Footage obtained by The Associated Press of a cruise ship in a rare-virus outbreak shows deserted decks and medical teams in protective gear as the vessel and its nearly 150 passengers and crew waited another day for help off West Africa.

The head of the World Health Organization says he will convene an expert group to determine if the increasing spread of the mpox virus in Africa warrants being declared a global emergency.

The World Health Organization says early evidence suggests the omicron variant of the coronavirus may be spreading faster than the highly transmissible delta variant and brings with it less severe disease — although it’s too early to make firm conclusions.

U.S. health officials say that while the omicron variant of the coronavirus is rapidly spreading in the country, early indications suggest it may be less dangerous than delta, which continues to drive a surge of hospitalizations.

British officials have identified a relative of the delta variant.

Sources say federal health officials will recommend a third dose of the mRNA COVID vaccines to be given about eight months after the second dose.

(AP Photo/Manish Swarup)GENEVA – A top World Health Organization expert on the coronavirus pandemic said Monday the weekly global count of deaths from COVID-19 is rising again, a “worrying sign” after about six weeks of declines. She said the number of reported cases went up up in four of the WHO’s six regions, though there were significant variations within each region. “In the last week, cases have increased by 8% percent,” Van Kerkhove told reporters. The eastern Mediterranean region saw cases rise 8% percent, while the number of cases reported in the Americas and Africa declined. Ad“I do want to mention that it had been about six weeks where we were seeing decreases in deaths,” said Van Kerkhove.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a coronavirus press conference at 10 Downing Street in London, Friday Jan. 22, 2021. But Vallance stressed that “the evidence is not yet strong" and more research is needed. In contrast to that uncertainty, he said, there is growing confidence that the variant is more easily passed on than the original coronavirus strain. Many countries have closed their borders to travelers from Britain, and the U.K. has halted flights from Brazil and South Africa. The U.K. is currently in a lockdown in an attempt to slow the latest surge of the coronavirus outbreak.

Shoppers wear face masks as they walk in Regent Street, ahead of the new Tier-4 restriction measures, in London, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020. Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson says Christmas gatherings cannot go ahead and non-essential shops must close in London and much of southern England as he imposed a new, higher level of coronavirus restrictions to curb rapidly spreading infections. “It is with a very heavy heart that I must tell you we cannot proceed with Christmas as planned,” Johnson said. While London fared relatively well in controlling the virus throughout the fall, the city now has the highest infection rates in England. The move will largely scrap Christmas gatherings in line with the rules for southern England.

(AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)NEW DELHI — Authorities in India are reporting 36,470 newly confirmed coronavirus infections — that’s the lowest one-day tally in more than three months in a continuing downward trend. The case number reported Tuesday is the lowest since India had 35,065 newly confirmed infections on July 17. The seven-day average for daily COVID-19 deaths has also been climbing from 12 to 22 over the past 10 days. ___ROME — Italy registered slightly more than 17,000 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday. Italy’s total of known coronavirus infections during the pandemic now stands at 542,789.