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The US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) says nearly 86% of COVID cases in the US are caused by the BA.2 Omicron sub-variant. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Wednesday.

Nearly 86% of COVID cases caused by BA.2 Omicron sub-variant, says CDC

The US Centre for Disease Control says the BA.2 COVID Omicron sub-variant is now responsible for 86 percent of COVID-19 cases in US.

It said the seven-day average of US COVID-19 cases stood at 28,339 as of April 9, up nearly 10 percent from a week earlier, with BA.2 accounting for 85.9 percent of infections.

For the week ending April 2, BA.2 made up 75.4 percent of the variants identified in the country, up from a previous estimate of 72.2 percent.

Shanghai eases COVID curbs for some residents

Shanghai has eased the citywide lockdown that it imposed to break a surge in COVID-19 cases.

The ease allows residents in areas where no cases have been reported for 14 days to leave their homes so long as they follow health protocol and remain in their sub-district.

Those living in areas where no cases have been confirmed for seven days are allowed to collect food deliveries or take a walk at a designated time and location.

Japan cancels a third of contracted AstraZeneca COVID vaccine purchase

Japan has cancelled the purchase of about 40 million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses it agreed to buy last year.

A health ministry official said the contract allowed the government to cancel a portion of the supply if it was unneeded.

Japan had originally agreed to buy 120 million of the shots, with the bulk made domestically by Daiichi Sankyo Co. and other local partners.

‘Taiwan to see 1,000 daily local COVID cases by end of month’

Chen Shih-chung, Taiwan’s health minister, says he expects daily domestic COVID-19 infections to top 1,000 a day while calling on people not to panic about a wave that is causing few serious cases.

Speaking on a Taiwanese radio station, Chen said daily cases could exceed 1,000 by the end of the April.

“I think that, looking at the present trends, by the end of April local cases will almost certainly top 1,000,” he said.

New Zealand COVID travel ban on Australians lifted

More than 4,000 people travelling from Australia on air New Zealand flights are expected to arrive at Auckland and Wellington airports on Wednesday, after the COVID-19 border restrictions were lifted at midnight.

Vaccinated Australians and permanent residents can now enter New Zealand if they have had a negative pre-departure test.

On arrival, they must self-test for COVID-19, and unless it comes back positive for the virus, there is no requirement to enter quarantine or self-isolation.