COVID-19 pandemic in Botswana

Hospitalizations in Turkey due to COVID-19 is in decline, the country's health minister has said, however, renewing calls on the public to get a booster shot against the virus.

"Following a noticeable drop, the number of daily cases remain at a certain level," Fahrettin Koca wrote on Twitter.

The number of new cases of coronavirus worldwide has fallen by 21 percent in the last week, the third consecutive decline in COVID-19 infections, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its weekly report, quoted by the Associated Press.

The pandemic situation in Turkey appears to have stabilized, an expert has said, however, warning that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 still poses risks, particularly to the unvaccinated.

The recent increase in coronavirus cases Turkey has witnessed is due to this strain, said Afşin Kayıpmaz from the Health Ministry's Science Board.

Japan's economy rebounded to grow 1.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in the three months to December, driven by higher demand after emergency virus restrictions were lifted, data showed yesterday.

Italy has lifted some of the strictest restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of Omicron. Outdoor masks are no longer required. The nightclubs also opened last night.

People on the streets of Rome did not hide their relief after the requirement to wear masks, even outdoors, was dropped.

The South African doctor, who first discovered the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, said she had been pressured by European governments "not to state publicly that it is a mild disease".

The less severe Omicron variant has cushioned severe cases and deaths

Tiodorovic stated that new rules are not needed at the moment.
As Tiodorovi said for today's edition of "Blic", no changes in the measures are possible now, because too little time has passed since the omicron strain appeared in Serbia, which is why there is no clear study and complete insight into the situation.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Wednesday that laws requiring people in England with COVID-19 to self-isolate could be lifted by the end of the month, bringing an end to all domestic coronavirus restrictions.

"It is a subvariant of the omicron strain, mutations in the spike protein that allow it to attach to cells. It has one and a half times more potential for transmittion than the omicron... It has been discovered in about 60 countries, but it is not yet a strain of special importance.