Omicron drives major surge in South Africa Covid cases

South African health officials say the emergence of the Covid variant, Omicron, appears to be leading to an increase in the number of people contracting the disease for a second time. We speak to the director of an Intensive Care Unit in Soweto and to an advisor to the Africa Centre for Disease Control.

Also in the programme: the deterioration of Venezuela’s health system; and the United Nations is today calling for a record $41 billion to fund its humanitarian work next year. We will focus on Syria.

(Photo: A Soweto resident walks in front of an informative graffiti artwork educating local Soweto residents about the dangers of the coronavirus, Johannesburg, South Africa. Credit: EPA.)