The latest on the Omicron variant

All private sector employers in New York City will now be required to implement a Covid-19 vaccine mandate by Dec. 27, the city’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, announced Monday.  

Public sector workers were already subject to vaccine mandates.  

This new move, announced on MSNBC, means everyone who works in the city will now be subject to a vaccine mandate.  

Children, ages 5 to 11 in New York City, will now also be required to show proof of at least one shot before being allowed access to indoor dining, fitness and entertainment, the mayor announced. 

Adults will now be required to proof of two vaccinations for those areas.  

The mayor said he is confident the mandates will hold up in court.  

“Our health commissioner has put a series of mandates in place. They have won in court, state court, federal court every single time. And it's because they're universal and consistent. And they're about protecting the public right now from a clear and present danger,” de Blasio said.  

The mayor is set to hold a news conference at 10 a.m. ET.

President Biden announced Dec. 2 new measures aimed at curbing the pandemic.

All inbound international travelers will be required to test within one day of departure for the United States starting Monday.

All flights departing after 12:01 a.m. ET Dec. 6 must abide by a new CDC testing order, which was posted Thursday evening.

This new testing time frame will apply to everyone, "regardless of nationality or vaccination status," the plan outlined on the White House website says.

Documentation of having recovered from Covid-19 in the past 90 days is also accepted.

Through Sunday, Dec. 5, vaccinated travelers are required to test within three days of their departure. There is a requirement for foreign travelers arriving in the United States to be fully vaccinated.

Unvaccinated Americans and legal permanent residents are allowed to enter the country with a test taken within one day of departing for the United States. The new rule will make the testing time frame one day for everyone.

Biden also announced that the federal mask mandate requiring travelers to wear masks in airports, on planes and on other modes of public transportation such as trains and buses has been extended through March 18.

Here are some more key things to know: 

Read more about the new requirements here.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said a US travel ban on South Africa and several other African countries is being reevaluated every day.

He said the US was aware of the hardship the bans have placed on the countries.

Fauci, who is President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, said the ban was put in place when the US was "in the dark" and just learning about a surge in cases in South Africa due to the Omicron variant and added the ban was meant to provide time to assess the situation. 

The United States barred entry to travelers from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi, but the variant has now been identified in dozens of countries and several US states.

Many other countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Brazil, Canada, India and Russia, as well as the European Union, have also imposed new travel restrictions because of the Omicron variant.

"Now, as you mentioned, as we're getting more and more information about cases in our own country and worldwide, we're looking at that very carefully on a daily basis. Hopefully we'll be able to lift that ban within a quite reasonable period of time," Fauci told CNN’s Jake Tapper on State of the Union on Sunday.

The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted malaria programs in many high-risk countries, leading to an increase in malaria cases and deaths in 2020, according to a new report from the World Health Organization.

WHO’s new report estimates there were 241 million malaria cases in 2020 – an increase of 14 million from 2019. It also estimates there were 627,000 malaria deaths globally in 2020 – 69,000 more than in 2019. The report links 47,000 of the deaths to disruptions in malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment during the pandemic.

Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 95% of all malaria cases and 96% of deaths in 2020, WHO said. About 80% of deaths in the region were among children younger than 5.

A new detail has emerged in the story of a 50-year-old man who tried last week to pass off a silicon arm as his own at a Covid-19 vaccination clinic in an attempt to get a vaccine certificate without actually getting inoculated, in northern Italy.

The man is a dentist.

The doctors' association in the Italian town of Biella confirmed his occupation without giving further detail.

"When we learned that it was a dentist enrolled in our local association, we felt deep indignation. All doctors and dentists have given a lot in these 2 years of pandemic, dealing with the health requirements of citizens with self-denial and a spirit of service, even putting their own existence at serious risk," the doctors' association added. 

Read the full story here.

Italy’s new Covid-19 "super green pass" has now become mandatory in bars, restaurants, theaters and other closed entertainment venues.

Starting Monday, only fully vaccinated people or those who have a proof of recovery from coronavirus can enter these venues. 

The "super green pass" is an extension to Italy’s existing green pass, which requires full vaccination, proof of recovery or a negative Covid test. The original green pass still applies in work spaces and has been extended to local public transport. 

As opposed to the normal green pass, the "super green pass" does not accept a negative test in lieu of the vaccine -- a move by the government to encourage more people to get vaccinated.

The new measures will apply until at least January 15 across the country.  

As the world continues to grapple with the challenges posed by the new Omicron coronavirus variant, the co-creator of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has warned that the next pandemic "could be more contagious or more lethal, or both."

Sarah Gilbert, a professor of vaccinology at the University of Oxford, said the Covid-19 pandemic "will not be the last time the virus threatens our lives and our livelihoods." 

Gilbert made the remarks during the annual Richard Dimbleby lecture, which is set to be broadcast on the BBC on Monday. 

"The truth is the next one could be worse," she said, adding:

She said that recent surges in case numbers, the imposition of lockdowns and mandatory vaccinations and the discovery of the Omicron variant have shown that "this pandemic is not done with us."

Taiwan announced tougher vaccine requirements on Sunday, including mandatory shots for employees in education, childcare, elderly services, entertainment, hospitality and the cosmetic industries.

Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said the workers will be required to be fully vaccinated by January 1, meaning they need to receive their second dose by December 17 at the latest.

Here is a list of establishments that will require their workers to be vaccinated:

Russia has detected its first cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant in two people arriving from South Africa, the country's public health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said on Monday, according to Russian state media, TASS.

Rospotrebnadzor said 10 people who arrived in Russia from South Africa tested positive for coronavirus and their samples were being analyzed to determine the variant.

The new Omicron variant was detected in two of the passengers. No information has been disclosed yet about when they returned to Russia. 

TASS reported that the public health watchdog said the Omicron variant was detected as a result of genome-wide sequencing conducted by the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology that’s run by Rospotrebnadzor.