Axios

Beijing officials announced Sunday that they have sealed off several residential areas where two COVID-19 cases were detected, AP reported.

Why it matters: Government officials have urged local districts to maintain "full emergency mode" as coronavirus cases continue to be detected in the run-up to the opening of the Beijing Games on Friday.

The definition of what it means to be "fully vaccinated" is evolving even as the CDC has remained careful not to change it officially.

Why it matters: CDC officials have been balancing the job of convincing Americans who've already gotten two doses of the importance of boosters with getting many Americans who still need their first doses to get their shots at all.

The ranks of health care workers are dwindling and stretching what it means to be reaching their "breaking points," particularly at small nonprofit hospitals.

The big picture: Even as Omicron cases have begun to wane in some places, many hospitals are still fielding a crush of patients amid record employee callouts.

The Hawaii Department of Health authorized the Navy on Thursday to discharge treated water from its Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility after the water forced Army and Navy families from their homes into hotels.

Why it matters: The contaminated tap water contained diesel fuel 350 times the safe level after a jet-fuel spill in November.

Antiviral COVID treatments are hailed as a pandemic game-changer, but they're currently in very short supply — and that's only one of several barriers to access for high-risk patients.

The big picture: Even when supply ramps up, it will still be tricky to connect some of the most vulnerable patients to the pills without changes to the process.

The Department of Defense announced this week the purchase of an additional 100 million rapid COVID-19 tests that will be distributed to Americans for free.

Why it matters: The administration bought 500 million rapid tests in December and is now working to purchase an additional 500 million, so the U.S. will have 1 billion free tests available to Americans.

New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul extended the state's mask mandate that requires face coverings in all indoor settings until at least Feb. 10.

Why it matters: The extension comes days after a New York appellate judge granted a stay on the state's indoor mask mandate after a lower court judge struck down the rule.