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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Samantha Lock (now); Jem Bartholomew, Lucy Campbelland Martin Belam (earlier)

Czech Republic scraps mandatory jabs as daily cases hit new high; record cases in Bulgaria – as it happened

England Omicron Boris Johnson Bulgaria United States Czech Republic Australia Germany Office for National Statistics Taiwan

That’s it from me, Samantha Lock, for today’s Covid blog.

Please join me on our latest live feed here where I’ll be focusing a little more on the coronavirus crisis across Asia, Australia and the Pacific.

You can also keep up with the top headlines here.

New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern has said restrictions will be tightened if there is a community transmission of Omicron.

Ardern made the remarks during a press conference on Thursday in which she provided an update on the country’s traffic light system.

When Omicron enters the community behind the border, the whole country will move into red within 24 to 48 hours, stuff.co reports.

The prime minister previously told her MPs that Omicron is a “different foe” and will result in case numbers not seen in New Zealand before. However, she added that the variant “is not insurmountable” and long lockdowns should not be needed.

Two new Omicron cases have been reported in Auckland.

Testing in New Zealand for Covid will be free, and rapid antigen tests will be used more widely, Ardern added.

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