 "Omicron, Covid, Coronavirus, Covid-19")
A New Year shorn of mass celebrations beckoned Friday for millions around the world as the number of daily Covid infections, driven by the Omicron variant, surged through another symbolic high.
Coronavirus, first detected two years ago and declared a global pandemic in March 2020, has killed more than 5.4 million people, triggered economic crises and seen societies ricochet in and out of lockdowns.
The latest variant, Omicron, while tentatively considered to cause milder illness, has pushed infection levels to record levels in recent days in the United States, Britain, France and other European countries, forcing governments to reimpose restrictions.
The number of
