EUROPE

* England's chief medical officer warned people not to mix with others unless they have to in the run-up to Christmas after Britain recorded its most daily cases since the start of the pandemic.

* French President Emmanuel Macron said it was possible the COVID-19 vaccine would eventually be made compulsory in France, but said it was not the priority for now.

* The Delta variant is still predominant in Italy, the National Health Institute said, releasing data of a flash survey showing it accounted for more than 99 per cent of cases on December 6.

* Travellers to Greece will need a negative COVID-19 PCR test to enter the country.

AMERICAS

* Canada's government implored its residents not to leave the country as provinces ramp up vaccinations to combat the Omicron variant.

* A US appeals court revived the Biden administration's vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in 26 states.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* South Africa reported record daily infections in a fourth wave believed to be caused by the Omicron variant, while Rwanda and Kenya confirmed their first cases of the variant.

* Moderna will start a trial of its COVID-19 vaccine across eight African countries to determine its efficacy in people who are HIV positive, Bloomberg News reported.

* Five Turkish healthcare unions representing more than 250,000 health workers, doctors and other medical personnel went on a one-day strike, protesting poor wages and harsh working conditions amid a currency meltdown.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* The Philippines and Cambodia detected their first Omicron cases.

* US Secretary of State Antony Blinken cut short his trip to Southeast Asia due to a COVID-19 case among his travelling party.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* The European Union's drug regulator recommended a booster dose of Johnson & Johnson's shot may be given at least two months after a first dose in people aged 18 years and older.

* Preliminary evidence indicates vaccines may be less effective against infection and transmission linked to Omicron, which also carries a higher risk of reinfection, the WHO said.

* Early data suggests Omicron is more transmissible than Delta, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Global shares rose slightly on Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve said it would end its pandemic-era bond purchases in March and pave the way for three quarter-percentage-point interest rate hikes by the end of 2022.

* The slack in Canada's economy caused by the pandemic has substantially diminished, the Governor of the Bank of Canada said, a key sign the central bank is set to begin hiking rates soon.

GLOBAL

DEATHS 5,344,026

CASES 272,372,907

RECOVERED 244,714,748