BBC News:- President Joe Biden has unveiled stricter travel rules to stem coronavirus as the US confirmed eight cases of the Omicron variant. Mr Biden said his plan 'doesn't include shutdowns or lockdowns' and does not expand vaccine mandates. New York state has five Omicron cases and Minnesota and Colorado one each. The first US case cropped up in California on Wednesday. Local health officials have so far reported mild symptoms in the cases. The variant has now been found in at least 23 countries. It is still not clear whether the highly-mutated Omicron strain is associated with more transmission