OVERVIEW: South Africa relaxes isolation reqirements and other international developments,

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: Reuters Reuters

-- South Africans without symptoms of COVID-19 will no longer need to isolate or test if they have been in contact with a positive case, the government announced on Friday, saying developments around the virus justified a shift from containment measures towards mitigation.

The country has led the continent in terms of COVID-19 cases and deaths, as well as vaccinations, and its experience has been closely watched around the world after it was among the first countries to identify the more transmissible Omicron variant. read more

-- Australia on Friday narrowed the wait time for people to receive booster shots as another record jump in daily infections resulted in cancelled flights and sent Christmas travel plans into disarray.

-- A Japanese health ministry panel on Friday recommended approval of the COVID-19 antiviral pill developed by Merck & Co, part of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's plan to roll out new treatments by year-end as concerns rise about Omicron.

--  Thailand reported on Friday its first domestic cluster of coronavirus infections from the Omicron variant in Kalasin province in northeastern Thailand, officials said.

The 21 new infections stem from a couple who travelled from Belgium through the country’s Test & Go scheme that waived quarantine for vaccinated arrivals. read more

-- Officials in the northwestern Chinese city of Xian face punishment after a COVID-19 outbreak led to the lockdown of its 13 million residents, authorities said on Friday, as the number of new cases declined.

All domestic flights out of Xian and most trains originating from the city scheduled for Friday were cancelled. Officials in Xian say the outbreak has been traced to the arrival of a plane from Pakistan. read more