Will Stone

The popular Seattle restaurant San Fermo allows only two people inside each of its enclosed dining igloos at a time — to reduce the risk that people from different households will dine together.

Yurts, Igloos And Pop-Up Domes: How Safe Is 'Outside' Restaurant Dining This Winter?

Will Stone

A quick pivot to outdoor dining helped many restaurants survive pandemic restrictions. Now some have added temporary shelters to accommodate winter weather. The safest don't have walls, experts say.

A traveler adjusts her mask while waiting to check in for her flight at the Los Angeles International Airport on Nov. 23.

Epidemiologists Urge A Cautious Christmas, After Thanksgiving Surge in Some States

Will Stone

Some parts of the country are now grappling with a post-Thanksgiving surge of patients, while others dodged that fate. What lessons can we learn as we head into the Christmas season?

Restaurants Try To Adapt During The COVID-19 Pandemic

Will Stone

Some restaurants have only been able to survive by offering outdoor dining. With cold weather, many are enclosing those spaces — at the same time some jurisdictions are banning any sit-down dining.

An empty syringe on a table at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center after a care worker received the COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 16, 2020.

'This Is An Exciting Thing.' For Frontline Workers, Vaccine Comes As A Massive Relief

Will Stone

Despite some early bumps, the arrival of the first shipments of a COVID-19 vaccine was celebrated this past week by those who've been caring for patients since the early days of the pandemic.

Did Thanksgiving Travel Cause COVID-19 Surge? Experts Say Results Are Mixed

Will Stone

Data show a surge in virus transmission in some areas. Doctors, local health departments and others in the community talk about what they are seeing, and what are they are worried about.

White flags planted by volunteers visualize lives lost in the U.S. to COVID-19 as part of an installation by artist Suzanne Firstenberg in Washington, D.C. The death toll has now reached 300,000.

How Do We Grieve 300,000 Lives Lost?

Will Stone

Eleven months into the COVID-19 crisis, an unimaginable death toll has been reached. NPR spoke to doctors, nurses and the bereaved about how they face loss every day.

As U.S. Looks Forward To COVID-19 Vaccines, Hospitals Are Inundated

Will Stone

Hospitals are overwhelmed in several Sunbelt states, with New Mexico's governor threatening to move to "crisis standards." Care has stabilized in the Midwest which saw an earlier surge.

Health care workers in Houston, Texas, perform a procedure on a patient in the COVID-19 intensive care unit on Thanksgiving. This past week has seen continued steep growth in cases, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19.

'Extraordinary Acceleration': Takeaways From The Pandemic Last Week

Will Stone

Deaths from COVID-19 have jumped nearly 40% this week, and hospitals around the country are straining under their patient load. Here's what happened in the first week after Thanksgiving.

An ambulance pulls up as nurses outside a triage tent for the Emergency Department at the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle put on gowns and other protective gear at the start of their shift, on April 2, 2020. A resurgence of the coronavirus has health care workers and government leaders worried about dwindling resources and an exhausted workforce.

'We're All Tired Of This': Health Care Workers In Seattle Prepare For Another Surge

Will Stone

Harborview Medical Center faced the country's initial swell of coronavirus cases. Now, health care workers there are offering advice to people facing the latest surge in COVID-19 patients.

States Announce New Mandates As COVID-19 Cases Rise Sharply In The U.S.

Will Stone

A rapid, frightening spread of the coronavirus across the U.S. leads to a fresh round of stay-at-home guidance and mask mandates. Health officials are urging families not to gather for the holidays.