The latest on the coronavirus pandemic and the Omicron variant

Sporting events in Wales will be played without spectators starting Sunday, December 26, the Welsh government announced on Monday, citing the rise in the number of cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Economy Minister Vaughan Gething explained the move in a statement:

December 26, or Boxing Day, is a public holiday in the UK. Sporting events such as football matches are considered part of the festivities and stadiums are usually packed. 

“The advice is clear – we need to act now in response to the threat of omicron. We are giving people as much notice of these decisions as we can,” Gething said.

“Crowds will come back as soon as possible. We want everyone to be here to enjoy their favourite sports.”

The Welsh government also announced a fund of nearly $4 million (£3m) to support clubs and sporting venues affected by these measures.

Russian Nata Vikhlyantseva has revealed that she will be unable to travel to Australia and attempt to play in the first Grand Slam of next season because her Covid-19 vaccine is not recognized by local health authorities.

All players need to have a double dose of an approved vaccine, or a medical exemption, to participate at the Australian Open, which takes place from January 17-30.

The Russian Sputnik V is not on the list of vaccines currently approved by the Australian government, leaving former world number 54 Vikhlyantseva ineligible to play at Melbourne Park.

President Biden will announce Tuesday a purchase of a half-billion at-home rapid Covid-19 tests and a plan to distribute them free to Americans who request them through a website, one of a series of new steps he’ll unveil as the country faces a potentially crippling wintertime surge of infections.

The 500 million new tests will be made available next month and will reach Americans through the mail, the official said. The administration is still working to determine how many tests each household may request.

The new test shipment scheme will come during remarks meant to underscore the White House’s plan to confront what is expected to be a large spike in cases driven by the now-dominant Omicron variant in the coming weeks. Already, cases are rising rapidly in areas around the country and hospitals are nearing capacity.

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Eight destinations including Spain have been added to the list of highest-risk category for travel compiled by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday.

In its weekly update of Covid-19 travel advisories, the CDC advised against travel to Spain, which was the world's second top destination for international visitors in 2019 after France.

The CDC places a destination at Level 4 when more than 500 cases per 100,000 residents are registered in the past 28 days. Seven more were added on Monday. They are:

Much of Europe has already been ranked at the highest travel risk, including:

And Europe isn't the only continent with popular tourist destinations on Level 4. Among the other places also considered at "very high" risk for travel are:

In all, almost 90 countries were rated Level 4 as of Dec. 20. You can view the CDC's risk levels for global destinations on its travel recommendations page.

It might be time to rethink your festive plans, the World Health Organization has warned amid a rising number of cases of the coronavirus caused by the Omicron variant.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the pandemic might mean canceling in-person events over the holiday period, adding that "an event canceled is better than a life canceled."

Speaking in Geneva on Monday, Tedros acknowledged that people were "sick of this pandemic."

"All of us want to spend time with friends and family. All of us want to get back to normal. The fastest way to do that is for all of us -- leaders and individuals -- to make the difficult decisions that must be made to protect ourselves and others," he said.

"It's better to cancel now and celebrate later, than to celebrate now and grieve later. None of us want to be here again in 12 months' time, talking about missed opportunities, continued inequity, or new variants," he added.

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A Texas man, whose death was the first confirmed Omicron-related in the US, was unvaccinated and had previously been infected with the coronavirus, according to a press release from Harris County Public Health.

County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced the death on Monday, saying the man was in his 50s. The case is the first known confirmed Omicron-related death in the US.

Hong Kong will mandate all government employees to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, or get tested for the virus every three days, authorities announced on Tuesday. 

The news rules will come into effect on January 3, the statement said.

Employees who have a medical certificate to prove they are unfit to receive Covid-19 vaccinations will have the costs of the tests reimbursed, while other employees will have to pay for them at their own expense. 

The government said the new measures are in response to “the growing number of infection cases involving mutant strains of Covid-19 with high transmissibility in the world.”

Hong Kong has followed mainland China in adopting a "dynamic zero-Covid strategy," closing its borders for much of the pandemic to non-residents and instituting strict quarantine requirements for returning residents.

It has so far not recorded any locally-transmitted cases of the Omicron variant.

For two years, Australia avoided the worst of the coronavirus pandemic thanks to strict border controls and prolonged lockdowns.

But Covid cases are now rising rapidly in the country, with the Omicron variant posing a new threat just as states and cities were beginning to loosen restrictions.

On Tuesday, the country's most populous state reported its highest new daily caseload of the pandemic, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called an emergency National Cabinet meeting to discuss the rising infections.

But he said one key message he'll be telling state premiers is a return to lockdowns, tight social restrictions and fines for violating them is not the answer.

"We have got to get past the heavy hand of government and we've got to treat Australians as adults," Morrison said at a news conference in Queensland Tuesday.

"We have to move from a culture of mandates to a culture of responsibility. That's how we live with the virus into the future."

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New Zealand said Tuesday it was pushing back its phased border reopening by about a month over concerns about the Omicron variant.

Explaining the decision in a statement, Minister for Covid-19 Response Chris Hipkins said:

Hipkins said New Zealand's Cabinet has agreed to a suite of other precautionary measures to keep Omicron out of the community. They include reducing the interval between a second Covid-19 vaccine dose and a booster shot from six months to four months and increasing the required length of stay for returning travelers from seven days to 10 days in managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ).