By — Associated Press Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/watch-live-white-house-covid-task-force-holds-news-briefing-20 Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter WATCH: White House COVID task force holds news briefing Health Dec 29, 2021 10:50 AM EDT The White House COVID task force is scheduled to hold a press briefing Wednesday morning. Watch the event in the player above The briefing comes after the CDC updated its guidance to stipulate that asymptomatic people who test positive for COVID-19 can isolate for five days instead of 10, and as the highly infectious omicron variant continues to spread rapidly worldwide, with confirmed COVID-19 cases rising by 11 percent globally compared to the previous week. WATCH: Understanding the new CDC guidelines for those exposed to, or suffering from, COVID-19 The World Health Organization said that Europe accounted for more than half the total newly reported cases, with 2.84 million, though that amounted to only a 3% increase over the previous week. It also had the highest infection rate of any region, with 304.6 new cases per 100,000 residents. New cases in the Americas were up 39% to nearly 1.48 million, and the region had the second-highest infection rate with 144.4 new cases per 100,000 residents. The U.S. alone saw more than 1.18 million cases, a 34% increase. By — Associated Press Associated Press
The White House COVID task force is scheduled to hold a press briefing Wednesday morning. Watch the event in the player above The briefing comes after the CDC updated its guidance to stipulate that asymptomatic people who test positive for COVID-19 can isolate for five days instead of 10, and as the highly infectious omicron variant continues to spread rapidly worldwide, with confirmed COVID-19 cases rising by 11 percent globally compared to the previous week. WATCH: Understanding the new CDC guidelines for those exposed to, or suffering from, COVID-19 The World Health Organization said that Europe accounted for more than half the total newly reported cases, with 2.84 million, though that amounted to only a 3% increase over the previous week. It also had the highest infection rate of any region, with 304.6 new cases per 100,000 residents. New cases in the Americas were up 39% to nearly 1.48 million, and the region had the second-highest infection rate with 144.4 new cases per 100,000 residents. The U.S. alone saw more than 1.18 million cases, a 34% increase.