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COVID-19 news update Dec/22
source:World Traditional Medicine Forum 2021-12-22 [Medicine]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retrieved from:  https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

 

 

 

With warning for unvaccinated, Biden lays out plan to fight surging Omicron

By Steve Holland and Jarrett Renshaw

 

A woman gets a COVID-19 test during the coronavirus disease pandemic in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., December 17, 2021. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

A woman gets a COVID-19 test during the coronavirus disease pandemic in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., December 17, 2021. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

 

U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday more federal vaccination and testing sites to tackle a surge in COVID-19 driven by the Omicron variant, and said 500 million free at-home rapid tests will be available to Americans starting in January.

Biden offered both a warning to the unvaccinated, who he said have "good reason to be concerned," and reassurance that those who are inoculated can gather for the holidays despite the new variant sweeping the country.

"No this is not March of 2020," Biden told reporters at the White House. "Two hundred million people are fully vaccinated, we're prepared, we know more."

Biden's remarks came as some cities and states imposed new measures aimed at protecting the public, including stricter vaccine mandates.

Striking a dire tone about the risks to the one-in-four American adults who are not fully vaccinated, Biden said they "have a significantly higher risk of ending up in the hospital or even dying."

Biden noted that former President Donald Trump has also received his booster shot. "Maybe one of the few things he and I agree on," he said.

The measures laid out on Tuesday include activating new pop-up vaccination clinics run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and federal testing sites starting this week, including in hot spot New York City.

Biden also said that some 1,000 military doctors, nurses and medics have been deployed to support hospitals already being overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients in some areas.

Biden's pandemic response has been criticized for focusing on vaccines at the detriment of testing and masking, and for underestimating the impact of the anti-vaccine movement in the United States. read more

In his speech, Biden said Americans had a patriotic duty to get vaccinated and called out social media companies and TV networks for "peddling lies and allowing misinformation that can kill their own customers."

The new federal measures will not be fully in place by Christmas, leaving many Americans scrambling to find available tests ahead of holiday gatherings and travel - and confused about whether it is safe to press ahead with their plans.

The Omicron variant, which was first detected last month and now accounts for 73% of U.S. cases, is causing infections to double in 1.5 to 3 days, according to the World Health Organization. It is not yet known whether it causes more serious illness than the Delta variant. read more

The rapid rise of infections is once again disrupting life across the country, canceling events from Broadway shows to professional sports.

In New York, Washington and other U.S. cities there were long lines for COVID-19 tests as people sought to find out if they were infected before celebrating the holidays.

"If I don’t, I could take a chance of sending it home to my family, and I’m not trying to do that," said Ronald Tives as he lined up in Washington's Farragut Square on Tuesday.

$100 FOR A BOOSTER IN NYC

With new infections spiking, local officials are also taking steps to encourage vaccinations, including boosters, and increase testing and mitigation measures.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Tuesday a $100 incentive for residents who get a COVID-19 vaccine booster at city-run sites by the end of the year.

The city's public hospitals said they would ban most visitors. Starting on Wednesday, only hospitalized infants and children, women in labor and dying patients can have visitors. They must be fully vaccinated or show a negative COVID-19 test from the past 48 hours. The city earlier said tests would be required from the past 24 hours.

In California, Governor Gavin Newsom said on Twitter that all healthcare workers would be required to receive booster vaccines. The state is expected to announce additional measures on Wednesday.

Chicago will require patrons to present proof of COVID-19 vaccinations for entry to restaurants, bars, gyms and some other indoor spaces, effective Jan. 3, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said on Tuesday. read more

Biden noted that the Omicron variant is so contagious that it will infect vaccinated Americans but that they will be far less likely to become seriously ill.

These breakthrough infections are rising among the 61% of the country's fully vaccinated population, including the 30% who have gotten booster shots.

Still, Biden told Americans that those who are vaccinated and follow guidance around using masks, especially while traveling, should feel comfortable celebrating the holidays as planned.

New COVID-19 cases rose 19% in the United States in the past week and are up 72% since the start of December, according to a Reuters tally.

The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients has increased 27% this month, with hospitals in some areas already strained by the Delta variant that emerged earlier this year.

There have been more than 51 million infections and 810,000 coronavirus-related deaths reported in the United States since the pandemic began, the most of any country.

 

Retrieved from:  https://www.reuters.com/world/us/omicron-surges-biden-expand-testing-warn-unvaccinated-2021-12-21/

 

 

 

UK reduces COVID-19 self-isolation to 7 days for most in England

 

Women wearing face masks wait to cross a street amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in London, Britain December 21, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs

 

The British government said that from Wednesday it was reducing the COVID-19 self-isolation period to seven days from 10 days for people in England who get a negative result on a lateral flow test two days in a row.

With the Omicron variant spreading rapidly in Britain and record levels of cases over the past week many industries are struggling with staff shortages, including hospitals who have warned of the risk of an impact on patient safety.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said its analysis suggested a seven-day isolation period alongside two negative lateral flow test results had nearly the same protective effect as a 10-day isolation period without testing.

"We want to reduce the disruption from COVID-19 to people’s everyday lives," health secretary Sajid Javid said in a statement.

Rapid lateral flow tests, which are provided free by Britain's National Health Service, can be self-administered by people at home and give a result in 15 to 30 minutes.

Those who receive a negative lateral flow result on day six and day seven of their self-isolation period, with tests taken 24 hours apart, will no longer have to isolate for 10 days, the government said.

The UKHSA said it "strongly advised" those who leave their self-isolation after seven days to limit contact with others in crowded or poorly ventilated spaces, work from home and minimise contact with those most vulnerable to COVID-19.

"The new approach reflects latest evidence on how long cases transmit the virus for, and supports essential public services and supply chains over the winter, while still limiting the spread of the virus," the UKHSA said.

 

Retrieved from:  https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/uk-reduces-covid-19-self-isolation-7-days-most-england-2021-12-22/

 

 

 

France to introduce vaccination pass in early January as Omicron spreads

 

 

A demonstrator holds a placard that reads "No to the health passport" as people attend a demonstration called by French political party "Les Patriotes" against COVID-19 health pass as France sees an increase in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases and hospitalisations, in Paris, France, December 18, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

 

France will pass a law transforming its health pass needed to exercise some professions and to go to cinemas and bars into a "vaccination" pass in the first half of January, the government said on Tuesday.

"The wave awaiting us will be high," government spokesman Gabriel Attal told journalists, adding that the Omicron variant accounts for 20% of new COVID-19 infections in France and is spreading rapidly, particularly in the Paris region.

He added that in the last 24 hours, France had registered around 73,000 new infections.

The main aim of a vaccination pass will be to do away with the option of obtaining a valid certificate by testing negative instead of having the jabs.

However, the government ditched the idea of making the pass mandatory at the workplace, a measure France's Labour Minister had tested out in recent talks with unions and employers.

"There is no consensus for this measure", Attal said.

A draft law will be discussed by the government in an off-schedule meeting on Monday, and subject to a vote in parliament in the first two weeks of January, Attal said, speeding up an initial government plan to pass the new law by late January.

In contrast to other European governments, Attal on Tuesday ruled out further restrictions, saying that the country had the means to battle the next wave of cases with its vaccination campaign and mass testing and reinforced controls.

 

Retrieved from:  https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/france-introduce-vaccination-pass-early-january-omicron-spreads-2021-12-21/

 

 

 

New Zealand and other Asia Pacific nations scramble to respond to Omicron

By Natasha Frost and Livia Albeck-Ripka

 

New Zealand postponed plans to reopen its borders to citizens and international travelers until the end of February. The country will also accelerate its booster program to slow down the Omricon variant’s spread.CreditCredit...Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

 

New Zealand said on Tuesday that it was pushing back a phased opening of its borders to the end of February, in another indication of how countries throughout the Asia Pacific region are scrambling to respond to the threat of the Omicron variant.

New Zealand also postponed its plans to allow its citizens living in Australia to return without quarantining starting on Jan. 17. Now the program will not start until the end of February.

New Zealand has detected 22 cases of Omicron in international arrivals, but no community cases of the variant have been reported. In the event of an outbreak, the government intends to replace lockdowns of the past with more targeted measures, Chris Hipkins, the Covid-19 response minister, said.

“It’s not our intention to move to lockdowns unless that is absolutely necessary in the event of a widespread outbreak, where our health system becomes under considerable strain and the overall health risk becomes too much to bear,” he said.

In other measures to limit the new variant’s eventual spread, the government said that residents would get access to a booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine sooner — at four months instead of six — after their second shot.

New Zealand is one of several countries in the region that are tightening restrictions or considering tougher quarantine rules as cases of the variant rise.

In Japan, which closed its borders to all nonresident foreigners last month, an outbreak of 180 cases at an American military base has also raised fears of a resurgence. The virus was first detected at the base on the southern island of Okinawa on Friday, the authorities said, adding that it was unclear how many of those people had been sickened by Omicron. The government has asked the United States to increase restrictions on and around the base, a top Japanese health official said on Monday.

Just a few weeks after reopening to foreign tourists, Thailand said on Tuesday that it was pausing its quarantine-free travel program until Jan. 4 because of concern about the variant.

In Indonesia, where only 40 percent of the population is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, the government has banned entry by foreign nationals from several countries in Africa and Europe. The government has said it is considering increasing the quarantine period for Indonesian citizens arriving from those countries to 14 days from 10, local news outlets reported.

And in Australia, the Omicron variant is coursing through the community and has even reached Yulara, a remote community more than 1,000 miles south of the nearest coastal city, Darwin. Two workers who had flown there from Brisbane tested positive, the health authorities said on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison insisted, however, that the country would not return to harsh lockdowns.

“Yes, we’re going to need to continue to calibrate how we manage this virus and how we live with this virus in the face of Omicron,” Mr. Morrison said on Tuesday. But, he added: “We’re not going back to lockdowns. We’re not going back to shutting down people’s lives.”

 

Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/21/world/australia/new-zealand-omicron-response.html

 

 

 

Israel will roll out a fourth dose of the vaccine

By Patrick Kingsley

 

 

Israel is at the beginning of a fifth wave of infections.Credit...Ahmad Gharabli/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

 

JERUSALEM — Israeli officials said Tuesday that the country will administer a fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, in a bid to curb the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.

Israel is believed to be the first country to offer a fourth round of doses.

Naftali Bennett, the Israeli prime minister, said medical teams would begin to give fourth doses to those over 60, as well as to medical personnel, in a decision he hailed as “wonderful news that will assist us in getting through the Omicron wave that is engulfing the world.”

Mr. Bennett added: “The State of Israel is continuing to stand at the forefront of the global effort to deal with the pandemic.”

In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced in October that some adults with compromised immune systems would be eligible for a fourth shot of the mRNA vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech. Pfizer’s chief executive, Albert Bourla, said this month that fourth doses of his company’s vaccine may soon be needed to deal with the Omicron variant, but Dr. Anthony Fauci, the federal government’s top infectious disease expert, has disagreed.

In Israel, at least one person has been confirmed to have died from the Omicron variant — an elderly man who had received two vaccine doses, but not a third one, health officials said Tuesday. The number of Omicron cases doubled on Tuesday to 340, the health ministry said, while the total number of coronavirus cases rose to 1,306 — the highest daily figure in nearly two months, but still proportionally lower than many developed countries.

Israel was an early trailblazer in its efforts to administer a first vaccine to citizens late last year, initially rolling out a first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine far faster than most other countries. It was subsequently also one of the first countries to return society to a semblance of normality. After succeeding Benjamin Netanyahu in June, Mr. Bennett was among the first world leaders to permit the administering of a third dose of the vaccine last summer.

Mr. Bennett also allowed for the vaccination of young children aged five and up, and held a “war game” in November in which the government tested out possible state responses to a hypothetical new virus variant.

Attempting to slow the rise of Omicron in Israel, Mr. Bennett also recently enforced more stringent entry requirements for incoming travelers, banning the entry of all foreigners without a special exemption, and barring Israelis from traveling without special permission to 58 countries, including the United States, Canada and Britain.

Mr. Bennett has said Israel is at the beginning of a fifth virus wave, and has called on citizens to vaccinate themselves and their children, to work from home and to increase their wearing of masks.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/21/world/vaccine-booster-israel-covid.html

 

 

 

Covid cases rise across Asia as South Korea sees record numbers of seriously ill, Thailand restarts quarantine

By Justin McCurry in Tokyo and Samantha Lock 

 

Monks being vaccinated at the Wat Srisudaram in Bangkok, Thailand. Photograph: Sakchai Lalit/AP

 

South Korea is struggling to contain a surge in Covid-19 cases, reporting 7,456 infections on Wednesday and a record number of people with serious symptoms, as countries across Asia face a similar battle.

The new infections bring South Korea’s total to 583,065, while the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said the number of critically ill patients rose to a new high of 1,063. 

It is placing intense pressure on medical services, prompting the prime minister, Kim Boo-kyum, to commit to securing an additional 10,000 hospital beds for patients with moderate to serious symptoms by the middle of next month, the Yonhap news agency reported.

South Korea now requires citizens over 18 to present a quarantine pass, proof of Covid vaccination or negative PCR test to access indoor sports events, cinemas and concert halls. Other new restrictions include social distancing measures that will last until at least 2 January, limiting gatherings to no more than four people and forcing restaurants, cafes and bars to close by 9pm.

Neighbouring Japan has decided to extend strict border controls “for the time being”, the prime minister, Fumio Kishida, said despite criticism from students waiting to take up university places and families who say they have been unfairly separated by the restrictions. Kishida had originally said those measures would stay in place until early January.

Japan is recording comparatively few daily cases, but Kishida warned of the need to remain vigilant, speed up the booster rollout and promote the use of orally administered Covid-19 drugs, the Kyodo news agency said.

Currently only citizens and foreign residents are permitted to enter Japan, and they must quarantine in government-designated facilities.

Thailand reported 2,532 new coronavirus cases and 31 deaths on Wednesday, according to the ministry of health. It will reinstate mandatory Covid quarantine for foreign visitors and scrap a quarantine waiver from Tuesday, Reuters reported. The move was confirmed by the government, which said the action was being taken due to concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant.

China, where the pandemic began two years ago, is fighting local outbreaks in several cities, including key industrial hubs in the east and south. Authorities are determined to quash fresh outbreaks ahead of a crucial few weeks that include the Beijing Winter Olympics in February and a surge in domestic travel during the lunar new year.

China’s health authority reported 77 new confirmed cases on Tuesday, down from 81 a day earlier. Of the new infections, 57 were locally transmitted, according to a statement by the National Health Commission, and mostly in the north-western province of Shaanxi.

The Philippines has halved the waiting time for a Covid-19 vaccine booster to three months after a second vaccination, in an attempt to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant. “We are exploring all possible options to safely mitigate the effects of more transmissible variants of Covid-19,” said the health secretary, Francisco Duque.

The Philippines has received more than 192m doses of Covid-19 vaccines and fully inoculated about 44.2 million of its 110 million population, according to the government. Covid-19 cases have fallen to an average of 378 a day in December, from a peak of 18,579 daily in September, and the country has so far detected three imported cases of the Omicron variant.

The new variant is also present in Singapore, where authorities have discovered three Covid-19 cases linked to a gym, with two of them being Omicron, according to a report citing preliminary tests.

All three people were fully vaccinated and had mild symptoms, the health ministry said, adding that it was attempting to trace contacts. Singapore has so far detected 71 confirmed Omicron cases, with 65 imported and six local.

Indonesia has recorded 4,829 cases and 11 deaths in its latest reporting period, bringing its total caseload to 4.26 million with 144,024 deaths, according to government health data. A total of 73.4% of eligible people have received at least one Covid vaccine dose and 51.8% have received two doses.

On Monday, Indonesia added people traveling from Britain, Norway and Denmark to the list of those banned from entering the country, while Hong Kong was removed, senior minister Luhut Binsar Panjaitan said, according to Reuters. Indonesia identified its first case of the Omicron variant last week.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/22/covid-cases-rise-across-asia-as-south-korea-sees-record-numbers-of-seriously-ill-thailand-restarts-quarantine

 

 

 

Summary

Here’s a round-up of the day’s leading Covid stories:

 

· Germany announced a string of new measures that are to take effect from 28 December “at the latest”, in a bid to get a rampant surge in new infections under control. Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned that the fifth wave was just around the corner.

· Portugal will follow suit and order nightclubs and bars to shut their doors while people will be urged to work from home from 26 December to at least 9 January. Outdoor gatherings will be limited to 10 people per group on New Year’s Eve.

· Finland will also significantly scale up Covid restrictions on the hospitality industry from Christmas Eve with restaurants to stop serving alcohol by 9pm and to close their doors by 10pm.

· In Sweden, bars, cafes and restaurants will only be able to serve seated guests from Wednesday, and people are being urged to work from home.

· In more hopeful news, AstraZeneca has said it is working with Oxford University to produce a vaccine for the Omicron variant.

· “Together with Oxford University, we have taken preliminary steps in producing an Omicron variant vaccine, in case it is needed and will be informed by emerging data,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

· The World Health Organization’s European chief has warned countries to brace for a “significant surge” in cases as Omicron spreads across the continent.

· Israelis over the age of 60 and medical teams will be eligible for a fourth Covid vaccination, prime minister Naftali Bennett announced.

· UK prime minister Boris Johnson has confirmed no further Covid restrictions will be put in place in England before Christmas however curbs could be imposed after 25 December.

· Western Australia will become the first Australian state to mandate vaccine booster shots.

· Singapore will freeze the sale of tickets for arriving flights and buses under its quarantine-free travel programme for four weeks from Thursday.

· New York City mayor Bill de Blasio vows there will be “no more shutdowns” in America’s most populous city.

· Finland will significantly scale up Covid restrictions on the hospitality industry from Christmas Eve with restaurants to stop serving alcohol by 9pm and close their doors by 10pm.

· England is cutting Covid self-isolation to seven days with a negative test.

· Half a billion at-home coronavirus tests will be sent free to the American public in the fight against Omicron, Joe Bidenannounced on Tuesday.

· The Canadian Pacific Coast province of British Columbia is closing bars, nightclubs and gyms amid concerns over the Omicron variant.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2021/dec/19/covid-news-live-uk-2m-infections-a-day-germany-restricts-travel-boris-johnson-latest-updates?filterKeyEvents=false&page=with:block-61bfb42f8f08c02cca9b8147#block-61bfb42f8f08c02cca9b8147