French Health Minister Olivier Veran told LCI TV on Tuesday that he hoped France would reach the peak of the current wave of Covid-19 in the coming days.

In January, France consistently recorded high numbers of daily infections, putting massive pressure on the country’s national healthcare system.

Nearly 400 people hospitalized in France due to Covid-19 infection have died in the past 24 hours, official data showed on Monday, the highest figure since April.

Violating Covid-19 safety protocols, Sarah Palin dined at an Italian restaurant in Manhattan just two days before she tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday, according to reports.

Although she was not vaccinated against the coronavirus, Ms Palin dined indoors at Elio’s on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. It goes against New York’s Covid-19 safety guidelines, which require customers inside to show proof of vaccinations, reported The New York Times.

Elio’s manager Luca Guaitolini said they ‘just made a mistake’.

Arpan Rai has the whole story:

The Netherlands is set to ease Covid-19 rules in the country, allowing restaurants, bars and theaters to reopen despite record numbers of coronavirus infections.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Health Minister Ernst Kuipers are expected to announce the new rules at a press conference on Tuesday evening, according to Reuters news agency.

Late Monday, the government released official advice from health experts and local government officials who support ending a strict lockdown in place since mid-December.

Despite record infections, experts said the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, which is now dominant in the Netherlands, “has a less severe clinical picture” than the Delta variant, which caused an earlier wave.

Government advisers have said bars, restaurants and theaters should be allowed to open until 10 p.m.

On Monday, the Netherlands reported more than 60,000 new infections. The Dutch association of regional public health authorities, GGD GHOR, said it had reached maximum capacity and warned that people should wait longer to get tested.

Experts from Israel’s Health Ministry have recommended offering a fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to all adults after the second booster reportedly increased resistance in the elderly.

The recommendation is to offer a fourth dose to people who received their first booster dose or recovered from an illness at least five months ago, Reuters news agency reported.

Downing Street staff threw a birthday party for Boris Johnson in 2020 despite Covid lockdown rules which banned socializing indoors, according to a new report.

She presented the PM with a cake and led the staff in singing Happy Birthday, before attendees enjoyed picnic food from M&S.

A Number 10 spokeswoman confirmed that a group of staff ‘gathered briefly’ in the Cabinet Room ‘to wish the Prime Minister a happy birthday’, adding: ‘He had been there less than ten minutes”.

ITV News also reported that family friends had been hosted upstairs in the Prime Minister’s flat for an event later that evening – a claim denied by No 10.

Adam Forrest has the full story below.

A New York judge overturned the state’s mask mandate on Monday, a week before it expired.

Judge Thomas Rademaker of the New York State Supreme Court on Long Island found that the state legislature last year limited any governor’s ability to issue executive orders, such as a mask mandate , amid a declared state of emergency.

It was the latest setback for executive branch officials at the state and federal levels. Earlier this month, the United States Supreme Court blocked President Joe Biden’s vaccination or testing mandate for big business. A Texas judge ruled last week that Mr. Biden could not require federal employees to be vaccinated.

Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, vowed to fight back, saying in a statement, “We strongly disagree with this decision, and we are pursuing all options to reverse this immediately.”

“My responsibility as governor is to protect New Yorkers throughout this public health crisis, and these measures are helping to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and save lives,” Hochul said.

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Organizing Committee said 15 new positive cases of Covid-19 were detected among games-related personnel in the past 24 hours.

Twelve of the confirmed positive cases were among newcomers, the notice posted on the Beijing 2022 official website said on Tuesday. While the other three were found among those already in closed loop, and of those three, one was an athlete or team official.

Beijing has already relaxed some of its countermeasures for participants ahead of the Winter Games.

Changes include easing the threshold for being classified as positive for Covid-19 and reducing the period a person is considered a close contact from 14 to 7 days.

Japanese government must expand coronavirus restrictions in face of Omicron surge.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he would step up measures as the fast-spreading strain threatens to disrupt basic services including hospitals and schools.

Mr Kishida plans to put the majority of the country under “pre-emergency status”. As part of the latest measures, most restaurants are asked to close at 9 p.m. in exchange for government subsidies, and there are restrictions on major public events.

The Prime Minister announced stricter anti-virus measures until February 20 in 18 prefectures, including Hokkaido in the north to Osaka and Kyoto in the west of Japan.

This is in addition to areas where similar restrictions are already in place or about to be extended, including Tokyo, Okinawa, Yamaguchi and Hiroshima.

Mr Kishida said he would officially announce the decision on Tuesday after consulting a government panel including health experts.

The daily number of new coronavirus cases in South Korea topped 8,000 for the first time on Tuesday, as the highly contagious variant of Omicron spreads rapidly despite the recent extension of strict social distancing rules to slow the infection .

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 8,571 cases on Monday, surpassing the previous peak recorded in mid-December of 7,848.

The new record came amid the spread of the more transmissible Omicron variant, which became dominant in the country last week, despite fewer tests over the weekend.

South Korea reinstated stricter distancing measures in December as record numbers of daily cases and critically ill patients threatened to overwhelm its medical system before the Omicron wave hit.

Daily counts had almost halved to around 4,000 this month, but started to rebound last week due to Omicron infections, recording their second highest level on Saturday.

The outbreak has fueled concerns about a potentially larger surge ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, when tens of millions of Koreans typically travel across the country for family visits.

The country has so far recorded 733,902 Covid-19 infections and 6,540 deaths, according to KDCA data. More than 95% of South Korean adults have been fully vaccinated and nearly 58% have received a booster shot, according to KDCA data.

Lord Agnew’s resignation over the Government’s handling of fraudulent Covid business loans has been described as ‘one of the most dramatic moments ever’ in the House of Lords.

The Treasury Secretary has attacked Boris Johnson’s government’s ‘dismal record’ in tackling fraud over the multi-billion pound coronavirus loan scheme.

He accused the Treasury of having “little interest in the consequences of fraud on our society” and castigated “arrogance, indolence and ignorance” in the ministries.

He said: ‘Given that I am the Minister for Enforcement, it would be a bit dishonest to remain in this role if I am unable to do it properly.’

Adam Forrest has the full story below.