UK reports another record number of daily Covid cases – latest updates
Covid-19 has infected more than 272M people and killed over 5.3M worldwide. Here are some of the latest coronavirus-related developments:
Thursday, December 16, 2021
UK reports record 88,376 new cases
The British government has reported 88,376 new coronavirus cases, a second consecutive record daily tally, as the Omicron variant fuels a worrying surge in infections across the country.
The latest data takes the total number of infections during the pandemic to nearly 11.1 million, while the UK also registered a further 146 deaths from the virus, taking the death toll to almost 147,000.
Italy reports 123 deaths, 26,109 new cases
Italy has reported 123 coronavirus-related deaths against 129 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 26,109 from 23,195.
Italy has registered 135,301 deaths linked to Covid-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the ninth-highest in the world.
The country has reported 5.3 million cases to date.
Palestine detects first 3 cases of Omicron
The Palestinian Health Ministry has said that it has identified its first three cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in the occupied West Bank.
Ministry spokesman Kamal al Shakrah said the three people live in different cities in the territory and had recently returned from abroad. He did not say which countries they had visited.
In response to the discovery, the ministry said medical teams were tracking down and testing those who had recently come into contact with the three people.
Authorities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, territories home to some 4.8 million Palestinians, have reported 4,858 deaths from the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.
AstraZeneca therapy works against Omicron; results mixed for Regeneron
AstraZeneca and Regeneron have reported contrasting data on the effectiveness of their Covid-19 antibody therapies against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, underscoring the major challenges ahead for drugmakers.
US-based Regeneron said its REGEN-COV therapy, also called Ronapreve, is less effective against Omicron, though it is still active against the Delta variant, confirming indications from lab tests and computer modelling late last month.
Anglo-Swedish rival AstraZeneca, however, said a lab study found that its antibody cocktail Evusheld retained neutralising activity against Omicron, the first such data for the treatment.
Earlier this week, German researchers found that Covid-19 therapies developed by Eli Lilly and Regeneron lose most of their effectiveness when exposed in laboratory tests to Omicron.
But lab studies this week showed GSK-Vir's antibody treatment retains neutralizing activity against all tested coronavirus variants, including Omicron.
The study on Evusheld was done by independent investigators of the US Food and Drug Administration using so-called pseudoviruses that feature major coronavirus mutations across suspicious variants that have emerged so far.
Omicron cases in Canada's Ontario could soon swamp critical care units
The Omicron variant of Covid-19 is spreading rapidly in Ontario, Canada's most populous province, and could overwhelm intensive care units early next month without prompt intervention, a panel of experts said.
The panel released modeling which said increased vaccination alone would not be enough to fight Omicron. Instead, it called for public health measures to cut peoples' contacts by 50 percent and ensure the rapid roll-out of booster doses.
France to restrict travel from UK due to Omicron surge
France is to tighten up restrictions on travel to and from Britain to slow the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 which is causing record numbers of cases on the other side of the Channel, the government said on Thursday.
"We will put in place a system of controls drastically tighter than the one we have already," government spokesman Gabriel Attal told BFM-TV, saying returning travellers would need a negative test of less than 24 hours, a quarantine enforced on return to France and trips for tourism limited.
South Africa to retain curbs at 'Level 1'
South Africa's National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) has retained the coronavirus lockdown at 'adjusted level 1', or the lowest of a five-tier system of restrictions, in the battle on the Omicron variant, health authorities said on Thursday.
"The Council has directed the department to closely monitor the rising COVID-19 infections," the health department said in a statement, adding that it would also track hospital admissions, mortality and recovery rates.
These levels were all largely driven by the Omicron variant , which was contributing to South Africa's fourth wave of infections, it added.
Indonesia detects first Omicron case in hospital worker
Indonesia has detected its first case of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in a cleaning worker at a hospital in Jakarta, the country's health minister said Thursday.
The patient has no symptoms and is being quarantined at the Athlete's Village emergency hospital, where the patient worked. The government created the facility in March 2020 to treat Covid-19 patients and as a quarantine venue for Indonesians returning from abroad.
Indonesia’s Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the case was found on Wednesday, and he urged people to continue following recommended health protocols, including wearing masks and maintaining physical distance.
Israel to donate 1M shots to African countries
The Israeli government said it was donating 1 million coronavirus vaccines to the UN-backed Covax program.
The Foreign Ministry said the AstraZenica vaccines would be transferred in the coming weeks, a decision that was part of Israel's strengthening ties with the African countries.
The announcement said the vaccines would reach close to a quarter of African countries, though it did not provide a list. Israel has close ties with a number of African nations, including Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda.
Australian provinces must not 'panic'
Australian state leaders must not "panic and overreact" to predicted outbreaks of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has said, as some states ease curbs despite rising cases.
"Don't overreact, show compassion and common sense. Understand that we need to live with the virus ... (No one) wants to go back to lockdowns," Frydenberg told Seven News, as he looks to deliver the mid-year budget review later on Thursday.
New South Wales and Victoria, home to more than half of Australia's near 26 million people, on Wednesday rolled back most tough restrictions, including for the unvaccinated, as double-dose vaccination levels in people above 16 topped 90 percent.
More relaxations have come as New South Wales, home to Sydney, on Thursday reported its biggest caseload since the pandemic began.
The state reported 1,742 new cases, eclipsing a rise of 420 just a week ago. A total of 1,622 new infections have been logged in Victoria, its biggest in nearly seven weeks.
South Korea to reinstate social distancing
South Korea has said it will reinstate social distancing rules a month-and-a-half after lifting them under a 'living with Covid-19' policy, as spiralling numbers of both new infections and serious cases threaten to overwhelm its medical system.
Curbs will return from Saturday to Jan. 2, limiting gatherings to no more than four people - as long as they are vaccinated - and forcing restaurants, cafes and nightly entertainment facilities to close by 9 p.m. and movie theatres and internet cafes by 10 pm, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said.
The measures came a day after South Korea posted another new record daily coronavirus tally amid a persistent spike in breakthrough infections among those vaccinated and serious cases.
CDC to consider limiting J&J vaccine
A US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel will meet to consider possible limits on the use of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine because of continued blood clot issues, the Washington Post has reported.
The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will be presented new data that appears to show the rate of clots in people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has increased since April, the Post reported, citing clinicians familiar with the agenda.
The use of the vaccine in the United States was paused for 10 days in April to investigate extremely rare but potentially deadly clots, mostly in young and middle-aged women.
There have been about nine deaths related to the issue, the Post said, citing an unnamed federal official.
US universities to make final exams online
A growing number of US colleges and universities have moved final exams online and cancelling non-essential gatherings as the rapidly spreading Omicron coronavirus variant sent people in droves to medical clinics to be tested in scenes reminiscent of the early days of the pandemic.
Many schools were reassessing campus policies as confirmed cases of the Omicron variant turned up in at least 36 states, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said at a briefing.
US cases have held fairly steady over the past week with the country averaging 120,000 new cases each day and 1,300 deaths. The United States leads the world in the daily average number of new infections reported, accounting for one in every 5 infections reported worldwide each day.
Dutch politician punished for comparing Covid to the Holocaust
A Dutch court has banned a right-wing political leader from comparing coronavirus restrictions to the Holocaust on social media following legal action by World War II survivors and Jewish organisations.
Thierry Baudet, an MP who heads the populist Forum for Democracy party, had said on Twitter that "the unvaccinated are the new Jews, those who look away from the exclusions are the new Nazis".
He also posted side-by-side a photo of a young Dutch boy prevented from attending a festive St Nicholas party and one of a Jewish boy from a Polish ghetto before his deportation during World War II.
A judge ruled against Baudet for "pointlessly offending Holocaust victims and their relatives", saying the Jews' fate was "implicitly minimised" by the "disproportionate" comparison.