Sunday, January 2, 2022

Omicron-related disruptions cause over 3,800 flight cancellations

Over 3,800 flights were cancelled around the world, more than half of them US flights, adding to the toll of holiday week travel disruptions.

The flights cancelled by early evening GMT included over 2,200 entering, departing from or within the United States, according to tracking website FlightAware.com.

Among the airlines with most cancellations were SkyWest and SouthWest, each having over 400 cancellations, FlightAware showed.

The Christmas and New Year holidays are typically a peak time for air travel, but the rapid spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant has led to a sharp increase in Covid-19 infections, forcing airlines to cancel flights as pilots and cabin crew quarantine.

Transportation agencies across the United States were also suspending or reducing services due to coronavirus-related staff shortages.

Saudi Arabia records highest Covid-19 tally in 5 months

Saudi Arabia recorded 1,024 new infections from coronavirus, the kingdom’s highest tally in five months.

The Saudi Health Ministry said in a statement that a patient had died from the virus, in addition to 298 recoveries.

The nationwide tally now stands at 558,106 cases, including 8,879 deaths, and 542,413 recoveries.

Last month, Saudi Arabia registered the first case of the Covid-19 omicron variant.

PSG star Lionel Messi tests positive

Paris Saint-Germain superstar Lionel Messi has tested positive for Covid-19 in his native Argentina.

The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner will miss the team's Coupe de France match against Vannes. His status for PSG's next Ligue 1 match on January 9 at Lyon is uncertain.

"Messi has been in regular contact with our medical team, and when he has a negative test, he will travel to France, but we don't know any more than that,” coach Mauricio Pochettino said.

“So it is all down to the test in terms of when he can travel. ... We will assess when he is ready to play," he added.

The club said three other players - Juan Bernat, Sergio Rico and Nathan Bitumazala - also tested positive and are in isolation.

Fauci warns of danger of hospitalisation surge 

The United States is experiencing "almost a vertical increase" in Covid cases as the Omicron variant sweeps the country, but the peak may be only weeks away, top US pandemic advisor Anthony Fauci said.

"We are definitely in the middle of a very severe surge and uptick in cases," Fauci said on ABC's "This Week," calling the soaring infection rate "really unprecedented."

He added in a CNN interview that there is still a danger of a surge in hospitalisation due to a large number of coronavirus cases even as early data suggests the Omicron Covid-19 variant is less severe.

With the Omicron variant of the virus sweeping around the world, more than 440,000 new cases were reported in the US on Friday, almost exactly 200,000 more than during a peak last February.

Israel registers highest daily infections since September

Israel registered 4,197 new coronavirus cases, the highest tally since September.

In a statement, the Health Ministry said that 92,500 tests were done over the last 24 hours, and 4,197 tested positive for the virus.

In the past week, Israel registered 26,857 confirmed Covid-19 infections, compared to 9,081 cases the week before, an over threefold increase.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned that Covid-19 cases are likely to increase amid the spread of the Omicron variant.

Israeli authorities have already banned the entry of foreigners into the country over fears of the spread of the Omicron variant.

Twitter bans personal Greene account for Covid misinformation

Twitter banned the personal account of Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene for multiple violations of its Covid-19 misinformation policy.

The Georgia Republican's account was permanently suspended under the “strike” system Twitter launched in March, according to a statement from the company.

The system uses artificial intelligence to identify posts about the coronavirus that are misleading enough to cause harm to people. Five or more strikes can get someone permanently removed from Twitter.

In a statement on the messaging app Telegram, Greene blasted Twitter's move as un-American.

She wrote that her account was suspended after tweeting statistics from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, a government database which includes unverified raw data.

“Twitter is an enemy to America and can't handle the truth,” Greene said. “That's fine, I'll show America we don't need them and it's time to defeat our enemies.”

New Covid-19 cases in India rise sharply

India reported more than 27,000 new Covid-19 cases, with infections sharply rising for a fifth consecutive day, but the chief minister of the capital New Delhi said there was no need to panic, citing low hospitalisation rates.

The country's largest cities, including Delhi and the financial capital Mumbai, have seen a recent spike in Covid-19 cases, including those of the Omicron variant, which has triggered a fresh wave of infections in other parts of the world.

Omicron could lead Israel to herd immunity

A surge of Omicron infections could see Israel reaching herd immunity, the country's top health official said as daily cases continued to climb.

Until late December, Israel managed to stave off Omicron to some degree but with infection rates now gaining pace, daily cases are expected to reach record highs in the coming three weeks.

US judge blocks vaccine mandate for Head Start program

President Joe Biden cannot require teachers in the Head Start early education program to be vaccinated against Covid-19, a Louisiana federal judge ruled, handing a victory to 24 states that had sued the federal government.

US District Judge Terry Doughty wrote that the Biden administration unlawfully bypassed Congress when ordering that workers in Head Start programs be vaccinated by Jan. 31 and that students 2 years or older be masked when indoors or when in close contact outdoors.

France to ease isolation rules

France will relax Covid isolation rules from Monday, in a bid to ease their impact on society and the economy.

Fully vaccinated people who test positive will only have to isolate for seven days regardless of the coronavirus variant they were infected with, but can leave quarantine after five days if they show an antigen or negative PCR test.

There will be no quarantine for fully inoculated individuals who have a close contact test positive.

Russia sees 811 additional deaths

Russia has reports 811 deaths and 18,233 new coronavirus cases from Covid-19 in past 24 hours.

The country has recorded 100,074,753 infections of Covid-19 over the past two years.

Germany adds 46 more deaths

Germany has recorded 12,515 new cases and 46 coronavirus deaths.

German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said earlier this week that the number of new coronavirus cases has been under-reported and the actual incidence rate of infections is about two or three times higher than the officially reported figure.

He said the under-reporting was due to fewer tests being performed at workplaces and at doctors practices, as well as only a few of those test results being submitted to authorities.

Europe tops 100 million cases

Europe has recorded over 100 million coronavirus cases, more than a third of all infections worldwide, since the start of the pandemic, an AFP tally showed.

The continent has once again become the pandemic's epicentre, and is battling an upsurge of cases spurred by the highly transmissible Omicron strain of the virus.

Brazil sees 49 Covid-19 deaths and 3,986 cases

Brazil registers 49 Covid-19 deaths and 3,986 additional cases, according to data released by the nation's Health Ministry.

The country has now recorded a total of 619,105 coronavirus deaths and 22,291,507 confirmed cases.

France mandates masks for children

French authorities announced that children six and older will have to wear masks in indoor places open to the public as new cases of the highly contagious Omicron variant surge past 200,000 for the fourth consecutive day.

By lowering the age of children obligated to wear masks from 11 to 6, the government is hoping to avoid shutting down schools after the holiday break. 

Classes resume Monday and young children will have to wear masks on public transport, in sports complexes and in places of worship. The mask mandate extends to outdoor spaces in cities such as Paris and Lyon that recently reintroduced mask wearing outside.

Dutch police raid Covid-rule-breaking rave

Dutch police break up a rave party in breach of Covid rules that was attended by hundreds in a disused factory, local media report.

Dozens of police officers enter the makeshift venue in the central town of Rijswijk with hundreds more mobilised to shepherd people away, NOS television says.

UK minister says 'try to live with virus'

The UK’s health minister insists that reimposing coronavirus restrictions in England will be "an absolute last resort" and that the country must "try to live with Covid".

"Curbs on our freedom must be an absolute last resort and the British people rightly expect us to do everything in our power to avert them," Health Secretary Sajid Javid writes in an article.