The Latest Breaking News from Omicron

Spread of Omicron variant of coronavirus introduces fresh note of urgency to top-up vaccination drive

Concerns about new Omicron offshoot in England; France to bring in strict restrictions for unvaccinated people

Omicron variant of coronavirus led to huge spike in cases over New Year but has since subsided, prompting Boris Johnson to drop social restrictions

Taiwan's government ordered a tightening of controls on Saturday after a rare spike in domestic transmission of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, saying it needed to act now to prevent being overwhelmed even though overall numbers remain quite low.

Australia reported 64 deaths from COVID-19 on Saturday, as the most populous state, New South Wales (NSW), said the Omicron COVID-19 variant would not delay the start of the school year.

The airport operator is now looking towards the year ahead and is confident that recovery will continue

Victoria's back-to-school plan to shield students and teachers from the Omicron wave will be unveiled within days, as COVID-19 cases trend downwards.

Since the beginning of this year, the Stock Exchange of Thailand has been trading in sideways-up mode on persistent foreign buying amid a generally upbeat "January effect". Popular blue chips among foreign players, such as Indorama Ventures (IVL) and Bangkok Bank (BBL), have performed rather well and partly offset selling…

The 19.5 million cases reported in the eight weeks since Thanksgiving 2021 is 70% higher than the same eight weeks following Thanksgiving 2020. All but four states have had more cases this winter compared with COVID-19’s first winter wave, which was deadliest period of the pandemic.

The recovery movement around Parramatta after coming out of lockdown last year was swift, but ultimately short-lived. Business owners are feeling the pinch of the Omicron outbreak worse than last year's Delta wave.

US researchers are finding patients with mild COVID-19 are developing long COVID, and they suggest "pushing through" the illness — even if it's mild — could be part of the problem.