HEALTH

Restaurants and bars will close early in Tokyo and a dozen other areas across Japan beginning Friday as the country widens COVID-19 restrictions due to the omicron variant, which has caused cases to surge to new highs in metropolitan areas.

A new study finds that young children might be able to overcome their peanut allergies if treated early enough.

A federal appeals court has found that two California counties violated the Constitution’s right to bear arms when they shut down gun and ammunition stores in 2020 as nonessential businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.

Of all the questions that can be asked to measure one’s physical strength, this one might be the most common: “How much can you bench?”

Did you have any idea just how many health care workers are nervous about a physical attack on the job?

“Superbugs” have joined the ranks of the world’s leading infectious disease killers.

Some European countries such as Spain are making tentative plans for when they might start treating COVID-19 as an “endemic” disease, but the World Health Organization and other officials have warned that the world is nowhere close to declaring the pandemic over.

New Zealand is among the few remaining countries to have avoided any outbreaks of the omicron variant.

Disability rights activists and advocates for Britney Spears are backing a California proposal to provide more protections for those under court-ordered conservatorships, while promoting less-restrictive alternatives.

New Mexico is asking National Guard troops and state bureaucrats to volunteer to serve as substitute teachers as preschools and K-12 public schools struggle to keep classrooms open amid surging COVID-19 infections.

Two Supreme Court justices say a media report they were at odds over the wearing of masks during the surge in coronavirus cases is false.

A new study that compares coronavirus protection from prior infection and vaccination concludes getting the shots is still the safest way to prevent COVID-19.

The leader of Hungary’s political opposition has announced he has tested positive for COVID-19 amid a surge in cases fueled by the highly transmissible omicron variant.

The World Health Organization says the number of new coronavirus cases globally rose by 20% last week to more than 18 million, marking a slowdown in the surge caused by the omicron variant.

Slovakia has limited access to what the government considers the most risky events and public gatherings as the country gets ready for the highly infectious omicron coronavirus variant.

The Biden administration will begin making 400 million N95 masks available for free to U.S. residents starting next week.

European Council President Charles Michel has become the second top-level European Union official who has had to pull out of the bloc's parliament session because he had a high-risk COVID-19 contact.

German news agency dpa has reported that police are investigating thousands of cases of suspected forgery of coronavirus vaccine certificates.

Pfizer's chief executive, Albert Bourla, has been awarded the prestigious Genesis Prize for his efforts in leading the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Tokyo and a dozen other areas in Japan will face new coronavirus restrictions effective Friday, with local leaders shortening hours for restaurants, as omicron cases hit a record high in the capital.

Health experts suggest stepping up protection against omicron with N95s, KN95s or similar masks.

West Virginia lawmakers have introduced a bill to ban abortion after 15 weeks — a proposal that's nearly identical to the Mississippi law currently under review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Biden administration has quietly launched its website for Americans to request free at-home COVID-19 tests, a day before the site was scheduled to officially launch.

The fast-moving omicron variant may cause less severe disease on average, yet COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. are climbing.

Russia is shortening the required isolation period for people infected with COVID-19 from 14 to seven days.

Poland’s health officials say that the country has entered a new, fifth wave, in the coronavirus pandemic, predicting that it it will peak in mid-February at about 60,000 new infections per day or even more.

Chinese state media say parcels mailed from overseas may have spread the coronavirus in Beijing and elsewhere, despite doubts among overseas health experts that the virus can be transmitted via packaging.

Japan’s government is preparing social restrictions in Tokyo and other regions as the omicron variant of the coronavirus infects more people.

Australia has reported a record high of COVID-19 deaths, and its second-largest state declared an emergency in hospitals to cope with surging patient admissions and a staffing shortage due to the coronavirus.