Daily roundupWednesday's key coronavirus developments from Luxembourg and abroad

Starting with Luxembourg

• The latest figures from Luxembourg show that 3,073 new coronavirus infections were discovered over the last 24 hours.

• RTL looks at some of the most frequently asked questions surrounding the pandemic in Luxembourg, including clarification on what counts as a death from coronavirus.

• The Omicron variant has repercussions on staff and consequently on RGTR bus traffic in Luxembourg. On several lines, some trips are cancelled on certain days.

• Following a meeting of the Economic Committee on Tuesday, the Ministry of the Economy announced that 1,338 companies were granted short-time work in January.

• The highly infectious variant means that more and more people are signed off sick, and this is causing staffing problems in a number of workplaces. How is this handled for essential services such as water, power or public transport?

• 6,624 people in Luxembourg have caught Covid a second time, the Health Minister confirmed.

• Doctor Benoît Ochs had his licence revoked for a year in the lower courts in July last year.

And Abroad

• Microsoft beat market expectations Tuesday with strong quarterly performance in cloud computing and software, still benefitting from the pandemic’s online shifting of work, play, shopping and learning.

• A coronavirus-hit Australian warship docked in Tonga on Wednesday, delivering desperately needed aid to the volcano-and-tsunami-struck nation under strict “no-contact” protocols.

• As Australia started administering Covid-19 vaccines for children, multiple social media posts circulating in January falsely claimed that “three [child] deaths” were recorded following vaccinations. Read our Fact Check here.

• A video has been viewed thousands of times in multiple Chinese social media posts alongside a claim it shows bodies of Covid-19 victims being dumped into a shipping container in the US. Read our Fact Check here.

• China should begin to “recalibrate” its aggressive anti-Covid policy as other countries are doing, to try to ease the negative impact the pandemic continues to have on global supply chains and economic growth, a senior IMF official said on Tuesday.

• EU member states on Tuesday recommended changing the way Covid travel rules are applied in the bloc, shifting away from the risk profile of countries to that of individuals.

• France posted 501,635 new cases of coronavirus for the past 24 hours on Tuesday, a new daily record and the first time the headline number has surpassed half a million.

• Beijing shrugged off IMF warnings about the economic impact of its aggressive anti-Covid policy, saying on Wednesday that China has achieved “significant results” and is a key driver of global growth.

• The Danish government plans to lift its Covid restrictions on February 1, despite registering a record number of infections but with vaccine rates high, the health ministry said Wednesday.

• The German government is considering a ban on encrypted messaging app Telegram after it was repeatedly used as a channel for spreading anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and even death threats.

• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday defended his government’s record and vowed to fight on as he braced for a potentially damning report into lockdown-breaching parties.

• The conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s first policy meeting of the year on Wednesday can’t come soon enough for Wall Street, which has experienced days of chaotic trading as investors fret over what steps the central bank might take to counter inflation.

• The German government on Wednesday lowered its economic growth forecast for 2022 as an Omicron-fuelled surge in coronavirus cases holds back Europe’s industrial powerhouse.

• France head coach Fabien Galthie said on Wednesday captain Antoine Dupont is “doing well” after contracting coronavirus and is likely to feature in next month’s Six Nations openers.