and french officials expect the current wave to peak sometime between christmas and new year's. in germany, officials are considering banning private gatherings of more than ten people and shutting down discos and night clubs, and in italy's lazio region where rome is located, the governor has signed an ordinary making the wearing of masks mandatory in public. >> reporter: i'm selena wang in tokyo. all across asia the omicron variant is disrupting reopening plans. new south wales reported a record nearly 3,000 new covid-19 cases and cases in queensland are doubling every day twos, and the promise scott morrison wants to avoid travel restrictions aed head of christmas saying the country is not going back to lockdowns offer, quote, shutting down people's lives. meanwhile, china is trying to contain a cluster in the city of xian where the city has reported