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Hong Kong officials on Wednesday implemented the city’s strictest restrictions since the coronavirus was first detected here two years ago, including banning all passenger flights from eight countries, as it holds firm to a “zero-covid” policy amid a growing outbreak of the omicron variant. Hong Kong has only a handful of community infections, including six omicron cases linked to a restaurant cluster. But the harsh restrictions are in part a response to the territory’s relatively low vaccination rates, particularly among the elderly. Only about 20 percent of those above age 80 are fully vaccinated, according to government statistics. (Mahtani, 1/5)

Omicron has taken hold in the European Union, where daily cases of coronavirus exceeded 1 million on Wednesday for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Even though omicron symptoms are largely relatively mild, governments are still worried about pressure on hospitals and broader health services, and have stepped up measures -- as well as the language -- to force people to get vaccinated. (O'Brien, 1/6)

France announced a staggering 332,252 daily virus cases Wednesday, smashing a string of recent records, as hospitals prepared drastic measures to brace for patient surges and the government strained to avoid a new lockdown. With Europe’s highest-ever single-day confirmed infection count, France is facing an omicron-driven surge that is dominating the race for April’s presidential election and increasingly disrupting workplaces, schools and public life. (1/5)

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Thursday asked that the U.S. military in Japan stay inside its bases to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.Hayashi said he spoke on the phone with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and was promised utmost efforts to ensure people’s health. It was not immediately clear if a base curfew would be issued. Maj. Thomas R. Barger, a U.S. Forces in Japan spokesperson, said he could not comment on the request, but that a team was carefully monitoring cases and trends. (Kageyama, 1/6)

Novak Djokovic, the world’s No. 1-ranked men’s tennis player, traveled all day Wednesday from Dubai to Australia, a journey that was supposed to begin his defense of the Australian Open singles championship. On Thursday, he was told he would need to leave the country, following a 10-hour standoff with government officials at a Melbourne airport, where he was held in a room overnight over the validity of his visa and questions about the evidence supporting a medical exemption from a coronavirus vaccine. (Futterman, 1/5)

Hospital officials in the northern Chinese city of Xi’an have been punished after a pregnant woman miscarried after being refused entry, reportedly for not having current COVID-19 test results. (1/6)

The U.S. is among the countries projected to miss the WHO’s Covid vaccination target for 2022, researchers have said, alongside a host of other nations across Europe, Asia and Africa. In October, the WHO set a target for countries to vaccinate 70% of their populations by mid-2022. According to projections made by Our World in Data, last updated on Tuesday, more than 100 countries are not on track to meet that goal. (Taylor, 1/6)

Pope Francis this week criticized individuals who opt for having pets instead of children, saying that a “denial of fatherhood or motherhood diminishes us.” The pope on Wednesday made the comments while speaking about the figure of Joseph serving as the “foster father” of Jesus.“ Joseph shows us that this type of bond is not secondary; it is not an afterthought, no,” Pope Francis said. “This kind of choice is among the highest forms of love, and of fatherhood and motherhood. How many children in the world are waiting for someone to take care of them.” (Pitofsky, 1/5)