China closes Tibet’s Potala Palace over COVID outbreak, and Novavax stock is slammed by weak earnings and halving of sales guidance – MarketWatch

Chinese authorities have closed Tibet's Potala Palace after a small outbreak of COVID cases in the Himalayan autonomous region, the Associated Press reported Tuesday. The action underscores China's continued adherence to its "zero-COVID" policy, mandating lockdowns, routine testing, quarantines and travel restrictions, even while most other countries have reopened. China says its hardline policy has been successful in preventing large-scale hospitalizations and deaths, while critics, including the World Health Organization, have decried its impact on the economy and society and said it is out of step with the changing nature of the virus and new methods of prevention and treatment….