Health

More than 2,700 US flights canceled amid bad weather and omicron spike

Air travel continued to be severely disrupted in the United States on Saturday, with bad weather in parts of the country adding to the impact of a massive spike in COVID-19 infections fueled by the omicron variant.

For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

The United States had 2,723 cancelled flights, more than half of the 4,698 cancelled worldwide, around 11:00 pm (0400 GMT Sunday), according to tracking website FlightAware.

In addition, 5,993 domestic flights were delayed on Saturday, out of a total of 11,043 worldwide for the day.

The worst affected US airline was SkyWest, which had to cancel 23 percent of its flight schedule, according to the site.

In the United States, airports in Chicago were particularly hard-hit because of bad weather, with a snowstorm expected in the area on Saturday afternoon and into the night.

The global air travel industry is still reeling from the highly contagious omicron variant.

Many pilots, flight attendants and other staff are absent from work after contracting COVID-19, or because they are quarantining after coming in contact with someone who has the infection.

Some 7,500 flights were cancelled by airlines worldwide over the Christmas weekend.

Omicron multiplies 70 times faster than delta in human airways: Study

Pfizer confirms experimental COVID pill appears effective against omicron variant

Health

Pandemic experts express concern over avian influenza spread to humans

The ongoing global spread of “bird flu” infections to mammals including humans is a significant public health concern, senior UN medics said on Thursday, as they announced new measures to tackle airborne diseases.

Health

Violations of women’s reproductive health rights trigger rise in preventable deaths

African women are 130 times more likely to die due to pregnancy or childbirth complications than women in Europe and Northern America, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA) said in a new report published on Wednesday.

Health

Nigeria first country to introduce ‘revolutionary’ meningitis vaccine

Nigeria has become the first country to roll out a “revolutionary” five-in-one vaccine against meningitis, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement on Friday.