News Snapshot:
BEIJING — Mainland China reported its first case of the omicron Covid variant on Monday in the city of Tianjin, about two hours’ drive from the capital of Beijing. On Monday, the United Kingdom reported the first publicly confirmed death globally from the omicron variant. The newly identified variant — first reported in South Africa in late November — is highly transmissible and heavily mutated, and has raised concerns about the efficacy of existing coronavirus vaccines. Mainland China has reported only pockets of Covid-19 cases in the last 18 months, as Beijing pursues a tough “zero-tolerance” policy that can mean...
