(Reuters) – The state of Western Australia has cancelled plans to reopen its borders on Feb. 5 citing health risks from a surge in Omicron cases elsewhere in the country, as the tally of coronavirus cases in Australia since the pandemic began topped 2 million.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
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EUROPE
* France will ease work-from-home rules from early February and allow nightclubs to reopen two weeks later as the general COVID-19 situation in the country is starting to improve, Prime Minister Jean Castex said.
* Austria’s lower house of parliament passed a bill making COVID-19 vaccinations compulsory for adults as of Feb. 1, bringing the country closer to introducing the first such sweeping vaccine mandate in the European Union.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* China reported the lowest daily tally of local confirmed cases in nearly two months, after a national strategy to quickly curb flare-ups forced worst-hit cities to lock down affected communities and cut business activity.
* The Beijing Winter Olympics torch relay will be cordoned off from the public because of concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, organisers said on Friday.
* Pfizer said it received special approval in Japan for its COVID-19 vaccine to be given to children aged 5-11.
AMERICAS
* The Biden administration is giving U.S. colleges and universities another $198 million to help them curb COVID-19 and address student needs such as housing and food amid the ongoing pandemic, the U.S. Department of Education said.
* The premier of Canada’s Alberta province called on the federal government to pause a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers that companies say will disrupt the supply chain and fuel inflation.
AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST
* Israel will ditch mandatory quarantine for children exposed to COVID-19 carriers, the government said, citing a need to relieve parents and schools as case numbers spiral due to the fast-spreading Omicron variant.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Omicron is not likely to help countries achieve so-called herd immunity against COVID-19, in which enough people become immune to the virus that it can no longer spread, leading disease experts say.
* Brazilian health regulator Anvisa has approved the emergency use of Sinovac Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine Coronavac on those without underlying health risks aged 6 to 17.
* A small preliminary laboratory study has shown that levels of Omicron-neutralising antibodies of people vaccinated with Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine did not decline as much as of those who had Pfizer shots.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Asian share markets tumbled, tracking losses on Wall Street, as lingering concerns over the Federal Reserve’s tightening and weaker-than-expected economic and earnings data weighed on sentiment. [MKTS/GLOB]
* Brazil’s central bank chief Roberto Campos Neto said the Omicron variant has not yet had a major impact on the country’s economy and was not expected to because the government has not placed restrictions on mobility.
(Compiled by Uttaresh.V, Juliette Portala, Marta Frackowiak and Vinay Dwivedi; Edited by Sriraj Kalluvila and Shounak Dasgupta)
