Covid-19 has infected more than 313M people and killed over 5.5M worldwide. Here are some of the latest coronavirus-related developments:
Wednesday, January 12, 2021
Omicron may drop rapidly in US and UK
Scientists are seeing signals that Covid-19’s alarming omicron wave may have peaked in Britain and is about to do the same in the US, at which point cases may start dropping off dramatically.
The reason: The variant has proved so wildly contagious that it may already be running out of people to infect, just a month and a half after it was first detected in South Africa.
At the same time, experts warn that much is still uncertain about how the next phase of the pandemic might unfold. The plateauing or ebbing in the two countries is not happening everywhere at the same time or at the same pace.
And weeks or months of misery still lie ahead for patients and overwhelmed hospitals even if the drop-off comes to pass.
Spain sees nearly 500 Covid deaths
Spain has recorded its highest number of coronavirus-related deaths since March with 247 in the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry has said.
The country has recorded nearly 135,000 daily cases, bringing the total to 7.59 million, while the overall death toll hit 90,383.
EU regulator says boosters give protection against Omicron
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has said that Covid-19 vaccines remained effective against hospitalisation and severe illness from the new omicron variant of the coronavirus, according to preliminary studies.
According to the EMA’s scientific opinion, inoculation, especially receiving a booster shot, remained highly effective against developing severe disease.
At the same time, the EMA raised concerns on the necessity of regularly repeating booster doses due to the omicron variant.
Canada’s Quebec to tax unvaccinated people
The Canadian province of Quebec, struggling to control the Omicron variant, will impose a new health tax in the coming weeks on those who are not vaccinated against Covid-19.
The 10 percent of Quebecois who have not yet received any vaccine doses must not “harm” the 90 percent who have, said Quebec Premier Francois Legault.
The Quebec premier explained that these 10 percent of unvaccinated adults represent 50 percent of people in intensive care, calling it a “shocking” situation.
Anthony Fauci: US on ‘threshold’ of living with Covid
Despite soaring cases and record-high Covid-19 hospitalisations, the United States is approaching the “threshold” of transitioning to living with the coronavirus as a manageable disease, Anthony Fauci has said.
Speaking to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the top US scientist said eliminating Covid was unrealistic and that “Omicron, with its extraordinary, unprecedented degree of efficiency of transmissibility, will ultimately find just about everybody.”
Official data showed there are currently 145,982 Covid hospitalisations, even though a significant percent are thought to be hospitalised “with” the disease rather than because of it.
US airlines say China forced them to cancel flights
US airlines say China has blocked more than a dozen recent and future flights from entering the country, which has been tightening already-strict Covid-19 travel restrictions.
China ordered the cancellations after some passengers tested positive for Covid-19 on flights that arrived in China in late December, according to industry officials.
American Airlines said that six of its flights from Dallas-Fort Worth to Shanghai in late January and early February have been canceled.
United Airlines said it was forced to cancel six flights from San Francisco to Shanghai later this month.
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
Omicron may be headed for rapid drop in US, Britain – latest updates
Source: Pinay Pop Showbiz
