India’s daily COVID-19 cases rise by 22,775

India reported on Saturday 22,775 new COVID-19 infections over the past 24 hours, pushed up by a growing number of omicron variant cases, data from the health ministry showed.

The COVID-19 death toll in the past 24 hours rose by 406.

Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.

WHO urges China to be ‘transparent’ in sharing COVID-19 data

The World Health Organization (WHO) continues to call for China to be ‘transparent’ in sharing COVID-19 data in efforts to determine the disease’s origins, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reiterated on Friday in Geneva.

Health

Burundi announces first polio outbreak in more than 30 years

Health authorities in Burundi on Friday said that they had detected eight samples of polio, officially declaring the landlocked African nation’s first outbreak in more than 30 years.

Health

Cocaine trafficking surges following COVID-19-related slowdown

Routed through new hubs and expanded criminal networks, cocaine trafficking has made a dramatic comeback following an initial slowdown caused by the emergence of COVID-19, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime said on Thursday in a hard-hitting new report.