One out of five destinations continue to have their borders completely closed as new surges of COVID-19 impact the restart of international tourism. The latest research shows that still 98% of all destinations have some kind of travel restrictions in place.

The World Health Organization has said it is closely monitoring the new coronavirus variant named Mu, adding that the 'variant of concern' has shown signs of possible resistance to vaccines.

Rapid, low-cost, and accurate tests are still required for epidemiological surveillance and healthcare services to monitor and contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Brazilian researchers have contributed to this field's efforts by creating an electrochemical immunosensor that identifies antibodies against the virus.

The innovation is described in an article published in the journal ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering.

A new variant of the Delta strain of the coronavirus has been detected in Norway, which is assumed to be no more infectious than other strains, the NRK broadcaster reported Monday, citing the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH).

The rule of law is never to be played with, and those who go against the laws shall never escape punishment.

The District Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) recently sentenced Joshua Wong Chi-fung, an instigator of the Hong Kong riots, as well as other three persons, four to ten months in jail for participating in an unauthorized assembly.

Families across the globe are increasingly unable to access and afford a diet needed for a healthy life due to loss of income, price increases and disruption in food and health care systems. In many populous low- and middle-income countries, the COVID-19 pandemic and its socio-economic effects are projected to cause a devastating increase in child malnutrition. Tragically, an already difficult situation is likely to get worse without urgent action.

Lung infection and lung injury was the cause for many deaths in the second wave of COVID-19. Doctors everywhere tried their best to find a drug that cured the lung infection. Now, a new preclinical study from researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has shown a ray of hope.

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 is a "dangerous virus" particularly for those who are unvaccinated, World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday.

A further 86 cases of the Omicron COVID variant have been reported in Britain, taking the total to 246, British health authorities confirmed Sunday.

This compares with a total of 160 on Saturday, an increase of more than 50 percent, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

Maria Van Kerkhove, the technical lead of COVID-19 response at WHO's Emergency Diseases Unit, said on Friday that the Omicron strain of coronavirus has been identified in 38 countries, but Delta remains the dominant variant of COVID-19, reported Sputnik.

People infected with the Omicron COVID-19 variant are not permitted to leave South Africa, the country's embassy in Moscow told Sputnik on Tuesday.

"South Africa follows and enforces globally recognised COVID-19 health protocols on travel. No infected individuals are permitted to leave the country," the embassy said.

The overall risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron remains "very high", the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday as the world continues to witness the surge in global COVID-19 cases.

A fledgling recovery in both domestic and international air travel in October faces a new threat amid a spate of new restrictions imposed by governments due to the Omicron coronavirus variant, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Thursday.

The South African doctor who first raised an alarm over Omicron states that the new coronavirus strain has significantly more mutations, as compared to the Delta or Beta variants of COVID-19 which can be easily missed if one is not clinically aware of its symptoms.

Despite the rise in the cases of COVID-19 due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant, nationwide school closures should be avoided whenever possible, said Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)

It's the best season in Wuhan, as the signature cherry blossom trees are in full bloom. Wuhan University, one of the best places in China to enjoy the flowers, set up special cherry blossom open days for the medical workers participating in the COVID-19 prevention and control, inviting medical teams from all over the country to enjoy the cherry blossoms on campus this weekend.

On the first day of the event, more than 3,000 medical personnel and their families from around the country gathered at Wuhan University to appreciate the cherry blossoms.

Another day, another COVID-19 development. A recent study has found that almost a third (32 of every 100) of older adults infected with COVID-19 in 2020 developed at least one new condition that required medical attention in the months after initial infection, 11 more than those who did not have COVID-19.

The study was published in 'The BMJ'.

Nearly 235.98 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered across China as of Tuesday, the National Health Commission said Wednesday.

Noting that over 3.3 million people have lost their lives to COVID-19 this year - more deaths than from HIV, malaria and tuberculosis combined in 2020 -- WHO has said that "2022 must be the year we end the pandemic".

At least 132 countries and territories have administered more than 359 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines so far.

As per the data provided by Our World In Data cited by The New York Times, 359,460,397 doses have been administered and as many as 4.7 persons have been vaccinated per 100 people.
In the US, as many as 135,847,835 doses have been delivered and 109,081,860 doses have been administered.