Other Security News
COVID-19 Pandemic News

Other Security News

• Jan. 6 committee looking at issuing subpoenas to Republican lawmakers: Chairman Press TV 03 Jan 2022 -- The congressional committee investigating the Capitol attack is studying whether it can issue subpoenas to Republican members of Congress to force their cooperation, according to the panel's chairman.

COVID-19 Pandemic News

United States

• USS Milwaukee Returns to Sea US Navy 03 Jan 2022 -- USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) a Freedom variant littoral combat ship, returned to sea Jan 3., after being in port as a result of a portion of the crew testing positive for COVID-19.
• US Agency Approves COVID Boosters for Children Aged 12-15 VOA 03 Jan 2022 -- U.S. health regulators moved again Monday to expand eligibility for booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine.
• CDC could introduce new testing mandates for quarantining Covid patients, Fauci suggests Press TV 03 Jan 2022 -- The White House medical advisor has suggested that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) could reconfigure its isolation guidance for individuals who test positive for Covid-19 to include testing after five days.
• US Authorises Pfizer's COVID-19 'Booster' Vaccine for 12-15-Year-Old Adolescents Sputnik 03 Jan 2022 -- The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Monday that it has issued an emergency use authorisation (EUA) for Pfizer-BioNTech's booster vaccine against the novel coronavirus for 12- to 15-year-old adolescents.

China

• Local COVID-19 cluster in HK may delay reopening to mainland: analyst Global Times 03 Jan 2022 -- According to the Center for Health Protection of Department of Health of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong reported 29 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 40 cases that tested preliminarily positive on Sunday. Analysts said it "will make sense" if the reopening plan between Hong Kong and the mainland is further delayed due to the resurgence in cases.
• Update: Yuzhou in C China announces lockdown after recording 3 asymptomatic cases in 2 days Global Times 03 Jan 2022 -- Yuzhou, a small city in Central China's Henan Province, announced on Monday that it will enter a lockdown starting Monday night, after it reported three asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 in the past two days. All citizens are required to stay at home.
• Xi'an vows to fix loopholes in quarantine services after public complaints Global Times 03 Jan 2022 -- Officials in Xi'an, capital city of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, which is fighting China's worst COVID-19 outbreak since Wuhan, said on Monday they are working to rectify loopholes in services that local people had been complaining about in some of the city's quarantine areas.
• Xi'an enters 2022 as it confronts severest COVID-19 outbreak since Wuhan Global Times 03 Jan 2022 -- Northwestern China's Xi'an entered 2022 as it fights the country's severest COVID-19 outbreak since Wuhan's in early 2020, with more than 1,600 cases detected so far.
• Nearly 2.85 bln COVID-19 vaccine doses administered on Chinese mainland People's Daily 03 Jan 2022 -- Nearly 2.85 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered on the Chinese mainland as of Sunday, data from the National Health Commission showed Monday.
• Xi'an strives to guarantee normal function under COVID-19 resurgence People's Daily 03 Jan 2022 -- Xi'an, an ancient city in northwest China, is taking efficient and comprehensive measures to curb the spread of the latest COVID-19 resurgence and guarantee its normal function.
• Chinese mainland reports 101 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases People's Daily 03 Jan 2022 -- The Chinese mainland on Sunday reported 101 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, the National Health Commission said in its daily report on Monday.
• Xi'an residents start bartering amid dwindling lockdown food supplies Radio Free Asia 03 Jan 2022 -- Xi'an's 13 million residents were left bargaining and bartering for essential foodstuffs amid ongoing food shortages, as the city entered its 11th day of lockdown amid a wave of COVID-19 cases.
• China Records 161 New COVID-19 Cases SPA 03 Jan 2022 -- China reported 161 new coronavirus (COVID-19) cases.

Europe

• French Health Minister Expects January to Be 'Tough' for Hospitals Due to Omicron Strain Sputnik 03 Jan 2022 -- French hospitals will face increased workload this month amid the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and other diseases, French Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Monday.
• Germany Records 18,518 COVID-19 Cases SPA 03 Jan 2022 -- Germany recorded 18,518 new novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases during the past 24 hours, pushing the total number of cases to 7,207,847.
• Britain Records 137,583 New Cases of COVID-19 SPA 03 Jan 2022 -- Britain recorded 137,583 new infections of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), along with 73 deaths in the past 24 hours.
• UK Minister Says 'Nothing in Data' to Prompt More COVID-19 Restrictions, Despite NHS Warnings Sputnik 03 Jan 2022 -- Amid speculations of possibly wider COVID-19 restrictions being introduced in England as the Omicron strain of the virus is responsible for a surge in cases, on 4 January the government is set to review its Plan B measures, not due to expire until 26 January.
• UK's Johnson: Omicron Surge to Put Pressure on Health System VOA 03 Jan 2022 -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Monday the nation's current surge of COVID-19 cases driven by the omicron variant is going to put "considerable" pressure on the National Health Service but that there is no need for new restrictions at this time.

India

• India's Cumulative COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage exceeds 145.68 Cr India PIB 03 Jan 2022 -- With the administration of 23,30,706 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 145
• Day 353 - Next Phase of COVID-19 Vaccination commences India PIB 03 Jan 2022 -- The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on 16th Jan 2021 and vaccination of the all eligible population above 18 years of age started from 1st May 2021
• Update on COVID-19 Vaccine Availability in States/UTs India PIB 03 Jan 2022 -- The Union Government is committed to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of COVID-19 vaccination throughout the country
• COVID-19 UPDATE India PIB 03 Jan 2022
• India Vaccinates Teenagers as Omicron Sweeps Across the Globe VOA 03 Jan 2022 -- As the omicron variant of the coronavirus sweeps across the globe, India Monday began its inoculation program for teenagers,15-to-18-years old. Also Monday, the country's health ministry announced 33,750 new COVID cases in the past 24 hours.

Pakistan

• Pakistan Starts Booster Campaign As Cases Spike Amid Concerns Over Omicron RFE/RL Gandhara 03 Jan 2022 -- Pakistan is set to start administering booster shots to fully vaccinated people aged over 30 years after the country reported more than 700 COVID-19 cases in a single day, its highest tally in two months.

Iran

• COVID-19 kills 22 more Iranians over past 24 hours IRNA 03 Jan 2022 -- The number of deaths from the coronavirus pandemic in Iran increased to 131,702 with 22 more Iranians killed by the deadly disease over the past 24 hours, Iran's Health Ministry announced on Monday.

Saudi Arabia

• Ministry of Health Reports 1,746 New COVID-19 Cases, 341 Recoveries in Saudi Arabia SPA 03 Jan 2022 -- The Ministry of Health (MoH) announced the registration of 1,746 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 341 recoveries in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the past 24 hours.

Taiwan

• Taiwan confirms first domestic Omicron cases CNA 03 Jan 2022 -- Two COVID-19 cases reported in late December have been recategorized as domestically transmitted cases, making them the first domestic Omicron variant infections in Taiwan, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Monday.

Other Countries

• Morocco Records 1,357 New COVID-19 Cases SPA 03 Jan 2022 -- Morocco recorded 1,357 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the past 24 hours, bringing the tally to 966,777.
• Egypt Records 801 New Infections of Coronavirus SPA 03 Jan 2022 -- Egypt recorded 801 new infections of the novel coronavirus "COVID-19", along with 29 deaths.
• Israel Registers First 'Flurona' Case, Rare Double Infection of COVID and Seasonal Flu Sputnik 03 Jan 2022 -- In December, the Israeli government approved banning all non-essential travel to Belgium, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States to prevent the spread of the Omicron coronavirus strain.
• Botswana President Isolating After Testing Positive for Coronavirus VOA 03 Jan 2022 -- Officials in Botswana on Monday announced President Mokgweetsi Masisi is isolating at his official residence after testing positive for the coronavirus.
• India Sends Vaccines to Afghanistan as Part of Humanitarian Assistance VOA 03 Jan 2022 -- India has given half a million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Afghanistan and pledged to send more vaccines and food grain in the coming weeks to the country, where millions face hunger.