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Covid-19 struck Beth Green just in time for Christmas, upending her annual holiday gatherings. She planned on hosting her extended family at her Derry Township home on Dec. 23. She was especially excited because it’s difficult to get two of her adult sons together with their hectic schedules. Green, an administrator at a long-term care facility, said her covid symptoms weren’t serious. She went ahead with altered plans to host. She wore an N95 mask. She told family to attend at their own risk. Some did. Some didn’t.

Residents of Watts, a predominantly Latino and black neighborhood in south-central Los Angeles, are being discouraged from attending large gatherings for the rest of 2023 due to the recent surge of drive-by and mass shootings in the area. The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday: Leaders have now called on Watts residents not to congregate in large groups for the rest of 2023. … The impassioned calls for “unity within the community” arrived on the heels of two shootings that killed two and injured nine near the Imperial Courts and Jordan Downs public housing projects, according to LAPD Deputy Chief Emada...

The White House is currently limiting gatherings at the complex to under 30 people amid the surge in COVID-19 cases due to the wave of the omicron coronavirus variant, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday. Psaki told reporters aboard Air Force One that the policy has been put in place “over the last several weeks” and will remain "for this period of time."

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “The Beat” that considering the highly contagious Omicron variant of coronavirus is rapidly spreading through the United States, unvaccinated family members should be asked not to attend Christmas gatherings this year. Guest host Alicia Menendez said, “Dr. Fauci, you know very well, there are people deciding whether they’re going to get on planes to be with their families for the holidays. What is your advice?”

South Korea is limiting gatherings to four people amid a surge in COVID-19 cases. Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol announced Thursday that for at least the next 16 days, gatherings of five or more are banned, even among the fully vaccinated, The Associated Press reported. If a person isn’t fully vaccinated, they are not permitted to gather with others and would have to eat alone at restaurants. The gathering limits don't apply to those younger than 18.

Philadelphia health officials have called on residents to avoid hosting inter-household holiday gatherings this year to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Fox News 29 reports: On Monday, health officials stated that the city has seen COVID-19 infections rate double in the past few weeks, and hospitalizations increase by about 50%. The city announced a new vaccine mandate impacting indoor dining establishments would be implemented on Jan. 3 in response to the rising case counts. They followed up Monday’s mandate announcement with new guidance for holiday gatherings.

Cornell University on Saturday blamed off-campus maskless gatherings for the cancellation of all in-person student activities, both formal and informal, on the Ithaca campus. Upon revealing 300 hundred new cases of coronavirus, including the omicron variant, among students at the campus, Cornell took measures to lock down all in-person campus activities due to “off-campus student social gatherings where masking and other public health measures were not followed.”

We’re getting into the cold months when more people will be gathering indoors and respiratory illnesses like COVID-19 thrive. Requiring some proof of immunity is becoming more standard and widely accepted, and it remains a generally good rule. And the new boosters, now finally available to all adults, will help with this immunity. But immunity alone has proven insufficient to protect a gathering, particularly in the new environment of more aggressive and contagious variants like delta and omicron. Breakthrough infections — those in people who are already immunized — are on the rise. A stark demonstration of this is the...

More than three-quarters of Americans still feel there’s at least some risk from the COVID-19 pandemic in attending July Fourth celebrations — with four in 10 believing the threat is moderate to high, according to a new poll. Some 77 percent of respondents in an Axios-Ipsos poll ranked the celebrations as posing at least a small risk, with less than a quarter — 23 percent — maintaining there was no risk at all.

After weeks of being limited to takeout and delivery, struggling restaurants in Los Angeles were allowed to reopen for outdoor dining Friday with new restrictions in place. Restaurants must require employees to wear a face mask and shield, tables must be eight feet apart and seat no more than six people, and televisions are not allowed to be turned on. "Televisions or any other screens that are used to broadcast programming must be removed from the area or turned off," the order from the Los Angeles Department of Public Health says. "This provision is effective until further notice." This no-TVs...

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) announced another wave of restrictions taking effect prior to New Year’s, including a ban on gatherings over ten, with the restriction extending to “private homes.” Baker announced the latest set of restrictions Tuesday, which will go into effect on Saturday, December 26 — the day after Christmas

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) is the latest state leader to urge residents to drastically limit their holiday gatherings by spending them only with members of the same household, signing an executive order limiting indoor public events to ten. In a Sunday evening address, the Republican governor identified Tennesee as “ground zero for a surge in sickness,” describing the ongoing pandemic as a “war.” Approximately 10,000 Tennesseans are getting sick daily, the governor said, largely attributing the spike to holiday gatherings — namely, the Thanksgiving gatherings

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) announced a statewide mask mandate on Tuesday for certain indoor and outdoor activities and gatherings as cases of the Chinese coronavirus spike in the Hawkeye State. Reynolds announced the implementation of a mask mandate as part of a proclamation aimed to reduce the spread of the Wuhan virus. The proclamation requires proper social distancing at any “social, community, recreational, leisure or sporting gathering” and limits group sizes to eight people, unless the group is “from the same household.

With Thanksgiving around the corner, Dr. Anthony Fauci issued a dire warning about the surging coronavirus cases around the country — saying that people “may have to bite the bullet and sacrifice that social gathering,” according to a report. The 79-year-old top infectious diseases doctor told “CBS Evening News” on Wednesday that his three children will not be coming home for the holiday because his age puts him at increased risk.

ts' been widely reported this week that at least two pastors have been arrested after holding church services in violation of government orders to avoid gathering in groups. Rodney Howard-Browne, pastor of The River at Tampa Bay Church, was arrested by sheriff's deputies for holding church this past Sunday. The county where the church is located issued an administrative order on March 20, banning "public or private gatherings, including community, civic, public leisure, faith-based events, sporting events, concerts, and any similar events that bring together more than 10 people in a single room, single space, or any venue, at the...

Kumbh Mela pilgrimage, India, 2013 Kumbh Mela is believed to be the largest religious gathering on the planet. It is held every 12 years in Utar Pardesh, the northern Indian state.It is believed that in 2013, a sum of 30 million Hindu pilgrims gathered to bathe during the event.Arbaeen festival, Iraq, 2014 In 2014, up to 17 milliopn from all around the world gathered in Iraq to commemorate the death of one of the grandsons of the Prophet Mohammed, Imam Hussain. The event takes place in Karbala, each year.Funeral of CM Annadurai, India, 1969 It is widely believed to be...

The IDF's Home Front Command has issued security instructions for residents of communities located near Gaza, in view of Gaza's ongoing terror rocket attacks on Israel. For communities located within 7 kilometers of Gaza, residents are asked to enter a protected space upon hearing an alarm or explosion. Only fortified schools will be open, and open-air gatherings are forbidden. Shopping centers will be open as usual. .....