COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 14 December

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 270.8 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths has now passed 5.31 million. More than 8.47 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.

Multiple companies have suspended operations in Zhejiang, one of China's biggest manufacturing hubs, as local authorities try to contain a COVID-19 outbreak, halting production of goods from batteries to textile dyes and plastics. The news came as China reported 76 new confirmed coronavirus cases for December 13, compared with 101 a day earlier, its health authority said on Monday.

India reported its lowest tally of active COVID-19 cases in 18 months on Monday, but a sharp drop in the use of protective face masks is causing concern after a rise in the number of infections with the Omicron variant.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday advised Americans against travel to Italy, Greenland and Mauritius, citing COVID-19 concerns.

California will impose a statewide mask mandate in all indoor public spaces as COVID-19 case rates soar, the state's senior government health official said on Monday as precautions against the Omicron variant are raised.

Norway will further tighten restrictions and speed up vaccinations in an attempt to limit an expected surge of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said on Monday. Presenting its fourth round of measures in two weeks, the government announced a ban on serving alcohol in bars and restaurants, a closing of gyms and swimming pools to most users and stricter rules in schools, among other things.

The Asian Development Bank on Tuesday trimmed its growth forecasts for developing Asia for this year and next to reflect risks and uncertainty brought on by the new Omicron coronavirus variant. The Manila-based lender now sees 2021 gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 7.0% for developing Asia, down from 7.1%, and 2022 growth of 5.3%, down from 5.4% in September.

At least one person has died in the United Kingdom after contracting the Omicron coronavirus variant, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday, the first publicly confirmed death globally from the swiftly spreading strain.

Since the first Omicron cases were detected on November 27 in Britain, Johnson has imposed tougher restrictions and on Sunday cautioned that the variant could overcome the immune defences of those inoculated with two shots of vaccines.

Britain gave no details on the death other than the person had been diagnosed in hospital. It was not clear if the patient had been vaccinated or had underlying health issues.

"Sadly at least one patient has now been confirmed to have died with Omicron," Johnson told reporters at a vaccination centre in London.

"So I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus - I think that's something we need to set (to) one side - and just recognize the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population."

Meanwhile, the UK's Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the variant now accounted for 44% of infections in London and would be the dominant strain in the capital within 48 hours. New Omicron infections are estimated at 200,000 per day, Javid said.WHO: Omicron poses 'very high' risk but data on severity limited.

Deaths from Omicron may have occurred in other countries but none has been publicly confirmed yet outside Britain.

Two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine appear to have given 70% protection against hospitalisation in South Africa in recent weeks, a major real-world study on the potential impact of Omicron showed on Tuesday, as the country battles a spike in infections linked to the new variant.

The study released by South Africa's largest private health insurance administrator, Discovery Health, was based on more than 211,000 positive COVID-19 test results from Nov 15 to December 7, around 78,000 of which were attributed to Omicron.

The 78,000 results are not confirmed Omicron cases, meaning the study is not able to make conclusive findings about the variant labelled "of concern" by the World Health Organization.

South African scientists have so far confirmed around 550 Omicron sequences, with the variant accounting for 78% of sequences from November, more than the previously dominant Delta variant.

Based on analysis by Discovery's clinical research and actuarial teams, and in collaboration with South Africa's Medical Research Council (SAMRC), the study calculated that two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech offered 70% protection against hospitalisation compared with the unvaccinated during the recent surge in cases and 33% protection against infection.

It said this represents a drop from 80% protection against infection and compares with above 90% efficacy against hospital admission during South Africa's outbreak of the Delta variant. Discovery cautioned that the study's findings should be considered preliminary.

But Glenda Gray, SAMRC president, said it was important that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine appeared to be offering good protection against severe disease and hospitalisation as a highly transmissible new variant circulates.

"We are extremely encouraged by the results," she said in a statement.