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1 hour ago
"Tsunami" Looming for Unvaccinated Americans, CNN Medical Analyst Says
By Susannah Cullinane and Dakin Andone
The United States now faces a resurgence of Covid-19 as the pandemic enters its third year.
As of Saturday, the country registered an average of 126,967 new cases daily, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
"This omicron variant is extraordinarily contagious. It is as contagious as measles, and it is the most contagious virus we have seen," CNN medical analyst Jonathan Reiner said Saturday, warning that a "tsunami" was coming for Americans. vaccinated.
3 hours ago
The United States "cannot sidestep" covid-19 mitigation measures with a difficult winter ahead, says Fauci
By Deidre McPhillips
People wear masks at a mall at The Oculus on December 13, in New York City.
(Credit: Spencer Platt / Getty Images)
With a doubling time of two to three days, the omicron variant "is going to take over," and the United States needs to use all the tools at its disposal - from vaccinations to tests to masks - to fight a harsh winter. Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN on Sunday.
"It's going to be a difficult few weeks or months as we move into winter," he said, putting significant pressure on hospital systems, especially in places with low vaccination rates.
Fauci insisted on the importance of vaccination.
"If you want to be optimally protected, get vaccinated," he said, but said that "we cannot ignore" other mitigation measures, such as masking and testing.
"We can't do it without vaccines, Jake, but we can do a lot more with other things," he told CNN's Jake Tapper.
"It is more than one thing. It is a comprehensive approach."
Testing has improved in the US in the last year, but Fauci said there is still a chance to do better.
"We really need to flood the system with testing. We need to have testing available to anyone who wants it," he said.
3 hours ago
Ireland says more than half of covid-19 cases are of the omicron variant
By Niamh Kennedy
Almost 52% of Covid-19 cases in Ireland are now of the omicron variant, according to the country's Department of Health.
"In less than two weeks, omicron has become the dominant variant of covid-19 in Ireland," Dr. Tony Holohan, Ireland's chief medical officer, said in a tweet on Sunday.
Irish health authorities are identifying omicron cases based on PCR tests showing failures in the S gene target.The Irish Department of Health said in a tweet on Sunday that, based on this methodology, they estimate that 51, 6% of the cases reported in Ireland are now of this variant.
The Health Department registered a total of 5,124 cases of covid-19 on Sunday.
The country reported its highest number of daily cases on Saturday since early January, when 7,333 cases were recorded, according to state broadcaster RTÉ.
This comes after the Irish government announced on Friday a series of additional measures aimed at curbing the rise of the new variant.
Starting Monday, hospitality establishments and live events will be subjected to a curfew at 8pm, which industry professionals have deemed devastating for the sector.
The chairman of the Irish Epidemiological Models Advisory Group of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), Philip Nolan, said in a tweet Saturday that the restrictions serve to "reinforce a call to all of us to prioritize our socialization in the coming weeks. to a small group of people who matter most to us. "
The country's epidemiologists have not been able to "accurately" model the omicron scenarios, Nolan said.
However, he cautioned that "a large wave of infections is likely" due to omicron's huge growth advantage.
Ireland currently offers booster doses to all adults over the age of 40, pregnant women, healthcare workers, people living in nursing homes or long-term residential care facilities, and people between the ages of 16 and 49 with an underlying disease.
3 hours ago
Israel will add the United States, Canada and Germany to the no-fly list
By Elliott Gokine
Israel will add 10 more countries, including the United States and Canada, to its no-fly "red" list as it prepares for a fifth wave of COVID-19 infections.
Subject to ministerial approval, the United States, Canada, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Switzerland and Turkey will be added to the "red" list at midnight Tuesday.
The list already includes much of Africa, the United Kingdom, Denmark, France, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Ireland, Norway, Finland and Sweden.
"Time is running out," warned Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, speaking at the start of Sunday's cabinet meeting.
"The wave is coming. Each family must be prepared, each person must make sure that they are vaccinated with three vaccines, and that their children are vaccinated."
On Saturday night, it was announced that Bennett was canceling the annual Sunday night reception with journalists, diplomats and others, "due to growing concern about a possible new wave of covid in Israel."
Meanwhile, the country is stepping up its vaccination campaign for children, and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz told Kan Radio that this week he would "invade" the education system, multiplying the number of vaccination centers in schools by 10 , up to 500. He added that there is some indication that the effectiveness of the booster vaccine has decreased, and that a fourth dose of vaccination might be necessary, especially for the elderly.
In an attempt to stem the spread of the omicron variant, which is spreading rapidly, Israel has banned most foreigners from entering the country.
Israelis are mostly prohibited from visiting the "red" list countries;
Travelers returning from them must self-isolate for seven days, first in quarantine hotels and then, upon receiving a negative PCR test, at home, provided they sign a contract agreeing to have their movements tracked.
Despite these measures, the numbers of covid-19 in Israel have been increasing, with 875 more cases recorded on Friday, the highest number in at least a month, before dropping to 372 on Saturday, due to the lower number of testing over the weekend (in late summer, infections peaked at more than 10,000 a day).
Severe cases increased by one, to 81. Less than three months ago, at the height of the fourth wave, they exceeded 750.
More context:
the number of people who contract the omicron variant also continues to grow.
According to the Ministry of Health, 134 people have already been identified who have contracted the variant, compared to 89 a few days ago.
There is a "high suspicion" of omicron in more than 300 additional cases.
The R coefficient, the number of people infected for each person with covid-19, remains just above one, a threshold that it exceeded more than a month ago.
"If what is happening in Europe happens here," Dr. Eran Segal, of the Weizmann Institute of Sciences, told Channel 12 in Israel, "we will see how infections double every two or three days."
3 hours ago
London Mayor Says New Covid-19 Restrictions "Unavoidable"
By Martin Goillandeau
Pedestrians walk past a sign at London's Liverpool Street train station on December 18.
(Credit: Tolga Akmen / AFP / Getty Images)
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said Sunday that it is "inevitable" that the British government will impose new restrictions on COVID-19.
Khan spoke after he declared a "serious incident" in the English capital on Saturday due to the rapidly increasing number of cases.
"I think that if we don't introduce new restrictions, sooner rather than later, you are going to see even more positive cases and potentially public services like the National Health Service (NHS) on the brink of collapse, if not at all. they collapse, "Khan told the BBC.
"Those who work in the NHS think of general practitioners, in hospital emergencies, in ambulances, but also in the fire service, in the police service, in local authorities, they are seeing record numbers of absences of personal, and what worries is our capacity to take care of the people who are not well or who need a public service. That is why we have declared the major emergency ".
The Mayor of London added that any new restrictions would have to be balanced with financial support from the UK government.
He suggested that the new restrictions should take effect after Christmas, given the "impact on people's well-being and mental health" if they were introduced before the holidays.
"Christmas is important. Even for those of us who don't celebrate it religiously, we have free time and we can see our family. So I think we should be able to celebrate Christmas safely," he said.
"But I think that, sooner rather than later, we have to study social distancing. We are going to have to look at the mix of households. And because if we don't, the number of cases only goes in one direction and the question is not the severity of the consequences, not only that. It is also the number of people who have the virus, "Khan added.
3 hours ago
The omicron variant is found in at least 45 US states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, DC
By CNN
The omicron variant of Covid-19 has been identified in at least 45 US states as of Sunday, according to press releases from state officials in their respective states.
Ă“micron has also been detected in Puerto Rico and Washington, according to authorities.
The variant has been found in the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington , West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
Covid-19 Pandemic
