(Reuters) – Indonesia and New Zealand reported their first cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, while South Korea said it will reinstate stricter social distancing rules a month-and-a-half after easing them.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
ASIA-PACIFIC
* New Zealand’s health regulator has granted provisional approval for the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years old.
* Japan officially approved Moderna’s vaccine for its booster shot programme that began this month, while Takeda Pharmaceutical has submitted an approval request for Novavax’s vaccine to the country’s health ministry.
* Thousands marched in New Zealand’s capital Wellington to protest against vaccine mandates and lockdowns, as the country reached the 90% fully vaccinated milestone.
* Australian state leaders must not “panic and overreact” to predicted outbreaks of the Omicron variant, Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said, as some states ease curbs despite rising cases.
EUROPE
* England’s chief medical officer warned people not to mix with others unless they have to in the run-up to Christmas after Britain recorded its most daily cases since the start of the pandemic.
* French President Emmanuel Macron said it was possible the COVID-19 vaccine would eventually be made compulsory in France, but said it was not the priority for now.
AMERICAS
* Canada’s government implored residents not to leave the country as provinces ramp up vaccinations to combat the fast-spreading Omicron variant.
* Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and National Bank of Canada have asked employees to work remotely as Omicron worries grow
* Apple is delaying its return to office plans indefinitely, Bloomberg News reported, while the company said it has temporarily closed three stores in the United States and Canada.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* South Africa reported record daily infections in a fourth wave believed to be caused by the Omicron variant, while Rwanda and Kenya confirmed their first cases of the variant.
* Moderna will start a trial of its COVID-19 vaccine across eight African countries to determine its efficacy in people who are HIV positive, Bloomberg News reported.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Booster doses of currently available vaccines work against Omicron and there appears to be no need for variant-specific boosters, top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said.
* A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel will meet on Thursday to consider possible limits on the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because of continued blood clot issues, the Washington Post reported.
* A structural model of how the Omicron variant attaches to cells and antibodies sheds light on its behaviour and will help in designing neutralizing antibodies, according to researchers.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Asian stocks followed Wall Street higher on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would end bond-buying stimulus in March to set up three interest rate increases next year to tackle heated inflation. [MKTS/GLOB]
* Australian employment blew past all expectations in November as lockdowns were lifted, driving the unemployment rate sharply lower in a major boost to the economic outlook.
(Compiled by Devika Syamnath and Ramakrishnan M.; Edited by Shounak Dasgupta and Sriraj Kalluvila)
