Philippine officials on Friday warned against a rise in Covid-19 cases over the New Year period as infections in the Southeast Asian country hit a two-month high, amid concerns that the highly contagious Omicron variant of the virus could spread.

The health ministry recorded 2,961 new coronavirus infections on Friday and reported a positivity rate of 10.3 percent, double the 5 percent recommended by the World Health Organization.

"We cannot sugarcoat this...