Covid news live: South Africa says fourth wave has peaked; US will soon see ‘viral blizzard’, expert warns

Health officials in South Africa say its fourth wave has passed after a dip in infections; the US will see new Covid cases rise dramatically next month, an infectious disease expert warns

• UK PM Boris Johnson says UK doing incomparably better' against Covid
• South Africa says Omicron-fuelled fourth Covid wave has passed
• Germany, Italy and Portugal to relax isolation, Spain to cut quarantine
• Omicron havoc for airlines as JetBlue cancels almost 1,300 flights
• Covid booster jab offered to all adults in England, says government
• See all our coronavirus coverage

South Korea said on Friday it will extend stricter social distancing rules for two weeks amid a persistent surge in serious coronavirus infections and concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant.

The government reinstated the curbs on 18 December, six weeks after easing them under a living with Covid-19" scheme, as record-breaking numbers of new infections and serious cases put a huge strain on the country's medical system.