The rebound in cases in various regions of the world has prompted new restrictions, while the new variant is already prevalent in Europe and the United States. With flights canceled and new measures to avoid contagion, Christmas Eve in 2021 is once again affected by Covid-19.
The rebound in Covid-19 cases and the new Omicron variant once again mark the Christmas and New Year celebrations worldwide, although many thought it would be with fewer restrictions and more hugs.
The growing infections limit many Christmas celebrations and concern grows about the rapid advance of Ómicron, which already represents a significant number of infections in various regions and is present in more than 110 countries around the world.
The World Health Organization recalled, however, about studies that indicate a lower risk of hospitalization of patients for the new variant.
Although the organism recognizes that it takes these data with caution since there are others that indicate a reduction in the protection of vaccines such as AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNtech against the variant.
In Europe, it is the dominant variant
Countries such as Russia and Germany show a slight decrease in infections, although the United Kingdom, France and Portugal continue to register at record levels.
In the last 24 hours alone, France showed an increase in daily coronavirus cases while dangerously approaching 100,000 daily cases. The latest report indicates an incidence of 94,124, a record since the pandemic began.
Only this Friday, December 24, 169 people died for a total of 122,400 deaths. Yesterday France had registered 91,068 infections, the worst figures since the start of the pandemic, which now exceed.
Some 22 million French people have at least three doses on it, representing a third of the country’s total population. Vaccination for children ages 5 to 11 was recently expanded.
For its part, the United Kingdom, with 56.1% of the population over 12 years of age with the booster vaccine, the authorities face a new wave of the pandemic. This Friday alone, 122,186 new coronavirus infections were registered, and it represents the third record since the start of the pandemic.
Hospitalizations amounted to 7,366, 16.5% more than the previous Friday, and in London there are 2,260 people admitted, 47.3% more.
In the United Kingdom, 810 people have died from the pandemic in the last 7 days, of which 137 are reported this Friday alone.
Data from the British Office for National Statistics reveals that 1.7 million people had coronavirus in the UK last week. Of these, 1.5 million correspond to England, which is equivalent to one in every 35 people. London has become the epicenter of the new Omicron variant. There, one in twenty people were infected last week.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have already announced new restrictions for next week, while England will announce the end of the year measures on Monday.
Rebound in Portugal and Italy
In Portugal, a new maximum was registered since January, with almost 13,000 infections this Friday alone, according to the bulletin of the General Directorate of Health.
In that country there are 92,000 active cases of covid-19, although mortality and hospitalizations remain at moderate levels. Today only 11 deaths from the virus were reported, far from the 300 daily deaths reported in January.
Portugal has registered, since the start of the pandemic, 1,266,037 confirmed cases and 18,851 deaths from coronavirus. But authorities are bracing for a new outbreak and the Omicron variant could account for 90% of cases by next week.
The Portuguese government toughened up some measures such as the closure of nightlife and compulsory telework, which were initially scheduled for January 2, and which will now be brought forward to this Saturday. The obligation to present a negative test will also be expanded, even in vaccinated people, to participate in events with more than three people.
The Italian authorities registered 50,559 new infections of coronavirus in the last twenty-four hours, and it became the largest data since the pandemic began. The death toll reached 141 in the last 24 hours.
In Germany, 265.8 new infections were reported per 100,000 inhabitants this Friday. compared to the 331.8 new infections registered a week ago, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute of Virology. While fewer than 1,000 deaths were reported in Russia on Friday, representing the fewest deaths in more than two months from the pandemic.
More than 4,000 flights canceled due to the advance of Ómicron.
According to the country’s Automobile Association, more than 100 million people will be mobilized from December 23 to January 2, either by plane, train or car, 34% more than the previous year.
And while the Joe Biden administration appears confident in the vaccinated population, in some states and cities the spikes do not appear to be contained. In Florida there were 31,758 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, breaking the record for the most cases in a single day since the start of the pandemic. This new record is driven by the new omicron variant across the Sunshine State.
In New York, about 17,200 people tested positive on Tuesday alone, marking another new record for a single day. The positives in the city increased by more than 220% in one week.
Authorities expanded coverage of Covid-19 tests and restricted visits to hospitals and prisons, although they did not cancel the crowds in Times Square for New Year’s Eve. “The preference is to keep it on, it is an important event for the city,” Mayor Bill de Blasio told MSNBC.
In the past seven days, some 89,000 people tested positive in the city. Outbreaks have occurred on Long Island, in the central Hudson Valley, and in central New York counties such as Tompkins County.
The American company Flight Aware assured that more than 4,000 flights have been canceled around the world on Christmas Eve due to the advancement of the Omicron variant, of which 457 were destined or starting point in the United States. Another 4,604 routes were delayed globally.
The most affected airlines are Delta and United. A Delta spokesperson said that among the difficulties is the impact of the variant, which has caused some workers to have to stay at home infected.
Yesterday, the main airlines asked those in charge of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to relax the restrictions of that institution on the mandatory isolation period for workers who have been exposed to the virus and which is now 10 days, but they ask for it to be lowered to five.
The Omicron variant is already the dominant variant in the United States on Christmas Eve. Between December 12 and 18, it accounted for 73.2% of new cases, according to official data.
Meanwhile in Latin America, Peru extended the health emergency until the end of January, amid a rebound in infections. The country registers 7 confirmed cases of omicron, all detected in the capital Lima.
Remember that it is forbidden to organize social gatherings and end-of-the-year parties to avoid COVID-19. Respect the sanitary measures imposed by the authority. pic.twitter.com/L92MFgMYIB
– Public Ministry (@FiscaliaPeru) December 23, 2021
Ecuador declared the vaccine mandatory for its citizens, motivated by the increase in cases and omicron. “This decision was made due to the current epidemiological status, that is, the increase in infections and the circulation of new variants of concern,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
In the midst of the rebound in cases and the threat of the new variant, many families around the world seriously reconsidered the Christmas Eve meeting, suspended in 2020 due to the start of the pandemic and now, due to its evolution.
With EFE, AP, Reuters
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