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

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

This daily news round-up brings you a selection of the latest news and updates on the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, as well as tips and tools to help you stay informed and protected.

Top news stories: Record COVID-19 case numbers reported around the world; Vaccine equity vital to ending COVID-19 pandemic; US warns against travel to 22 nations and territories.





1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 334.1 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths has now passed 5.55 million. More than 9.73 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.

Japan is set to widen COVID-19 curbs to the capital, Tokyo, and a dozen regions covering half the population as the Omicron COVID-19 variant drives record new infections.

There is no evidence at present that healthy children and adolescents need booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine, the World Health Organization's chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said yesterday.

China has reported its lowest daily count of local confirmed COVID-19 infections in two weeks.

The US government's new website that allows American households to order four free COVID-19 tests is up and running ahead of its official launch today,