France, Turkey and the United Kingdom reported daily COVID records
Infections are on the rise in Europe as France reports a pandemic record of 332,252 cases during the spread of the Omicron variant.
Daily coronavirus infections in the Netherlands soared to a record high of around 24,500 as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has become dominant in the country, official data showed.
Omicron is driving record daily cases of coronavirus from the United States to Australia, adding to pressure on health services.
Australia, once feted for its success in controlling the virus, reported 64,758 new cases on Wednesday most of them in the states of New South Wales and Victoria.
Meanwhile, China is doubling down on its COVID-zero strategy, announcing new city lockdowns in response to only a few cases, and Hong Kong is ordering people who were in some 57 locations visited by close contacts of a person later confirmed with Omicron to undergo compulsory testing.
Italy to make COVID vaccine mandatory for over-50s until June 15: Reuters
The Italian government is set to make coronavirus vaccination mandatory for people aged 50 and above, a draft decree seen by Reuters news agency showed as a cabinet on new curbs was still ongoing.
The obligation will be effective until June 15, the draft decree said.
US cases up 98 percent since last week
COVID-19 cases in the United States are up 98 percent compared to last week, officials said, amid rising concern over the rapid spread of the Omicron variant in the country.
During a regular COVID news briefing Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that the US is currently averaging 491,700 cases per day.
Hospitalisations, currently averaging 14,800 per day, were 63 percent higher than last week. Deaths, at 1,200 per day, were at a 5 percent increase from a week ago.
“Over the last several weeks and over the holidays we have seen a significant and rapid increase in COVID-19 cases,” Walensky said.
The CDC also said that the highly infectious Omicron variant now accounts for 95 percent of coronavirus cases in the US, while only 5 percent are due to the Delta strain.
UK authorities ease testing requirements
Health authorities across Britain simplified COVID-19 testing requirements on, a move designed to cut isolation times for many people and that may ease the staffing shortages that are hitting public services from hospitals to garbage collection amid an omicron-fueled surge in infections.
In another effort to bolster the economy, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the House of Commons that pre-departure tests for people traveling to England will no longer be required because the omicron variant is so prevalent that travel restrictions meant to contain its spread are now meaningless.
With indications that omicron is less severe than earlier variants and widespread vaccination curtailing serious illnesses, the government is sticking with light-touch controls imposed in mid-December.
Turkey logs record daily cases
Turkey recorded 66,467 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, the highest daily figure on record, health ministry data showed.
It also recorded 143 deaths over the coronavirus in the same period, the data showed. Cases in Turkey have more than doubled in just over a week as the Omicron variant became dominant in the country.
