Omicron turmoil: Italy reports record value, Israel starts fourth vaccination - South Africa is already breathing a sigh of relief
Created: 01/01/2022, 06:52 AM
The number of infections is increasing in Italy: Corona rapid tests are available in pharmacies in Rome (photo).
© Jin Mamengni / imago
The omicron variant of the coronavirus is setting new records for new infections.
Israel gives the fourth dose of vaccine.
South Africa, on the other hand, is lifting the night curfew.
The news ticker.
Omikron is causing the number of new corona infections to skyrocket in many places.
Israel starts with the fourth Corona vaccination dose (
update from December 31, 3:17 p.m.
).
In South Africa, the government sees the peak of the Omikron wave already passed (
update from December 31, 1:36 p.m.
).
This news ticker on the consequences of the Corona variant Omikron is continuously updated.
Update from December 31, 6:35 p.m.:
In Italy, the number of corona infections has reached another record.
The Ministry of Health reported more than 144,000 new Covid cases on New Year's Eve.
The day before it was just under 127,000, on Wednesday 98,000.
According to the information, 155 people with corona died within 24 hours - one less than on Thursday.
According to official information, fewer than 30,000 inhabitants per day had been infected in Italy by mid-December.
On the holidays, the numbers skyrocketed - also because with 1.15 million tests, more than ever before.
Because of the spread of the virus and the omicron variant, the government decided to take new measures this week.
From January 10th, the 2G rule will apply in hotels, convention centers, local and long-distance public transport, in ski lifts and at parties - so you have to be vaccinated or have recovered.
Omikron: Israel is already starting with a fourth vaccination
Update from December 31, 3:17 p.m
.: Israel begins to administer the fourth dose of the vaccine. The repeated booster vaccination was approved for particularly vulnerable risk patients. The first vaccinations with the Biontech / Pfizer vaccine were given on Friday morning at Sheba Hospital in Ramat Gan to people with weakened immune systems, including patients who have had a heart transplant. Residents of old people's homes and patients on geriatric wards are also to be boosted again. A panel of experts had spoken out in favor of starting the administration of a fourth corona vaccination for medical staff and people over 60 years of age.
According to experts, the corona cases will skyrocket in the coming weeks.
In the next ten days, the number of new infections could rise to 15,000 to 20,000 cases.
Almost 5,000 new coronavirus cases were reported this Friday - a 152 percent increase compared to the previous week and the highest level since September.
Nevertheless, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz has assured the public that there is no need to panic.
“The apocalyptic scenarios are unfounded.
They create fear in public.
Fear doesn't help.
On the contrary, it is harmful to health.
Take care of yourself and your relatives.
Shabbat Shalom, ”writes Horowitz on Twitter.
"Speed is breathtaking": South Africa sees the Omikron peak passed - and is already loosening up
Update from December 31, 1:36 p.m
.: According to the government, the peak of the Omikron wave in South Africa has been exceeded.
According to authorities, the cases have decreased by almost 30 percent within a week.
South Africa has lifted the night curfew and other restrictions with immediate effect.
South Africans no longer have to stay at home on New Year's Eve as they have in the past 21 months.
South Africa: "Omikron has reached its peak"
"According to our experts, Omikron has reached its peak - without a clear or alarming change in the number of hospital admissions," said Minister Mondli Gungubele, assigned to the President, at an online press conference on Friday, as reported by the afp news agency. The government hopes that the positive development will continue. However, they continue to evaluate the situation “every hour” in order to detect any contrary development in good time. At the end of November, the omicron variant was detected for the first time in South Africa and Botswana. The number of new corona infections soared to more than 26,000 cases per day by mid-December. On Friday, fewer than 13,000 new infections were reported within 24 hours.
"The speed with which the fourth, Omikron-powered wave climbed, peaked, and then weakened is staggering," wrote Fareed Abdullah of South Africa's Medical Research Council (SAMRC) on Twitter.
"A high point in four weeks and a precipitous decline in two weeks."
Omikron: Next EU country reports giant leap in corona numbers - and reacts
Update from December 30th, 5.40 p.m.:
The Omicron variant of the corona virus continues to spread in Greece and is causing an explosive increase in new infections. From Wednesday to Thursday, the Ministry of Health in Athens registered 35,580 new infections with the corona virus. And that with a population of only around eleven million people. The number corresponds to over 250,000 registered new infections within 24 hours, extrapolated to the size of the German population.
The comparison with the previous week is particularly worrying. Last Thursday, only 6667 new infections were recorded. This means that the value has more than quintupled within seven days. This development is mainly due to the spread of the Omikron variant in the greater Athens area. The Greek government reacted to the developments with stricter corona rules. Among other things, the gastronomy must close at midnight from this Thursday and until at least January 17th and limit spaces. There is an exception until 2 a.m. for New Year's Eve. In addition, FFP2 masks must be worn in supermarkets, public transport and other public spaces.
Update from December 30th, 4:08 pm
: The WHO warns of a "tsunami" of corona cases in view of the highly contagious Omicron variant and the Delta variant.
Great Britain: Bottleneck in corona rapid tests
Update from December 30, 12:02 p.m
.: In Great Britain, a bottleneck in the corona rapid
tests is
causing criticism. Free tests are in short supply before the New Year. The demand for the tests has increased "dramatically", said Martin Marshall chief of the professional association of general practitioners Royal College of GPs, as
reported by
The Guardian
. Because people tried to test themselves before making contacts or because they want to get out of quarantine. The British Health Minister Sajid Javid blamed problems in the global supply chains for the shortage, the news agency dpa announced. But according to Marshall, the health authorities say there is a local logistics problem, including with deliveries to pharmacies.
Other experts are also critical of the lack of rapid tests at the end of the year, of all places.
New Year's Eve is “perfect” for the virus to spread further, warns Peter Openshaw, a member of the Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group on BBC Radio.
"I find it really worrying," said Peter Openshaw, a member of the Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group on BBC Radio.
"We know the situations in which the transfer takes place".
Badly ventilated rooms, where people shout at each other because of loud music, are absolutely perfect for transmitting the extremely contagious virus.
UK 3G rules apply to discos and major events.
And in the UK there is no need to wear masks in pubs and restaurants.
Great Britain reports a new high for new infections: 183,037 people tested positive for the corona virus - a good 50,000 more than before.
However, the data includes the new infections over the past five days in Northern Ireland.
There was no testing over the Christmas holidays.
Omicron explosion: France breaks the threshold of 200,000 new infections within 24 hours for the first time
Update from December 29th, 3:51 p.m.:
In addition to France and Great Britain, the corona situation in Denmark is also getting worse because of Omikron. The number of new infections has risen to a new high since the beginning of the pandemic. As the Danish health authority announced on Wednesday, 23,228 new cases of infection were registered within 24 hours. The previous high was reached on Monday with 16,164 new cases. The seven-day incidence is more than 1700, the highest in the world, ahead of Malta, Ireland, Iceland and the UK.
In Denmark, the Omikron variant has been the predominant coronavirus variant for over a week.
According to the health authority, the new maximum number of new infections is mainly due to a very large number of PCR tests that were carried out after Christmas.
The so-called positive rate, the proportion of positive corona tests, remained almost constant at 12.3 percent.
Update from December 29, 3:05 p.m.:
In France, the number of new corona infections exceeded the threshold of 200,000 within 24 hours for the first time.
Around 208,000 new cases were registered within one day, said French Health Minister Olivier Véran on Wednesday before the National Assembly.
A daily high was only reached on Tuesday with almost 180,000 new infections.
France recorded over 200,000 new infections in one day for the first time.
© Michel Euler / AP / dpa
Highest value since the beginning of the pandemic: Omikron sets a worldwide record - one region particularly affected
First report from December 29, 2021:
Munich - The highly contagious Corona variant Omikron has led to a massive increase in the number of infections worldwide.
More than 6.5 million infections were detected worldwide from December 22nd to 28th - the highest weekly value since the beginning of the pandemic, as the AFP news agency reported on Wednesday on the basis of information from the authorities.
In Europe in particular, the number of infections is skyrocketing.
The World Health Organization (WHO) still rates the risk from Omikron as very high.
Almost a million cases every day: Omikron ensures corona record numbers
According to the AFP count, an average of more than 935,000 infections per day were detected worldwide from December 22nd to 28th - a total of 37 percent more than in the previous week.
The previous weekly record was between April 23 and 29, 2021 - with an average of 817,000 cases per day (the delta variant prevailed at the time).
Most new infections are currently in Europe, where a total of more than 3.5 million cases have been registered in the past seven days.
That was an average of more than 510,000 cases per day - which is also a new high.
In previous waves of infections, never more than 300,000 cases per day had been registered in Europe.
Omikron in Europe: France and Great Britain with more new infections than ever before
Countries like France and Great Britain, where Omikron has already spread, are now seeing more infections than ever before.
In France, with almost 180,000 new cases, a new daily high was recorded on Tuesday - after the number of new infections daily exceeded the threshold of 100,000 for the first time on Saturday.
In the UK, authorities in England and Wales reported nearly 130,000 new cases on Tuesday.
That was also a new daily record, although no new figures were available from Northern Ireland and Scotland due to the Christmas holidays.
In Greece, the number of new infections more than doubled from Monday to Tuesday.
In the Netherlands and Switzerland, Omikron has been the predominant coronavirus variant since Tuesday.
In Germany, too, the number of cases with Omikron is increasing significantly.
Corona: WHO classifies the risk from Omikron as "very high" - warning of "large number of hospital admissions"
The WHO said on Wednesday that the risk from Omikron continues to be "very high" worldwide.
Omikron has a growth advantage over the Delta variant with a doubling rate of two to three days.
A "rapid increase in incidence" can therefore already be observed in many countries.
This increase is “likely” to be due to a combination of gradually decreasing protection from vaccination or convalescence and higher transferability.
Booster vaccinations can help.
The WHO expects that Omikron could lead to a "large number of hospital admissions" in Europe.
This is due to the expected mass of infections, said Catherine Smallwood of the WHO European Directorate on Tuesday the AFP.
The WHO sees indications that an infection with Omikron generally leads to hospital stays less often - but such evaluations still have to be viewed "with caution", stressed Smallwood.
According to the WHO statement on Wednesday, there is still a lack of data on the course of the disease and the risk of infection.
(AFP / ml)