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.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Central Florida’s pollen season has kicked into high gear this year, with the return of spring-like temperatures. This then would mean temperatures strongly influence not only the length of pollen season, but also its intensity. Studying their 60 pollen reporting stations across the country, the pollen season has become 20 days longer compared to what it was 1990. Because pollen concentrations are highly sensitive to temperature and carbon dioxide, this study found that human-caused climate change was responsible for at least half of the additional days of pollen season. These findings concern doctors, as these drastic changes to our pollen season across the country could impact many who suffer from asthma and allergies.

ORLANDO, Fla. – It’s getting to be that time of year again. Since the warmth in early January, allergy levels have been running in the medium to high category with Juniper, Elm and Alder being the top outdoor allergens. Allergy forecastSpring-like warmth will surge back into Central Florida starting Monday which will help to increase allergy levels. Central Florida will remain in the medium-high category through Monday with the worst days over the next five days occurring Tuesday through Thursday. Do you have a go-to allergy remedy?

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.

GENEVA – The World Health Organization’s chief scientist warned that even as numerous countries start rolling out vaccination programs to stop COVID-19, herd immunity is highly unlikely this year. “Even as vaccines start protecting the most vulnerable, we’re not going to achieve any levels of population immunity or herd immunity in 2021,” Swaminathan said. Aylward said WHO was aiming to have “a rollout plan” detailing which developing countries might start receiving vaccines next month. Still, the majority of the world's COVID-19 vaccine supply has already been bought by rich countries. Van Kerkhove noted that during the summer, COVID-19 cases were down to single digits in most countries across Europe.

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. ___MADRID — Spain has reported 52,188 new coronavirus cases and 279 new confirmed deaths since Friday. ___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.

On Wednesday, Floridas numbers reflected that upward trend in infections. The state reported 1,371 new cases of the coronavirus Wednesday including 36 deaths attributed to the virus. Florida reported 160 new hospitalizations on Wednesday. The economic fallout from coronavirus closures continues to come into focus more than two months after Florida first began its stay-at-home order. To keep up with the latest news on the pandemic, subscribe to News 6s coronavirus newsletter or go to ClickOrlando.com/coronavirus.