▶ Global Death Toll Since Omicron 'Beyond Tragic'
The World Health Organization says half a million more deaths from COVID-19 have been recorded since the Omicron variant was identified last year.
The WHO's incident manager Abdi Mahamud described the number as "beyond tragic" in an age of effective vaccines.
▶ WHO Officials Seek $17 Bln For Vaccine Distribution
Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is one of the senior WHO officials calling for an additional 17 billion dollars to fund better distribution of vaccines worldwide.
The BBC's Naomi Grimley reports.
[Reporter]
In his role as WHO ambassador, Gordon Brown says it's now a test of leadership to see if the world could bring the pandemic under control in 2022.
This latest financial push is designed not only to ensure vaccines are distributed more fairly across the globe but also to provide low income countries with enough oxygen for treatment, tests for diagnosis and better surveillance to keep on top of newly emerging variants.
▶ S. Korea's Daily COVID-19 Tally Nears 50,000
South Korean health authorities have reported nearly 50,000 new COVID-19 cases as the highly contagious Omicron continues to sweep across the nation.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said it recorded 49,567 new infections from the previous 24 hours.
The number of critically ill coronavirus patients increased by 17 to 285, while 25 more lives were taken by the virus.
Meanwhile, the number of patients receiving at home care hit a record high of over 168,000.
▶ Authorities Aim To Reduce Severe, Fatal Cases
Considering the characteristics of Omicron, which appears to cause less severe disease than the Delta variant, the government said starting tomorrow, officials will focus on providing expanded support for coronavirus patients in their 50s and older who are at high risk and recovering at home.
Quarantine authorities forecast that in March, the preventative effects of booster shots may start to wear off for elderly people, potentially resulting in a spike in severe COVID cases.
▶ Quarantine Period For Patients Cut To 7 Days
From Wednesday, the quarantine period for all COVID-19 patients in South Korea will be seven days from the date of testing, regardless of symptoms and vaccination status.
The change comes as authorities refocus efforts on treating high risk groups.
▶ Omicron Variant Detected In Deer In US
U.S. officials say Omicron has been discovered in a herd of deer in New York, the first time the highly transmissible variant has been detected in wild animals.
Swabs were taken from more than 100 white-tailed deer captured on Staten Island.
The findings have raised fears that the species could harbor new mutations of the virus.
Dr. Samira Mubareka is a virologist at the Sunnybrook Research Institute at the University of Toronto.
[Clip: Mubareka]
"Humans are the largest reservoir of this virus currently and there's pretty convincing experimental data to show that there's transmission between deer and some epidemiological data as well that shows there could be transmission between deer. So, it follows that we need to do surveillance to ensure that there's no transmission or to look for transmission from deer to humans."
▶ Speed Skater Kim Min-seok Wins Olympic Bronze
Speed skater Kim Min-seok has clinched South Korea's first medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
In the men's 1,500-meter race at the National Speed Skating Oval last night, Kim finished with a time of 1:44.24 for the bronze medal.
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