Coronavirus: Latest Global Developments

A long queue of people snakes down a road for a mobile specimen collection station for COVID-19 testing in Hong Kong’s Tung Chung district on 10 February, 2022, as authorities scrambled to ramp up testing capacity following a record high number of new infections. (AFP Photo)

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

Canada Bridge Reopens 

A key United States (US)-Canada border crossing, the Ambassador Bridge linking Ontario with Detroit, reopens almost one week after it was shut by truck driver-led protests against COVID-19 restrictions.

Convoy Tries To Block Brussels 

Up to 500 cars, campervans and trucks from Belgium and the Netherlands taking part in a Canada-style protest prepare to block Brussels despite the convoy being banned.

French Target Strasbourg 

French "Freedom Convoy" protesters gathered in the northern city of Lille to debate whether to target the European Parliament in Strasbourg after a disappointing turnout in Paris.

NZ Use Ultimate Weapon: Barry Manilow 

Police officers complain about having to listen to Barry Manilow songs being blasted at New Zealand anti-vaccine protesters to clear them from around the country's parliament.

Hong Kong Battered By Omicron 

Hong Kong's health facilities are overloaded by an "onslaught" of infections, its leader says, as a rise in Omicron cases threatens to bring down the city's "zero-COVID" policy.

Germany Hopes To Relax Rules 

Germany hopes to lift most restrictions by 20 March with the country still suffering high infection rates.

Vietnam Lifts Flight Ban 

Vietnam will lift restrictions on international flights for fully vaccinated passengers from Tuesday as the communist country reopens to tourists.

Sweden's Fourth Jab 

Sweden's public health agency recommends a fourth vaccine jab for people over the age of 80 and those cared for at home or in nursing homes.

Over 5.8 Million Dead 

The coronavirus has killed at least 5,813,329 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources on Monday at 1100 GMT.

The US has recorded the most COVID deaths with 919,697, followed by Brazil with 638,362, and India 509,011.

Taking into account excess mortality linked to COVID-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the true death toll could be two to three times higher.