TOP HEADLINES

· The UK has reported its first death from the Omicron variant, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said. 

Visiting a vaccination clinic in London, he said people should set aside the idea Omicron was a milder variant.

· The tragic news came after Health Secretary Sajid Javid warned Omicron was spreading at a "phenomenal rate" in the UK.

He told Sky News on Monday it now accounted for about 40 percent of infections in London and that people should get a booster jab because the double-vaccinated are still vulnerable.

Javid added: "[It's] something that we've never seen before, it's doubling every two to three days in infections … That means we're facing a tidal wave of infection, we're once again in a race between the vaccine and the virus."

·  A University of Oxford study appears to back up Javid's call for boosters - the research published on Monday showing two-dose vaccine regimens do not induce enough neutralizing antibodies against the Omicron variant. 

The data indicate that increased infections in those previously infected or vaccinated may be likely. The study (yet to be peer-reviewed) analyzed blood samples from participants who were given doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford or Pfizer-BioNTech jab in a large study looking into mixing of vaccines.

· France has opened 400 investigations into networks providing fake COVID-19 health passes, the country's interior minister said.

Gerald Darmanin told RTL radio several thousand false passes have been uncovered in use around the country, including some "connected to health professionals." 

The case of a woman with the virus who died in a Paris regional hospital after showing a false vaccine certificate has drawn attention in French media in recent days. The hospital's intensive care chief said they would have given the woman immediate antibody treatment had they known that she wasn't vaccinated.

· Fourteen police officers were injured during a demonstration against  COVID-19 restrictions in the town of Greiz in central Germany. 

The protest was organized on social media and 1,000 people marched across a bridge on Saturday. Police stopped the effort, but several protesters tried to break through lines of officers, prompting the use of tear gas.

The German dpa news agency said the confrontation was aggressive as firecrackers were set off in the direction of police. Two injured officers were temporarily out of commission from injuries while another was treated in the hospital, authorities said.

· However, Germany's new Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday denied the pandemic has split the nation between the vaccinated and unvaccinated. 

"Germany is not divided!" Scholz said in his first interview as leader, with newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

Scholz said that, while the vast majority of residents have been vaccinated, many others still want to but must first overcome their reservations.

"Having different opinions does not equal division. We are also allowed to argue," he said.

· Mandatory vaccines must be a "last resort," according to Hans Kluge, the WHO's regional director for Europe.

Kluge told CGTN's The Agenda he is convinced the anti-vax movement will not prevent nations from inoculating enough members of the population to contain COVID-19.

But warned: "We have experienced that compulsory vaccinations increase public distrust, increase anti-vax feelings and social exclusion."

· The number of people being hospitalized due to the coronavirus is continuing to decline in Belgium. 

Between December 4 and 10, an average of 282.3 patients suffering from COVID-19 were admitted to hospitals each day – a 10 percent decrease on the previous seven-day period, according to figures published by the Sciensano Public Health Institute.

· Turkey reported its first cases of the Omicron variant at the weekend. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said one of the cases was reported in Turkey's biggest city Istanbul and five cases in the western province of Izmir.

· Police will visit licensed premises to make sure they comply with COVID-19 pass rules, Northern Ireland's justice minister has said.

Naomi Long said police will be "leading enforcement." 

Regulations are now legally enforceable and venues that breach them could face fines of up to 10,000 pounds ($13,257). 

Customers must show either proof of vaccination, a negative test or recent recovery from the coronavirus to enter licensed premises and entertainment venues. Entrance checks were introduced without enforcement on November 29, but the two-week grace period has now ended.  

It comes as 10 cases of the Omicron variant were detected in Northern Ireland.

· London soccer club Tottenham Hotspur has been hit by another COVID-19 outbreak, with one first-team player testing positive and their under-23s team also being hit hard by cases.

Manager Antonio Conte may now have as few as 13 players to work with ahead of the team's scheduled Premier League clash against Leicester on Thursday night. 

This latest blow setback comes after the club's Europa Conference League tie against French side Rennes and its Premier League trip to Brighton were both called off - with eight first-team stars, nine members of staff and a handful of youth players having tested positive.

FROM OUR GLOBAL COLLEAGUES

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CGTN ASIA: Thailand confirms first case of Omicron variant

CGTN AMERICA: New York City to require vaccinations at religious and private schools

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