The United States reports almost 4,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic in 24 hours.

High demand for groceries combined with soaring freight costs and Omicron-related labor shortages are creating a new round of backlogs at processed food and fresh produce companies, leading to empty supermarket shelves at major retailers across the United States.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been embroiled in another scandal over his administration’s breaches of health protocols at the height of the first coronavirus lockdown when all in-person socializing was outlawed.

Top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said there was still a danger of a surge in hospitalization due to a large number of coronavirus cases even as early data suggests the Omicron COVID-19 variant is less severe.

Britain reported a record 129,471 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would not bring in new restrictions this year to limit the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus.

Only 62 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated, and the nation’s medical infrastructure is severely strained two years into the pandemic.

The UK has announced new measures in a bid to slow the spread of the newly identified Omicron coronavirus variant as two cases have been found in the country.

The discovery of the highly mutated new coronavirus variant named Omicron has prompted governments around the world to ban travelers from several southern African countries.

British health officials are saying that a newly identified coronavirus variant which has spread in South Africa has double the number of mutations of the Delta variant.

A new wave of coronavirus infections has swept across Europe in recent days, dashing hopes of return to normalcy with major member states announcing plans to reimpose full lockdowns and make vaccinations mandatory.