It comes almost a year after the country started its vaccination campaign and amid the uncertainty of the new Omicron variant, which early studies have found can evade antibodies in double-vaccinated people. Information so far has led experts to speculate that this variant spreads more rapidly than Delta but symptoms are milder. These same experts are keen to emphasize that it is too early to draw any firm conclusions.

Meanwhile, in Europe, countries are grappling with how to react to the variant, with some opting for lockdowns and others introducing vaccine passports. In the U.K., Prime Minister Boris Johnson is coming under significant pressure after a major rebellion from his own party last night on new restrictions, as Omicron sweeps the country.

“It’s a recognition of all of the thought and care that San Francisco residents have been putting into staying as safe as possible,” said Dr. Susan Philip, San Francisco’s health officer.

The cases are expected to spike, White house officials remain confident that schools will remain open.

Chancellor of Syracuse University Kent Syverud, said that the fall semester with few COVID-19 cases left school officials “feeling pretty good” about the upcoming spring semester, but “Omicron has changed that.”

“It has made us go back and say, ‘Until we know more about this variant for sure, we’re going to have to reinstate some precautions,’” he said.

FULL STORY: More Than 20 Colleges Requiring Students to Get COVID Booster for Spring as Omicron Looms (newsweek.com)

Officials are still urging those who are not vaccinated to get vaccinated also stating, “don’t wait to get protected, shots are free and available at 80K+ sites.

“Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant. We are concerned that people are dismissing Omicron as mild.” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “surely we have learned by now that we underestimate this virus at our peril.”

“Our booster vaccine regimens work again omicron. At this point, there is no need for a variant-specific booster,” Fauci, also the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said.

“This will be a defining tragedy of our generation,” David Dowdy, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told ABC News. “We’ve gotten to the point where our eyes glaze over on these numbers. But by now, almost every one of us knows someone who has died of COVID-19.”

The new mandate will last until January 15.

“We know people are tired and hungry for normalcy. Frankly, I am too,” California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said Monday. “That said, this is a critical time where we have a tool that we know has worked and can work.”

ZOE’s COVID study lead Professor Tim Spector said the U.K. capital is “accelerating more than we’ve really seen it any time since the very first wave” and that the variant “will be at 100% very soon”.

The college’s COVID dashboard shows there are 469 active student cases - 94 percent of them confirmed this week.

FULL STORY: Huge COVID Outbreak at Cornell Main Campus Prompts Virtual Finals, Graduation Cancellation

During the COVID pandemic, they have been deployed across many states to help assist schools, hospitals, and communities cope with the impact of the virus - the video below explains why.

The rules vary massively depending on where you live, with masks required only for unvaccinated individuals in certain settings in California, but face coverings mandatory for all people (regardless of vaccination status) in counties “experiencing substantial or high transmission levels” in Nevada.

Variations of the rule are also in place in Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington.

READ MORE: In Which U.S. States Are Face Masks Mandatory? New COVID Rules Explained

Apple had begun relaxing restrictions in some cities and regions over time, with only about half of stores requiring face coverings, but the rising concern over the Omicron COVID variant has seen the company revert to its original policy.

It was initially intended to be a single-dose shot but now over-18s will be eligible for a follow-up booster two months after their first injection.

It can also be given after two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, the EMA confirmed.

He met with the Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob yesterday, before the test result came back.

Starting January 1, unvaccinated managers and non-union salaried workers will pay an extra $50 a month for their insurance, but those who work hourly and have company healthcare will not be affected.

Additionally, unvaccinated workers will no longer be able to take two weeks of emergency paid sick leave if they become infected with COVID-19, a company spokesperson confirmed to the Associated Press on Tuesday.

FULL STORY: Some Kroger Employees Without COVID Vaccine to Pay $50 a Month Surcharge On Health Plan

Dr. Jenny Harries, the chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, has just told MPs in a committee hearing that Omicron “is probably the most significant threat [to public health] since the start of the pandemic”.

The numbers and data coming out in the next few days will be “staggering” in comparison to other variants, including Delta, she added.

Lawmaker Charles Walker, one of those who opposed, said the vote was “a cry of pain from the Conservative Party” that Johnson must listen to after weeks of scandal surrounding the alleged Downing Street party held last year which broke the rules at the time.

Critics like Walker suggest the new mandates are economically damaging, are too limiting on individual freedoms, and create a tiered system for the vaccinated and unvaccinated. Controversially, some have compared it to the apartheid regime in South Africa or life in 1930s Nazi Germany, prompting much criticism.

FULL STORY: Boris Johnson’s New COVID Restrictions Set Off Backlash From His Conservative Party

Follow Newsweek’s liveblog throughout Wednesday for all the latest.