COVID

New vaccine-or-test requirements for indoor dining and drinking in Minneapolis and St. Paul take effect Wednesday.

The big picture: A growing number of major cities, including Boston, Chicago and New York, have instituted similar requirements in an effort to protect public health.

Yes, but: Questions about enforcement, logistics and effectiveness of the temporary measures here remain.

School districts across the Twin Cities are struggling to keep their classrooms staffed due to a teacher shortage that has been exacerbated by rising COVID infections.

Why it matters: Schools are getting creative to staff classrooms, upping pay for substitutes, using support staff as fill-ins and paying teachers to cover for their colleagues during prep periods.

Minnesotans who test positive for COVID-19 via an at-home rapid test are not expected to share their results with local health officials — and there there's no where to report the case even if they tried.

The big picture: As America's record Omicron surge continues, cities and states across the country have no cohesive strategy to monitor the results of at-home rapid COVID tests, an Axios Local report found.

Why it matters: Our patchwork public ability to tally at-home tests means that the current COVID caseload is almost certainly a vast undercount — and that may be a reality we all have to accept at this stage of the pandemic.

At least 20 restaurants and bars across the metro are going back into hibernation as the Omicron variant sweeps the service industry and a labor shortage leaves many short-staffed.

What's happening: Businesses are canceling reservations, posting last-minute closures on social media and leaving signs on the door announcing outbreaks among staff.

• Axios has confirmed 20 establishments have temporarily closed due to COVID-19 for at least one day in the past week, as of Wednesday, though the number is likely higher.

Why it matters: Despite the CDC's shortened quarantine guidelines, as little as one exposure could force a small business to shutter for days.

Minneapolis and St. Paul are reinstituting indoor mask mandates as the spread of Omicron fuels a recent surge in COVID-19 cases across the metro.

Driving the news: Mayors Jacob Frey and Melvin Carter announced the revived rules on Wednesday.

• Both citywide mandates will go into effect Thursday, starting at 5pm.

Omicron dashed our dreams of a 2022 free of COVID disruption.

Driving the news: The rapidly spreading variant has prompted temporary restaurant closures, concert and flight cancelations and delays to return-to-office plans.

The rapidly spreading Omicron variant is increasing demand for COVID-19 tests in much of the country.

Why it matters: Getting tested before gathering indoors and unmasked with family and friends this week can lower the chance someone will unknowingly spread the virus.

Want to share your wish list with Santa? The outing that's long drawn families to local malls to meet Old St. Nick might soon be just a joy of Christmas past.

Driving the news: Many professional Santas are stepping back from in-person services this year due to continued COVID-19 concerns.

• Shopping centers in the Twin Cities metro have begun pivoting away from the traditional meet-and-greets — opting for socially distant experiences instead.

Why it matters: Photos on Santa's lap are a Christmas card staple, but the role in the COVID era puts the men playing St. Nick at higher risk of contracting the virus.