What you need to know about the coronavirus right now Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: Reuters Reuters

 -- South Korea's total coronavirus infections topped 10 million, or nearly 20% of its population, authorities said on Wednesday, as surging severe cases and deaths increasingly put a strain on crematoriums and funeral homes nationwide.

The country has been battling a record COVID-19 wave driven by the highly infectious Omicron variant but has largely scrapped its once aggressive tracing and quarantine efforts and has eased social distancing curbs. read more

--Authorities in the Chinese city of Shanghai have denied rumours of a city-wide lockdown after a sixth straight increase in daily asymptomatic coronavirus cases pushed its count to record levels despite a campaign of mass testing aimed at stifling the spread.

The latest outbreak in China's wealthy commercial hub remains tiny by global standards.

But its testing campaign, with many people locked in residential compounds for days, is part of Beijing's national "dynamic clearance" policy to stamp out flare-ups as quickly as possible. read more

The government said this week a ban on flights from nine countries - Canada, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Britain, the United States, France, Australia and the Philippines - would be lifted on April 1, but it was not clear if airlines would face a two-week ban if they bring in infected people, as is currently the case. read more  ...

 -- Novavax said on Tuesday its COVID-19 vaccine has received emergency-use authorization from the Drugs Controller General of India for children aged 12 to 17 years. read more