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The FBI on Saturday searched the headquarters of a nationwide string of coronavirus testing sites known as the Center for COVID Control.
The company and its main lab, which has been reimbursed more than $124 million from the federal government for coronavirus testing, are under investigation by state and federal officials. The company and lab are registered at the same address in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.
“The FBI was conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity in Rolling Meadows yesterday,” Siobhan Johnson, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Chicago office, told USA TODAY on Sunday.
A Center for COVID Control spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The search comes days after the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office filed a consumer-protection lawsuit against the company and its primary laboratory, Doctors Clinical Lab. The complaint alleges the company and lab “provide inaccurate and deceptive” test results and has fraudulently reported negative test results.
Longtime entrepreneurs Akbar Syed, 35, and his wife, Aleya Siyaj, 29, run the Center for COVID Control and, in recent months, have been sharing photos and videos on social media of their growing wealth. Syed has shared images of two Lamborghinis, a 2018 Ford GT, a Ferrari Enzo, and a new $1.36 million mansion.
Also in the news:
►The Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest school district in the country, said it will prohibit students from wearing cloth masks. Starting Monday, students must wear “well-fitted, non-cloth masks with a nose wire” at all times, including outdoors, the district announced.
►Gonzaga has suspended John Stockton’s basketball season tickets after the Hall of Fame point guard refused to comply with the university’s mask mandate.
📈 Today’s numbers: The U.S. has recorded more than 70 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 866,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Global totals: More than 350 million cases and over 5.5 million deaths. More than 210 million Americans – 63.4% – are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
📘 What we’re reading: Amy Crosby was haunted by the fear of her baby catching COVID-19. For the South Dakota mom, it was “a nightmare that overplayed in my head that I hoped would never come true.” After months of social distancing and caution, Crosby’s nightmare still became a reality: Baby Crue began his battle with the coronavirus in December.
Keep refreshing this page for the latest news. Want more? Sign up for USA TODAY’s free Coronavirus Watch newsletter to receive updates directly to your inbox and join our Facebook group.
California bill would let kids 12-up get COVID vaccine without parental consent
A bill in California would allow children ages 12 and older to be vaccinated without their parents’ consent.
If passed, the legislation would ensure California has the youngest age of any state when children can make their own decisions about vaccines. Washington, D.C. allows children ages 11 and older to be vaccinated without approval from parents.
California currently allows children ages 12 and older to, without parental consent, get the Human Papillomavirus and Hepatitis B vaccines, along with treatment of sexually transmitted infections and other medical care.
Democratic State Sen. Scott Wiener introduced the proposal on Thursday. It would allow minors 12 years and older to consent to vaccines that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Giving young people the autonomy to receive life-saving vaccines, regardless of their parents’ beliefs or work schedules, is essential for their physical and mental health,” Wiener said. “It’s unconscionable for teens to be blocked from the vaccine because a parent either refuses or cannot take their child to a vaccination site.”
— Marina Pitofsky, USA TODAY
Indiana health department moves to end contact tracing in schools
After a record-setting week of COVID-19 cases among Indiana’s schoolchildren, some schools are ending their contact tracing protocols with the blessing of the Indiana Department of Health.
The health department said Friday it is trying to ease the reporting burden on schools as they contend with the latest surge. This week’s update of the state dashboard tracking COVID-19 cases in schools reported more than 15,000 new cases among students — more than twice as many reported at any other point in the pandemic.
And the state set a new one-day record for cases reported in the general population Friday, reporting 17,684 new cases.
The department issued new guidance this week that allows schools to end contract tracing programs and individual notification of close contacts for those schools that have mask mandates in place. Those schools may, instead, send classroom-wide notifications of positive cases, said a spokesperson for the department.
— Arika Herron, Indianapolis Star
Contributing: The Associated Press
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