It's back. Actually, it never went away. I'm talking about COVID. It keeps going around. I am on my third round. First two weren't too bad. This one, good lord. All the soaps are back to testing for COVID. Back to social distancing — and you must be masked and vaxed. Two "General Hospital" actors, Ingo Rademacher (Jax) and Steve Burton (Jason), decided not to play by the rules. Both actors are no longer with the show. Rademaker, furious, is suing the network. Lots of luck with that. ABC has the deepest pockets. As for Burton: He says he understands the network's decision. He thanked everyone for his 20-plus years on the show. He feels he needed to take this stance. Jax can come and go. Jason is central to the show. Without Jason, "GH" is suffering.

Burton is having a bad year. He got COVID and learned his wife is pregnant, but he is not the father. Mom went on social media and revealed he is not the baby's father.

Laura Wright (Carly) tested positive for COVID last week. She says her symptoms are mild. She is also thankful the show was on hiatus. What can she do? Not much. Here is a tip: She should not check herself into "General Hospital." Most folks who do don't come out.

There is some good news on the soap health line. Tanner Novlan (Finn on "The Bold and the Beautiful") and his wife got to bring their baby son home after five weeks in natal intensive care. Their son, who came seven weeks early, was released from the hospital. "Long night but a great morning. So happy to have our lil man home," Navlan said. He thanked the hospital staff for keeping their baby alive.

Not only is his personal life doing well but so is his professional world. We are talking Emmy-worthy work. If you have yet to watch, you should. Just amazing work.

Genie Francis (Laura on "GH") is taking her annual break. In the plot, Laura is out of town to nurse her mother back to health. In real life, she is headed to New England to spend time with her children and her spouse, Jonathan Frakes, who is the lead actor on the "Star Trek" TV series.

Last week, "Days of Our Lives" star-crossed lovers Ben and Ciara sailed out of Salem with their son, Bo. Victoria Konefal, who played Ciara, did not want to sign a new contract. The show's executive producer did not want to do recurring. What to do? Robert Scott Wilson, who played Ben, was up for signing a long-term contract. Ben started off as pure evil. He killed several Salemites as the necktie killer. He then became the hometown hero. "Playing Ben was a gift. Never knew what he was going to do. I would look at a script and think, how can we make this work?" Wilson said.

Work, it did. They were the most interesting coupe on "Days." It was decided Wilson would return as a different character, but not just any character. He will be playing Justin's son, Alexander, which means we also will see more of Wally Kurth, who plays Justin. Son Alexander is going to be a cutthroat businessman. He will create chaos for his family and everyone else in Salem. He wants to be top dog at the company. He is also looking for love. Wilson is excited because he will be connected with myriad Kiriakis characters. He will mix it up with Xander, Julie, Victor and Maggie. The easy-on-the-eyes actor got his big break as the first male model on "The Price is Right."

To find out more about Lynda Hirsch and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.