TOP HEADLINES

· The Omicron variant is causing more reinfections in South Africa than previous strains, according to Anne von Gottberg, joint-head of the Centre for Respiratory Diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) is sending a surge team to Johannesburg to help monitor the spread and although daily cases of the new variant have passed 8,000, hospitalizations are not increasing at the same rate. 

· France has confirmed the first case of the Omicron variant, after a man in his 50s who had recently returned from Nigeria tested positive and health officials in Finland also reported a positive test for the new variant.

· The UK regulator has approved a GlaxoSmithKline drug to treat those with mild or medium symptoms who are at risk of developing severe disease. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said a single dose of sotrovimab "was found to be safe and effective at reducing the risk of hospitalization by 79 percent in high-risk adults." Based on the clinical trial data, sotrovimab is most effective when taken during the early stages of infection and so the MHRA recommends taking it within five days of the onset of symptoms.

· Outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her successor Olaf Scholz have approved new lockdown measures for unvaccinated members of the public. The move bars people from restaurants, pubs, cinemas, gyms, cultural events and non-essential shops if they have not been jabbed or recovered from COVID-19.

· The UK government has announced a deal to "future-proof" its vaccination plans with a combined order of 114 million additional doses, from pharmaceutical giants Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. The orders of 60 million doses of the Moderna vaccine and 54 million shots from Pfizer-BioNTech come as the country expands its booster program to give third doses to all adults in the next two months. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said in a statement: "This is a national mission and our best weapon to deal with this virus and its variants is to get jabs in arms."

· The Netherlands government has been told all passengers traveling from outside the European Union should be tested before departure, regardless of their vaccine status, after health officials confirmed 90 percent of the 61 passengers who tested positive on flights from South Africa last week were fully vaccinated.

Under rules in place at the time, more than 600 passengers were able to board the KLM flights with either proof of vaccination or recent negative COVID-19 test results but Jaap van Dissel, the head of infectious diseases at the Dutch Institute for Health, told parliament a combination of pre-departure tests and retesting five days after arrival would "make flights safer."

· More than half of the passengers quarantined at a hotel in the Netherlands can leave, Dutch health officials have confirmed. But those with the Omicron variant will continue to isolate. Of the 61 passengers who arrived the KLM flights and initially tested positive, 14 had Omicron. Some of the other passengers have now produced negative samples in follow-up tests and a spokesperson for the Public Health Services said: "They are free to continue with their journey."

· The WHO has warned of a "toxic mix" of inadequate global testing and vaccination rates, which Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said was "a recipe for breeding and amplifying variants."

"We need to use the tools we already have to prevent transmission and save lives from Delta," Ghebreyesus urged. "And if we do that, we will also prevent transmission and save lives from Omicron."

· Oil prices continue to tumble amid global fears the Omicron variant will lead to reduction in demand as countries go into lockdown and international travel is restricted. Despite that, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has agreed to go ahead with its planned January oil output rise of 400,000 barrels per day, according to two OPEC sources on Thursday. The $86 a barrel price achieved in October was slashed to $70 and producers had said they did not want to hamper a fragile energy industry recovery with oversupply. 

FROM OUR GLOBAL COLLEAGUES

CGTN Europe: UK approves new COVID-19 drug

CGTN China: China speeds up R&D of vaccines against Omicron

CGTN America: Renewed focus on international supply of vaccines

CGTN Africa: France to lift ban on southern Africa flights