Coronavirus latest: Record number of German workers on reduced hours

Are those protesting against Covid-19 restrictions just an angry few, or do they represent a much deeper malaise?As the Northern Hemisphere hunkers down for a new winter wave of Covid restrictions, backlash over these curbs is rearing up in Central Europe, the Netherlands and the French Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. Some of the pushback is coming from fringe conspiracy theorists or muscle men, but many others have also lost trust in authorities and in what they see as heavy-handed measures and mixed messages. Is the unfiltered "anything goes" rhetoric that wins elections finally coming home to roost?

The world is worried about the new COVID-19 omicron variant, first detected in South Africa. Many countries have imposed travel bans. In South Africa itself, people fear the restrictions more than the virus.

South Korea garnered early success in battling COVID-19. But as the country has begun to open up, daily case numbers have hit new highs. The government is considering reimposing restrictions. For businesses already struggling, that is not good news.

German police are running "at full capacity all the time" and struggling to cope with stress as they deal with violent and aggressive protesters, the police union has said.

In an effort to stave off a spike in COVID-19 infections, authorities have started to impose strict rules. With most new cases reported in urban areas, nighttime curfews have been declared in all major cities. But maintaining social distancing is a huge challenge.

Coronavirus cases have hit global records. Some countries have tightened measures, while others are pushing to relax rules because of the omicron variant's perceived milder infections and high national vaccination rates.

Denmark is lifting restrictions it had imposed to try to control the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials in Beijing are reporting more cases around the Olympics, just days before the Games open.

Throngs of revellers filled The Levels bar in Uganda's capital Kampala, dancing to live music and ordering bottle service to their tables. It was a Monday night. Bars and night clubs have reopened nearly two years after the government shut them and banned other of forms of entertainment, part of strict measures to contain COVID-19.

Denmark, France, Ireland and the United Kingdom have lifted most pandemic restrictions despite soaring numbers of infections, but countries such as Germany and Austria have opted to maintain them. DW's Emmanuelle Chaze reports.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has pointed to declining hospitalization and death rates as evidence it's time for "a new phase of the pandemic." State leaders have accused him of making unilateral decisions.

The Bundestag lifted the requirement to wear a mask in most places, despite a record number of coronavirus infections. The move has been criticized by the opposition Christian Democatic Union.

European countries such as Germany and Britain are now seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases from the more transmissible BA2 omicron variant. Meanwhile, Indonesia eased rules for tourists.