Covid-19 surges have wreaked havoc worldwide, forcing many nations to make tough choices between economically punishing restrictions to control the spread of the virus and keeping society open.
Despite facing a much smaller outbreak compared with global virus hotspots, China has not relaxed its "zero Covid" strategy, imposing stay-at-home orders in many parts of the city of Yan'an. This lockdown is the most sweeping in China since the similar-sized city of Wuhan was cut off from the world in the early days of the pandemic.The highly transmissible Omicron variant has propelled the surges in many countries, with the Netherlands and Switzerland both saying Tuesday that it has become the dominant strain in their countries.France, Britain, Greece and Portugal all reported record daily case numbers on Tuesday, with France reporting almost 180,000 infections in the last 24 hours.
To hold back the tide, European nations brought back curbs with painful economic and social consequences. In Germany, private gatherings are now limited to 10 vaccinated people -- or two households where any unvaccinated people are present -- and nightclubs have been closed. All sports competitions will now be held behind closed doors.
But US President Joe Biden offered some respite to the travel sector on Tuesday by announcing an end to a travel ban on eight southern African countries imposed in response to the emergence of Omicron.
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