Dec 19 Restaurants anxious as omicron, high food costs take toll By Dee-Ann Durbin, Mae Anderson, Sylvia Hui, Associated Press Many businesses said hundreds of festive corporate lunch bookings vanished almost overnight as infections began to soar and Johnson announced tighter restrictions, including mandatory mask-wearing in most indoor spaces, though restaurants are open as usual. Continue reading
Dec 18 Watch 5:20 Why the U.S. is lagging behind in rapid COVID-19 testing By PBS NewsHour With the holidays approaching and the omicron variant surging in some parts of the U.S., demand for rapid and at-home COVID-19 tests is higher than ever, and the wait at large PCR test sites can be several hours in some… Continue watching
Dec 18 'SNL' ditches audience, limits cast and crew amid omicron By Associated Press The long-running sketch comedy show announced on social media Saturday afternoon that the night's episode would tape without a live audience and with only limited cast and crew “due to the recent spike in the Omicron variant and out of… Continue reading
Dec 18 Netherlands 'going into lockdown again' to curb omicron By Danica Kirka, Mike Corder, Associated Press Schools, universities, and all non-essential stores, bars and restaurants in the Netherlands will be closed until Jan. 14 starting Sunday, caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Saturday night. Continue reading
Dec 18 Europeans reimpose restrictions as omicron sweeps continent By Associated Press Nations across Europe are moving to reimpose tougher measures to stem a new wave of COVID-19 infections spurred by the highly transmissible omicron variant, triggering calls for protests from Paris to Barcelona. Continue reading
Dec 17 Watch 6:30 South Africa reels under omicron wave amid vaccine lag, pans 'rushed' travel ban By Michael Baleke As the omicron variant sends a fourth wave of patients to hospitals across South Africa, leaders across the continent are pointing fingers at wealthy nations. Those countries, they say, could have helped prevent the latest variant had vaccines been distributed… Continue watching
Dec 17 Can you safely enjoy the holidays? Experts offer COVID tips By Carla K. Johnson, Associated Press The delta and omicron variants of the coronavirus are trying to spoil the holiday spirit, but there still are ways to enjoy the festivities. Continue reading
Dec 17 Far-right using COVID-19 theories to grow reach, study shows By David Klepper, Lori Hinnant, Associated Press The data is especially concerning given a rash of incidents around the world that indicate some extremists are moving from online rhetoric to offline action. Continue reading
Dec 17 WATCH: CDC endorses schools' coronavirus 'test-to-stay' policies By Mike Stobbe, Associated Press U.S. health officials are endorsing "test-to-stay" policies that allow close contacts of students infected with the coronavirus to remain in classrooms if they test negative. Continue reading
Dec 16 U.S. regulators say abortion pill no longer has to be picked up in person By Matthew Perrone, Associated Press Earlier this year the FDA stopped enforcing the in-person dispending requirement because of the pandemic. Under Thursday's decision the agency will permanently drop the rule. Continue reading