Coronavirus: Latest global developments

PARIS: Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- Protests in Austria, France, Italy -

Thousands demonstrate against restrictive measures designed to slow the spread of Covid in several European countries.

Austrian police report that 27,000 people turned out in Vienna to protest plans to make vaccination compulsory.

Thousands also marched in cities across France against tighter restrictions on people not vaccinated, while thousands protested in the Italian capital Rome.

- 'Wine Fridays' headache for British PM -

A newspaper report that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson witnessed weekly drinking sessions by his staff throughout the coronavirus pandemic has stoked fresh calls from his own party for him to quit.

- Covid case in Beijing -

An Omicron case has been detected in Beijing, officials in the Chinese capital say, as the country battles multiple outbreaks of the highly transmissible coronavirus variant ahead of the Winter Olympics next month.

- Australia detains Djokovic, again -

Australia returns Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic to detention, saying his opposition to vaccination against Covid could cause "civil unrest", but a new court appeal is scheduled for Sunday.

- More than 5.5 million dead -

The coronavirus has killed at least 5,528,972 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources Saturday.

The United States has recorded the most Covid deaths with 849,259, followed by Brazil with 620,796, India on 485,752 and Russia 320,634.

Taking into account excess mortality linked to Covid-19, the WHO estimates the overall death toll could be two to three times higher.