World News: UPDATE: Germany agrees new Covid curbs as Omicron variant spreads across globe – Gulf Digital News

World News: UPDATE: Germany agrees new Covid curbs as Omicron variant spreads across globe – Gulf Digital News

BERLIN/WASHINGTON: Germany agreed on new Covid-19 restrictions on Thursday and the United States prepared to do the same, while US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Omicron variant showed the pandemic could be around for "some time".

The new variant is spreading across the globe, with countries including the United States, India and France reporting their first cases and investors rattled by the prospect that it could hurt the global economic recovery.

In an with Reuters, Yellen said she hoped the pandemic would not completely stifle economic activity, adding that the US stimulus at the start of the pandemic had helped fuel a very strong recovery.