World / Europe

Swiss halve quarantine period to five days to cope with Omicron surge 12 Jan 2022 - 04:09 pm

Zurich: Switzerland will halve its quarantine time to five days to help cope with a wave of coronavirus infections that threatens to hamstring...

WHO: Covid-19 cases rose by more than 50%, deaths stable 12 Jan 2022 - 02:27 pm

Geneva: The number of new coronavirus infections in the last week jumped by about 55%, although the number of deaths remained stable, the...

Irish minister confident of easing COVID curbs from February 12 Jan 2022 - 02:27 pm

DUBLIN: Ireland should be in a position to start easing restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19 from next month once the number...

Russia prepares new measures as Omicron cases near 700 12 Jan 2022 - 02:14 pm

MOSCOW: Russia has so far recorded 698 cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant and will prepare new measures by the end of the...

Party over? UK PM Johnson faces crunch day in parliament 12 Jan 2022 - 11:53 am

London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will have to fight on Wednesday to defend his premiership after it was revealed a gathering was...

Sweden to support households hit by high electricity prices 12 Jan 2022 - 10:49 am

STOCKHOLM: Sweden will compensate those households which have been worst hit by a surge in electricity prices, Finance Minister Mikael Damberg said on...

Bulgaria's daily coronavirus infections at record high 12 Jan 2022 - 10:13 am

SOFIA: Daily coronavirus infections in Bulgaria reached a record high of 7,062 on Wednesday, largely fuelled by the highly contagious Omicron variant, official...

Slovenia and Serbia report record daily COVID-19 cases 11 Jan 2022 - 08:38 pm

SARAJEVO- Slovenia and Serbia reported record numbers of new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, amid the spread of the highly transmissible coronavirus Omicron variant....

Russia braces for 'very intense' rise in Omicron cases 11 Jan 2022 - 07:23 pm

MOSCOW- Russia warned on Tuesday it could face a "very intense" rise in cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the coming weeks...

Italy's doctors warn cancer treatment at risk due to COVID surge 11 Jan 2022 - 07:14 pm

MILAN- The latest wave of COVID-19 cases in Italy is increasing pressure on hospitals and jeopardizing the treatment of some 11 million cancer...

WHO says more research needed on vaccine efficacy against Omicron 11 Jan 2022 - 03:01 pm

The World Health Organization said on Tuesday more research is needed to find out if existing COVID-19 vaccines provide adequate protection against the...

Omicron to infect more than half of Europe's population in 6-8 weeks: WHO 11 Jan 2022 - 01:49 pm

COPENHAGEN: More than half of the European population are expected to be infected with the Omicron coronavirus variant within the next six to...

Spain's PharmaMar says potential COVID-19 treatment shows efficacy against Omicron 11 Jan 2022 - 11:38 am

MADRID: Spain's PharmaMar said on Tuesday trials made in vitro and on animals showed its Plitidepsin drug had positive antiviral effects on the...

Heathrow hit by Omicron cancellations in December 11 Jan 2022 - 11:22 am

LONDON: Britain's biggest airport Heathrow handled 19.4 million passengers in 2021, less than one quarter of pre-pandemic levels and lower than 2020, after...

Poland's total COVID-19 death toll passes 100,000 11 Jan 2022 - 11:02 am

WARSAW: Poland's total number of coronavirus-related deaths surpassed 100,000 on Tuesday, the health minister said, as the country grapples with a fourth wave...

Spain set to limit retail price of COVID-19 antigen tests 10 Jan 2022 - 11:22 pm

MADRID- Spain's government is working on rules to limit the retail price of antigen tests for COVID-19, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on...

France eases COVID protocols in schools amid Omicron surge - PM 10 Jan 2022 - 11:14 pm

PARIS- French schoolchildren will be allowed to do self-tests instead of a PCR test if one of their classmates is infected with the...

Omicron takes over as Czech Republic's dominant coronavirus variant 10 Jan 2022 - 09:27 pm

PRAGUE- The Omicron variant of the COVID-19 coronavirus has become the dominant strain in the Czech Republic, the country's National Institute of Public...