U.S. President Joe Biden meets with members of the White House COVID-19 Response Team on the latest developments related to the Omicron variant in the Roosevelt Room in the White House in Washington, U.S., December 16, 2021. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)





People protest against the government's economic and budget policies at Piazza del Popolo in Rome, Italy, December 16, 2021. The sign reads: “no to exploitation, no to slavery”. (Photo by Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters)





A child takes cover during a protest in favor of migration in Mexico City, Mexico December 16, 2021. (Photo by Toya Sarno Jordan/Reuters)





Students dress the Bredero monument with red clothes in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 16 December 2021. The action is aimed as a protest against the lack of proper compensation for the loan system generation in the presented coalition agreement. (Photo by Ramon van Flymen/EPA/EFE)





Pro-Beijing supporters hold flags and placards during a rally in support of the legislative election in Hong Kong, Thursday, December 16, 2021. Hong Kong voters are preparing to vote for the first time this weekend since election laws were changed, amid a dearth of opposition candidates months after the city began cracking down on dissent. The legislative elections will be held on Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021. The placard reads in Chinese “Vote together on Dec. 19 vote”. (Photo by Kin Cheung/AP Photo)





Doctor Ruxandra Divan, rests in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for COVID-19 patients at “Hopitaux Civils de Colmar” in Colmar, France, December 15, 2021. (Photo by Yves Herman/Reuters)





People sit on outdoor tables outside a restaurant on Old Compton Street in Soho, London on Thursday, December 16, 2021, where new restrictions have come into force to slow the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus. (Photo by Kirsty O'Connor/PA Images via Getty Images)





Medical staff prepare an isolation ward for Covid-19 coronavirus patients at a government hospital in Chennai on December 16, 2021, as at least one case of Omicron coronavirus variant was reported in Tamil Nadu. (Photo by Arun Sankar/AFP Photo)





People wait for COVID-19 testing on New York's Upper West Side, Wednesday, December 15, 2021. The new omicron coronavirus mutant speeding around the world may bring another wave of chaos, threatening to further stretch hospital workers already struggling with a surge of delta cases and upend holiday plans for the second year in a row. (Photo by Richard Drew/AP Photo)





A worker carries a tree at a small Christmas market in the center of Brussels, Thursday, December 16, 2021. Several EU countries are accelerating vaccinations against the coronavirus before Christmas as infections surge and more people with COVID-19 seek medical attention. (Photo by Olivier Matthys/AP Photo)





A biologist at the French-Austrian biotech firm Valneva laughs as she waits in a double door system before entering a laboratory to work on an inactivated whole-virus vaccine against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Vienna, Austria, December 16, 2021. (Photo by Lisi Niesner/Reuters)





Doctors wearing protective gear are reflected in a mirror at the intensive care unit of Honved Hospital treating COVID-19 patients, in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, December 15, 2021. (Photo by Zoltan Balogh/MTI via AP Photo)





A woman wears a face shield as she walks past an image of Santa Claus at a Christmas market, in London, Thursday, December 16, 2021. The U.K. recorded the highest number of confirmed new COVID-19 infections Wednesday since the pandemic began, and England's chief medical officer warned the situation is likely to get worse as the omicron variant drives a new wave of illness during the Christmas holidays. The U.K. recorded 78,610 new infections on Wednesday, 16% higher than the previous record set in January. (Photo by Alberto Pezzali/AP Photo)





In this handout photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, a rescuer assists a girl as they wade through flooding caused by Typhoon Rai in Cagayan de Oro City, southern Philippines on Thursday, December 16, 2021. Tens of thousands of people were being evacuated to safety in the southern and central Philippines as Typhoon Rai approached Thursday at a time when authorities were warning the public to avoid crowds after the first infections caused by the omicron strain of the coronavirus were reported in the country, officials said. (Photo by Philippine Coast Guard via AP Photo)





This aerial picture shows a destroyed house covered with lava following the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano, in La Laguna, on the Canary Island of La Palma on December 16, 2021. A volcanic eruption on the Spanish island of La Palma has shown its first sign it might be coming to an end after nearly three months, scientists said on December 15, 2021, although they could not rule out a new flare up in activity. The eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano has ebbed and flowed since it first began spewing lava on September 19, forcing the evacuation of over 7,000 people and destroying nearly 3,000 buildings. (Photo by Jorge Guerrero/AFP Photo)





A dog urinates against a Christmas tree at the Place Vendome in Paris, France, December 15, 2021. (Photo by Benoit Tessier/Reuters)





Spectators in fancy dress during day two of the William Hill World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace, London on Thursday, December 16, 2021. (Photo by Kieran Cleeves/PA Images via Getty Images)





A surfer dressed as a Santa Claus rides an artificial wave in the Alaia Bay surf wavepool in Sion, Switzerland, 15 December 2021. The water temperature was 0.6 degrees Celsius, the air temperature reached two degrees Celsius. (Photo by Laurent Gillieron/EPA/EFE)





A long exposure photo shows a regional train leaving a train station in Wehrheim, Germany, Thursday, December 16, 2021. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)





Performers are seen as a 90-year old spruce tree cut down in the woods of the Shchyolkovsky District in Moscow Region, Russia on December 16, 2021 is sent to Moscow. The almost 28-metre high tree will be put up at the Moscow Kremlin's Sobornaya (Cathedral) Square this New Year and Christmas. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/TASS)