BuzzFeed News: 50 Children Took Pictures With A Santa And Mrs. Claus Who Then Tested Positive For COVID. “Long County, which has a population of about 20,000 people, had a positivity rate of 11% between Nov. 26 and Dec. 9… according to the Georgia Department of Public Health. Though children are less likely to become […]
Mashable: How to host a virtual New Year’s Eve party. “Yeah, we know, we know. This year is unlike any other; unprecedented; blah blah blah. By now, we’ve more than resigned ourselves to the fact that New Year’s Eve won’t be rung in with a night in Times Square and a giant ball drop. (Did […]
Pitchfork: Radiohead Launch Digital Holiday Cards. “Radiohead have launched a line of characteristically apocalyptic digital greeting cards via their online archive. The design patterns include ‘LA-LA,’ ‘LA LA,’ and ‘LAA,’ while the inner messages contain such sentiments as “Hope for the future,” ‘Everything is rosy,’ and ‘In lieu of emptiness.’ ‘This festive card is for […]
CNET: Zoom is dropping 40-minute limit for holiday season. “Zoom is repeating its Thanksgiving gift for the festive season, lifting its 40-minute limit for three periods until Jan. 2, it said earlier this week.” The next period starts Wednesday morning.
BBC: Covid-19: Europeans urged to wear masks for family Christmas. “The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged Europeans to wear masks during family gatherings at Christmas. It said Europe was at ‘high risk’ of a new wave of coronavirus infections in the early part of 2021, as transmission of the virus remained high.”
New York Times: Yes, People Are Traveling for the Holidays. Stop Shaming Them.. “While some people may have legitimate reasons to be upset (say, if they were infected by a co-worker who refused to wear a mask or stay home after developing flulike symptoms), anger and hectoring are rarely the way to make things better. […]
Smithsonian Magazine: What the Pandemic Christmas of 1918 Looked Like. “Christmas 1918 was not Christmas 2020. The pandemic had already peaked in the U.S. in the fall of 1918 as part of the disease’s second wave. Meanwhile, this week the deaths attributed to Covid-19 in the U.S. are the highest they’ve ever been, showing no […]
New York Times: It’s Holiday Party Season at the White House. Masks Are Encouraged, but Not Required.. “The red and gold party invitations make no mention of the coronavirus, nor do they acknowledge the holiday message that public health officials have been trying to emphasize to Americans: Stay home. Instead, the invitations are the latest […]
Metro: Dad ordered to turn off Christmas lights or face £10,000 fine. “Trevor Payne, 46, has been displaying festive lights outside his house for several years to raise money for mental health charities. But police were called to his property in Cheslyn Hay, Staffordshire, on Saturday evening after reports of a ‘large gathering’ in the […]
Dallas Morning News: 9.4 million passengers during Thanksgiving week set pandemic-era airport records. “Nearly 10 million people hopped on planes during the 10-day Thanksgiving period that ended [November 29], including four days with more than 1 million passengers each and some of the busiest travel days of the COVID-19 era. Numbers may have been even […]
The Conversation: All Zoomed out? How to deal with Zoom fatigue over the holiday season. “The first few months of the pandemic was filled with Zoom fever. People were zooming work, happy hour, board game nights and other events as well. Then many people felt like they hit a wall. Zoom fatigue is real. And […]
CBS Denver: NORAD Launches Santa Tracker Website On Tuesday With Holiday Countdown, Games & More. “The website… features a holiday countdown, games, movies, music and a webstore. The website is available in eight languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Chinese. Families can also track Santa using Amazon Alexa and OnStar. NORAD will […]
Yahoo News: Coronavirus: Cancelled Christmas parties ‘to save UK workers £4bn’. “UK workers may save about £4.3bn ($5.8bn) following the cancellation of Christmas festivities, according to a study. Two in five Christmas parties plan to move online his year, resulting in savings of about £139 each for those who no longer have to attend an […]
KMBC: In Santa’s mailbag, a peek into children’s pandemic worries. “Jim, from Taiwan, slipped a face mask inside the greeting card he sent to Santa and marked “I (heart) u.” Alina, 5, asked in her Santa letter written with an adult’s help that he please use the front door when he drops in, because the […]
Mashable: 11 ways to virtually visit Santa this holiday season. “While your kids aren’t able to sit on Santa’s lap in 2020, they can still interact with him through a screen. A bunch of helpful online services are offering virtual Santa visits in the form of pre-recorded video messages or live video calls. They vary […]