Europe is the only region in the world where COVID-19 cases continue to increase. Cases increased in the region for the fifth week in a row, while drops in cases were recorded in other regions including the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Africa.
Amid the rise, thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets to protest COVID-19 vaccination certificates and state-mandated safety restrictions including requirements for teachers, government employees and other groups to be fully vaccinated by next week to keep receiving their salary.
With the recent approval of COVID-19 vaccines for children, Washington state urges families to have patience as they foresee a shortage in the beginning due to high demand for the vaccine. Parents or guardians will need to make an appointment for younger kids and can use a department of health locator tool, but few appointments are available.
We’re updating this page with the latest news about the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the Seattle area, the U.S. and the world. Click here to see previous days’ live updates and all our other coronavirus coverage, and here to see how we track the daily spread across Washington.
What’s it like to go on a cruise now? Here’s how COVID changed the onboard experience
The cruise industry suffered its biggest financial blow in decades when the COVID-19 pandemic halted most sailings for months and made nervous cruise fans think twice about booking an ocean voyage.
But cruising is back and all signs point to a turn of the tide for the industry.
Despite the shutdown, the world’s cruise lines have bookings for 2022 in excess of those from 2019 and more than 100 new ships on order to set sail by 2027.
But how have things changed? What are cruise lines requiring of passengers? What’s up with boarding, dining and other activities?
For one thing, you won’t be lining up at the buffet for meals. Most self-serve buffets have been modified so that employees serve passengers to avoid unnecessary crowding. Indoor dancing, karaoke and nightclubs are no longer allowed on many ships and on some ships, passengers aren’t allowed to try on clothing for sale.
Nintendo’s profit drops from last year’s pandemic boom
Japanese video game maker Nintendo’s profit dropped 19% in the first half of its fiscal year from the previous year, when it received a big lift as people stuck at home by the coronavirus pandemic turned to its products.
Kyoto-based Nintendo Co. reported Thursday a $1.5 billion profit for the April-September period, down from 213 billion yen in the same period the previous year.
Fiscal half sales slipped 19% to $5.5 billion. It did not break down quarterly numbers.
Nintendo, which is behind the Super Mario and Pokemon games, was among the global companies that received a boost from the pandemic by providing at-home entertainment.
A shortage of computer chips caused by the pandemic is hurting production of those machines. Nintendo lowered its forecast for Switch hardware sales for the second fiscal half by 1.5 million units to 24 million.
Germany reports record number of new coronavirus cases
Germany’s disease control agency on Thursday reported the highest number of new coronavirus infections since the outbreak of the pandemic.
The Robert Koch Institute, or RKI, said 33,949 new cases had been registered in the last 24 hours, up from 28,037 daily cases a week ago. The previous record was 33,777 new cases on Dec. 18, 2020.
The all-time high comes as the country’s federal Health Minister Jens Spahn is set to meet with the 16 state health ministers to discuss how to limit the spread of the virus in the winter as intensive care units in the hospitals are starting to fill up again and infections among children are skyrocketing.
On Thursday, the RKI reported 165 deaths, up from 126 a week ago. The overall number of people who have died from a COVID-19 infection in Germany has risen to to 96,192.
Washington state warns COVID vaccine doses for younger kids won’t meet demand at first, urges patience as kids 5 to 11 finally get shots
SHORELINE — Ten-year-old Micah Wong wasn’t nervous at all when he sat down inside a brightly lit Shoreline Community College building Wednesday afternoon. He grinned under a baseball cap and took a deep breath as a firefighter took his left arm and gave a shot of a COVID-19 vaccine.
“It just felt like a pinch,” said Wong, whose two younger sisters, ages 5 and 7, also got their first shot Wednesday. “It faded away pretty quick.”
Wong was among 10 of the state’s first 5- to 11-year-olds — most the sons and daughters of UW Medicine doctors and staffers — who waited their turn to get Pfizer’s childhood shot Wednesday, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially greenlit them this week.
The vaccination was over in an instant, though it reflected months of anxious waiting for many younger kids and their parents who have been hoping for doses since the vaccines first became available last winter. Some parents said they felt a wave of relief wash over them as they watched their children get vaccinated, but health officials reminded families the state’s supply will be limited at first, urging patience.
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