The latest on the coronavirus pandemic and Omicron variant

US airlines have canceled more than 400 Christmas Eve flights so far, with major carriers such as United and Delta citing staffing shortages caused by the Omicron coronavirus variant.

United Airlines has canceled 169 flights as of 8 a.m. ET Friday, according to flight tracking site FlightAware. Delta Air Lines has canceled 127 flights. 

Operational snags at airlines are coming as millions are still flying in spite of rising coronavirus cases. The Transportation Security Administration says it screened 2.19 million people at airports across the country on Thursday, the highest figure since the uptick in holiday travel started a week ago.

In a company statement, United Airlines apologized to customers and underscored that the airline is trying to rebook customers before they arrive at airports. 

The Biden administration is lifting restrictions on eight southern African countries that were put in place last month after the Omicron variant was first identified by scientists in South Africa, a White House official tells CNN. 

The restrictions will lift on Dec. 31 at 12:01 a.m. ET. 

In late November, Biden — on the advice of his health team — restricted travel from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi. The measures barred nearly all foreign nationals who had been "physically present" in the countries during the "14-day period preceding their entry, or attempted entry into the United States." US citizens, lawful permanent residents and non-citizens who are the spouses of citizens or permanent residents were exempt. 

The restrictions had come under increased scrutiny as the Omicron variant became the predominant one in new cases in the US. 

Biden said Tuesday that he was "considering" whether to lift the restrictions. 

"I'm considering reversing [the travel ban], I'm going to talk to my team in the next couple days," Biden told reporters after a speech on Covid-19 at the White House.

The US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized Merck's antiviral pill, molnupiravir, to treat Covid-19 in adults with high risk of severe disease, but it "is not a substitute for vaccines," said Dr. Eliav Barr, SVP of global medical and scientific affairs at Merck.

This is the second Covid-19 antiviral pill authorized for ill people to take at home, before they get sick enough to be hospitalized. Merck has an agreement with the US government for the company to supply 3.1 million courses of molnupiravir upon this authorization.

People should take this pill within five days of seeing symptoms if they test positive for the virus and are at high risk, Barr explained, adding that they will need a doctor's prescription.

While there will be "hundreds of thousands of courses" available in the "next couple of days," a million courses will be made available within the next few weeks, Barr told CNN.

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Suga, a member of BTS, has tested positive for Covid-19, the K-pop supergroup's label said.

He has no symptoms as of Friday, and is currently doing the “at-home treatment” in accordance with the country’s health guidelines, the label, BIGHIT Music, said in a statement published on a global fan community platform called Weverse.

Suga took a PCR test Thursday after returning from the US and went into quarantine before the results were returned, per South Korean entry policies. Since getting tested, Suga has not been in contact with other members of the band, the statement said. South Korea mandates all international travelers, including Korean nationals, quarantine for ten days regardless of their vaccination status.

Suga's result returned positive on Friday morning. Suga is fully vaccinated, having received two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. He had tested negative before departing from the US. BIGHIT said it will provide full support for Suga’s speedy recovery while cooperating with the health authorities.

Grammy-nominated BTS is one world's most bands and boasts a loyal following of millions of fans from across the world. The group began touring in November after a two-year hiatus. Its members have been given a long vacation after finishing their scheduled events of "BTS Permission to Dance on Stage - LA" and the "2021 Jingle Ball Tour."

France's medical regulator has recommended shortening the interval between a person's last Covid-19 vaccine shot and when they can receive a booster.

HAS now recommends that the booster dose be given 3 months after the primary vaccination is complete. It also recommends that a booster dose be administered to adolescents aged 12 to 17 with preexisting conditions.

The French government has not yet decided whether to accept the HAS recommendation. Boosters are currently eligible to adults in France five months after the last injection of a double-dose vaccine. Prime Minister Jean Castex announced December 17 government would reduce that gap to 4 months.

France reported 91,608 new Covid infections on Thursday, an all-time high since the beginning of the pandemic.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a massive rally Thursday that appeared to flout public health protocols.

Modi spoke before hundreds of thousands of people on Thursday to announce development projects in his constituency of Varanasi in northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, but in videos from the event shared by Modi's office, few among the throngs of supporters were wearing masks. There appeared to be little social distancing.

Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state is set to hold elections in early 2022. Although Modi has not held any election rallies yet in the state, he has been holding large gatherings, prompting concerns that lax attitudes toward Covid-19 could lead to another surge of cases with the Omicron variant looming.

Modi has made multiple appeals to the public to wear masks and get vaccinated. On Wednesday evening in a meeting with top government officials, he instructed authorities to ensure an adequate health infrastructure is in place to deal with any emerging challenges due to Omicron, his office said.

The national government has yet to put any restrictions in place on public gatherings, and is unlikely to do so. During the country's devastating second wave of Covid-19 cases, there was no nationwide lockdown. Modi deferred to state-level governments, and 35 of 36 of them put in place their own restrictions during that period.

As cases rise again, authorities in Uttar Pradesh announced a curfew would be put in place from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. starting on December 25. Other cities like Mumbai, New Delhi and states like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh have also announced covid protocols including limiting gatherings ahead of Christmas and New Year. There is currently no nationwide ban or limit on any kind of gatherings.

The federal government has not enacted any Covid-related restrictions within the country.

India on Friday reported 34,772,626 cases of Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, which includes at least 236 cases of the Omicron variant and 479,133 deaths, according to the Indian Ministry of Health.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will urge the public to get their Covid-19 boosters in his Christmas message Friday,

Johnson will also thank those involved in the vaccination campaign and urge the public to exercise caution over Christmas, as Omicron cases continue to rise.

More than 30 million people across the United Kingdom are vaccinated with a booster.

The UK reported 119,789 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, the highest daily number since the start of the pandemic, according to government data. Earlier this week, Johnson said no further Covid-19 restrictions will be put in place before Christmas.

China’s government has reprimanded 26 Xi’an city officials for their handling of the latest Covid-19 outbreak, which has led to a lockdown of the city’s 13 million residents. 

The officials were disciplined and publicly shamed for their “insufficient response to the epidemic control,” according to an announcement Friday by the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Another four were punished for “lack of duty” in managing close contacts of Covid-19 patients.

With the holiday season and Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics approaching, China's zero-Covid strategy has faced challenges as multiple outbreaks have broken out across the country in recent weeks. 

Local governments remain under huge pressure to keep the virus at bay as a political priority, and officials across most impacted cities have been punished because of Covid-19 outbreaks. 

The historic city of Xi’an — known internationally as the home of the 2,000-year-old Terracotta warriors — reported 49 new locally-transmitted cases Friday. That brings the Xi'an cluster to 255 cases since the outbreak began on December 9.

Christmas travel plans for many Australians were thrown into chaos on Friday after dozens of domestic flights to and from Sydney were canceled.

At least 80 flights were affected, Sydney airport’s head of communications, Josh Clements, told CNN. 

The domestic airlines that fly to and from Sydney are Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin, and Rex.

Rex said none of their domestic flights have been canceled Friday.

The airline apologized for impacting customers' travel plans and said they have rescheduled the majority of passengers onto later flights. 

A spokesperson for Virgin Airlines said one Virgin Australia flight was canceled on Friday, with other schedule changes made earlier in the week.

The airline apologized for the late schedule changes but assured "all guests" will arrive at their "final destination" by the end of Friday. 

A Qantas spokesperson said the airline rescheduled some of their domestic flights over the past two weeks in accordance with demand.