Daily roundupTuesday's key coronavirus developments from Luxembourg and abroad

Starting with Luxembourg

• The latest figures from Luxembourg show that 1,714 new cases of coronavirus were discovered over the last 24 hours.

• Up until now, children had to stay home if two positive cases occurred in a single class, a rule which has now been changed to six cases per class.

• Since 1 March 2020, the contact tracing team has recorded 568 cases of Covid-19 that “might potentially be connected to sports”.

And Abroad

• Lockdowns in Samoa and the Solomon Islands were extended Tuesday as Covid-19 outbreaks worsened in remote Pacific island nations that have previously held the pandemic at bay.

• Pop megastar Elton John on Tuesday postponed two concerts in Dallas -- part of what is expected to be a lengthy farewell tour -- after testing positive for Covid-19.

• Pfizer and BioNTech have begun enrollment for a clinical trial to test the safety and immune response of their Omicron-specific Covid-19 vaccine in adults aged up to 55, the companies said in a statement Tuesday.

• Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, one of the most recognisable figures of the global battle against Covid-19, will stand unopposed Tuesday for the nomination to continue heading the World Health Organization.

• Eight people were killed and about 50 injured in a crush outside a Cameroonian football stadium Monday ahead of an Africa Cup of Nations match.

• Even as other countries with tough virus restrictions like Australia reopen, Japan still bans tourists and business visitors as well as new foreign workers, students and their dependents.

• A Covid-19 outbreak on an Australian warship threatened to disrupt Tonga eruption aid efforts Tuesday, as survivors of the deadly volcanic blast described how they fled with only the clothes on their backs.

• The UK government said Monday it will scrap compulsory Covid tests for fully jabbed arrivals and quarantine for unvaccinated travellers, in what it called “a new phase” in its pandemic strategy.

• Last week, a home security video that showed a man from the northwestern city of Xi’an assaulting his wife during a citywide Covid-19 lockdown spread on Chinese social media.

• Prime Minister Boris Johnson broke lockdown rules by having a birthday party with up to 30 people present at Downing Street in 2020, a British television channel alleged Monday.

• Credit Suisse warned Tuesday that litigation would hit fourth-quarter profits while its investment bank faces a loss, in the latest blow to the scandal-plagued financial giant.

• An ailing Rafael Nadal said he was “destroyed physically” by his gritty five-set quarter-final win over Denis Shapovalov at the Australian Open on Tuesday.

• The Omicron variant of Covid-19 is creating an obstacle course for the global economy, which will slow growth this year, notably in the world’s two largest economies, the IMF said Tuesday.