With the proper precautions, your Christmas celebrations with friends and family this weekend should be a little closer to normal compared to last year. More than 109 million people plan on traveling more than 50 miles this Christmas, which is 34 percent more than last year. In addition to getting vaccinated, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services is encouraging residents to celebrate the holidays with small groups, get tested before meeting with others, and stay at home if they have symptoms. Door County Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jim Heise said last month that you should celebrate the holidays, but you need to measure the risk when doing so.

The fight against the pandemic got another boost on Wednesday when the Food and Drug Administration issued its emergency authorization of a COVID-19 antiviral pill. The pill could help reduce deaths and hospitalizations for the coronavirus, which have begun to tick up in recent weeks.