Category: Businesses in COVID-19

Focus on the Family Imposes COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate, Leaving Staff and Donors Dismayed

A large Christian organization told employees this week that they must soon reveal whether they’ve gotten a COVID-19 vaccine, upsetting some staff members and donors. Focus on the Family’s President Jim Daly emailed staff members on Jan. 3 to say the company must request and receive each worker’s vaccination status by Jan. 9. Daly cited…


Cathay Pacific to Cut More Flights Due to Pandemic Restrictions

HONG KONG—Hong Kong’s flagship carrier Cathay Pacific Airways said on Thursday it will cut more passenger flights and operate a reduced cargo capacity after the city tightened restrictions fearing a fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline will operate about 20 percent of its pre-pandemic cargo capacity and around 2 percent of its pre-pandemic…


Australian Supermarket CEO Warns Customers of ‘Gaps on the Shelf’ Amid Omicron Pressure

The CEO of one of Australia’s largest supermarket retail chains has written to customers warning of product shortages during the current wave of the Omicron variant, which has led to high staff numbers isolating and gaps in the company’s supply chains. “Unlike the surge buying of early 2020 (who could forget the toilet paper), this…


Walmart to Cut Paid Sick Leave in Half For Workers Per CDC Guidance

Walmart said in a Jan. 4 corporate memo to its workers that is is cutting paid leave in half for those who test positive for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus or who have quarantined themselves at home after exposure. Previously, Walmart employees were given two weeks of paid leave, but the retailer will now offer…


Another Factor Drags Down the Corner Store

Grab-and-go thievery has come to Main Street. Small businesses, struggling to survive over the two years of the pandemic, are facing a shoplifting epidemic, business groups representing owners say in recent studies. “Fifty four percent of small businesses experienced an increase in shoplifting in 2021,” according to a poll by Business.org, a small business advisory…


German Industrial Orders Bounce Back on Strong Foreign Demand

BERLIN—Higher demand from abroad drove a bigger-than-expected rebound in German industrial orders in November, in rare good news for manufacturers suffering from supply bottlenecks and labor shortages in Europe’s largest economy. Goods orders rose 3.7 percent on the month in seasonally adjusted terms after a revised drop of 5.8 percent in October, figures from the…


Pfizer: Updated COVID-19 Vaccine Data for Children Under 5 Expected by April

Pfizer has amended its COVID-19 vaccine trial for younger children and expects results in several months, a researcher said Wednesday. The study has been adjusted from two doses to three doses in light of the growing body of evidence showing the primary regimen’s effects wane as time goes on from vaccination, Dr. Alejandra Gurtman, part of…


Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Cancel Multiple Planned Voyages Citing COVID-19 Pandemic, Travel Restrictions

Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line canceled multiple planned voyages on Wednesday due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions. In a blog post, Royal Caribbean said that it has called off its Spectrum of the Seas cruise from Hong Kong, which was scheduled to depart on Jan. 6, after nine passengers on its Jan. 2 trip were identified as close…


Major Supermarket Hit by ‘Round Three’ of Supply Chain Disruption

Australian supermarket Coles has admitted that the spread of Omicron, combined with COVID-19 isolation rules, has impacted its supply chains once again. Matthew Swindells, chief operations officer of Coles, said it was experiencing “round three” of supply chain disruption during the ongoing pandemic. “If you recall, round one of COVID-19 was about toilet paper—essentially higher…


US Retailers Raise Prices of Discounted CCP Virus Test Kits After Agreement Ends With Biden Administration

Walmart and Kroger, the two largest retailers in the United States, have both raised their prices for the BinaxNOW COVID-19 rapid tests, after an agreement with the Biden administration to sell the antigen self-test kits at a fixed price expired at the end of the year. The average number of COVID-19 tests administered per day…