China's local symptomatic COVID-19 cases crept up again, with most new infections reported in Xian city as it entered the fifth day of a lockdown, while Australian authorities refrained from imposing new curbs despite the country's first Omicron death.
Britain reported another day of record cases on Friday, with new estimates showing swathes of London's population are carrying the virus.
France broke the 100,000 cases threshold for the first time since the pandemic began as the Omicron variant continued its rapid spread, while Italy reported a third successive record tally of cases on Saturday.
Ireland on Friday reported its highest number of daily cases since the pandemic began but those requiring critical care fell further amid a rapid roll-out of booster vaccines.
US airlines cancelled more than 1,300 flights on Sunday as COVID-19 thinned out the number of available crews, while several cruise ships had to cancel stops after outbreaks on board, upending the plans of thousands of Christmas travellers.
The Dominican Republic has identified its first case of the Omicron variant.
India will start administering booster shots as a precautionary measure to healthcare and frontline workers from Jan. 10, as Omicron cases rose across the country.
Japan's Kyoto and Fukuoka prefectures detected new infections involving the Omicron variant, including cases of possible community transmission, a government representative and local media said.
Iran has banned the entry of travellers from Britain, France, Denmark and Norway for 15 days. * Omani authorities require foreign travellers aged 18 or older to have received at least two vaccine doses to enter the sultanate, the state news agency reported. * The Palestinian health ministry said it had identified the first case of Omicron in the Gaza Strip.
A major Israeli hospital will begin administering a fourth vaccine shot to 150 staff on Monday in a trial aimed at gauging whether a second booster is necessary nationwide.
Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin has gained approval for emergency use in children aged 12 to 18, the Indian company said on Twitter.
Asian stock markets were generally weaker with U.S. crude in holiday-thinned trading on Monday, as uncertainty over the economic impact of the Omicron variant weighed on investor sentiment.
Japan's retail sales rose faster than expected in November, thanks to decreasing COVID-19 cases in the month, which have encouraged shoppers to ramp up spending on goods and services.
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