need to Know
• Facts about COVID-19
• Information for People at Higher Risk and Special Populations
• Communication Resources

Coronavirus Articles

ALTA is producing a COVID-19 Update email that compiles the most important articles of the day. You can sign up to receive these updates.

Recent 2021 2020

Hundreds of thousands of homeowners could soon lose or sell their homes as COVID-related mortgage bailout programs expire. Over half of the 7.7 million borrowers who piled into bailout programs are current on their mortgages and making payments again. However, 3 percent of borrowers, or approximately 264,000 homeowners, are now delinquent on mortgages after their programs expired, and 38,000 are in active foreclosure.

An individual who is fully vaccinated and recently traveled to South Africa is the first confirmed case of the omicron variant in the U.S., local and federal health officials said Wednesday. The individual received two doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine and has not received a booster dose.

President Joe Biden said he doesn’t expect the U.S. to impose additional travel restrictions to stem the spread of the coronavirus omicron variant, sending some airline stocks higher. The degree of the variant’s spread will determine whether more travel restrictions are necessary, Biden said.

The world’s major manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines said Friday that they are working to quickly investigate and adapt their shots to a new and highly mutated strain of the virus. The World Health Organization said the new strain, named omicron, is a “variant of concern” that may pose a higher risk of reinfection than past mutations of the virus.

The coronavirus pandemic brought unprecedented hardship to renters, at one point leaving as many as 40 million people at risk of losing their homes. However, some new policies likely will outlive the pandemic and aim to address deep-rooted problems for renters.