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Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus
* Norway will scrap nearly all its remaining COVID-19 lockdown measures as high levels of coronavirus infections are unlikely to jeopardise health services, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said.
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This file photo taken on November 20, 2021 shows South Korean tourists receiving flower garlands at Phu Quoc international airport, as the Vietnamese island welcomed its first international tourists following a Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine passport scheme. Vietnam will lift coronavirus restrictions on international passenger flights from February 15, 2022, the country's aviation authority said in a statement. (AFP/Nhac Nguyen)
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ong Kong is being overwhelmed by the "onslaught" of COVID-19 infections, its leader said, although deaths in the Chinese-controlled global financial hub remain far less than similar-sized cities since the pandemic erupted two years ago.
Europe
* Norway will scrap nearly all its remaining COVID-19 lockdown measures as high levels of coronavirus infections are unlikely to jeopardise health services, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said.
Americas
* Canada is reviewing its pandemic-related border restrictions and will likely announce changes next week, as the worst of a Omicron variant-driven wave appears to have passed, the health minister said on Friday.
* Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Morgan Stanley said they are dropping the requirement for staff to wear masks in the office.
Asia-Pacific
* South Korea will begin administering a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose by the end of February and supply millions of additional home test kits to ease shortages amid a surge in Omicron infections, authorities confirmed.
* New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she felt demonstrations against a COVID-19 vaccine mandate now entering their second week were an "imported" phenomenon, and nothing like anything she had seen before in the country.
* Cook Islands, a small South Pacific nation that has not experienced COVID-19 in its community, is readying for its first coronavirus infections after an infected traveller visited, Prime Minister Mark Brown said.
* The Japanese unit of Merck & Co Inc said it would accelerate imports of its oral COVID-19 treatment to help with a surge in cases caused by the Omicron variant.
* China's National Immigration Administration said it will not be renewing passports for non-essential travel while the international COVID-19 epidemic situation is still severe and cross border travel poses "great security risks".
* Singapore's Health Sciences Authority said it has granted an interim authorisation for Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine.
Africa and Middle East
* Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who has been isolating since Saturday after contracting the coronavirus, has tested negative, state-owned Anadolu news agency cited his doctor as saying.
Medical Developments
* The sole COVID-19 monoclonal antibody therapy shown to be effective for patients infected with the Omicron variant - sotrovimab from Vir Biotechnology and GSK - is unlikely to do as well against at least one new version of the variant spreading globally, new research suggests.
* The World Health Organization said it had added its first monoclonal antibody tocilizumab to its so-called pre-qualification list, an official list of medicines used as a benchmark for procurement by developing countries.
Economic Impact
* The Philippine central bank is keen on maintaining its policy support to sustain economic recovery, its governor said, ahead of this week's rate setting meeting.
* The Asia-Pacific aviation industry's slow recovery from the pandemic amid government restrictions will cast a shadow over the Singapore Airshow, though there are nascent signs of improvement as concerns over the Omicron variant recede.
