TOP HEADLINES 

• Thousands of Czechs demonstrated on Sunday against COVID-19 restrictions, waving flags and chanting slogans in Prague's Wenceslas Square even as infections surge. Protesters mainly objected to harsher restrictions for the unvaccinated, including a ban on eating in restaurants.

Czechia reported 54,689 new cases on Wednesday, its highest daily tally of pandemic. Even so, the government last week scrapped a decree making COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for key professionals and over-60s, to avoid "deepening fissures" in society.

The center-right ruling coalition of Prime Minister Petr Fiala shortened quarantine and isolation times as it braced for the Omicron variant, while launching mandatory testing of employees at companies. 

• Russia reported a record daily number of new COVID-19 cases on Monday, authorities said. New daily cases jumped to 124,070, up from 121,228 a day earlier as the Omicron variant spread across the country. The government coronavirus task force also reported 621 deaths in the last 24 hours.

• UK ministers will meet today to decide whether to scrap mandatory vaccinations for National Healthcare Service (NHS) staff in England.

Under a policy set when the Delta variant was dominant, frontline NHS workers must be fully vaccinated by April 1, which means they would need a first dose by Thursday. Any not vaccinated by April would be redeployed or dismissed – and around 77,000 are currently unjabbed.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said last week that the policy was being "kept under review". 

• U.S. podcaster Joe Rogan has apologized amid a backlash against COVID-19 misinformation in his program, while the Spotify platform will add "content advisory" warnings to episodes with discussions of COVID-19.

In an Instagram video post, prominent vaccine skeptic Rogan said "I will do my best to try to balance out these more controversial viewpoints with other people's perspectives so we can maybe find a better point of view."

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek announced that an advisory will direct listeners to a COVID-19 hub with information from medical and health experts. Singer-songwriters Neil Young and Joni Mitchell have said they will remove their music from Spotify in protest at misinformation.

• Britain's public spending chief had pledged to chase fraudsters who swindled billions of dollars of COVID-19 support money from the state.

"We will now pursue anybody who has taken this money fraudulently," said Chief Secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke. "And I would urge anyone who's taken that money and didn't really need it to make contact with [UK tax service] HMRC. Anyone who thinks that they can escape the long arm of the HMRC is making a great mistake."

• Biathlete Valeria Vasnetsova is one of three Russians to have tested positive for COVID-19 on arrival at the Beijing Winter Olympics. 

"Unfortunately my Olympic dream will remain just a dream," said Vasnetsova. "Maybe one day I will find the strength to rise again but it will be a completely different story."

Over the past four days, 119 cases have been detected among athletes and personnel arriving for the games. International Olympic Committee member Emma Terho is in isolation after testing positive, saying "Even though this is not the start I envisaged, I was happy to see the protocols that Beijing 2022 has put in place are working well."

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