Covid-19 Curbs Eased Further in Europe as New Version of Omicron Spreads in Places

Several European countries have lifted or relaxed Covid-19 restrictions, citing the milder symptoms being caused by the Omicron variant in vaccinated people—even as daily infections continued to surge in some countries and a new version of Omicron was identified as spreading in places. In the U.S., the number of recorded cases and the number of patients with Covid-19 in hospitals slipped further, while the number of recorded Covid-19 deaths rose to its highest since early last year. The daily average of Covid-19 deaths recorded over the seven days to Wednesday was 2,301, the highest figure since February. Denmark said it would lift most mandatory restrictions on Feb. 1. Premier Mette Frederiksen said Wednesday that measures ranging from mask mandates, to mandatory vaccinations for access to some public spaces and shortened opening times for some businesses would all end, with some traveling restrictions remaining in place until the end of February.