Sri Lanka begins its COVID-19 vaccination rollout for children between the ages of 12 and 15 years using the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. (MedicalXpress)
The Food and Drug Administration begins accepting requests for certification of COVID-19 antigen test kits for home use. Previously, antigen test kits were only available for professional use. (CNN Philippines)
The Northern Territory reports a record for the third consecutive day of 412 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the territory-wide total of confirmed cases to 1,686. (ABC News Australia)
The three defendants convicted in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery are sentenced to life in prison. Travis and Greg McMichael are sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, while William Bryan is sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. (NBC News)
2022 Zamfara massacres At least 200 people were killed by a bandit group from January 4 to 6 in Zamfara State in northwestern Nigeria. (Al Jazeera)
A Cypriot scientist reportedly detects a variant of the SARS-CoV-2 called "Deltacron", which combines genomes found in the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant and genetic signatures found in the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. (CNBC)
At least 200 people were killed by a bandit group from January 4 to 6 in Zamfara State in northwestern Nigeria. (Al Jazeera)
Mexico reports a record 30,671 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 4.1 million. The country also surpasses 300,000 deaths from COVID-19. (Bloomberg)
The Philippines reports a record 26,458 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2,936,875. (ABS-CBN News)
Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden tests positive for COVID-19 for a second time. (U.S. News & World Report)
Volcán Wolf, the tallest mountain and volcano in the Galápagos Islands, erupts. (The Guardian)
Kuwait reports a record 2,999 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 433,919. (Kuwait News Agency)
New South Wales reports a record 16 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the statewide death toll to 727. (ABC News Australia)
Qatar reports a record 3,487 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 266,344. (Qatar Tribune)
The Philippines reports a record for the second consecutive day of 28,707 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2,965,447. (Rappler)
The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa surpasses 10 million. (Barron's)
Tianjin begins city-wide COVID-19 testing for 14 million people after 20 children and adults tested positive for COVID-19, two of whom were infected with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. (The Guardian)
Australia surpasses one million cases of COVID-19. (Al Jazeera)
COVID-19 vaccine development Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla says that the company will develop a COVID-19 vaccine to target the Omicron variant by March. (CNBC)
Italy restricts the access of public transport, coffee shops, gyms, and many other activities to people who have been vaccinated or has been recovered from COVID-19 amid the surge of the COVID-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant. (Sky News)
New South Wales reports a record for the second consecutive day of 18 deaths from COVID-19, thereby bringing the statewide death toll to 745. (The Guardian)
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla says that the company will develop a COVID-19 vaccine to target the Omicron variant by March. (CNBC)
The Indonesian Drug and Food Control Agency issues an emergency use authorization of five COVID-19 vaccines as booster dose, namely Pfizer–BioNTech, AstraZeneca, CoronaVac, and Zifivax's ZF2001 for one dose, and half dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. (Kompas)
The Peoples Gazette, a Nigerian online newspaper, claims that it has been raided by the National Intelligence Agency. (Peoples Gazette)
The Philippines reports a record for the third consecutive day of 28,707 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2,998,530. (ABS-CBN News)
Argentina reports a record 134,439 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 6,533,635. (Infobae)
At an apartment construction site in Gwangju, South Korea, an outer wall of the building collapses, trapping six workers. (AP)
France reports a record 368,149 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (CNBC)
Italy reports a record 220,532 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 7.77 million. (Agenzia Italia)
Patriarch Porfirije, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, tests positive for COVID-19. (Bloomberg)
Poland surpasses 100,000 deaths from COVID-19, becoming the 15th nation to do so. (The Independent)
Slovenia reports a record 5,164 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (The Slovenia Times)
Turkey reports a record 74,266 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (Anadolu Agency)
A car bombing kills at least eight people in Mogadishu. (Reuters)
Austria reports a record 17,006 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1,378,747. (Vienna.at)
Bulgaria reports a record 7,062 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 794,240. (BTA)
Eleven people are killed after a small truck packed with partygoers overturned in Balingasag, Misamis Oriental, Philippines. (GMA News)
Germany reports a record 80,430 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 7,661,811. (Euronews)
Saudi Arabia reports a record 5,362 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 593,545. (Al Arabiya English)
African swine fever Italy imposes a six-month ban of hunting and other activities involving direct or indirect contact with infected boars in 114 rural areas in the north-western regions of Piedmont and Liguria, where the spread African swine fever has infected the animals. (Reuters)
At least nine people are killed and about 50 others injured when a train derails in Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal, India. (CNN)
COVID-19 drug development The WHO guideline development group of international experts recommends the use of rheumatoid arthritis drug Baricitinib for severe and critical COVID-19 patients in combination with corticosteroids. (The Times of India)
COVID-19 vaccination in Germany The Standing Committee on Vaccination recommends that children between the ages of 12 and 17 years should receive a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at least three months after having received their second dose, becoming one of the first countries to authorize booster doses for this age group. (Deutsche Welle)
Finland reduces the quarantine period for positive COVID-19 patients to five days because the duration of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant's virus cycle is shorter than other variants. (Yle News)
Germany reports a record for the second consecutive day of 81,417 new cases of COVID-19. (Anadolu Agency)
Heat waves of 2022 Onslow, Western Australia, reports the equal hottest day in recorded Australian history, reaching a high of 50.7°C (123.3°F). (The Guardian)
Italy imposes a six-month ban of hunting and other activities involving direct or indirect contact with infected boars in 114 rural areas in the north-western regions of Piedmont and Liguria, where the spread African swine fever has infected the animals. (Reuters)
Maynaguri train accident At least nine people are killed and about 50 others injured when a train derails in Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal, India. (CNN)
Onslow, Western Australia, reports the equal hottest day in recorded Australian history, reaching a high of 50.7°C (123.3°F). (The Guardian)
Senegal authorizes the use of COVID-19 vaccines for children over the age of 12 years and also authorizes the use of booster doses for adults. (Reuters)
Six people are missing and three others are hospitalized following an explosion and subsequent fire at a commercial building in Ottawa, Canada. (Reuters)
South Korea receives their first shipment of Pfizer's Paxlovid anti-COVID-19 oral drug. (AP)
Sweden reports a record 25,215 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (U.S. News & World Report)
The Philippine Department of Transportation issues a memorandum banning unvaccinated individuals from using all forms of public transportation in the National Capital Region beginning on January 17. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
The Standing Committee on Vaccination recommends that children between the ages of 12 and 17 years should receive a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at least three months after having received their second dose, becoming one of the first countries to authorize booster doses for this age group. (Deutsche Welle)
The WHO guideline development group of international experts recommends the use of rheumatoid arthritis drug Baricitinib for severe and critical COVID-19 patients in combination with corticosteroids. (The Times of India)
Tunisia reimposes a nighttime curfew between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. for the next two weeks and also orders the suspension of all public gatherings due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country. (France 24)
Bhutan reports its first 14 cases of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in people who travelled abroad. (The Economic Times)
Germany reports a record for the third consecutive day of 92,223 new cases of COVID-19. (Anadolu Agency)
The Philippines reports a record for the second consecutive day of 37,207 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 3,129,512. (Rappler)
Iran reports its first three confirmed deaths related to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in people from the cities of Tabriz, Yazd and Shahrekord. (CNA)
King Tupou VI is evacuated from the Royal Palace by His Majesty's Armed Forces. (CNN)
The Philippines reports a record for the third consecutive day of 39,004 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 3,168,379. (Rappler)
Two people are killed by a small tsunami in Lambayeque, Peru. (Bio-Bio Chile)
Denmark reopens cinemas, zoos, museums and theatres as well as allowing limited number of spectators in indoor and outdoor sports despite the rising number of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant cases in the country. (AP)
Djokovic is deported from Australia, and disqualified from the Australian Open. He is replaced with Salvatore Caruso from Italy. (ABC News Australia)
Thailand reports its first confirmed death related to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in a 86-year-old woman who died last month in Songkhla Province. (Bangkok Post)
The Australian Defence Force and New Zealand Defence Force send aircraft to assess the damage in Tonga as communications continue to be disrupted in the Pacific islands. (ABC News Australia)
An independent investigation team identifies Arnold van den Bergh, a member of Amsterdam's Jewish Council, as the most likely person responsible for reporting The Diary of a Young Girl author Anne Frank and her family to the Nazis in 1944, leading to their deaths in a concentration camp. (BBC News)
Greece begins to introduce monthly fines for people over the age of 60 who are unvaccinated against COVID-19 amid an increase in the number of new cases in the country. The monthly fine will initially be €50 this month and will be €100 per month thereafter. (NPR)
The Netherlands reports a record 42,472 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours. (NL Times)
Australia reports a record 77 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (SBS News)
Brazil reports a record 137,102 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 23,211,894. (Reuters)
Bulgaria reports a record 9,996 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 830,604. (Bulgarian Press Agency)
COVID-19 drug development Merck & Co. and its partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics sign an agreement with UNICEF to distribute up to 3 million courses of their COVID-19 antiviral pill molnupiravir to 100 low and middle-income countries in the first half of the year. (Thomson Reuters Foundation)
