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People take coronavirus disease (COVID-19) tests at a pop-up sidewalk testing site in New York, U.S., December 1, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - 

Six more US states confirmed infections of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 on Friday (Dec 3) but the Delta strain likely remains a greater threat as winter sets in and Americans gather for the holidays, experts said.

New Jersey, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Utah each reported their first cases of the Omicron variant on Friday. Missouri was awaiting CDC confirmation of a case involving a St Louis resident who had recently travelled within the United States.

Scientists are still investigating the impact of the highly contagious Omicron variant, which was first detected in South Africa. Early evidence has suggested it may cause milder illness than its predecessors, including Delta.

The outbreak of Omicron has made worldwide headlines and prompted political leaders to impose new COVID-19 restrictions. But the predominant US strain remains Delta, Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told a briefing at the White House.

The Utah case was discovered through ongoing genetic sequencing of positive COVID-19 samples at the state laboratory, the state's health department said on Twitter.

Nebraska had six confirmed cases, the state's health department said. Only one of the six people was vaccinated and none have needed to be hospitalized with COVID-19, the department added.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced the first three cases of the Omicron variant in his state, adding that none of the three individuals was hospitalised. And in Pennsylvania, a Philadelphia man in his 30s tested positive for Omicron, city health officials said.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said the state's first Omicron case had been found in a fully vaccinated woman who had recently travelled to Georgia.

A surge in infections could further strain US hospitals already grappling with high caseloads and fatigued staff, Dr Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University's School of Public Health, told MSNBC.

"I'm very worried about our healthcare system over the next few weeks and few months. I don't know how much more it can handle," he said, urging reinforcements from the National Guard and other contingency plans to bolster doctors and nurses.

Former FDA Commissioner Dr Scott Gottlieb said states with higher vaccination rates would likely be better protected against Omicron, saying unvaccinated people who survived Delta could find their immunity is not protective against the new variant.

"The risk for the future is that states that are relying on a lot of Delta infections to provide immunity to their populations ... they could be more susceptible to this new variant," Gottlieb, now a member of vaccine maker Pfizer's board, told CNBC.

Omicron has been detected in about 40 countries, including the United States, where it has also been found in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Minnesota, and New York.

The CDC said it was investigating possible cases of the Omicron variant in other US states//CNA

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the fund might have to trim its forecasts for global growth due to the Omicron variant (Photo: AFP/File/Daniel LEAL) - 

The new Omicron variant of COVID-19 could slow the global economic recovery, just as the Delta strain did, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said Friday (Dec 3).

"A new variant that may spread very rapidly can dent confidence and in that sense, we are likely to see some downgrades of our October projections for global growth," she said at a Reuters event.

In its most recent World Economic Outlook, the fund projected global growth of 5.9 per cent this year and 4.9 per cent in 2022, but the United States and other major economies suffered sharp downward revisions after the spread of the Delta variant "caused some friction", Georgieva said.

"Even before the arrival of this new variant, we were concerned that the recovery, while it continues, is losing somewhat momentum," the IMF chief said, noting that policymakers are now dealing with new issues like inflation.

The IMF's most-recent forecasts raised concerns that global supply chain issues and uneven distribution of vaccines were slowing the rebound and causing some countries to be left behind.

A surge in demand in many advanced economies coupled with shortages of key components like semiconductors has fueled a wave of prices increases.

Less than two months ago, Georgieva expressed confidence that inflation would not become a "runaway train" but on Friday she said the US Federal Reserve will have to increase interest rates in 2022, rather than in 2023, as the IMF previously predicted.

The Fed, which cut the benchmark lending rate to zero in the early days of the pandemic, already has started to pull back on its stimulus measures and has signalled it will speed up that process, which would put it in a position to lift rates off zero by mid-year.

"We do believe that the path to policy rate increases may be walked faster," Georgieva said.

Omicron has spread rapidly to at least 40 countries since it was first reported in South Africa last week, officials said, and many governments have tightened travel rules to try to keep it out.

Much remains unknown about Omicron. Researchers said it could have picked up genetic material from another virus, perhaps one that causes the common cold, which would allow it to more easily evade human immune system defences//CNA

A resident using the new paper recycling machine at Block 68 Geylang Bahru. (Photo: Vanessa Lim) - 

Residents in towns managed by the People’s Action Party (PAP) will be encouraged to adopt a zero waste lifestyle, through a cash-for-recycling programme and more paper recycling machines set up in their estate, the party announced on Saturday (Dec 4).

Under its Action for Green Towns (AGT) initiative, the party has set a target of deploying at least 78 paper recycling machines across its 15 towns by the end of the month, in partnership with SGRecycle.

Residents will first have to scan a QR code on the machine to register, before depositing their items. They will get 6 cents per 1kg of paper or cardboard recycled. This will be stored in their digital wallets before being credited to their bank accounts.

When the COVID-19 situation improves, outreach programmes will be conducted to raise awareness of these machines among residents, PAP added in its press release.

All PAP town councils have also pledged to reduce paper use. For instance, by implementing electronic payments to contractors instead of issuing cheques when possible.

These were among a slew of initiatives announced by the party on Saturday, months after it first unveiled its Action for Green Towns initiative. 

Launched in May, the initiative aims to galvanise various stakeholders to work towards making every PAP-managed town "zero waste, energy efficient and greener" by 2025.

As part of the initiative, all of the PAP’s 15 town councils has a Member of Parliament (MP) as a "sustainability champion".

These 15 individuals, together with Young PAP representatives, form the Action for Green Towns task force led by chairperson of Jalan Besar Town Council Dr Wan Rizal.

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Dr Wan Rizal said in coming up with the plans, the taskforce took stock of what each town was doing in terms of sustainability.

“We came out with a report card, and this report clearly shows what they’ve done over the years and how much impact it made,” said Dr Wan Rizal.

He added that the report card covered three categories including zero waste, energy efficiency, as well as green town.

“(At) a very fundamental level, we are all doing our part, but can we go further to reduce carbon footprint? I think that is the direction that we want to go. But as I mentioned, we want to take small steps as possible to get more people on board,” he added.

More than 3,000 lifts across PAP towns will be replaced by 2025 with more reliable and “electricity-saving” models when they reach their recommended lifespan, said the party.

To further improve energy efficiency, all PAP town councils will introduce electricity saving specifications in the lift replacement programmes.

“New lift models save electricity with features such as energy regeneration systems, LED displays, LED lights with sensors, better ventilation,” said the party in a press release.

Currently, almost all the common area lights in PAP-managed estates have been changed to energy-saving LED lights.

“This has helped us save 1,413 million kWh of energy, equivalent to powering 313,665 four-room HDB homes for a year, and reduce over 586,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions,” said Coordinating Chair of PAP Town Councils Lim Biow Chuan, adding that it has also provided more reliable lighting for residents.

To further reduce energy usage, the party said it intends to progressively incorporate smart sensors across its towns when the LED lights are due to be replaced.

“The lights with smart sensors will provide more reliable light as they can be remotely monitored,” said PAP. It added that this measure is expected to reduce up to 62 million kWh of energy usage by 2025, equivalent to the energy used by 14,452 four-room HDB homes in a year.

By 2023, all of the party’s town councils will implement equipment to convert fallen leaves and branches into mulch, in order to reduce waste and carbon footprint from transporting excess plant material.

More greenery will also be incorporated when PAP town councils redesign and refresh public spaces in order to allow residents to enjoy more nature and cooler temperatures//CNA

A person holds flags of Taiwan and the United States on Jan 14, 2017. (File photo: Reuters/Stephen Lam) - 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the Reuters Next conference on Friday (Dec 3) that Chinese leaders should think carefully about their actions toward Taiwan, warning of "terrible consequences" if China precipitates a crisis across the Taiwan Strait.

In an interview, Blinken addressed multiple foreign policy challenges facing the administration of President Joe Biden, including faltering efforts to repair the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Russia's military buildup near Ukraine, and the spiraling conflict in Ethiopia.

Most acute may be China's increasingly aggressive posture toward Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory. Taiwan's defense minister has said tensions with China are at their worst in more than 40 years adding that China will be capable of mounting a "full-scale" invasion by 2025.

Asked if China was going to invade Taiwan, Blinken said “that would be a potentially disastrous decision", repeating Washington's position that it is "resolutely committed" to making sure Taiwan has the means to defend itself.

China had been trying to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait in recent years by engaging in provocative military maneuvers and trying to isolate Taiwan from the rest of world, Blinken said.

“I hope that China’s leaders think very carefully about this and about not precipitating a crisis that would have I think terrible consequences for lots of people and one that’s in no one’s interest, starting with China," Blinken said.

China remains Biden's number one foreign policy priority, but his administration has also been buffeted by crises elsewhere.

Blinken said the United States had sanctions it could use for parties perpetuating Ethiopia's conflict.

On Iran, Blinken said Washington ended indirect talks in Vienna this week because Tehran did not seem serious about a return to compliance with the nuclear deal.

"If the path to a return to compliance with the agreement turns out to be a dead-end, we will pursue other options," he said.

Blinken returned on Thursday from Europe, where he met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and delivered a warning over Russia's military buildup near Ukraine.

Biden is expected to speak to President Vladimir Putin in the near future, and will tell the Russian leader that Washington is determined to stand up against any "reckless or aggressive" actions, Blinken said. The United States wants a more predictable relationship with Russia, he said.

“There are areas where we have overlapping interests and we should be able to work together if we can have some stability and predictability in the relationship. Russia’s actions and the threat of further aggression against Ukraine moves in exactly the opposite direction," Blinken said//CNA