Daily roundupThursday's key coronavirus developments from Luxembourg and abroad

Starting with Luxembourg

• The latest figures report that 1,405 new cases of coronavirus were discovered over the last 24 hours.

And abroad

• The World Trade Organization chief on Wednesday hailed a breakthrough between the EU, the United States, India and South Africa on waiving intellectual property rights on Covid-19 vaccines.

• Depleted Australia called up veteran Uruguay-born striker Bruno Fornaroli on Thursday to potentially make a shock debut in their crunch World Cup qualifier against Japan -- provided his paperwork is done in time.

• Hundreds of thousands of Irish and international visitors were to celebrate St Patrick’s Day in Ireland on Thursday after a two-year pause in festivities due to the coronavirus.

• Under two percent of babies born to mothers with Covid-19 then test positive for the virus, a comprehensive study found Wednesday, with researchers hailing the “hugely reassuring” news for parents.

• Prayut Chan-O-Cha heads a sprawling coalition facing criticism over his mismanagement of Covid-19, a pandemic economy still in the doldrums and simmering tensions over huge 2021 pro-democracy protests that have dominated the past 12 months.

• Hong Kong‘s leader said Thursday she was mulling easing some of the city’s coronavirus restrictions due to waning public tolerance, but could not provide a roadmap out of the current Omicron-fuelled crisis.

• Four-time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel has tested positive for Covid-19 and will be replaced by Nico Huelkenberg for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, the Aston Martin team said on Thursday.

• Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday the country will “stick with” its zero-Covid strategy, state TV reported, as the world’s most populous nation battles its largest outbreak since the early days of the pandemic.