The UK government has reported a record of more than 200,000 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours as the highly transmissible Omicron strain surges through the country.
The 24-hour tally, after chalking up multiple records in the run-up to New Year, hit 218,724 and another 48 deaths were reported in the latest government data.
Hospital admissions have not hit anything like the peaks of previous waves of the pandemic and the number of people requiring ventilation has remained flat so far.
But the state-run National Health Service (NHS) is struggling with staff forced to stay at home after testing positive, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised action to plug staffing gaps in the worst-hit areas.
Transport networks also battled absences, leaving commuters facing long waits on their return to work after a public holiday on Monday, while municipal services such as household bin collections were hampered.
Vaccines minister Maggie Throup said it was unclear how many Britons were currently in self-isolation after a Christmas surge in the highly transmissible virus mutation.
"But what is good news, it doesn't seem to be resulting in severe diseases as some of the other variants did," she told Sky News.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has backed sticking with "Plan B" measures as he hopes to "ride out" the current wave of Omicron cases without lockdown restrictions.
Mr Johnson said anyone who believes the battle against the virus is over is "profoundly wrong" as he confirmed he would advocate to his Cabinet the need to stick with work-from-home guidance, mask-wearing and the use of Covid health passes.
Mr Johnson said now is the time for the "utmost caution" but argued the booster rollout has given substantial protection to the nation.
Speaking during a press conference, he said: "So together with the Plan B measures that we introduced before Christmas we have a chance to ride out this Omicron wave without shutting down our country once again.
"We can keep our schools and our businesses open and we can find a way to live with this virus."
Mr Johnson acknowledged the weeks ahead are going to be "challenging" and said "some services will be disrupted by staff absences" as he pledged to "fortify" the NHS to withstand the pressures and protect supply chains.
Evidence Omicron causes milder symptoms - WHO
More evidence is emerging that the Omicron coronavirus variant is affecting the upper respiratory tract, causing milder symptoms than previous variants, a World Health Organization official has said.
"We are seeing more and more studies pointing out that Omicron is infecting the upper part of the body. Unlike the other ones, that could cause severe pneumonia," WHO Incident Manager Abdi Mahamud told Geneva-based journalists, saying it could be "good news".
However, he added that Omicron's high transmissibility means it will become dominant within weeks in many places, posing a threat in countries where a high portion of the population remains unvaccinated.
His remarks on the reduced risks of severe disease chime with other data including a study from South Africa, which was one of the first countries where Omicron was detected.
However, Mr Mahamud also sounded a note of caution, calling South Africa an "outlier" since it has a young population among other factors.
Asked about whether an Omicron-specific vaccine was needed, Mr Mahamud said it was too early to say but stressed that the decision required global coordination and should not be left to the commercial sector to decide alone.
Sweden sets new daily Covid-19 case record
Sweden has set a new daily record for Covid-19 cases in the country, registering 11,507 cases on 30 December, health agency data showed amid a fourth wave of the virus.
The daily infection figures are typically revised somewhat as any delayed records of additional cases are added to the national total for a given day.
The previous record of 11,376 cases was set in late December 2020.
The fresh wave of Covid-19 cases, in part driven by the Omicron variant, hit Sweden later than its Nordic neighbours, but has in recent weeks resulted in a sharp rise in cases and, increasingly, hospitalisations.
Covid hospitalisations increase in Australia
Australia's Covid-19 cases touched a fresh pandemic high amid an Omicron surge in its two most populous states as hospitalisations in New South Wales state, home to Sydney, surpassed the record numbers hit during the Delta outbreak.
People admitted in New South Wales hospitals rose to 1,344, a new pandemic peak, topping the 1,266 reached last September during the Delta wave.
Numbers have more than doubled in a week, straining the health system.
A record 47,799 infections have been reported in Australia so far today, eclipsing its previous high of 37,212 a day earlier. Four new deaths were registered.
Despite the record spike in infections fuelled by the Omicron strain, dual-dose vaccination levels of nearly 92% in people above 16 have helped Australia to keep the death rate lower than the previous virus outbreaks.
Authorities do not specify the coronavirus variant that caused the deaths, although New South Wales officials said 74% of patients in the state's intensive care units since 16 December were infected with the Delta variant.
Australia is also battling a shortage of rapid antigen test, delays with PCR results and the abrupt closures of a number of testing sites, with pathology laboratories swamped by a backlog of tests.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison ruled out the government covering the cost for people to test themselves for Covid-19.
"The problem at the moment is that the lack of (rapid antigen tests) is completely hampering personal responsibility and it is a frustration that is a glaring hole in the current management of Covid," Chris Moy, vice president of the Australian Medical Association, told ABC Radio.
Australia's competition regulator said it would set up a team to look into complaints about allegations of price gouging for the at-home rapid antigen tests.
The record spike in infections and hospitalisations have come as 2 million more Australians became eligible for their Covid-19 booster shots after authorities shortened the wait time between second and third shots to four months.
Just over 2.5 million Australians have so far received their booster shot, which health officials are betting may prevent more hospitalisations and deaths.
Australia has crossed half a million coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, with nearly 50% reported in the last two weeks.
Still, the country's 547,160 cases and 2,270 deaths are lower than numbers seen in many comparable countries.
China's Xi'an vows strict implementation of Covid curbs even as cases decline
Xi'an, a Chinese city almost two weeks into a lockdown, is demanding officials "strictly and properly" implement Covid-19 curbs, as new local cases among its 13 million residents have started to grow at a slower pace.
Xi'an, which on 23 December imposed strict curbs on travel within the city and leaving town, reported 95 domestically transmitted cases with confirmed clinical symptoms for yesterday.
It also marked the second consecutive day for which Xi'an reported less than 100 local cases since 24 Deember.
The latest infections brings the tally of local cases to over 1,700 since 9 December in Xi'an's latest outbreak.
Many people have been banned from leaving their residential compounds unless for urgent matters approved by their community-based authority. All residents need to have proof of a negative test result checked by community staffers before they can seek medical services at hospitals.
The restrictions have also curtailed access to daily necessities, with many people unable to go out to shop, leaving them dependent on deliveries.
Xi'an's case count is tiny compared to many outbreaks elsewhere in the world. But Beijing is keen to keep a lid on outbreaks ahead of the Winter Olympics in February, and the Communist Party's once-every-five-years congress expected later in the year.
Aside from the 95 cases in Xi'an, Zhejiang province and Henan province also reported a handful of local symptomatic infections for yesterday.
There were no new fatalities, leaving the death toll unchanged at 4,636.
Mainland China had 102,841 confirmed symptomatic cases as of yesterday, including both local and imported ones.
Weekend curfew for New Delhi as Omicron cases rise
India's capital Delhi will impose a weekend curfew to try and curb the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus as cases have risen in the past few days, its Deputy Chief Minister told a news conference.
He also said most offices would have to make half their employees work from home.
It comes as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he had tested positive for Covid-19, a day after speaking at an election rally.
Mr Kejriwal, the most senior elected official in the territory of Delhi, was one of the 37,379 new Covid-19 cases reported in India in the past 24 hours.
The daily case load was the highest since early September as the Omicron coronavirus variant starts to overtake Delta in places like the capital, though authorities say hospitalisations have not spiked yet.
Mr Kejriwal, who addressed the rally in the state of Uttarakhand, said in a Twitter post he had isolated at home with mild symptoms and urged those who came in touch with him in recent days to do similar and be tested for Covid-19.
Mega-rallies early last year helped Delta wreak havoc in the country, and several states head to elections again in a few months, worrying health experts and the public alike. Local media have reported that even a court in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populous, has urged authorities to consider delaying the election there.
Delhi reported more than 4,000 new infections late last night, with over 6% of all tests positive.
Federal government guidance has been for local authorities to impose movement curbs as necessary when the rate breaches 5%.
India's overall positive case rate has nearly tripled since early November to 3.24% today, and some cities have already closed schools and colleges.
The country has so far confirmed 1,892 Omicron cases, the most being in Mumbai's home state of Maharashtra, followed by Delhi, according to the federal home ministry.
The country's death toll rose by 124 to reach a total of 482,017. Total infections stand at 34.96 million.
Brazil cruises suspended over Covid outbreaks
Brazil's cruise association has suspended trips until 21 January after Covid-19 outbreaks on three ships.
The pause is to "resolve differences" with authorities over "interpretations and applications of operational health and safety protocols," Cruise Lines International Association Brazil (CLIA Brazil) said in a press release.
Cruise ships currently on voyages will end their tours, the association said.
Infections on three cruise ships sailing off the country's coast on New Year's Eve alerted federal health regulator Anvisa, which recommended the suspension.
After a pandemic-induced ban, Brazil allowed cruise ships to set sail again in November under strict health protocols.
But Covid case numbers are spiking in the country, where community transmission of the Omicron variant has been detected.
