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
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.
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
France to restrict travel from UK over Omicron – latest updates
Source: Pinay Pop Showbiz
