This comes amid a new Covid variant i.e. XBB 1.5 becoming more predominant in major parts of the world, though it is a sub-variant from the omicron strain. Germany says that it is "monitoring whether, and to what extent, XBB 1.5 occurs in Germany". Official data showed that the highly contagious variant has made up for more than 40% of cases in the US.
Meanwhile, France is expressing concern about China's rising infections after having seen the EU recommend that passengers flying into the bloc from China produce a negative Covid test before travelling. French health minister notes that the situation domestically is improving but "what's going in China is worrying".
