EU health ministers met on Tuesday as national governments step up measures to try to curb the Omicron Covid-19 variant spreading across Europe as winter closes in.

The WHO on Friday cautioned against imposing travel restrictions due to the B.1.1.529 Covid-19 variant, saying it would take weeks to understand the implications of the newly discovered strain.

Asian and European countries rushed to tighten restrictions on Friday after a new and possibly vaccine-resistant coronavirus variant was detected in South Africa, with Singapore and India announcing stricter border controls and more rigorous testing.

When Diego started going out again to meet friends he never expected to be among a growing number of young Mexicans hospitalized by a highly contagious Covid-19 variant driving another wave of infections.

Japanese health authorities are concerned that variants of the coronavirus are driving a nascent fourth wave in the pandemic with just 109 days remaining until the Tokyo Olympics.