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Added on the 27/12/2020 17:59:03 - Copyright : Wochit
"An ongoing surge in China is not anticipated to significantly impact the COVID-19 epidemiological situation in the WHO European Region" says the World Health Organization's European regional director, Hans Kluge. "The surge of two virus variants circulating in China are those that have already been seen in Europe and elsewhere," he adds. China is battling a wave of Covid cases since the government's decision to lift nearly three years of restrictions. SOUNDBITE
Images show closed Covid booths in Beijing as cases surge in the Chinese capital. The country is navigating a rapid turn away from its zero-tolerance coronavirus strategy, unwinding years of hardline restrictions. IMAGES
The UK's National Health Service (NHS) is preparing eight “Nightingale” units each able to house up to 100 patients, as the country continues to battle a surge in Covid infections. The Omicron strain has become the dominant form of the coronavirus in the UK, with nearly 200,000 infections reported on Wednesday. The special surge units will be used to help prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed by patients. IMAGES
Covid antigen self-test kits are distributed in Queens, New York, where people wait in long lines to get a free test before the Christmas holidays. The US is battling huge infection surges driven by variant Omicron's rapid spread. IMAGES
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki tells reporters that US President Bidens's speech on the Omicron variant on Tuesday will not be about "locking the country down." SOUNDBITE
A long line of people snakes across a park in Washington, DC, at a makeshift Covid-19 test site near the White House, as people prepare for holiday festivities, just a few days away. IMAGES