(Reuters) – China detected 91 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases with confirmed symptoms for Tuesday, marking the highest daily count since Nov. 2 and a significant jump from 21 cases a day earlier, as the country fights a fresh outbreak in the north.
EUROPE
* The EU drug regulator said it could approve vaccines adapted to target the Omicron variant of the coronavirus within three to four months if needed, but that existing shots would continue to provide protection.
* British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said a new COVID-19 lockdown was unlikely despite worries about the new Omicron coronavirus variant, after eight new cases were identified in England, taking the total number to 13.
* France has registered 47,177 new confirmed COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, health ministry data showed, the highest one-day tally since early April at the height of the third wave of the pandemic.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* The World Health Organization warned countries not to impose blanket travel bans over the new Omicron variant as governments and scientists try to determine how much protection current vaccines would offer against the strain.
* The Omicron coronavirus variant detected in southern Africa could be the most likely candidate to displace the highly contagious Delta variant, the director of South Africa’s communicable disease institute said.
AMERICAS
* The Biden administration extended the comment period on its sweeping workplace COVID-19 vaccine rule by 45 days as it seeks feedback from various stakeholders including private employers on whether a recently issued emergency temporary standard should become a permanent rule.
* Air travellers to the United States will face tougher COVID-19 testing rules as several countries moved to seal-off their borders amid growing uncertainty around the virulence of the Omicron variant and its ability to dodge existing vaccines.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Australian authorities on Wednesday flagged another probable case of the Omicron variant in Sydney as they braced for more infections after at least two international travellers visited several locations in the city while likely infectious.
* Japan said it would expand its travel ban on foreigners entering the nation, preventing those with resident status from 10 African nations including South Africa from entering the country “for the time being.”
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENT
* A panel of expert advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday narrowly voted to recommend the agency authorize Merck & Co’s antiviral pill to treat COVID-19.
* BioNTech and Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine will likely offer strong protection against any severe disease from the new Omicron virus variant, BioNTech’s Chief Executive told Reuters, as the firm weighs the need to upgrade its commonly used shot.
* Pfizer Inc’s Chief Executive Albert Bourla said on Tuesday the company has submitted a request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seeking the authorization for its COVID-19 booster doses for use in 16- and 17-year olds.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Asian stocks rose from a one-year low on Wednesday as U.S. share futures and oil recovered from the previous day’s selloff, but uncertainty over the impact of the Omicron variant kept investors on edge. [MKTS/GLOB]
* Japanese companies raised spending on plant and equipment for the second straight quarter in July-September, but the pace of gains slowed as global supply shortages due to a resurgent coronavirus pandemic hit corporate activity.
(Compiled by Rashmi Aich and Krishna Chandra Eluri; Editing by Anil D’Silva and)
