News Room

As the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in regions across the United States in the spring, governors, mayors and local leaders hoping to quell the spread of the virus turned to the only actionable defenses available at the time: They closed schools and businesses, banned mass gatherings, issued stay-at-home orders and enforced other social distancing measures.

Even a one-week delay in the implementation of social distancing measures would have had a major effect on the total number of Covid-19 infections over time in several regions of the United States, especially New York City, a modeling study of 3 regions in the U.S. has shown.

In 1999, Disneyland became a pioneer of the virtual queue. That’s the year the company introduced its FastPass system, which allowed customers to hold their place in line virtually while enjoying attractions elsewhere in the park. Virtual queues have since become common in restaurants, call centers, rideshare platforms, and other businesses — and the Covid-19 pandemic has only accelerated this trend. But not all virtual queues are created equal. What can businesses do to optimize the customer experience when implementing a virtual queuing system?

Kenya is among countries that will be required to improve cold chain networks to meet the storage demands of a Covid-19 vaccine. Experts say refrigeration requirements have cast doubt on the ability to access the vaccine to more than three billion people. As a result, the poor who are among the hardest hit by Covid-19 are likely to be the last to be reached by the vaccine.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the world has become reliant on personal protective equipment, or PPE. Most of this essential gear, from masks to gowns to goggles, comes from China -- and experts in the U.S. say this foreign dependence is problematic. Bur for now, the country where the virus originated is producing much of what's needed to fight it off. Special correspondent Patrick Fok reports.