Chicago to End Mask Rule; N.Y. Hospital Use Falls: Virus Update

New coronavirus infections in the U.S. slowed to the lowest level since the arrival of the highly contagious omicron variant in December. Hospitalizations in New York state fell by 1,000 in a week, and Chicago said it would end its mask mandate.

Hong Kong will test its entire population of 7.4 million people three times and maintain strict social distancing rules in a bid to slow an outbreak that’s now the worst on record for China. The surge has also raised the specter of a citywide lockdown, a tactic used in the mainland but unprecedented for Hong Kong.