Coronavirus

Pope Cancels NYE Event To Discourage Large Crowds

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis canceled his New Year’s Eve tradition of visiting the life-sized Nativity scene set up in St. Peter’s Square to discourage large crowds from forming. Meanwhile, major Italian cities scrapped their traditional Dec. 31 open-air concerts as Italy battles a record-setting surge in coronavirus cases. The Vatican has largely followed Italy’s lead in imposing restrictions …

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Officials: Florida Has No Plan To Open Testing Sites

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Orange County officials said Wednesday the state has balked at opening testing sites amid a tidal wave of demand and denied a request this week for flashing signs to help provide information to people in miles-long lines. A state testing site, like one that was operated at the Orange County Convention Center in 2020, would alleviate …

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State Department Issues Warning On Overseas Travel

Via press release from the State Department: International Travel Challenges During COVID-19 U.S. citizens who choose to travel internationally should be aware that they may face unexpected challenges related to COVID-19 as they attempt to return to the United States or attempt to travel from one overseas location to another. U.S. citizens who do choose to travel internationally should make …

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Quebec Province Issues 10PM Curfew, Closes Eateries

The Washington Post reports: Several Canadian provinces Thursday tightened restrictions amid an omicron-fueled increase in coronavirus cases that has overwhelmed testing and tracing systems and pushed the seven-day average of new cases in the country up 141 percent over the previous week. In Quebec, the hardest-hit province, Premier François Legault [photo] announced that a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 …

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Reuters: COVID Deaths Surpass 1M In Eastern Europe

Reuters reports: Coronavirus deaths in Eastern Europe topped 1 million on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally, as the Omicron variant threatened to batter the region. Three out of the five countries reporting the highest number of daily deaths in Europe are from the East. Eastern Europe makes up 39% of the region’s population and has reported more than half …

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Anti-Vax Mob Crashes RI Gov’s COVID Press Event

Raw Story reports: Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee (D) is scheduled to deliver an address and take questions Thursday, but the event was crashed by anti-mask and anti-vaccine protesters who refused to leave. One of the men was wearing a Rhode Island Freedom Fighters hoodie. The group is made up of healthcare workers who refused to get vaccinated after being …

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Virginia: Don’t Go To ER If You Have Mild Symptoms

The Hill reports: Virginia public health leaders urged residents with mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 cases to avoid making emergency hospital visits as the state sees a surge of coronavirus infections. The Virginia Department of Health and Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association said that people who have asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 cases or other nonserious illnesses often can recover at home …

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CDC: “Avoid Cruise Travel, Regardless Of Vax Status”

NBC News reports: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday issued an advisory urging all travelers — vaccinated and unvaccinated — to avoid cruise ship travel amidst a record-breaking Covid surge driven by the omicron variant in many states across the United States. “Even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants,” the …

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NYC Mayor-Elect To Keep De Blasio’s Vaccine Mandate

Gothamist reports: New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams will keep a COVID-19 vaccine mandate in place for private-sector employers, embracing a policy previously established by outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio. Adams unveiled his plan to battle the winter surge at a news conference Thursday at Brooklyn Borough Hall, making the vaccine mandate a key part of his strategy, which he …

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De Blasio: Times Square NYE Celebration Will Happen

NBC New York reports: Mayor Bill de Blasio says New York City will ring in 2022 in Times Square as planned despite record numbers of COVID-19 infections in the city and around the nation. De Blasio said on NBC’s “Today” show on Thursday that he wants to show the world that the city is “fighting our way through this.” After …

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200+ US Marines Canned For Defying Vaccine Mandate

Axios reports: The U.S. Marine Corps said Thursday that it has now removed 206 service members for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine. The updated numbers come as the Department of Defense has ramped up repercussions for service members who defy the vaccine order amid surging coronavirus cases. Approximately 94% of active members of the Marine Corps are fully vaccinated, …

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NYC Subway Suspends Three Lines Amid Staffing Woes

The New York Daily News reports: The MTA suspended three New York City subway lines without warning Thursday morning as it faces massive staffing shortfalls from a surge in COVID-19 cases. The agency pulled the brakes on all B, Z, and W trains just before the start of rush hour. Meanwhile, J, D and No. 5 trains will make local …

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US Shatters Daily Record With 488,000 New Cases

The New York Times reports: With a caseload nearly twice that of the worst single days of last winter, the United States shattered its record for new daily coronavirus cases, a milestone that may still fall short of describing the true toll of the Delta and Omicron variants because testing has slowed over the holidays. As a second year of …

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Arkansas Judge Strikes Down Ban On Mask Mandates

The Associated Press reports: An Arkansas judge on Wednesday struck down a state law that prevents schools and other governmental entities from requiring face masks. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox had already temporarily blocked the law in August. On Wednesday, he ruled the law unconstitutional on multiple grounds, including that it discriminates between children in public and private schools. …

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Woman Isolates In Plane Bathroom After Mid-Flight Test

Grand Rapids’ ABC News affiliate reports: A woman who grew up in West Michigan is now going viral for a video showing herself isolated in an airplane bathroom after she tested positive for COVID-19 in the middle of a flight. About an hour into the five-hour Icelandic Air flight to Reykjavik, Marisa Fotieo said her throat started to hurt. She …

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JetBlue Axes 1280 Flights To “Get Ahead” Of Omicron

CNBC reports: JetBlue Airways is cutting more than 1,280 flights from its schedule from Thursday through mid-January in anticipation of more Covid-19 infections among pilots and flight attendants. “This past week has been one of our most difficult operating periods during the pandemic,” three JetBlue department leaders wrote Tuesday in a note to staff, which was seen by CNBC. “The …

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Paris Gets Outdoors Mask Mandate Amid “Tidal Wave”

France 24 reports: Wearing masks even outdoors will be mandatory in Paris starting on Friday, French authorities have announced, as the country struggles to come to grips with an Omicron surge. France is leading Europe in new infections, with a record 208,000 new cases confirmed over the previous 24 hours on Wednesday. That figure was preceded by a previous daily …

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Florida Breaks Its All-Time Daily Record For New Cases

The Miami Herald reports: Florida reported 46,923 new COVID cases, the largest single-day increase of COVID cases since the pandemic began and nearly double the previous peak during the summer, when the deadly delta variant was surging, according to Wednesday’s report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based on Miami Herald calculations of CDC data. South Florida is …

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STUDY: J&J Booster Highly Effective Against Omicron

The New York Times reports: A Johnson & Johnson booster shot provided strong protection against the Omicron variant, greatly reducing the risk of hospitalization, according to a clinical trial in South Africa. The study, which compared more than 69,000 boosted health care workers with a corresponding group of unvaccinated South Africans, found that two shots of the vaccine reduced the …

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New York State Breaks Daily Record For New Cases

New York City’s NBC News affiliate reports: The state reported a new single-day high of 67,090 cases on Wednesday, a 64.5% increase in just the last day, Gov. Kathy Hochul said. The unprecedented total came amid a recent high in the number of daily tests — 362,594 — for a positivity rate of 18.5%. Hospitalizations are escalating exponentially, too, rounding …

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