Live updates: New York’s city-run hospitals limit visitation

NEW YORK — New York’s city-run hospitals are again limiting visitation to curb the spread of COVID-19, with some exceptions such as allowing people in labor to have someone with them, parents accompanying hospitalized children and loved ones seeing a person in hospice.

The hospitals had been operating under a modified visitation policy since early in the pandemic, with visits limited to four hours per day and one person at a time. Dr. Mitchell Katz, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals, said Wednesday that the new, stricter limits were being put in place after an outbreak at one city-run hospital appeared to be linked to a visitor.

“For a short time, in order to make sure that we don’t cause more disease, we need to limit the number of visitors,” Katz said.

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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC:

— COVID-19 case drop may show South Africa's omicron peak has passed

— As COVID-19 fueled the drug crisis, Native Americans hit the worst

— Biden pivots to home tests to fight omicron surge as Christmas nears

— Omicron casts a new shadow over economy's pandemic recovery

— Parents, schools face another reckoning over pandemic

Go to https://APNews.com/coronavirus-pandemic for updates throughout the day.

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING TODAY:

LONDON — Britain’s medical regulator has approved the new pediatric formulation of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said Wednesday the vaccine is safe and effective for children in that age group.

Dr. June Raine, the chief executive of the agency, said “parents and carers can be...