SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

"We are already in a new wave of COVID-19", confirmed on Nova TV the chief state health inspector Dr. Angel Kunchev.

"We are moving 3-4 weeks after what is happening in Western Europe. In the next two to three weeks, we are expected to face an increase in the new wave," he said.

Τhe increase of cases but mainly for the increase in the number of patients hospitalized due to coronavirus has caused great concern, especially in view of the summer period, as there will be even greater relaxation of the measures.

Ljubljana – Slovenia logged 466 coronavirus infections on Wednesday in what is a 41% week-on-week rise. Covid cases have been steadily rising in the country for nearly two weeks as the BA.5 Omicron subvariant has been spreading. Hospitalisations remain stable for now, and no new Covid-related deaths were reported.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and other top officials discussed revising stringent anti-epidemic restrictions during a meeting Sunday, state media reported, as they maintained a widely disputed claim that the country's first COVID-19 outbreak is slowing.

China's strict zero-COVID policy has led to a plunge in confidence among European companies operating in the country as supply chains are tangled, revenue projections fall and staff leave, according to a business group survey.

Hong Kong on Thursday reopened beaches and pools in relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions, while China's capital Beijing began easing quarantine rules for arrivals from overseas.

U.S. airlines say they have hit a turning point: After a lousy first quarter, they expect to be profitable as Americans return to travel in the biggest numbers since the start of the pandemic.

China said Monday that just three people have died from Covid-19 in Shanghai since a gruelling lockdown began last month, despite recording hundreds of thousands of cases of the fast-spreading Omicron variant in the eastern megacity.

Deaths from the coronavirus continue to decline, while the number of COVID-19 cases shows a downward trend in Turkey, according to the data from the Health Ministry.

The ministry reported less than 20 deaths on April 18 and 19, the lowest fatalities recorded in months.

The coronavirus pandemic is not totally over, but risks of infections and deaths have reduced, a prominent Turkish physician said on April 12.

"The pandemic is not over yet. But we are at the end of the tunnel," said Tevfik Özlü, a professor from the Health Ministry's Coronavirus Science Board.