NEW YORK — “Hamilton” and “Aladdin,” two of Broadway’s biggest musicals, are shuttering their doors during the busy Christmas week after finding breakthrough COVID-19 cases in their companies.

All matinee and evening performances of “Aladdin” from Tuesday through Friday were canceled. Performances are scheduled to resume Sunday. “Aladdin” had previously canceled its Dec. 19 performance.

“Hamilton” canceled shows on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday and performances are scheduled to resume Dec. 27. The production had previously canceled its Dec. 17 through Dec. 19 performances, as well as its Dec. 15 show due to the detection of positive results.

The two hit shows join “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “MJ” and “Ain’t Too Proud,” among others, in announcing multi-day cancellations due to the virus. Shows often add performances around Christmas week and the holidays are usually the most lucrative shows of the year.

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

— British nurses warn the health care system at a breaking point as omicron cases soar

— German military gives hospital an edge in treating COVID-19 patients

— Omicron prompts World Economic Forum to delay Davos meeting until summer 2022

— Austria ends 20-day lockdown, considers move a success as virus cases plummet

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

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING TODAY:

MISSION, Kan. — Rural Kansas hospitals are struggling to transfer patients as COVID-19 numbers surge, with some patients left stranded in emergency rooms for a week while they wait for a bed.

Space also was in short supply last winter and again over the summer when the delta variant first hit the state. The situation improved slightly this fall, but according to Motient, a company contracting with Kansas to help manage transfers, the situation now is worsening again.

And it isn’t just rural hospitals looking for beds. Overwhelmed hospitals as far away as Minnesota and Michigan have been calling looking for beds in larger Kansas hospitals. Often there simply isn’t room.

Dr. Richard Watson, founder of Motient, said Friday that the long-distance transfers and long waits for beds are sadly becoming commonplace as the pandemic ends its second year.

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CONCORD, New Hampshire — Health officials say a child who was “too young to have been vaccinated” against COVID-19 is the first person under 18 from New Hampshire to have died from complications related to the virus.

The Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release that the death happened in September in another state and was identified after COVID-19 was listed as a cause of death on the death certificate, which was recently finalized.

“We are all saddened by this loss and give our condolences to the family,” said Dr. Benjamin Chan, state epidemiologist. “It continues to be important for us all to take steps to protect those who are not yet able to be vaccinated, and those who are vulnerable and at risk for severe COVID-19.”

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QUEBEC CITY — Quebec is closing bars, cinemas, gyms and spas because of a record number of coronavirus cases in the Canadian province.

Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé said restaurants must close by 10 p.m.

The province last week went to 50% capacity at restaurants and bars but is now announcing more restrictions. Quebec reported 4,571 COVID-19 cases Monday, a new single-day record since the beginning of the pandemic.

Elementary schools and high schools will close after Monday and in-person learning will resume Jan. 10, but schools will remain accessible until the holiday break for vaccinations or distributing rapid tests to students.

Spectators will not be permitted to attend professional or amateur sporting events.

Remote work, which before was recommended by authorities, will now be mandatory.

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LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II has decided not to gather the royal family for Christmas at the royal Sandringham estate in eastern England, amid concerns about the fast-spreading omicron variant.

The royal palace said Monday that the 95-year-old queen will spend the holidays at Windsor Castle, west of London, where she has spent most of her time during the pandemic.

Other members of the royal family are expected to visit over the Christmas period, with precautions taken against spreading the virus.

For years members of the extended family have spent the holidays at Sandringham, attending the local church as a group on Christmas Day.

The queen has cut down on travel and work in recent months since spending a night in hospital in October and being told to rest by her doctors.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Additional Ohio hospitals are announcing the postponement of elective surgeries as COVID-19 cases continue to fill up hospital beds in the state.

The decisions are in line with the crisis highlighted by Gov. Mike DeWine last week when he ordered more than 1,000 members of the Ohio National Guard into hospitals to help overwhelmed staff.

The Ohio State University medical center and the Columbus-based OhioHealth system both say they’re postponing new elective surgeries as the number of coronavirus cases spike. Ohio State’s policy, covering procedures that require an overnight stay, takes place Jan. 3 but doesn’t affect currently scheduled procedures.

Hospital systems in northeastern Ohio including the Cleveland Clinic announced similar postponements earlier this month. The word “Help” dominated a full-page ad in The Plain Dealer Monday in which six Cleveland-area health systems urged people to receive the vaccine.

State Health Director Bruce Vanderhoff said last week the vast majority of people being hospitalized in Ohio aren’t vaccinated.

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MISSION, Kansas — A Missouri health official says the delta variant still accounts for 98% to 99% of the roughly 600 samples that are sequenced each week.

Over the past seven days, the state confirmed 14,156 new COVID-19 cases.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are on the rise in Missouri. The state’s Department of Health and Senior Services data shows the seven-day average hitting 1,972 on Thursday, up from 1,058 on Nov. 9, but still well below the peak of the summer surge.

Dr. James Stewart, the chief medical officer for North Kansas City Hospital, says the hospital has more than four times as many COVID-19 patients with active infections now as it did on Nov. 1.

Stewart says that if this continues, the hospital will surpass its previous peak.

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HOUSTON, Texas — One Houston hospital system has reported that the omicron variant accounts for 82% of new symptomatic COVID-19 cases it is treating.

Dr. S. Wesley Long, medical director of diagnostic microbiology at Houston Methodist Hospital, said Sunday that the omicron variant is now in Houston “in full force.”

Long said the omicron variant became the “cause of the supermajority” of new Houston Methodist cases in less than three weeks. In comparison, the delta variant took three months during the summer before it was the cause of more than 80% of cases.

Sunday’s numbers were a dramatic increase from figures Long had reported on Friday, when testing had shown that omicron was responsible for 45% of Houston Methodist’s cases.

Earlier this month, Houston officials reported that the omicron variant had been detected in the city’s wastewater and that the variant had been in Houston since at least Nov. 29 based on wastewater sampling.

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LOS ANGELES — The New Year’s Eve party planned for downtown Los Angeles’ Grand Park will not have an in-person audience due to the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in LA County, organizers said.

The “NYELA Countdown to 2022” event will instead be streamed, as it was last year.

Organizers originally planned to have an invite-only audience of LA County frontline workers and first responders.

The program will feature the band Kinky and other musical performances starting at 11 p.m. on Dec. 31.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported more than 3,500 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday as the number of daily new cases tripled over the week.

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Kuwait has mandated that everyone who has been vaccinated against the coronavirus at least nine months ago receive a booster shot.

The Gulf Arab state says that booster shots will become compulsory starting Jan. 2 as the omicron variant courses across the region. Kuwait detected its first omicron case earlier this month.

The tiny sheikhdom has seen cases gradually trend upward this week after hitting record lows of under 50 infections a day. The government also urged all citizens and residents to avoid travel.

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ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland’s governor announced Monday that he has tested positive for the coronavirus, but is feeling fine at the moment.

Gov. Larry Hogan tweeted that he received a positive rapid test Monday morning as part of his regular testing routine. Hogan, a cancer survivor, said he has been vaccinated and has had a booster shot. Over the summer, members of Hogan’s staff tested positive, but Hogan and Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford tested negative.

“As the Omicron variant becomes dominant, I want to urge you to get vaccinated or get your booster shot as soon as possible,” Hogan tweeted.

Hogan said Sunday on “Fox News Sunday” that he is not planning to issue any new lockdown orders despite his concerns about a surge in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations. Hospitalizations in Maryland have risen by about 150% over the past two weeks, he said. The Republican governor said the state is trying to provide more support for hospitals and pushing to get more residents vaccinated amid the fast-spreading omicron variant of the coronavirus.

The state’s health department reported Sunday that 1,345 people were hospitalized, more than twice as many people who were hospitalized a month earlier. But the state has not reported data for coronavirus cases or deaths since early December, when a cyberattack hit its health department.

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BOSTON — Workers and customers at restaurants, gyms and many other indoor businesses in Boston will be required to show proof of coronavirus vaccination starting in mid-January in an effort to curb a rise in new cases across the city and state.

In addition, city employees will be required to get vaccinated, Mayor Michelle Wu said at a City Hall news conference as protesters blowing whistles, shouting “Shame on Wu,” and singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” could clearly be heard in another part of the building.

“There is nothing more American than coming together to ensure that we’re taking care of each other,” the mayor said in response to the protesters.

City workers had previously been required to show proof of vaccination or submit to regular testing, but the testing option is being eliminated, Wu said. Medical and religious exemptions will be considered. About 90% of the city’s roughly 18,000 workers are already vaccinated, she said.

The indoor mask mandate that takes effect Jan. 15 applies to restaurants, gyms, and indoor recreational facilities including theaters and sports venues, as well as some other businesses, she said. Boston has seen a surge in COVID-19 cases this month and things are expected to get worse next month with the spread of the omicron variant, said Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission.

New positive cases have increased nearly 90% compared to two weeks ago, and the city is now averaging 369 new cases per day, she said. Hospitalizations are up 60% from two weeks ago.

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JOHANNESBURG — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has returned to work following a week of isolation after testing positive for COVID-19, his office announced Monday.

Ramaphosa had mild symptoms and was treated at his official residence in Cape Town by South Africa’s military health service as the country battled a wave of the virus dominated by the highly transmissible omicron variant.

“President Ramaphosa repeats his call for everyone in the country to stay safe by being vaccinated, wearing face masks, washing or sanitizing hands frequently, maintaining a social distance and avoiding gatherings,” his office said in a statement.

South Africa’s 7-day rolling average of daily new cases has risen over the past two weeks from 16.9 new cases per 100,000 people on Dec. 5 to 33.8 new cases per 100,000 people on Dec. 19.

Although South Africa’s new confirmed cases of COVID-19 have surged since mid-November, the numbers of those hospitalized and those who have died have not followed the same upward trajectory.

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DENVER — U.S. Rep. Jason Crow says he has tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from an official congressional delegation visit to Ukraine.

In a tweet on Sunday, the Colorado Democrat said he is fully vaccinated and got a booster shot and is experiencing only mild symptoms.

Crow encouraged everyone eligible to get vaccinated and boosted “to help prevent major illness and protect our community.” He also said he would continue to push for affordable access to rapid and reliable testing for all Americans.