BERLIN (AP) — Germany's coronavirus surge fueled by the omicron variant remains “under control” despite a string of new infection records, the country's health minister said Friday.

Cases as a result of the highly contagious variant in the European Union's most populous nation shot up at a later stage than in several other countries in the region. Officials attribute that to restrictions such as curbs on private gatherings, nightclub closures and requirements for restaurant and bar patrons to have received a booster shot or to present a negative test.

Yet infections continue to rise steeply in the country of 83 million. On Thursday, new cases reported in the previous 24 hours topped 200,000 for the first time. On Friday, the infection rate reached another record of 1,073 new cases per 100,000 residents in a week.

Those numbers didn't deter Health Minister Karl Lauterbach from declaring that authorities “have the omicron wave in Germany well under control at the moment.”

Lauterbach told reporters in Berlin that the infection rate among the elderly - many of whom remain unvaccinated - is much lower than the average.

The omicron variant surge is so far slightly below projections, Lauterbach said. Daily infections are expected to reach up to 400,000 before falling, likely in mid-February. The drop could come later the same month because of a mutation of omicron known as BA.2, he added.

The government may ease restrictions “when the wave is broken,” and Lauterbach said that is “a very realistic perspective.”

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norway’s 84-year-old King Harald V will take a few days off with cold symptoms, the palace said Friday, a day after meeting with Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt who later tested positive for the coronavirus.

The royal household said in a brief statement that “all necessary examinations and tests will be carried out,” and that his son and heir, Crown Prince Haakon, has taken over his father’s duties.

In a statement to the Norwegian news agency NTB, Huitfeldt said that “I sincerely hope that I have not infected King Harald, Queen Sonja or Crown Prince Haakon” and wished the monarch “good recovery.”

Harald has received three vaccine shots, although he's been ill several times in recent years, including in 2020 when he had an operation for a new heart valve.

Harald's duties as Norway’s head of state are ceremonial, and he holds no political power. He ascended to the throne following the death of his father, King Olav, on Jan. 17, 1991.

The country’s first native-born king since the 14th century, he married a commoner as a prince and won hearts in his egalitarian country by leading the mourning in 2011 for the victims of mass killer Anders Behring Breivik. 

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MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines will lift a ban on the entry of foreign tourists and businesspeople next month after nearly two years, in a move to revive the battered tourism industry as the latest coronavirus outbreak started to ease, officials said Friday.

Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat said the country will reopen its doors to travelers from more than 150 countries with visa-free privileges starting Feb. 10. Foreign travelers will no longer be required to quarantine in government-designated centers upon arrival if they have been fully vaccinated and tested negative prior to arrival, officials said.

The government had initially planned to lift the ban on Dec. 1 but indefinitely postponed it as the more contagious omicron variant spread, which also prompted authorities to reimpose tighter restrictions.

President Rodrigo Duterte warned that unvaccinated Filipinos who defy orders to stay at home could face arrest. Commuters who have not been immunized were also prohibited from public transport in the capital region of more than 13 million people unless on urgent errands, for at least up to the end of the month. The decision has sparking protests from human rights and labor groups. The number of daily infections has dropped considerably in the capital in recent days.

“We’re done with border control,” Health Undersecretary Rosario Vergeire told a news conference, adding that government focus has shifted to preventing community transmission of the omicron variant, which has caused five deaths in the country so far.

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea plans to add hundreds of small neighborhood hospitals and clinics to treat the thousands more people expected to get COVID-19 during a developing omicron surge.

Health officials announced the plans Friday as South Korea’s daily cases reached a new high for a fourth straight day. The 16,096 new confirmed infections were double the number reported Monday. Experts say an omicron-driven surge could continue for five to eight weeks and push daily cases to over 100,000.

Officials have scrambled to reshape the country’s pandemic response, including increasing at-home treatments, reducing quarantine periods and expanding the use of rapid testing kits while mostly saving lab tests for high-risk groups.

The country’s response to COVID-19 had mainly depended on big hospitals with advanced equipment and more beds. Officials are now trying to mobilize smaller hospitals and clinics to diagnose and monitor possibly tens of thousands of people with mild or moderate cases who would be treated at home in coming weeks.

Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said it has become inevitable to expand outpatient treatment and concentrate crucial resources to high-risk groups, including people in their 60s and older or those with pre-existing conditions, considering the speed of infections driven by omicron.

Lee Ki-il, the deputy health minister, said officials are closely consulting with doctors’ groups while aiming to designate around 1,000 small hospitals and clinics for COVID-19 treatment by early February.