HERE'S what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:


Britain's COVID-19 hotel quarantine policy to start Feb. 15

Britain's hotel quarantine policy for travellers arriving from COVID-19 hot spots will start on Feb. 15, the government announced on Thursday after critics said it was not moving fast enough to bring in the measure.

A mandatory 10-day stay in government-provided accommodation, first announced last month, is designed to tighten borders against new variants of the coronavirus which could endanger Britain's vaccination programme.


Antibody survey shows Tokyo infections may have jumped 9-fold

The number of COVID-19 infections in Tokyo may have jumped nine-fold since the summer, coronavirus antibody tests showed, as Japan tries to rein in its third and most lethal wave of the pandemic ahead of the Olympics in July.

Random testing on people in the capital in December showed that 0.91% had antibodies to the virus, compared with about 0.1% in a similar study in June, the health ministry said in a report on Friday. The study sampled more than 15,000 people and also showed increases in antibody rates in Osaka and Miyagi Prefecture.


S. Korean advisory board warns on use of AstraZeneca's vaccine for elderly

A South Korean advisory board has recommended caution over the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine for people over the age of 65 due to the lack of sufficient data, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said on Friday.

When approved, it will be the first COVID-19 vaccine to be approved for emergency use in Asia's fourth-largest economy, which has been trying to contain its latest wave of infections. South Korea signed a deal in December with AstraZeneca to secure 20 million doses of its vaccine, with the first shipment expected this month.


New Zealand resumes refugee intake as coronavirus fears ease

New Zealand said on Friday it will start receiving refugees again this month, nearly a year after it shut its borders to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A group of 35 refugees will arrive in February, with about 210 expected to enter by June 30, Immigration New Zealand and officials said. All arrivals will have to complete a 14-day stay in government managed isolation facilities.


U.S. FDA gearing up for rapid review of potential COVID-19 vaccine booster shots

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is planning a rapid review process for quick turnaround of new COVID-19 booster shots if variants of the coronavirus emerge against which the vaccines do not provide protection, the agency's top official said.

The agency plans to issue a proposal on the process for public comment in a few weeks, Dr Janet Woodcock, acting commissioner of the FDA, said during a press briefing. The process will likely require safety information as well as, if possible, the convening of an outside committee of experts to review the booster shot.