Covid-19 has infected more than 290M people and killed over 5.4M worldwide. Here are some of the latest coronavirus-related developments:
Monday, January 3, 2022
South Korea reports first deaths linked to Omicron
Two people who posthumously have tested positive for the highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus appear to be the first such reported deaths in the country.
Officials are still investigating the exact cause of death for the two patients, who were both in their 90s, Yonhap news agency reported on Monday, citing health authorities in the city of Gwangju.
India vaccinates teens aged 15 to 18 as virus cases rise
Indian health authorities have begun vaccinating teens in the age group of 15 to 18, as more states started to enforce tighter restrictions to arrest a new surge stoked by the infectious omicron variant.
State governments across India administered doses at schools, hospitals and through special vaccination sites amid a rapid rise in coronavirus infections, particularly in the country’s densely populated cities.
Data from the health ministry showed India confirmed over 33,000 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours. Deaths increased by 123, bringing the total to nearly 482,000.
Authorities are saying that even as cases have started to rise rapidly, hospitalizations have not gone up.
Australia to push ahead with reopening amid record cases
Australia's government has said the milder impact of the Omicron strain of Covid-19 meant the country could push ahead with plans to reopen the economy even as new infections hit a record of more than 37,000 and the number of people hospitalised rose.
Record daily case numbers were reported on Monday in the states of Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania, as well as the Australian Capital Territory.
In New South Wales, there were 20,794 cases, higher than Sunday's figure but below the daily record of 22,577 set on Saturday, with testing numbers lower over the New Year's holiday weekend.
The national daily total hit a record of more than 37,150 cases, exceeding Saturday's 35,327 cases, with Western Australia and the Northern Territory still to report.
US Defense Secretary Austin tests positive
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said he had tested positive for Covid-19 and had mild symptoms, but would retain all authorities as he quarantined at home for the next five days.
In a statement, Austin on Sunday said he requested a test earlier on Sunday after having symptoms while at home on vacation.
He said he last met President Joe Biden on Tuesday, December 21, more than a week before he started experiencing symptoms.
Fauci warns of danger of hospitalisation surge
Top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci has said there was still a danger of a surge in hospitalisation due to a large number of coronavirus cases even as early data suggests the Omicron Covid-19 variant is less severe.
"The only difficulty is that if you have so many many cases, even if the rate of hospitalization is lower with Omicron than it is with Delta, there is still the danger that you will have a surging of hospitalizations that might stress the healthcare system," Fauci said in an interview on Sunday with CNN.
New wave fears grow as Pakistan's daily cases hit 2-month high
As officials fret over a fifth virus wave, Pakistan has reported more than 700 new Covid-19 cases, its highest daily figure in over two months.
A total of 708 new cases and two deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours, raising the overall tally above 1.29 million, including nearly 28,400 deaths, according to Health Ministry data on Monday.
The daily number is four times greater than at the end of November and the first over 700 since 733 infections were recorded on October 30 last year.
Officials have warned that the coronavirus omicron variant is driving infections up in the country.
As cases clocked in at 556 on Sunday, exceeding 500 for the fourth day in a row, Asad Umar, the minister heading Pakistan’s Covid-19 response, said authorities have “clear evidence” of a new virus wave.
He said a surge “has been expected for the last few weeks” and that genome sequencing shows a “rising proportion of omicron cases,” particularly in Karachi, the largest city and a commercial hub of nearly 20 million people.
Another Chinese city imposes lockdown
Amid rising cases of Covid-19, another city in China has imposed lockdown, and suspended classes and public transport.
Authorities in Yuzhou, a city in the central province of Henan, announced the new rules on Sunday night as “two asymptomatic infections were detected,” Chinese daily Global Times reported.
This comes as the country’s latest hotspot of the coronavirus, Xian, capital of the northwestern Shaanxi province, reported less than 100 cases after nearly a week.
On Sunday, 161 new cases were reported nationwide, of which 101 were locally transmitted and 60 imported, the country's National Health Commission said.
Xian has seen a surge in local cases triggered by the Delta variant of the Covid-19 after it reported its first cases last December. With 92 new cases on Sunday, the tally has climbed to 1,666.
According to Chinese state-run Xinhua News, at least 24 medical teams with 1,370 doctors and nurses have been deployed to Xian to meet the rising virus challenge.
The local authorities have also set up two hospitals inside the quarantine zone for emergency treatment.
Poland may need new restrictions, the official says
Poland may decide to introduce new restrictions if cases of new coronavirus infections continue to grow, Polish health minister Adam Niedzielski has told radio station RMF FM, as the country prepares for the spread of the Omicron variant.
Poland has been dealing with persistently high daily case numbers in a fourth wave that forced authorities to tighten restrictions in December.
"If we see this week that we have a continuation of the upward trend in infections, with roughly 20,000 hospital beds taken, which is still ver y high, yes, we will be making further aggravating decisions," Niedzielski said on Monday.
"We will talk about schools, the closure of shopping malls, for example, but I do not want to prejudge," he added.
Niedzielski said that any decisions could be announced later this week - on Wednesday or Friday.
Poland, a country of around 38 million people, has reported more than 4.1 million cases of the coronavirus and around 97.6 thousand deaths.
Kuwaitis told to avoid European travel over Omicron
Kuwait has called on its citizens to avoid travel to several European countries hit hard by the Omicron coronavirus variant.
In a series of statements overnight Sunday, the oil-rich Gulf state also urged Kuwaitis already there to return home because of the surge in cases on the continent.
The foreign ministry said they should "delay their trips" generally and, in particular, to France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy.
It also urged its citizens, often big spenders abroad, to leave those countries "considering the significant and unprecedented rise in the number of new cases" of Covid-19.
Europe has in the past few months again become the pandemic's epicentre and is battling an upsurge of cases spurred on by the highly transmissible Omicron strain.
Brazil to investigate reports of cruise liners
Brazilian health authorities have said they will investigate reports of cruise liners violating Covid-19 protocols, after outbreaks hit three ships plying the coast.
The statement came after Brazilian media reported passengers on one of the Covid-hit ships, the Costa Diadema, violated quarantine orders to hold a booze-fuelled New Year's Eve party.
The crackdown comes after Covid-19 outbreaks erupted on the Costa Diadema and two other ships off the Brazilian coast at New Year's.
Brazilian health agency Anvisa warned passengers against boarding cruise ships operating along the Brazilian coast.
Meanwhile, Brazil registered 28 Covid-19 deaths on Sunday and 1,721 additional cases, according to data released by the nation's Health Ministry.
The South American country has now recorded a total of 619,133 coronavirus deaths and 22,293,228 confirmed cases.
The numbers do not reflect data from six states and the federal district on Sunday.
Mexico's Covid-19 death toll rises to 299,544
Mexico's Health Ministry has said the Covid-19 death toll in the country has reached 299,544 since the pandemic began.
The Ministry has previously said the real number is likely higher.
US CDC considers adding negative tests as part of its guidance
As the Covid-19 Omicron variant surges across the United States, top federal health officials are looking to add a negative test along with its five-day isolation restrictions for asymptomatic Americans who catch the coronavirus, the White House’s top medical adviser said Sunday.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now considering including the negative test as part of its guidance after getting significant “pushback” on its updated recommendations last week.
Under that December 27 guidance, isolation restrictions for
people infected with Covid-19 were shortened from 10 days to five days
if they are no longer feeling symptoms or running a fever.
After that period, they are asked to spend the following five days wearing a mask when around others.
The guidelines have since received criticism from many health professionals for not specifying a negative antigen test as a requirement for leaving isolation.
Israel approves fourth Covid jab for people over 60
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has said that a fourth Covid vaccine will be given to people over 60 and health workers amid a surge driven by the Omicron variant.
Israel on Thursday authorised a fourth Covid vaccine for those with weakened immunity, becoming one of the first countries to do so.
Authorities on Sunday also reported 4,206 new Covid infections over the past 24 hours, and a 195 percent increase over the past week.
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(With input from news agency language)
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