FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* Botswana has not seen a rise in hospitalisations despite being one of the first countries to detect the Omicron variant, the health minister said. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * BioNTech and Pfizer said a three-shot course of their vaccine was able to neutralise the new Omicron variant in a laboratory test. * Pfizer's chief executive officer said the group will submit full data on its treatment pill to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in a few days, CNBC reported.

The Omicron strain of the coronavirus has been reported in more than 55 nations and the number of patients needing hospitalisation is likely to rise as it spreads, the World Health Organization said. According to leading virologists and immunologists, the arrival of the highly-mutated variant is a wake-up call to develop vaccines less susceptible to the rapid changes of the coronavirus.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS * Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news

EUROPE * Germany's new health minister said he would push ahead with the vaccination campaign until the coronavirus crisis was over. Tougher restrictions increase people's willingness to receive the vaccine, a survey in the German-Austrian border regions published showed.

* Finland plans to make vaccines mandatory for health and social care workers, the government said. * Austria will let a wide range of businesses reopen when its lockdown ends on Sunday, the government said, but many regions will open up more cautiously.

* Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologised after a video surfaced showing his staff laughing and joking about a gathering in Downing Street during a Christmas lockdown last year. His government has not asked to make a parliamentary statement on potential changes to COVID-19 rules, the speaker of the lower house of parliament said. * The fifth COVID-19 wave hitting France has not yet reached its peak, the government spokesman said, and the cabinet's top adviser on the coronavirus indicated a fourth vaccine shot to fight the disease was possible.

AMERICAS * U.S. Senate Republicans were poised to try to upend President Joe Biden's vaccine and test mandate for private businesses, in a legislative push that appeared to have enough support from Democrats to succeed.

* Brazil will require that unvaccinated travellers entering the country go on a five-day quarantine followed by a COVID-19 test, its health minister said on Tuesday. ASIA-PACIFIC

* Indian COVID-19 vaccine makers are lobbying the government to authorise boosters as supplies have outstripped demand. * Japan has reported its fourth case of the Omicron variant, TV Asahi said.

* The Philippines will ban travellers coming from France to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant, the presidential office said. * China's Guangdong has ordered a halt to some group tourist trips between the province and other areas after finding one local symptomatic case.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * Kuwait has detected its first case of the Omicron variant, state news agency KUNA reported.

* Nigeria's health minister said some COVID-19 doses donated by rich Western countries had a shelf life that left only weeks to administer the shots. * Botswana has not seen a rise in hospitalisations despite being one of the first countries to detect the Omicron variant, the health minister said.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * BioNTech and Pfizer said a three-shot course of their vaccine was able to neutralise the new Omicron variant in a laboratory test.

* Pfizer's chief executive officer said the group will submit full data on its treatment pill to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in a few days, CNBC reported. * South African health regulator SAHPRA approved a third, or booster, shot of Pfizer's vaccine for adults and children over the age of 12.

* China's medical products regulator said it had approved the use of Brii Biosciences' neutralising antibody cocktail for COVID-19. ECONOMIC IMPACT

* A rebound in market sentiment continued, with world shares set for their biggest two-day jump since November last year as investors' concerns about the Omicron variant eased. * Global airlines blasted governments for worsening the Omicron scare through snap border measures and "rip-off" virus testing regimes.

(Compiled by Juliette Portala and Federico Maccioni; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Mark Heinrich)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)