With 162 new infections in one day, China has recorded the highest number of new local corona cases to date this year. As the authorities reported on Monday, 150 infections were reported in the metropolis of Xi’an alone, where massive curfews were imposed on the 13 million residents last week after a few cases had occurred. In Xi’an, people are only allowed to leave their homes in exceptional cases. Each family can designate one member who can go shopping every two days. The population was also completely tested for the virus several times.
With such rigid measures, China, which has a zero-Covid policy, has largely got the virus under control. For more than a year, the pandemic situation in the People’s Republic has been much better than in many other countries. Daily life and the economy have long since normalized. However, the more contagious Delta variant has caused several outbreaks since the fall. Now those responsible fear the even more infectious Omicron variant. In the current outbreak in Xi’an, authorities have not yet revealed any Omicron cases. The Olympic Winter Games are scheduled to begin in Beijing in five weeks. (27.12.2021)
Contagion peaks in France and Italy
France has recorded a high with more than 100,000 corona infections within one day. According to official information on Saturday evening, 104 611 new cases were reported within 24 hours, more than ever since the start of the pandemic. The seven-day incidence nationwide was most recently just under 647 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within a week. Germany currently classifies France as a high-risk area.
In view of the drastically increasing numbers, the French government wants to change the access rules for restaurants and cultural establishments, for example. 3G is currently in effect there and in numerous other locations. In the future, a negative test alone should no longer be sufficient. The government wants to initiate a corresponding law in a special session on Monday, and it should be passed in mid-January.
54,762 new corona infections were registered in Italy on Saturday. This is the third day in a row that the Ministry of Health reports a new high. Since the outbreak in February last year, around 5.57 million infections have been registered in Italy. With 136 530 deaths related to Covid-19, the country has the most corona deaths in Europe after Great Britain. Most recently, 144 other people died of or with the virus in Italy. (25.12.2021)
Almost 300,000 infections in the US
In the United States, health officials report at least 297,099 new infections within 24 hours. That gives a Reuters count based on official data. At least 1,176 other people died with or from the coronavirus. The USA, where around 330 million people live, has the highest numbers of infections and deaths in the world. In total, more than 52.15 million cases of infection have been detected since the beginning of the pandemic, and at least 819 249 people have died. Omikron has already displaced Delta as the most common virus variant in the country.
In Russia, too, many people died again. Health officials recorded 981 more coronavirus-related deaths within 24 hours. In addition, 24,946 people have been shown to have been infected. (25.12.2021)
More than 4,500 flights canceled over the Christmas holidays
In view of the steep rise in Omicron infections, more than 4,500 flights have been canceled worldwide over the Christmas holidays. In addition, almost 10,000 started late on Friday. This is reported by the website FlightAware, which tracks flights worldwide.
The airlines are struggling to provide enough staff for their flights because so many crew members are currently calling in sick. “We are now looking from day to day,” said a United Airlines spokesman on Friday.
Lufthansa also canceled intercontinental flights shortly before Christmas because so many pilots had called in sick. A company spokesman said on Thursday that connections across the North Atlantic, for example to Boston, Houston and Washington, were particularly affected from December 23 to 26. It is in this traffic area that passengers can most easily be rebooked. A return flight to Japan has also been canceled. “We planned with a very large buffer. But that is not enough for the extremely high sickness rate,” said the spokesman. He did not want to speculate about a connection with the Omikron, since Lufthansa was not informed about the nature of the illnesses. (25.12.2021)
One in ten Londoners is probably infected with Corona
In London, one in ten people has contracted the corona virus. The latest daily estimate by the ONS national statistics office shows that around 9.5 percent of London’s residents were infected with the virus on Sunday. Estimates for England suggest that the spread of the virus has accelerated. According to this, one in 35 people was infected in the seven days from December 13 to 19. In the seven days leading up to December 16, it was one in 45 people.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson therefore called on his compatriots in his Christmas address to test themselves for the corona virus and get vaccinated before family get-togethers. “Although the time to buy gifts is theoretically running out, there is still one wonderful thing you can give your families and the whole country and that is to get vaccinated,” said Johnson, according to a speech in his address to the nation on Christmas Eve.
Despite a maximum number of new infections from the Omikron variant, there are no contact restrictions or other stricter measures in Great Britain over Christmas. In the hospitals in England, however, it is already becoming apparent that there is a risk of overload in the near future. Within a week, sickness reports related to Covid-19 in the English health service rose by almost 40 percent, like the one Guardian reported. The number of Covid patients in hospitals is increasing.
Johnson called for testing for the virus, especially before meeting with loved ones at risk. However, he believes that this Christmas will be “significantly better” than the last, said the conservative politician. In 2020, the government banned all celebrations shortly before the festival due to the emerging alpha variant. Johnson describes the vaccination as an “invisible gift of inestimable value”. It makes it possible for more celebrations to be possible again this year. (12/24/2021)
Sundance Festival in January requires booster vaccination for participants
The Sundance Film Festival in the US state of Utah has tightened the requirements because of the spread of the Omikron variant. Participants in the largest US film festival for independent productions must now show a booster vaccination, as the organizers announced on Thursday. Mask requirements and other hygiene rules also apply. Founded in the 1980s by Robert Redford, the festival is scheduled to take place from January 20th to 30th in the Park City winter sports region. Usually tens of thousands of film fans make the pilgrimage to the event in Utah, but due to the pandemic, the film festival was last moved to the Internet. In 2022, visitors to the planned hybrid event are expected again on site and online. (12/24/2021)