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Retrieved from: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
By Kanishka Singh
People wait in line to take coronavirus disease (COVID-19) tests at pop-up testing site in New York City, U.S., December 14, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
New York City will stop quarantining entire classrooms exposed to the coronavirus and will instead prioritize a ramped-up testing program so that asymptomatic students testing negative for COVID-19 can remain in school, officials said on Tuesday.
A day earlier, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shortened the recommended isolation time for Americans with asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 to five days from the previous guidance of 10 days. read more
President Joe Biden has pledged to ease a shortage of COVID-19 tests with the Omicron variant threatening to overwhelm hospitals and stifle travel plans as it spreads across the country this holiday week. read more
The Omicron variant was estimated to be 58.6% of the coronavirus variants circulating in the United States as of Dec. 25, CDC data showed on Tuesday.
Mayor Bill de Blasio described New York's new policy as "Stay Safe, and Stay Open" and said it will take effect on Jan. 3. About a million New York City public school students are scheduled to return from holiday break on Monday.
New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams, de Blasio and New York Governor Kathy Hochul made the announcements at a news conference. New York City aims to detect more infections while mitigating disruptions as officials described remote learning as "a failed experiment."
The city's previous policy was to quarantine unvaccinated close contacts of infected students for 10 days.
Instead of sending classes of unvaccinated students home to learn online when a student tests positive, the students will be given rapid at-home tests. If they are asymptomatic and test negative, they can return the day after their first negative test.
Students will be given a second at-home test within seven days of their exposure, according to the announcement.
The step raised some concerns among parents. One tweeted that schools should be kept remote for at least a week's cushion following potential holiday gathering and travel exposure.
Others called for mandatory testing for all children, as well as school employees.
Broadway's revival of "The Music Man," the hottest ticket in town, on Tuesday canceled performances for five days after star Hugh Jackman tested positive for COVID, becoming the latest New York City show to fall victim to the surging coronavirus.
New York will also sharply limit the number of people it allows in Times Square for its New Year's Eve celebration.
Separately, Biden on Tuesday revoked a proclamation put in place last month that imposed travel restrictions on eight southern African nations, including South Africa, after the emergence of the Omicron variant.
Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/nyc-limit-classroom-closures-prioritize-ramped-up-testing-schools-2021-12-28/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky gives her opening statement during the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing on "Next Steps: The Road Ahead for the COVID-19 Response" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., November 4, 2021. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is not currently considering recommending a vaccine mandate for domestic flights, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said on Tuesday.
"Certainly domestic flights has been a topic of conversation but that is not something we're revisiting right now," Walensky said on National Public Radio.
Walensky was responding to a question about remarks the previous day by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious disease expert, that a vaccine mandate for domestic air travel should be considered.
Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/cdc-director-walensky-not-considering-vaccine-mandate-domestic-flights-now-2021-12-28/
Passengers queue to get a PCR test against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) before traveling on international flights, at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, November 26, 2021. REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham
Research by South African scientists suggests that Omicron could displace the Delta variant of the coronavirus because infection with the new variant boosts immunity to the older one.
The study only covered a small group of people and has not been peer-reviewed, but it found that people who were infected with Omicron, especially those who were vaccinated, developed enhanced immunity to the Delta variant.
The analysis enrolled 33 vaccinated and unvaccinated people who were infected with the Omicron variant in South Africa.
While the authors found that neutralisation of Omicron increased 14-fold over 14 days after the enrolment, they also found that there was a 4.4-fold increase in neutralisation of the Delta variant.
"The increase in Delta variant neutralization in individuals infected with Omicron may result in decreased ability of Delta to re-infect those individuals," the scientists who conducted the study said.
The results of the study are "consistent with Omicron displacing the Delta variant, since it can elicit immunity which neutralizes Delta making re-infection with Delta less likely," they said. [https://secureservercdn.net/50.62.198.70/1mx.c5c.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/MEDRXIV-2021-268439v1-Sigal.pdf]
According to the scientists, implications of this displacement would depend on whether or not Omicron is less pathogenic compared to Delta. "If so, then the incidence of COVID-19 severe disease would be reduced and the infection may shift to become less disruptive to individuals and society."
Alex Sigal, a professor at the Africa Health Research Institute in South Africa, said on Twitter on Monday that if Omicron was less pathogenic as it looked to be from the South African experience, "this will help push Delta out".
According to an earlier South African study, there is reduced risk of hospitalisation and severe disease in people infected with Omicron compared with the Delta variant, though the authors say some of that is likely due to high population immunity. read more
The Omicron variant, first detected in southern Africa and Hong Kong in November, has since spread worldwide and threatened to overwhelm hospitals in some countries.
Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/safrica-study-suggests-omicron-enhances-neutralizing-immunity-against-delta-2021-12-28/
By Todd Gregory
Vivien Murphy, 9, received a shot last month at a vaccination clinic in Montreal, the largest city in Quebec.Credit...Christinne Muschi/Reuters
Quebec, which is fighting the highest infection levels in Canada, announced on Tuesday that health care workers in the province who test positive for the coronavirus will continue working under certain circumstances.
All essential workers in the province, including those who work in medicine, will be subject to the new rules, Christian Dubé, Quebec’s minister of health and social services, said in a news briefing. He said that workers who test positive will keep working “according to a list of priority and risk management.” He did not provide details but said more information would be released in the coming days.
During previous waves, Mr. Dubé said, the goal had been to “identify and remove at-risk employees as quickly as possible.” But given the highly contagious nature of the Omicron variant, and so many people being infected and having to be pulled out of work, he said, “we have to do otherwise. We have no choice.”
The average number of new cases per day in Quebec has risen 376 percent in the past two weeks, and the seven-day average of new daily cases in the province is over 8,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. That number makes up more than half of Canada’s new cases every day, on average.
The strain on health care workers around the world has been building since the beginning of the pandemic, and experts have warned that they are nearing a breaking point. In October, the World Health Organization estimated that more than 100,000 health care workers had died of Covid and urged countries to do more to protect them.
In the United States, some states called in the National Guard this month to help run hospitals and nursing homes that have been hit hard by staff shortages and illness among their employees.
Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/12/28/world/omicron-covid-vaccine-tests#quebec-health-workers-positive-covid
“The Music Man” will resume performances on Sunday, and Jackman will return to the show on Jan. 6.Credit...Cindy Ord/Getty Images
Hugh Jackman, who is starring as Professor Harold Hill in “The Music Man” at the Winter Garden Theater on Broadway, announced on Tuesday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus.
“I just wanted you to hear from me that I tested positive this morning for Covid,” Jackman said in an Instagram video. “My symptoms are like a cold: I have a scratchy throat and a bit of a runny nose, but I’m fine. And I’m just going to do everything I can to get better, A.S.A.P., and as soon as I’m cleared, I’ll be back onstage.”
Shortly after Mr. Jackman posted his video, “The Music Man” announced on Instagram that all performances would be canceled through Saturday. Tickets can be refunded or exchanged where they were purchased. Performances will resume on Sunday, and Mr. Jackman will return to the show on Jan. 6.
Several other Tony winners star in “The Music Man” alongside Mr. Jackman: Sutton Foster as Marian Paroo, Shuler Hensley as Marcellus Washburn, Jefferson Mays as Mayor Shinn, Jayne Houdyshell as Mrs. Shinn and Marie Mullen as Mrs. Paroo.
Preview performances for “The Music Man” began on Dec. 20, with opening night scheduled for Feb. 10.
While “The Music Man” has managed to stay open, other shows have not. The New York City Ballet announced Tuesday that it was canceling its remaining performances of “The Nutcracker.”
The producers of “Ain’t Too Proud,” a jukebox musical about the Temptations, also announced on Tuesday that their show will close on Jan. 16. The show has not run since Dec. 15, citing coronavirus cases. It is planning to resume on Tuesday, Dec. 28, and hoping to run for three more weeks before closing for good.
Last week, the musicals “Jagged Little Pill” and “Waitress,” as well as the play “Thoughts of a Colored Man” announced that they had closed without so much as a farewell performance — all were already on hiatus because of coronavirus cases among cast or crew.
The efforts of “The Music Man” to stay open had just been highlighted on Thursday night, when the actress Kathy Voytko, a swing and an understudy for Marian Paroo in the musical, filled in for Ms. Foster, who had Covid, at the last minute. After the show, the actress and dancer Katherine Winter posted an Instagram video of Mr. Jackman praising understudies and swings as “the bedrock of Broadway.”
“Kathy, when she turned up at work at 12 o’clock, could have played any of eight roles,” Jackman said at the curtain call. “It happened to be the leading lady. She found out at 12 noon today, and at 1 o’clock she had her very first rehearsal as Marian Paroo.”
As the coronavirus and its Omicron variant spread, understudies and swings are becoming more important than ever: Shows are relying on them to step in for sick or unavailable leads.
“This is unprecedented,” Mr. Jackman continued. “It’s not only happening here at the Winter Garden, but all over Broadway. This is a time we’ve never known.”
Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/12/28/world/omicron-covid-vaccine-tests#hugh-jackman-covid-the-music-man
A fully vaccinated person who arrived on a flight from the United Kingdom spent two days in the community before the infection was detected
The person infected with Omicron spent two days in Auckland before it became clear they had Covid Photograph: Scott E Barbour/Getty Images
New Zealand has reported its first community exposure to the Omicron variant from a person arriving from the United Kingdom earlier this month.
The person, who tested positive for the Omicron variant of Covid-19, had briefly been active in the community in Auckland.
The recent international arrival reportedly returned a positive result on day nine of their self-isolation period but had previously returned three negative tests for Covid-19 while completing seven days of managed isolation at a facility in Auckland, the ministry of health said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The case arrived on a flight from the United Kingdom via Doha on 16 December and is fully vaccinated with a mRNA vaccine. No other Covid-19 infections have been identified from the individual’s flight,” the statement read.
The result of the person’s day nine test was received on 27 December and they were immediately transferred to an Auckland MIQ facility on the same day at which point the Omicron variant was confirmed.
Investigations are currently under way as to the source of the infection and public health officials are in the process of identifying and contacting all other known close contacts, and ensuring they isolate and get tested.
The individual was in Auckland city centre on 26 December and 27 December, but the health ministry did not believe that the person was highly infectious at the time. The New Zealand Herald reported the person visited a nightclub, bar, Chinese restaurant and a jewellers.
New Zealand has reported 13,986 confirmed coronavirus cases and 51 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, according to government health data. There have been 54 Covid cases reported over the past 24 hours with the majority of cases recorded in Auckland.
Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/29/new-zealand-reports-first-community-exposure-to-omicron
If you’ve just tuned in to our live Covid blog here is a quick rundown of the latest developments:
· New Zealand reports its first community exposure to the Omicron variant in a person arriving from the UK who had been active in the community in Auckland. The person reportedly arrived in New Zealand from the United Kingdom on 16 December and tested positive on 27 December, the health ministry said in a statement.
· Japan will consider bringing forward Covid-19 vaccine booster shots amid concern over the spread of the Omicron variant.
· The Chinese city of Xi’an has entered its seventh day of lockdown on Wednesday, with many of the 13 million residents unable to leave their homes and dependent on deliveries of necessities.
· The US reported its single highest number of daily cases on Tuesday. The 512,553 daily new cases was by far the single highest number of cases recorded since the beginning of the pandemic, according to data released by the Johns Hopkins University. The previous record was 294,015 set on 8 January 2021.
· California became the first state to record more than 5 million known coronavirus infections.
· Hundreds more US flights have been cancelled in the fifth day of travel chaos. US airlines Delta Air Lines and Alaska Air Groupcancelled hundreds of flights on Tuesday due to adverse weather conditions and rising cases of the Omicron variant.
· The World Health Organization has warned that the Omicron coronavirus variant could lead to overwhelmed healthcare systems even though early studies suggest it sparks milder disease.
Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2021/dec/29/covid-news-live-infections-hit-record-highs-across-europe-south-africa-reinstates-contact-tracing-and-isolation
Medicine
