Germany's leaders are set to consider possible new restrictions and changes to quarantine rules on Friday as the new omicron variant advances quickly.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the country’s 16 state governors are likely to build on restrictions introduced just after Christmas that limited private gatherings to 10 people, among other things.

One measure under consideration is toughening a measure that requires people to provide proof of full vaccination or recovery to enter restaurants or bars. They could now be required to provide proof of either a booster shot or a fresh negative test.

Scholz and the governors also are expected to consider shortening required quarantine or self-isolation periods that are currently as long as 14 days, something that many other countries already have done.

The COVID-19 situation in Germany has been foggy for the past two weeks because of very patchy testing and slow reporting over the holiday period. Official figures, which authorities have acknowledged don't yet show the full picture, have shown a steady increase in the infection rate over the past week.

On Friday, the national disease control center, the Robert Koch Institute, reported an official rate of 303.4 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days. Over the past 24 hours, 56,335 new cases were reported.

In its weekly report on Thursday, the institute said that omicron accounted for 44.3% of cases tested for variants in Germany last week, up from 15.8% the previous week.

Germany's vaccination campaign is regaining speed after the holidays. As of Thursday, 71.5% of the population had received a full first vaccine course and 40.9% had had a booster shot.

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TOKYO (AP) — Japan approved new restrictions on Friday to curb a sharp rise in coronavirus cases in the three most affected southwestern regions of Okinawa, Yamaguchi and Hiroshima.

“Given the sudden surge in infections, the medical system runs the risk of suffering a heavy burden in the near future,” Daishiro Yamagiwa, the minister in charge of COVID-19 responses, said at a government panel meeting.

The new measures include earlier closing hours for restaurants, a ban on serving alcohol and restrictions on large-scale events. Details on these measures, which will begin Sunday and last through the end of the month, are decided at the local level and will likely vary.

Japan has undergone periods of similar restrictions over the past two years in various areas, including Tokyo. The last order for restricted activity was lifted in September.

This time, the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant appears to be first hitting prefectures that house the U.S. military.

Cases in Okinawa, home to most of the 55,000 U.S. troops in Japan, have jumped 30 times in a week. As many as 1,400 new cases were reported Friday, up from 981 the previous day, according to Okinawa government officials.

Cases are also rising in Yamaguchi, which houses Iwakuni base, and in nearby Hiroshima, at a faster rate than the rest of Japan.

Worries are growing about a possible surge in hospitalizations. Booster shots, which experts say prevent serious cases, have been given to fewer than 1% of the population, starting with medical professionals.

Most people will likely have to wait more than the six months following the second dose, the period recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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GENEVA - The World Health Organization said Thursday that a record 9.5 million COVID-19 cases were tallied over the last week as the omicron variant of the coronavirus swept the planet, a 71% increase from the previous 7-day period that the U.N. health agency likened to a “tsunami.” However, the number of weekly recorded deaths declined.

“Last week, the highest number of COVID-19 cases were reported so far in the pandemic,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. He said the WHO was certain that was an underestimate because of a backlog in testing around the year-end holidays.

In its weekly report on the pandemic, the agency said the weekly count amounted to 9,520,488 new cases — with 41,178 deaths recorded last week compared to 44 680 in the week before that.

WHO officials have long cited a lag between case counts and deaths, with changes in the death counts often trailing about two weeks behind the evolution of case counts. But they have also noted that for several reasons — including rising vaccination rates in some places, and signs that omicron affects the nose and throat more than the lungs -- omicron has not appeared as deadly as the delta variant that preceded it.

Any rise in hospitalizations or deaths in the wake of the latest surge in cases isn’t likely to show up for about two weeks.

While omicron seems less severe than delta, especially among people who have been vaccinated, the WHO chief cautioned: “It does not mean it should be categorized as mild. Just like previous variants, omicron is hospitalizing people, and it’s killing people.”

“In fact, the tsunami of cases is so huge and quick that it is overwhelming health systems around the world,” the WHO chief told a regular news briefing.

The WHO said the rises in case counts over the last week varied, doubling in the Americas region, but rising only 7% in Africa.

The WHO emergencies chief, Dr. Michael Ryan, said speculation that omicron might be the last variant of the outbreak was “wishful thinking” and cautioned: “There still is a lot of energy in this virus.”

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LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal's government announced Thursday further incentives for people to get COVID-19 booster shots and said new rules will require people to isolate only if they live with someone who tests positive.

People who had a booster jab two weeks previously will from next Monday no longer need to show a negative coronavirus test result to attend events and enter places where it otherwise would be required, Prime Minister António Costa said.

Also, anyone who has had a booster shot will be exempt from isolating, unless they live with an infected person. That means about 270,000 people of the around 400,000 currently in isolation will be allowed out, Costa said.

"This is an incentive ... to get a booster," he said.

Furthermore, the government is scrapping a requirement to isolate if a work or school colleague tests positive. That measure had forced coworkers and entire school classes to be sent home.

The change addresses the problems of company staff shortages and turmoil at schools witnessed across Europe in recent times as the omicron variant has spread and infected record numbers of people.

The alterations take effect next week.

Negative tests will still be required for everyone arriving in Portugal by plane, Costa said, and mandatory working from home is extended from Jan. 9 to 14.

The government is awaiting an assessment it has requested from the attorney general's office about what changes might be made to voting procedures for a general election scheduled for Jan. 30, Costa said.

With the omicron surge expected to continue at least into next week, potentially hundreds of thousands of voters could be in home confinement at the end of the month, and authorities are searching for ways of holding the ballot.

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BERLIN (AP) — Austria's government announced new measures Thursday to slow down the spread of the omicron coronavirus variant in the Alpine country.

"We have to adjust to a new situation with omicron, we have to adjust to the fact that the infection numbers will increase quickly," Chancellor Karl Nehammer told reporters in Vienna.

Existing measures such as banning the unvaccinated from many stores and cultural venues will be more strictly implemented as of next week, and the use of masks — FFP2 or K95 types — outdoors will be made mandatory if a distance from other people of at least two meters (6.5 feet) cannot be met. The government also called on Austrians to keep working from home if possible. At the same time it will reduce the quarantine period to five days if a negative test result can be presented.

Nehammer called on those who have not been vaccinated to get their shots quickly to avoid another lockdown. Austria went into a lockdown for several weeks at the end of last year to fight an infection surge. Case numbers went down then, but have been increasing again recently. On Thursday, the country recorded 8,853 new cases.

"Every single person in Austria can help to slow down the speed of the spread of the disease," Health Minister Wolfgang Mueckstein said.

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TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Travelers from the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries should be cleared for landing in Israel, the Health Ministry recommended on Thursday.

The ministry said all countries should be removed from Israel's "red" no-travel list, including the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Ethiopia, the United Kingdom, Tanzania, Mexico, Switzerland and Turkey. The decision is one of several rapid changes in policy for Israel as the super-contagious omicron variant sets infection records around the world.

The ministry also recommended relaxing testing requirements for vaccinated and recovering inbound travelers, a day after the government recommended more home tests to ease the burden on testing centers.

The ministry's recommendations still have to go through a final, legal step, which is a formality, and are expected to go into effect at midnight Thursday.

The moves are a recognition that the variant is infecting more people but apparently not causing more severe illness and deaths, especially among vaccinated people. On Thursday, the government reported another record for new infections, with more than 16,000 recorded a day earlier.

That's despite being a vaccination leader early in the pandemic and the first country to offer a 3rd vaccination, or booster shot. Now, Israel is among the first to begin offering a 4th jab. About 64% of Israel's 9.4 million people have received two vaccinations, and about 46% have received three shots.

Additionally, vaccinated and recovering travelers to Israel can leave quarantine after receiving a negative test result or after 24 hours. Unvaccinated people can leave quarantine after testing negative twice, on landing and after a week of isolation.