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The World Health Organisation's chief scientist has urged people not to panic over the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant and says it is too early to say if vaccines would be need to be reworked.

Speaking in an interview at the Reuters Next conference, Soumya Swaminathan said it was impossible to predict if Omicron would become the dominant strain.

Omicron has gained a foothold in Asia, Africa, the Americas, the Middle East and Europe and has reached seven of the nine provinces of South Africa, where it was first identified.

Many governments have tightened travel rules to keep the variant out.

Swaminathan said Omicron "was highly transmissible" and cited data from South Africa showing the number of cases doubling daily.

"How worried should we be? We need to be prepared and cautious not panic because we're in a different situation to a year ago," she said.

"Delta accounts for 99 per cent of infections around the world. This variant would have to be more transmissible to out-compete and become dominant worldwide. It is possible but it's not possible to predict."

Much remains unknown about Omicron, which has been detected in more than two dozen countries as parts of Europe grapple with a wave of infections of the more familiar Delta variant.

"We need to wait, lets hope it's milder... but it's too early to conclude about the variant as a whole," Swaminathan said.

Among 70 cases reported in Europe that included information on disease severity, half of the patients had no symptoms and half had mild symptoms, according to a report on Thursday by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

There were no cases of severe disease, hospitalisation or death.

However, the European agency said it would require data on hundreds of cases to accurately assess disease complications, estimating that could take several weeks.

In addition, most cases detected in Europe so far have been in younger people who were fully vaccinated, making them less likely to suffer severe illness.

The UK Health Security Agency said on Friday that the fully vaccinated accounted for 60 per cent of the 20 Omicron infections in the country traced where vaccination status was known, with the unvaccinated accounting for 30 per cent and 10 per cent having had one dose.

Israel's Health Ministry said on Friday it had confirmed seven cases of the variant.

Four of the confirmed Omicron cases are unvaccinated individuals who had recently returned from South Africa, officials said.

The other three include two people who returned from South Africa and from the UK and who had received two doses and a booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

The third person returned from Malawi and had been inoculated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Australia and the US have reported community transmission of the new variant.

Almost 264 million people have been reported to be infected by the coronavirus since it was first detected in central China in late 2019 and 5.48 million people have died, according to a Reuters tally.

In the United States, President Joe Biden's administration announced measures to guard against the virus spreading.

From Monday, international air travellers arriving in the United States will have to have obtained a negative COVID-19 test within a day of travel.

"We're going to fight this variant with science and speed, not chaos and confusion," Biden said.

Aside from wreaking havoc in the travel industry, the clampdown has pounded financial markets and undermined major economies just as they were beginning to recover from the lockdowns triggered by Delta.

Bank of England policymaker Michael Saunders , who voted for an interest rate hike last month, said on Friday he wanted more information about Omicron before deciding how to vote this month.

"At present, given the new Omicron COVID variant has only been detected quite recently, there could be particular advantages in waiting to see more evidence on its possible effects on public health outcomes and hence on the economy," Saunders said in a speech.

Germany said it would bar the unvaccinated from all but essential businesses, and controversial legislation to make vaccination mandatory would be drafted for early next year.

Several countries, including the UK and the US, were bringing forward plans to offer booster shots but, like travel bans, they are disputed.

Many scientists say the way to stop the virus spreading is to make sure poorer countries have access to vaccines, not to give blanket booster shots to people in richer countries.

with AP

© RAW 2021

A Robbie Williams biopic will be filmed in Melbourne.

The federal and Victorian governments on Friday confirmed Better Man will begin filming at Docklands Studios Melbourne in early 2022.

Directed and co-written by Victorian filmmaker Michael Gracey, the film will offer an introspective look into the experiences that shaped the English entertainer, both on and off stage.

"To tell Robbie William's beautiful, distinct story, back home, in my own city, is a dream come true," Gracey said in a statement.

"There is a creative energy that burns across the Melbourne film industry, and I know this movie will thrive here."

Williams will temporarily relocate to Melbourne for the film.

"I'm so excited I am making this movie in Victoria with my friend Michael Gracey," he said.

The film is being supported by federal and state government incentive programs and is expected to inject $107 million into the state's economy and support 2200 local jobs, including 14 heads of departments, 80 visual effects practitioners and 220 crew.

More than 2500 extras and casuals will also be involved in the film, while work will be created for some 300 local businesses and service providers.

Victorian Minister for Creative Industries Danny Pearson said the film will build on other internationally acclaimed productions in the state including Clickbait and La Brea, which saw Melbourne double as Los Angeles.

© AAP 2021

Victoria has become Australia's first state to introduce specific laws for managing a pandemic, with a controversial bill passing both houses of parliament.

The Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (Pandemic Management) Bill passed the upper house 20 votes to 18 on Thursday.

Transport Matters MP Rod Barton, Animal Justice Party MP Andy Meddick, Reason Party MP Fiona Patten and Greens leader Samantha Ratnam voted with the government.

The bill received final approval later the same day in the lower house, where the government has a commanding majority, following the opposition unsuccessfully moving more amendments.

After receiving royal assent from the governor of Victoria, the laws will come into effect from December 16, when a current state of emergency expires.

Under the legislation, the premier and health minister will have the power to declare a pandemic and enforce orders such as lockdowns, mask-wearing, vaccination mandates, and quarantine.

The pandemic orders can differentiate between cohorts of people based on characteristics such as age and vaccination status, relevant to the public health risk.

Under the current state of emergency, those powers lie with the chief health officer, who is an unelected official.

Premier Daniel Andrews said even though the state of emergency was to expire, the pandemic was "not over".

"In order to protect the vulnerable, in order to keep us safe and keep us open, we have to recognise this is not over, there are still things that have to be done, rules that need to be in place," he said.

Mr Andrews said vaccine mandates "won't be forever" but flagged they may remain in place until booster shots were rolled out and children under 12 vaccinated.

The upper house spent 21 hours this week debating several amendments to the bill, which were made to secure the support of Mr Barton after former Labor minister Adem Somyurek announced he would return from a self-imposed absence to vote against it.

Mr Somyurek was in the chamber when the final vote occurred on Thursday.

Ms Ratnam said the state came "very close" to being one of the only places in the world without public health laws during the COVID-19 pandemic, and was "troubled" by debate surrounding the bill.

"To see members of the upper house spread misinformation and mislead the public debate has been devastating because I have seen what it has led to," the Greens leader said, adding she and her staff had received threats against their lives.

The legislation became a lightning rod for anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination groups, who have occupied the steps of state parliament for weeks in protest.

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said he was disappointed the bill passed and reaffirmed his commitment to scrap it if he wins the 2022 election.

"(It is) bad policy, bad laws, which are rammed through the parliament with no consultation or very limited consultation and that come at the expense of average Victorians," he said.

Thursday marked the last sitting week of the year for the lower house.

The upper house will return on Friday to pass bills to implement the recommendations of royal commissions into Crown casino and the Lawyer X scandal, and another that establishes a body to oversee the state's recycling sector and a new four-bin system.

Parliament is due to return on February 8 ahead of the state election, scheduled for November 26.

© AAP 2021