Shanghai set out plans on May 16 for the end of a painful COVID-19 lockdown that has lasted more than six weeks, heavily bruising China’s economy, and for the return of more normal life from June 1.

Because the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is so infectious, it is surging around the United States. Vaccination is still the best way to prevent severe disease and death, but there is increasing debate on the benefit of yet another booster shot and how long people who show symptoms should quarantine.

President Joe Biden said on December 27 he would support an effort to shorten COVID-19 quarantine requirements for those who test positive for the novel coronavirus if U.S. health authorities recommend such a change.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on April 2 said fully vaccinated people can safely travel at “low risk” after the agency had held off for weeks on revising guidance that discouraged all non-essential trips.

Australia’s second most populous state Victoria entered a five-day lockdown on Feb. 13 as authorities raced to prevent a third wave of Covid-19 cases sparked by the highly infections UK variant.

People who have received the full course of Covid-19 vaccines can skip the standard 14-day quarantine after exposure to someone with the infection as long as they remain asymptomatic, U.S. public health officials advised.

Reuters found new evidence that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) response to the pandemic was marred by actions – or inaction – by the agency’s career scientists and frontline staff.

Australian authorities said mandatory hotel quarantine for people arriving for the Australian Open tennis tournament was essential to stop Covid-19, as the country recorded another day with no new locally acquired cases on Jan. 19.