Minute by minute: the progress of the omicron variant and the coronavirus pandemic in the world

Two of America's largest retail pharmacies temporarily closed some stores and pharmacies over the weekend as the latest surge in Covid-19 causes staffing shortages.

Walgreens says that, like many industries, this latest increase in the omicron variant is putting significant strain on its business in the near term and driving demand like "nothing seen before."

In a statement to CNN on Friday, Walgreens spokeswoman Kris Lathan said, "While the vast majority of our stores are open and operating normal hours, the ongoing labor shortage combined with increased Covid-19 cases has led to isolated instances where we have had to adjust operating hours or temporarily close a limited number of stores."

In making the decision to adjust store hours, Lathan said the company does everything it can to minimize disruption to customers by selecting days with "the least demand for prescriptions." Lathan added that when Walgreens temporarily closes a store, he directs some pharmacy services to the closest open Walgreens.

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CVS said Friday that the vast majority of its stores are operating normal weekend hours, according to Mike DeAngelis, Executive Director of Corporate Communications for CVS. But DeAngelis noted that "a small fraction of stores are temporarily closed on one or both days of the weekend to help address acute staffing issues amid the omicron surge and labor shortages affecting nearly all industries and companies.

DeAngelis added that "the adjusted hours of operation at these stores are temporary."

Pharmacy closings due to staffing pressures are occurring steadily across the country, according to Mitchel Rothholz, Chief of Staff for the American Pharmacists Association.

"It's an issue throughout the health system, not just the pharmacy," Rothholz told CNN last month, "but our members are dealing with this constantly now, due to increased demand for testing as well as covid vaccines, people who are wanting to get the boosters or even get their first doses."