Daily roundupFriday's key coronavirus developments from Luxembourg and abroad

Starting with Luxembourg

• The latest figures from Luxembourg show that 1,905 new cases of Coronavirus were discovered over the last 24 hours.

• From Sunday onwards, Luxembourg will be considered a high-risk country, joining over 100 others on Germany’s red list.

• The Minister of Health was accompanied by representatives of Luxembourg’s hospitals as she addressed the press on Friday afternoon.

• Luxembourg’s pediatric clinic is reaching capacity limits.

• In an interview with RTL following Friday’s government council meeting, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said the gap between the second and booster doses would also be reduced from 4 to 3 months. Children aged 12 and over would also be permitted to get the booster.

• The majority of Luxembourg’s bigger political parties are in favour of introducing mandatory vaccination.

• A person who tests positive for Covid-19 should isolate immediately and ideally would receive a sick certificate - however, this is not always a given.

• The Director of Health, Dr Jean-Claude Schmit, said in a Facebook Live session that the virus was spreading faster than ever before in Luxembourg, with daily tallies of around 2,000 new infections.

• The Minister said elderly and vulnerable people should not panic, but they ought to exercise caution, as cases spiral in the Grand Duchy. She ruled out adding further measures to retirement homes for the time being.

• The Luxembourg association of professional journalists (ALJP) has appealed to the authorities to protect journalists who have received death threats, as threats have spiralled as a result of the pandemic.

And Abroad

• An Indian court on Friday rejected a bid to cancel a major Hindu festival despite fears the vast gathering could spread coronavirus infections as the country sees an Omicron-driven surge in cases.

• The Omicron variant of Covid-19 is killing people across the globe and should not be dismissed as mild, the World Health Organization insisted Thursday.

• Tennis world number one Novak Djokovic would be granted entry to France for the French Open even if he was unvaccinated against Covid-19, the sports minister said on Friday.

• Thousands of trucks carrying fruit were stuck Friday at Vietnam‘s main freight border crossing with China after Beijing tightened rules on imported goods because of the pandemic.

• Nick Kyrgios surprisingly came to the defence of Novak Djokovic Friday, calling Australia’s treatment of the world number one “really bad” and urging authorities to “do better”.

• Four Hong Kong lawmakers and the city’s immigration czar joined another top official at a quarantine camp as a coronavirus scare widened Friday, ensnaring political elite after they attended a large birthday party.

• Outside Djokovic hotel, Serbian supporters rub shoulders with refugee advocates.

• After the Philippines detected cases of the fast-spreading Omicron coronavirus variant, Facebook posts falsely shared a graphic claiming 30 areas across the country had been placed under tightened restrictions until the end of January. Read our Fact Check here.

• The rapidly spreading Omicron variant, no Serena Williams or Roger Federer and now the Novak Djokovic saga -- the Australian Open is struggling to live up to its “Happy Slam” reputation.

• The US Supreme Court is to hear challenges on Friday to President Joe Biden’s bid to impose Covid vaccination mandates on millions of American workers.

• Covid-19 killed at least one parent or primary caregiver for nearly 100,000 children in Peru, the country with the world’s highest coronavirus death rate, its government reported Thursday.

• Haunted by the spectre of last year’s crisis, India is bracing for a deluge of Covid-19 cases, with authorities of various megacities bringing in restrictions in a bid to keep infections in check.

• China has a formula it calls “dynamic zero” for curbing outbreaks: strict lockdowns and immediate mass testing.

• Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic’s Australian visa disaster may be down to a subtle but important difference in the Covid-19 vaccination rules for either playing in the Australian Open or getting into the country.

• Hollywood studios normally use the glamorous luster of the Globes as a key marketing boost for their films and TV shows, but this year, they are publicly boycotting the whole affair.

• The American economy likely saw strong job gains in the final month of 2021, which could shorten the timeline for the US central bank to raise interest rates.