(Reuters) – Australia will begin administering COVID-19 vaccines for children aged 5 to 11 from Jan. 10, while U.S. regulators expanded eligibility for booster shots to 16- and 17-year-olds amid rising concerns about the new Omicron variant.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
EUROPE
* European Union countries are expected to agree to limit to nine months the duration of COVID-19 certificates for travel around the bloc, three EU sources told Reuters.
* Britain’s finance firms have began issuing an array of updated work from home guidance to staff after the government toughened up rules.
AMERICAS
* Dozens of U.S. Navy medics have deployed to New Mexico to treat a Delta variant-fueled surge in patients as part of a military operation to treat virus hotspots across Western and Midwest states.
* A spate of cases at Jefferies Financial Group Inc was not caused by a specific incident, the Wall Street investment bank said, and its decision to reinstate home working was erring on the side of caution.
* As the pandemic raged, Canadian government inspectors frequently deemed the employers of migrant workers compliant with health and safety rules despite a lack of evidence, according to an Auditor General report.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Singapore has detected its first locally transmitted case of the Omicron variant in a member of staff at the city state’s airport, authorities said, warning that more Omicron cases are likely to be detected.
* The Philippines will ban entry by people who have recently travelled to Portugal.
* China’s domestic air traffic, once the world’s envy after a fast rebound during the pandemic, is faltering due to a zero-COVID policy that has led to tighter travel rules in Beijing and weaker consumer confidence after repeated small outbreaks.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Early hospital data from South Africa shows less than a third of patients admitted for COVID-19 during the latest wave linked to the Omicron variant are suffering severe illness, compared with two-thirds in the early stages of the last two waves.
* Malta will return to mandatory mask-wearing in outdoor and indoor spaces as from Saturday, Health Minister Chris Fearne said.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Germany’s vaccination advisory commission recommended the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is given to children aged five to 11 with pre-existing conditions.
* The European Union’s drugs regulator said it could make sense to administer vaccine boosters as early as three months after the initial two-shot regimen.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Asian shares slipped and the dollar held firm on Friday as traders edged away from riskier assets amid renewed concerns about COVID-19 and ahead of key U.S. inflation data that could set direction on Federal Reserve rates.[MKTS/GLOB]
* Japan’s business mood improved in the three months to December and exports continued to benefit from robust global demand in November, a Reuters poll showed, offering policymakers hope the economy is gradually emerging from its pandemic-induced slump.
(Compiled by Devika Syamnath and Shailesh Kuber; Edited by Shounak Dasgupta and Sriraj Kalluvila)
