The United States plans to roll out an updated COVID-19 booster vaccine to include Omicron subvariants of the coronavirus. Regulators are reviewing the shots and could give the go-ahead as soon as next week.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a ceremony to thank and praise military medics for spearheading the country's fight against the coronavirus in the capital Pyongyang, state media said.

The World Health Organization on Thursday recommended the use of French drugmaker Valneva's COVID-19 vaccine.

The UK medicines regulator (MHRA) has given the first approval of a variant-adapted vaccine by U.S. drug company Moderna that targets both the original and Omicron version of the virus.

Cities in China's tourism hub Hainan extended lockdowns on Friday, with some measures expected to last through the weekend.

North Korea said on Friday all of its fever patients have recovered, its first such claim since the outbreak of the pandemic in the isolated economy, according to state media KCNA.

Australia's COVID-19 winter outbreak fuelled by the new Omicron sub-variants BA.4/5 may have peaked early, Health Minister Mark Butler said on Thursday, as hospitals reported a steady fall in admissions over the past week.

The Chinese city of Yiwu in Zhejiang province has suspended some public gatherings and dining at restaurants, closed multiple entertainment venues and locked down some areas to cope with COVID-19 flare-ups, the city government said.

The Hong Kong government's COVID-19 advisory panel recommended to lower the minimum age for vaccines to six months from three years, public broadcaster RTHK reported.

Cases of COVID-19 have spiked in some areas of China and Japan, while a large mask-free public event was held in North Korea for the first time since May.