Omicron live updates: New Zealand to start easing tough border controls

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a five-step plan to reconnect New Zealand to the rest of the world

Health workers collect swab samples at a newly opened Covid-19 test centre at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. EPA

People in Toronto show their support for lorry drivers on their way to Ottawa to protest against cross-border vaccine mandates. Reuters

Passengers on an underground train in London. Although it is no longer legally compulsory to wear masks in indoor venues, some rail companies in England still require passengers to wear face coverings. EPA

A health worker holds a swab sample collected from a member of the media before the start of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. AFP

A House of Fraser department store, which closed down during the coronavirus outbreak, on Oxford Street in London. AP

Crowds of people wait for the train at a railway station in Shanghai during the Chinese New Year travel rush. Reuters

Naples, Italy. More EU countries now require people to wear FFP2 multi-layered face masks outdoors to curb the spread of the more contagious Omicron coronavirus strain. EPA

A health worker collects a swab sample at a Covid-19 test centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. EPA

A pupil receives a dose of the Sinovac vaccine at a primary school in Tangerang, Indonesia. EPA

A health worker treats a Covid-19 patient in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Marica, Brazil. AP

A doctor prescribes medicine for a person infected with Covid-19, in Quito, Ecuador. AP

A driver places a swab into a vial at a drive-through test centre in Darby, Pennsylvania. AP

Medics take a swab from a patient outside a doctor's office in Laatzen, Germany. AP

Residents undergo nucleic acid tests at a Covid-19 test centre in Anyang, China. AFP

A man receives a shot of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine in Moscow. EPA

A health worker collects a swab sample at a government hospital in Hyderabad. AFP

A health worker collects a swab sample from a member of the media before the start of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. AFP

Medics transfer a Covid-19 patient at a hospital in Krasnodar, Russia. AP

• Largest study yet sheds new light on Covid-19 Omicron variant
• GCC countries reintroduce Covid measures amid surge in cases
• WHO: half of Europe will be infected with Omicron in weeks

Omicron – also known as B.1.1.529 – is a coronavirus variant with an unusually large number of mutations. It was first detected in South Africa, but has since spread around the world.

Follow our live blog below for the latest updates.