Omicron drives record cases in Europe, France reports 180,000 cases – WION

As covid-19 cases are now wreaking havoc across the European continent in particular France, Britain, Greece and Portugal have all reported record daily case numbers. France for one has reported a record high of almost 180,000 confirmed covert cases in the last 24-hour period.

China records biggest COVID-19 infection surge in 21 months, Xian emerges as hot spot – WION

China reported its highest daily rise in local COVID-19 cases in 21 months. The country has tightened the restrictions in Xian, which appeared to be the latest hot spot.

China orders 13 million Xi’an residents to stay home over COVID-19 outbreak

The northern Chinese city of Xi’an ordered all 13 million residents to stay home in a strict lockdown on Wednesday (Dec 22), while dramatically tightening travel controls to fight a growing COVID-19 outbreak. With Beijing preparing to host the 2022 Winter Olympics in February, China is on high alert as it fights local outbreaks in several cities.

Netherlands set to announce ‘strict’ lockdown – reports

Government considering closing schools and all non-essential shops, say local media The Dutch government is expected to announce on Saturday a “strict” Christmas lockdown that would see everything but essential stores close amid fears over the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, Dutch media reported. The government is meeting on Saturday with its health experts

COVID surge in Germany: Is a lockdown inevitable? – DW News

As Germany faces record-breaking infection numbers and fears of the omicron variant abound, Angela Merkel’s designated successor Olaf Scholz is calling for a general vaccine mandate. Talking to Germany’s Bild television on Tuesday, the chancellor-in-waiting said he would like to see mandatory vaccinations “not too far away in the future, so I suggest beginning of