2022 Australian Open 2021 Men's Singles champion Novak Djokovic is detained by the Australian Border Force for failing to provide a valid medical exemption to explain his not being vaccinated against COVID-19 under federal guidelines. The Victoria State Government and Tennis Australia had previously approved Djokovic's exemption under their own guidelines, which was not endorsed by the federal Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.
Joe Biden United States President Joe Biden blames squarely on former President Donald Trump over his role in 2021 United States Capitol attack.
Phillipine Phillipine president Rodrigo Duterte signs into law a bill outlawing child marriage, with violators facing up to 12 months in prison. Some portions of the law will not go into effect for one year in order to allow for Muslim and indigenous communities to prepare.
COVID-19 pandemic in France The French National Assembly votes 214β93 with 27 abstentions to approve a bill to transform the COVID-19 health pass into a vaccine pass, which would require people over the age of 12 years to show proof of vaccination in order to enter most public places and use inter-regional public transport. The bill will be debated in the Senate early next week and is expected to come into effect later this month.
2020β2022 H5N8 outbreak A 79-year-old man in Buckfastleigh, Devon, becomes the first person in the United Kingdom to test positive for bird flu.
COVID-19 pandemic The Chicago Public Schools announces that schools in Chicago, Illinois, has been canceled for a third consecutive day as teachers in the city go on a strike over COVID-19 protocols.
Density limits are reintroduced to hospitality and entertainment venues and non-urgent elective surgeries are paused as cases and hospitalisations rise in the state.
The Northern Territory imposes a lockdown until Monday for people over the age of 16 years who are unvaccinated against COVID-19 after the territory reported a record 256 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.
Peru raises its pandemic Alert level in 24 provinces from "moderate" to "high", resulting in an extended curfew between 11 pm. and 5 am., as well as tightened capacity limits in shopping centers, banks and restaurants. This comes as the number of daily COVID-19 cases increased 25% from the previous week.
Argentina surpasses 6 million cases of COVID-19 after reporting a record for the third consecutive day of 109,608 new cases of COVID-19.
Ukraine begins administering booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine for all adults who received their second dose at least six months prior.
Italy reports a record for the third consecutive day of 219,441 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 6.97 million.
Thailand raises its COVID-19 Alert level to level four following a rapid increase in cases caused by the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant.
Malaysia grants conditional approval for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to be used in children between the ages of 5 and 11 years.
The United States Armed Forces order all personnel stationed in Japan to wear masks when traveling off-base amid criticism of their handling of the increase in COVID-19 cases in areas where they are based in large numbers, such as Okinawa and Iwakuni.
Iraq reports its first five cases of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in the northern city of Duhok, in Iraqi Kurdistan.
High-risk establishments such as bars and gyms will be closed from January 7, while dining in restaurants will be banned after 6 p.m.
Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam announces a travel ban from eight countries with high SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant cases from January 8 to January 21.
Port-au-Prince Two journalists are killed and their bodies burned during a gang attack in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
2022 Kazakh protests Russian-led CSTO forces enter Kazakhstan in order to help the government restore control of the country, according to a statement from Kremlin spokesperson Maria Zakharova.
The Collective Security Treaty Organization military alliance approves what it describes a peacekeeping mission in Kazakhstan in response to an official request for military assistance from Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Twenty-six anti-government protestors are killed during a military operation in Almaty. The death toll of security forces increases to 18 with two of the officers being beheaded.