The latest on coronavirus pandemic and Omicron variant

With the spike in Covid-19 cases, experts are urging Americans to practice caution as they celebrate the new year.

Revelers should skip big indoor New Year's Eve parties, said Dr. Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University.

The Omicron variant "is extraordinarily contagious, and if you are in a crowd now, and certainly if you're unvaccinated, you are at great risk of contracting this virus," Reiner told CNN's Jake Tapper on Wednesday.

A small celebration at a friend's house should be OK if everyone is vaccinated and boosted and tested negative before the party, he said. Big outdoor parties are less risky unless they're crowded.

"I would not eat in a restaurant now without a mask," Reiner said Thursday. "I would absolutely not go into a bar."

People should avoid large New Year's Eve gatherings where they don't know the vaccination status of guests, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said. Small gatherings of vaccinated family or close friends are safe, he said.

"When you are talking about a New Year's Eve party, where you have 30, 40, 50 people celebrating, you do not know the status of the vaccination — I would recommend strongly, stay away from that this year. There will be other years to do that, but not this year," Fauci told Fox News.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention increased the risk level for cruise ship travel to its highest tier and said such journeys should be avoided, regardless of vaccination status.

“The COVID-19 Travel Health Notice level has been updated from Level 3 to Level 4, the highest level,” the CDC website said on Thursday. “This reflects increases in cases onboard cruise ships since identification of the Omicron variant.”

The CDC said people should avoid cruise travel, regardless of whether they are vaccinated. Those who do travel on a cruise ship should make sure they are fully vaccinated and boosted, if eligible. People who go on a cruise should also get tested one to three days before their trip, and three to five days after, regardless of vaccination status.

For the unvaccinated, they should also self-quarantine for five full days after. People on cruise ships should also wear masks in shared places, the CDC said.

The South African government has announced it will relax some Covid-19 restrictions with immediate effect following a decline in both new coronavirus cases and hospital admissions, adding that “all indicators suggest the country may have passed the peak” of the fourth wave. 

According to a government statement issued Thursday, the national curfew will now be lifted and alcohol establishments licensed to operate beyond 11 p.m. local time will revert back to their full license conditions.

Previously, under "Alert Level 1" regulations, a curfew had been in place from midnight until 4 a.m. local time, with the sale of alcohol not permitted during these hours. 

Under new guidance, public gatherings will also now be restricted to no more than 1,000 people indoors — as opposed to 750 people — with outdoor gatherings still limited to 2,000 people.

According to data from the South African Department of Health, a 29.7% decrease in the number of new cases was reported in the week ending Dec. 25, in comparison to the previous week. 

While data has shown a “marginal increase” in deaths across all provinces, the department of health has seen a decline in hospital admissions across the country, with the exception of the Western Cape.

“While the Omicron variant is highly transmissible, there has been lower rates of hospitalization than in previous waves. This means that the country has spare capacity for admission of patients even for routine health services,” the government said in its statement. 

Despite the easing of some restrictions, the government has cautioned that the risk of an increase in infections remains high, owing to the transmissibility of the Omicron variant. 

In light of this, the wearing of masks in public places will continue to be enforced as a mandatory measure, and citizens are urged to continue observing public health protocols. 

The announcement comes a week after the government outlined its new quarantine regulations, with those exposed to a positive coronavirus case no longer required to quarantine or test unless they develop symptoms. 

Those who have been exposed to a positive case, but remain asymptomatic, will instead be asked to practice “self-observation” for five to seven days to monitor for the development of symptoms.  

Contact tracing has also been halted in South Africa, with the exception of cluster outbreaks or self-contained settings.