(Reuters) – The Omicron variant of the coronavirus can partially evade the protection from two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, the research head of a laboratory at the Africa Health Research Institute in South Africa said.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
EUROPE
* EU health ministers discussed measures to try to halt the spread of the Omicron variant, with the Netherlands calling for negative tests for incoming travellers from outside the bloc and France urging tests even for those arriving from EU states.
* The Romanian government will ease some restrictions on Wednesday, eliminating a night curfew and an obligation to wear face masks outdoors ahead of winter holidays.
* Authorities on the Caribbean island of Martinique ordered a new curfew, citing the worsening of the epidemic on the French territory.
AMERICAS
* Americans are lining up for booster doses of vaccines at a record pace, with concerns about the newly-detected Omicron variant spurring millions to get shots.
* Brazil will require that unvaccinated travelers entering the country go on a five-day quarantine followed by a COVID-19 test, after its president said he opposed the use of a vaccine passport.
* A federal judge blocked the last of the Biden administration’s vaccine mandates for businesses, saying the government exceeded it authority with a requirement that millions of employees of federal contractors be inoculated.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* South Korea will consider expanding home treatment of COVID-19 patients, as both new daily infections and severe cases hit record highs, putting hospital capacity under strain.
* A nascent recovery in Asia-Pacific international travel demand has been set back by the Omicron variant as governments tighten rules, but airline bosses say they hope any backward moves will be short-lived.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Up to one million COVID-19 vaccines are estimated to have expired in Nigeria last month without being used, two sources told Reuters, one of the biggest single losses of doses that shows the difficulty African nations have getting shots in arms.
* The African Union called for an urgent end to travel restrictions imposed on some of its member states, saying the measures effectively penalize governments for timely data sharing in line with international health regulations.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Preliminary evidence indicates that the Omicron variant likely has a higher degree of transmissibility but is less severe, top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said.
* The head of the European Medicines Agency said it could soon approve the vaccine developed by U.S. biotech company Novavax.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Asian shares extended gains on Wednesday, continuing a global relief rally as markets found positive news in early reports about the potential impact of the Omicron variant, although overnight advances in oil prices began to peter out.[MKTS/GLOB]
* Japan’s economy shrank slightly faster than initially reported in the third quarter, as a sharp rise in local cases hit private consumption and a global chip supply shortage hurt corporate sentiment.
(Compiled by Devika Samnath and Shailesh Kuber; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Sriraj Kalluvila)
