Dec 25 Surging COVID cases, ‘jingle jabs’ make for somber Christmas By Nicole Winfield, Peter Smith, Associated Press In the United States, many churches canceled in-person services, but for those that did have in-person worship, clerics reported smaller but significant attendance. Continue reading
Dec 25 Flight cancellations drag on as airlines short-staffed By Tali Arbel, Associated Press FlightAware, a flight-tracking website, noted 875 flights entering, leaving or inside the U.S. canceled Saturday, up from 689 Friday. About 200 more flights were already canceled for Sunday. FlightAware does not say why flights are canceled. Continue reading
Dec 24 Watch 3:04 COVID-19 spreads holiday misery, as canceled flights strand thousands on Christmas Eve By Stephanie Sy, Dorothy Hastings The COVID-19 pandemic is once again upending holiday plans around the world, from halting air travel to scaling back festive celebrations. All this as new infections in the U.S. have spiked 55 percent in the last two weeks alone, largely… Continue watching
Dec 24 Omicron deals fresh blow to pandemic-weary front-line workers By Philip Marcelo, Anne D'Innocenzio, Bobby Caina Calvan, Associated Press The surge in coronavirus cases driven by the new omicron variant is the latest blow to hospitals, police departments, supermarkets and other critical operations struggling to maintain staffing levels. Continue reading
Dec 24 COVID-19 spike worsens Africa’s severe poverty, hunger woes By Farai Mutsaka, Associated Press As 2021 comes to a close, many people in richer parts of the globe are fretting over the risk of contracting COVID-19 and how rising infections are upending their holiday plans. Continue reading
Dec 24 Airlines cancel hundreds of Christmas flights due to ‘massive rise’ in COVID-19 sick leave By News Desk At least three major airlines say they have canceled dozens of flights because illnesses largely tied to the omicron variant of COVID-19 have taken a toll on flight crew numbers during the busy holiday travel season. Continue reading
Dec 23 Watch 9:42 Americans face COVID testing lags ahead of holidays: ‘We’re very, very far behind’ By Stephanie Sy, Dorothy Hastings The new coronavirus variant is driving a surge of COVID-19 cases in the United States. Omicron is now present in all 50 states - just three weeks after it was first detected in the U.S. It has raised questions and… Continue watching
Dec 23 Omicron less likely than delta to result in hospitalization, studies say By Laura Ungar, Mike Stobbe, Associated Press Two new British studies provide some early hints that the omicron variant of the coronavirus may be milder than delta. Continue reading
Dec 22 Watch 10:43 Frustrated health workers dread expected rise in COVID hospitalizations: ‘We’re exhausted’ A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found 2020's death toll was worse than previously reported — finalized at nearly 3.4 million people. It also forewarned that 2021 is expected to surpass 2020's record number of deaths by… Continue watching
Dec 22 Watch 8:56 What Hartford has learned in its fight to raise Black vaccination rates By Jason Kane and Sarah Varney, Kaiser Health News About 72 percent of Americans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. During much of the vaccine rollout, Hispanic and Black Americans have been less likely to get vaccinated. The gap between white and Hispanic Americans has… Continue watching