KINGSTON, Jamaica — The novel coronavirus has infected more than 266.5 million people, leaving more than 5.2 million dead across 196 countries and territories.

The majority of those infected have recovered and many countries have rolled out vaccine campaigns as economies start to recover from the pandemic.

— Jamaica on Wednesday reported 24 new cases of COVID-19 and four virus-related deaths. This brings the total number of confirmed cases recorded on the island since the start of the pandemic to 91,578 and the death toll to 2415.

— Cuba has given emergency authorisation for its home-grown Soberana Plus vaccine to be administered to children as young as two after a coronavirus infection.

— Bermuda on Wednesday confirmed its first case of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus pandemic that has already been detected in more than 30 countries on six continents.

— Britain on Wednesday urged private COVID test firms to stop exploiting travellers after a former competitions chief said the market was a “rip-off jungle”.

— BioNTech and Pfizer on Wednesday said the coronavirus vaccine developed jointly by the companies is “still effective” against the Omicron variant of the virus after three doses.

— Top scientists from the World Health Organisation on Wednesday said the Omicron variant appears to be no worse than other coronavirus strains while cautioning that more research is needed to judge its severity.

— UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet on Wednesday said countries considering introducing vaccine mandates in the fight against COVID-19 must ensure they respect human rights, stressing that forced vaccination was never acceptable.

— The US has suffered the most COVID-related deaths with 791,514, followed by Brazil with 616,018, India with 473,952, Mexico with 295,601 and Russia with 284,823.

Read the full stories here:

Jamaica reports 24 new COVID-19 cases, four deaths

Cuba okays local jab for toddlers after COVID-19 infection

Bermuda confirms first case of Omicron

UK urges COVID test firms to stop exploiting travellers

Pfizer says COVID booster offers protection against Omicron variant

WHO, US scientists say Omicron no worse than other virus variants

‘In no circumstances’ is forced vaccination OK: UN rights chief

ARE WE FLATTENING THE CURVE?here for interactive chart* with details on Jamaica’s numbers.here for a look at the numbers globally.

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*Data mined from various sources around the world.