That’s it from me, Helen Livingstone, for today’s Covid blog. Please join us a little later for a new live feed where we will continue to cover the coronavirus crisis.
You can also keep up with the top headlines here.
Summary of key developments
Here is a comprehensive rundown of all the latest Covid developments:
- Spotify has pledged to add content advisory notices to all podcasts featuring coronavirus. This comes after Neil Young and Joni Mitchell withdrew their music from the streaming platform in protest against Covid misinformation.
- Harry and Meghan have expressed concerns about misinformation on Spotify, but have made it clear they plan to continue work on their lucrative contracts with the platform.
- The UK’s foreign secretary, Liz Truss, has said it is the government’s “intention to publish the full report” into alleged lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street. She also admitted: “It is a bit of a mess that we have the police investigation alongside the Sue Gray report”.
- Turnout in today’s finely balanced election in Portugal appears to be high despite surging Covid infections. More than a 10th of the country’s population of 10 million are estimated to be isolating with Covid but the government has allowed infected people to cast ballots in person, recommending they visit the polls after 6pm.
- New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has tested negative for Covid after she was deemed a close contact of a positive case. The prime minister’s office says Ardern will continue isolating until the end of Tuesday in line with Ministry of Health guidance.
- The Winter Olympics, which begin in five days in Beijing, have been hit by 34 new infections among athletes and officials. Meanwhile, the city of Beijing has reported 20 new cases – its highest for 18 months – and officials have sealed off residential communities in the city’s northern district.
- Former British prime minister David Cameron has caught the virus, New Zealand media are reporting. Cameron had been scheduled to open a retreat for the opposition National party in Queenstown this coming week.
- New cases in South Korea’s have hit a record 17,532 as the highly infectious Omicron variant spreads. The daily count broke the record for the sixth consecutive day, rising from 8,570 on Tuesday.
- There have been 62,399 new cases of Covid-19 in the UK, according to the latest government figures. This is the lowest number of daily Covid cases since mid-December.
- Thousands have gathered in Prague to protest against Covid restrictions. They are opposed to harsher restrictions for the unvaccinated, including a ban on eating in restaurants.
