 | | | | Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE's COVID-19 vaccine caused mostly mild side effects in children aged 5 to 11 years, according to data published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday. | | | | | | Ireland on Thursday became the latest country to cut the isolation period for some people who contract COVID-19 and relax requirements for tests as a record number of cases for the fourth time in a week overwhelmed testing facilities. | | | | | | Ontario will from Friday shorten the isolation period for vaccinated individuals with COVID-19 to five days from the onset of symptoms, the Canadian province's chief medical officer said on Thursday. | | | | | | The United Kingdom recorded 189,213 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, a daily record, and 332 deaths, government data showed. | | | | | | France reported 206,243 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period on Thursday, rising above 200,000 for the second day running as the Omicron variant takes hold. | | | | | | U.S. health experts on Thursday urged Americans to prepare for severe disruptions in coming weeks as the rising wave of COVID-19 cases led by the Omicron variant threatened hospitals, schools and other sectors impacting their daily lives. | | | | | | Coronavirus deaths in Eastern Europe topped 1 million on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally, as the Omicron variant threatened to batter the region. | | | | | | Germany will on Jan. 4 drop its demand for travellers from Britain to quarantine and provide a negative COVID-19 test, requirements that were imposed earlier in December during a surge of the Omicron coronavirus variant. | | | | | | South Africa has lifted a midnight to 4 a.m. curfew on people's movement with immediate effect, believing the country has passed the peak of its fourth COVID-19 wave driven by the Omicron variant, a government statement said on Thursday. | | | | | | France reported 206,243 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period on Thursday, rising above 200,000 for the second day running as the Omicron variant takes hold. | | | | | |
