Covid Outbreak Spreading To Local Civilians From US Bases In Japan

The Guardian: Okinawa May Declare Emergency Covid Measures As Virus Spreads From US Base 
Japan’s government is poised to declare a quasi-state of emergency on the southern island of Okinawa, media reports said, after a Covid-19 outbreak traced to US military bases spread to the civilian population. The prime minister, Fumio Kishida, could announce the measures this week, the Mainichi newspaper said, after Okinawa officials reported 225 new cases on Tuesday, including 47 of the Omicron strain. Tokyo, by comparison, registered 151 new infections. (McCurry, 1/4)

In news from Europe —

The New York Times: Britain Can ‘Ride Out’ The Omicron Wave Without A Strict Lockdown, Boris Johnson Says 
Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain on Tuesday said that despite the record surge in coronavirus cases, the limited restrictions currently in place in England were the right approach and would be maintained. “We have a chance to ride out this Omicron wave without shutting down our country once again,” Mr. Johnson said at an evening news conference, adding, “We can keep our schools and businesses open, and we can find a way to live with this virus.” (Specia, 1/4)

CNBC: Omicron Wave Seems To Have Peaked In South Africa, London Next?
In a matter of weeks, the omicron Covid-19 variant — first detected in South Africa and Botswana in November — has surged around the world, leading to millions of new cases and the re-imposition of coronavirus restrictions in many countries. The U.S. and Europe have been rolling out booster shots as fast as they can following research findings by Covid vaccine makers Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna that the omicron variant undermines the effectiveness of the standard two doses of their Covid shots, but that booster shots significantly increase the level of protection against the variant. (Ellyatt, 1/5)

Fox News: COVID-19 Variant Found In France Nicknamed IHU: Report
An official from the World Health Organization told a press conference Tuesday that another COVID-19 variant has infected a dozen people in France and has been on the agency’s radar, according to a report. Bloomberg reported that the ‘IHU’ variant, which was nicknamed by researchers at the Marseille-based Mediterranee Infection University Hospital Institute (IHU), has infected individuals in the southern Alps region in the country. Abdi Mahamud, a WHO incident manager, told researchers in Geneva that it's too soon to "speculate on virological, epidemiological or clinical features" of the variant that was identified in November—at about the same time as omicron. (DeMarche, 1/5)

Bloomberg: WHO Downplays Threat Of Covid-19 Variant Found In France
The World Health Organization said a coronavirus variant found in France hasn’t become much of a threat since it was first identified in November. The variant “has been on our radar,” Abdi Mahamud, a WHO incident manager on Covid, said at a press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday. “That virus had a lot of chances to pick up.” The variant was identified in 12 people in the southern Alps around the same time that omicron was discovered in South Africa last year. The latter mutation has since traveled the globe and kindled record levels of contagion, unlike the French one that researchers at the IHU Mediterranee Infection -- helmed by scientist Didier Raoult --nicknamed IHU. (Fourcade and Mulier, 1/4)

Newsweek: French President Emmanuel Macron Says Someone Who Refuses COVID Vaccine Is 'Not A Citizen'
French President Emmanuel Macron has insisted that French people who continue to refuse to get COVID-19 vaccines are not acting like citizens. Macron made the remark during in interview published by the Le Parisien newspaper on Tuesday. The French president said he hoped to "hassle" those who were "irresponsible" enough to refuse vaccines into getting their jabs. ... "When my freedoms threaten those of others, I become someone irresponsible," he added. "Someone irresponsible is not a citizen." (Slisco, 1/5)

In other covid news from around the globe —

ABC News: COVID Outbreak In Belgian Research Station In Antarctica 
A research station in Antarctica is battling a COVID-19 outbreak despite being located in one of the most remote corners of the world. Since mid-December, 11 of the 33 workers at Belgium's Princess Elisabeth Polar Station have tested positive for the virus. (Kekatos, 1/4)

Bloomberg: Brazil Faces Virus Onslaught As Influenza Spreads With Omicron
Brazil’s hospital system may be at risk as a surge of influenza courses through the country just as the omicron strain takes hold. Some people have been hit by back-to-back infections -- or even come down with both at the same time, what’s been dubbed “flurona.” It’s happened in at least three states so far, and experts say that number is likely to grow as omicron, a more contagious variant of coronavirus, becomes more prevalent. “It’s not a surprise considering there are two highly infectious viruses circulating in Brazil at a time when people are being less careful with the use of masks and social distancing,” said Jean Gorinchteyn, the health secretary for the state of Sao Paulo, one of the three that has reported cases of simultaneous infections. (Viotti Beck, Aragaki and Gamarski, 1/4)

AP: Djokovic Medical Exemption Sparks Australian Open Debate 
With his medical exemption approved, Novak Djokovic may have some explaining to do when he gets to Melbourne to defend his Australian Open title. The exemption allows the top-ranked Djokovic entry to the tournament regardless of his vaccination status for COVID-19, a subject he has declined to clarify amid months of speculation he could miss the season-opening major unless he can prove he’s had two doses of a coronavirus vaccine. (Pye, 1/5)

Reuters: Djokovic Needs To Prove Exemption Or Go Home - Australian PM
Novak Djokovic needs to prove that he has a genuine medical exemption from COVID-19 vaccination when he lands in Australia or he will be "on the next plane home", Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday. The world No. 1 announced on Tuesday he received an exemption to play in the Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne and said he was heading to Australia. (1/5)