Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

China's local symptomatic COVID-19 cases crept up again, with most new infections reported in Xian city as it entered a fifth day of a lockdown, while Australian authorities refrained from imposing new curbs despite the country's first omicron death.

>>Reuters
Published : 27 Dec 2021, 06:23 AM
Updated : 27 Dec 2021, 06:23 AM

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

EUROPE

* Britain reported another day of record cases on Friday, with new estimates showing swathes of London's population are carrying the virus.

* France broke the 100,000 cases threshold for the first time since the pandemic began as the omicron variant continued its rapid spread, while Italy reported a third successive record tally of cases on Saturday.

* Ireland on Friday reported its highest number of daily cases since the pandemic began but those requiring critical care fell further amid a rapid roll-out of booster vaccines.

AMERICAS

* US airlines cancelled more than 1,300 flights on Sunday as COVID-19 thinned out the number of available crews, while several cruise ships had to cancel stops after outbreaks on board, upending the plans of thousands of Christmas travellers.

* The Dominican Republic has identified its first case of the omicron variant.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* India will start administering booster shots as a precautionary measure to healthcare and frontline workers from Jan 10, as omicron cases rose across the country.

* Japan's Kyoto and Fukuoka prefectures detected new infections involving the omicron variant, including cases of possible community transmission, a government representative and local media said.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Iran has banned the entry of travellers from Britain, France, Denmark and Norway for 15 days.

* Omani authorities require foreign travellers aged 18 or older to have received at least two vaccine doses to enter the sultanate, the state news agency reported.

* The Palestinian health ministry said it had identified the first case of omicron in the Gaza Strip.

* A major Israeli hospital will begin administering a fourth vaccine shot to 150 staff on Monday in a trial aimed at gauging whether a second booster is necessary nationwide.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin has gained approval for emergency use in children aged 12 to 18, the Indian company said on Twitter.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Asian stock markets were generally weaker with US crude in holiday-thinned trading on Monday, as uncertainty over the economic impact of the omicron variant weighed on investor sentiment.

* Japan's retail sales rose faster than expected in November, thanks to decreasing COVID-19 cases in the month, which have encouraged shoppers to ramp up spending on goods and services.