NEW What Canada is doing about the toxic forever chemicals in drinking water
As the United States sets its first national limits on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, researchers say Canada is lagging when it comes to regulations.
For the first time in two months, the U.S. is averaging more than 100,000 new COVID-19 cases each day, shortly after millions of Americans travelled for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The seven-day moving average of new cases was 121,437 as of Saturday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University (JHU). Prior to this week, the U.S. last topped the 100,000-cases-a-day mark in early October.
Also on the rise is the number of COVID-19 deaths, with a seven-day average of 1,651 people dying from the virus each day as of Saturday, the JHU data showed. Average daily deaths haven't been this high in more than a month.
The vast majority of new cases in the U.S. continue to be from the Delta variant, but U.S. health officials have detected the new Omicron coronavirus variant in at least 16 states as of Saturday.
The first case was found in California on Wednesday, and by the weekend the variant had been identified in 15 other states: Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.
The Omicron variant has been alarming officials because early indications show it could be more contagious than the original strain, and the significant number of mutations it carries poses a potential risk of reducing some of the effectiveness the current vaccines provide. Scientists are working to determine the severity and transmissibility of Omicron -- but that could take weeks, officials have said.
Still, the U.S. is more equipped now to deal with the newly detected variant than it was during the onset of the pandemic, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said Thursday.
"We are in such a different place now than we were one year ago because we've learned a lot more. We have vaccines available. We have far more tests available, and what we've got to do to get through this winter is to make sure that we are doubling down on our vaccination strategy," Murthy told CNN.
The surgeon general stressed that even though there's a lot to learn about the new variant, mitigation efforts, including masks and hand hygiene combined with physical distancing, remain effective in providing some protection.
Just under 60% of the total U.S. population is fully vaccinated and nearly 23% of those have received a booster, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
While the Omicron variant has the potential to become the dominant strain in the U.S., the Delta variant continues to show up in 99.9% of coronavirus cases, according to Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC.
"We know what we need to do against Delta, and that is get vaccinated, get boosted if you're eligible and continue all of those prevention measures, including masking. And those are very likely to work against the Omicron variant," Walensky told CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
The Delta variant managed to take over the entire nation in the early weeks of summer, changing the outlook as vaccines were rolling out and becoming more widely available. The variant continues to rage in hotspots across the country.
More than 59,000 Americans are hospitalized with COVID-19, according to data from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. And overall, hospitalizations have been on the rise for more than three weeks.
The World Health Organization said the Delta variant has outcompeted other variants in most countries -- making it the most common strain in much of the world.
"Even if the Omicron strain doesn't turn out to be any worse, we are losing close to a thousand people every day from the Delta variant, and that in and of itself is a reason for people to get boosted," Dr. Richard Besser, former acting director of the CDC, told CNN earlier this week.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said earlier this week that traveling during the holidays is OK -- but getting vaccinated and boosted are a must.
"Just as I said and I'll say it again, if you have a vaccinated situation, enjoy the holidays with your family in a family setting," said Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, at a CNN Global Town Hall.
For international travelers, proof of a negative COVID-19 test within one day of departure for the U.S. will be required as of Monday, the Biden administration announced Thursday. Previously a test could be taken up to three days before entering the country.
Plus, any foreign national who travels to the U.S. must be fully vaccinated, though there is no vaccination requirement for American citizens for air travel, either globally or domestically.
However, the White House said this week that a vaccine requirement for domestic travel remained on the table as an option for the future.
As the United States sets its first national limits on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, researchers say Canada is lagging when it comes to regulations.
Calgary police have arrested a man and a charge is pending in connection with the death of a toddler in 2022.
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Scientists say it's highly unlikely cloud seeding is responsible for the heavy rains that have caused flooding in the United Arab Emirates this month, and that climate change is the more likely culprit.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.
While many people choose to keep their medical appointments private, four longtime friends decided to undergo vasectomies as a group in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.
A popular highway in Alberta's Banff National Park now has a 'no stopping zone' to help protect two bears.
B.C. resident Robert Conrad spent thousands of hours on Crown land developing an unusual bond with deer.
A Sudbury woman said her husband was bringing the recycling out to the curb Wednesday night when he had to make a 'mad dash' inside after seeing a bear.