Daily roundupFriday's key coronavirus developments from Luxembourg and abroad

Starting with Luxembourg

• The latest figures from Luxembourg show that 2,838 new coronavirus infections were discovered over the last 24 hours.

• Thirteen new petitions were added to the Chamber website on Friday morning, with majority of the topics covered once again relate to the Covid crisis, particularly with regard to schools.

• People who received the Johnson&Johnson vaccine for their first jab, and who have since received a booster with a mRNA vaccine, will be eligible to receive a second booster.

• The water cannon deployed at an anti-Covid measures protest on 11 December used regular tap water, says the Minister of Police.

• The association said there were too many unanswered questions at this point to express support for a mandate, whether limited or general.

• Djuna Bernard said that she can understand the criticism that the vaccine mandate comes late “from a scientific point of view” but not “from a political and societal perspective”.

• During a livestream on the Facebook page of the Ministry of Health, the health experts answered questions about the Omicron variant, which is spreading rapidly in the Grand Duchy.

• The new certificates for people vaccinated with one dose of the J&J vaccine as well as an additional mRNA booster now read “2/1", which is still accepted as “fully vaccinated” in Luxembourg.

• 2021 saw more passengers travelling through Luxembourg Airport compared to the lockdowns in 2020, but numbers were still half those experienced in 2019.

And Abroad

• China on Friday said the president of the UN’s General Assembly will take part in the Winter Olympics torch relay, which organisers announced would be closed to the public because of coronavirus fears.

• Champions Cup holders Toulouse‘s home game with Cardiff this weekend has been cancelled due to coronavirus cases among the hosts’ squad, tournament organisers said on Friday.

• British retail sales suffered a record drop in December as consumers shunned the high street due to Omicron concerns, having snapped up Christmas purchases the previous month, data showed Friday.

• A graphic video that appears to show a man with smoke coming out of his face has circulated in social media posts alongside a claim the man was “burned inside out by 5G radiation and graphene in vaccines”. Read our Fact Check here.

• Next month’s Beijing Winter Olympics can still be meaningful even with the general public locked out because of Covid-19, a top official from last year’s pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games has said.

• Hong Kong‘s government Friday warned local animal lovers not to obstruct its ongoing cull of small animals, a policy triggered when hamsters in a pet shop tested positive for the coronavirus.

• Social media posts falsely claim public figures including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, and Pope Francis have been convicted of genocide and face arrest over their support for Covid-19 vaccination. Read our Fact Check here.

• China on Friday launched a special bullet train service to speed athletes to Winter Olympics venues in a bubble separating them from the rest of the population.

• A tearful Adele postponed her Las Vegas residency Thursday, a day before it was due to begin.

• The streaming service Netflix ended the year with 221.8 million subscribers, just below target, after booming during coronavirus lockdowns that kept people at home and on the platform.

• A misleading photo of a woman wearing multiple surgical masks is circulating in social media alongside a claim it was taken after a Hong Kong health expert made comments in January 2022 recommending wearing two masks to increase protection against the Omicron Covid-19 variant. Read our Fact Check here.

• The story of a Chinese migrant worker whose plight sparked a wave of online sympathy after he tested positive for the coronavirus took another sad twist Friday, as police said his missing son was long dead.

• An image that appears to show a top Hong Kong microbiologist with an electric fan attached to his forehead is circulating in social media posts that claim he urged the public to wear the device to “blow away” coronavirus. Read our Fact Check here.