 | | | | Pfizer Inc Chief Executive Albert Bourla said on Saturday that an annual COVID-19 vaccine would be preferable to more frequent booster shots in fighting the coronavirus pandemic. | | | | | | Italy reported 171,263 COVID-19 related cases on Saturday, against 179,106 the day before, the health ministry said, while the number of one-day deaths fell to 333 from 373. | | | | | | Britain reported 76,807 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, continuing a recent downturn in the number of infections, and 297 more deaths within 28 days of a positive test, official data showed. | | | | | | Australia reported 64 deaths from COVID-19 on Saturday, as the most populous state, New South Wales (NSW), said the Omicron COVID-19 variant would not delay the start of the school year. | | | | | | France's Constitutional Council on Friday approved - with conditions - the country's new COVID-19 vaccine pass, which will require people aged 16 and above to show proof of vaccination to enter public places like bars, restaurants and cinemas. | | | | | | Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Saturday warned that COVID-19 infections could be growing exponentially in a congested residential area of the city and that overall cases had also spread due to an outbreak in pet hamsters. | | | | | | Poland reported a record 40,876 new daily COVID-19 infections on Saturday, the health ministry said, as the Omicron variant takes hold across the country. | | | | | | Tokyo recorded its fourth record number of daily COVID-19 infections on Saturday, breaking above 10,000, while Japan's exceeded 50,000 for the first time as the Omicron variant continues to spread rapidly. | | | | | | Taiwan's government ordered a tightening of controls on Saturday after a rare spike in domestic transmission of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, saying it needed to act now to prevent being overwhelmed even though overall numbers remain quite low. | | | | | | Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador underwent a cardiac catheterization in hospital on Friday and was found to be in good health, the interior ministry said in a statement. | | | | | |
