Covid live: WHO calls Omicron variant of concern; New York declares ‘disaster emergency’

The latest Covid figures from Germany are in, with an expected rise in both cases and deaths.

The European nation reported an additional 67,125 Covid cases and 303 deaths, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute.

This takes the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases to 5,717,295 and total reported deaths to 100,779.

South Korea’s new Covid cases rose above 4,000 with the numbers of deaths and critically ill patients hitting fresh record highs on Saturday, Yonhap news agency reports.

The country reported 4,068 new Covid-19 cases, including 4,045 local infections, raising the total caseload to 436,968, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

The number was up 167 from 3,901 on Friday but down from 4,115 on Wednesday, which was the highest since the first case was reported in the country in January 2020.

Critically ill patients hit an all-time high of 634, up 17 from the previous day.

The country added 52 more deaths from Covid-19, bringing the death toll to 3,492. The fatality rate stood at 0.8%.

The government said it will announce toughened antivirus measures to contain the spread of the virus on Monday.

No cases of the new Covid-19 Omicron variant detected in South Africa have been identified in the United States to date, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday.

“We expect Omicron to be identified quickly, if it emerges in the US,” CDC said in a statement, Reuters reports.

Shanghai today announced the latest three people to be identified with Covid were all infected by Delta mutant strains in the same transmission chain.

Authorities believe the flare-up was caused by exposure to the infected environment by imported cases in other province.

The outbreak led to the decision to cancel hundreds of flights on Friday while some schools were shuttered and tour groups suspended as China continues its strict zero-Covid policy.

India will resume scheduled international flights from 15 December with a limited service to 14 nations, the Civil Aviation Ministry said.

“Resumption of scheduled commercial international passenger services, to and from India, has been examined in consultation with Ministry of Home Affairs, External Affairs and Health, and it has been decided… may be resumed from December 15,” the ministry said on Friday evening.

The Aviation Ministry said 14 countries designated by the Health Ministry as ‘at risk’, and with whom there is an existing ‘air bubble’ agreement, would be allowed to resume 75% of pre-Covid operations (or a minimum of seven flights per week).

These 14 countries are: the United Kingdom, Singapore, China, Brazil, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, and New Zealand. The list also includes South Africa, Botswana, Israel and Hong Kong – countries that have confirmed cases of the new B.1.1.529 variant of the coronavirus.

Here is a quick visual refresh of where Europe stands in its fight against the coronavirus.

This updated map indicates incidence rates across the continent.