Early reports on Omicron severity are ‘encouraging’, Fauci says
Martin Pengelly
Dr Anthony Fauci said on Sunday the threat to the US from the Omicron variant remained to be determined – but that signs from South Africa, where the variant emerged, were encouraging.
“Clearly in South Africa Omicron has a transmission advantage,” Fauci told CNN’s State of the Union, “because … they were very much at a low level then they had almost a vertical spike upwards, which is almost exclusively Omicron.
Thus far – though it’s too early to really make any definitive statements about it – it does not look like there’s a great degree of severity to it.
“But we have really got to be careful before we make any determinations that [Omicron] is less severe or it really doesn’t cause any severe illness comparable to Delta. But, thus far, the signals are a bit encouraging regarding the severity. But, again, you got to hold judgment until we get more experience.”
20:30
Germany plans vaccine mandates for some health jobs
The incoming German government wants to make Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory from 16 March for people working in hospitals, nursing homes and other medical practices, according to a copy of draft legislation seen by Reuters on Sunday.
The European nation is currently battling a surge in Covid infections as officials propose more drastic measures to curb the spread before Christmas.
The Social Democrats, Greens and Free Democrats, which are set to form the new German government on Wednesday, are set to present the legislation to parliament in the coming week.
The draft seen by Reuters said staff working in these areas would have to prove that they are vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19 or present a medical certificate to show they cannot be vaccinated by 15 March.
The draft legislation also grants permission for dentists, veterinarians and pharmacists to be allowed to give shots for a temporary period with the appropriate training.
The proposed legislation extends until 15 February temporary measures that would allow Germany’s federal states to introduce more drastic lockdown measures if needed, the news agency reports.
People visit a stall at a Christmas market near Alexanderplatz in Berlin on 5 December as Germany battles a surge in Covid-19 infections ahead of the holiday season. Photograph: Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images
20:17
Omicron found in one-third of US states
The Omicron variant has been found in at least 16 US states so far, with the number of cases “likely to rise”, Dr Rochelle Walensky, the head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Sunday.
Walensky told ABC News:
“We know we have several dozen cases and we’re following them closely. And we are every day hearing about more and more probable cases so that number is likely to rise.”
California was the first US state to confirm the presence of the variant. Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin have also followed suit, according to a Reuters tally.
Many of the cases were among fully vaccinated individuals with mild symptoms, although the booster shot status of some patients was not reported.
The Delta variant continues to account for 99.9% of new Covid cases in the United States, Walensky added.
20:10
Hello everyone, and welcome to today’s coronavirus live blog.
I’m Samantha Lock and I’ll be bringing you all the latest developments from around the world. Let’s dive right in.
The Omicron variant has been found in at least 15 US states so far, the head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Sunday.
“We know we have several dozen cases and we’re following them closely. And we are every day hearing about more and more probable cases so that number is likely to rise,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told ABC News in an interview, adding that the Delta variant remains the majority in cases nationwide.
Omicron has been detected in the Northeast, the South, the Great Plains and the West Coast. Wisconsin, Missouri and Louisiana are among the latest states to confirm cases.
Germany’s incoming new government is set to make Covid vaccinations mandatory for workers of hospitals, nursing homes and other medical staff by 16 March, according to draft legislation seen by Reuters.
The Social Democrats, Greens and Free Democrats, which are set to form the new German government on Wednesday, are set to present the legislation to parliament in the coming week.
Here is a snapshot of the key developments:
Protests in Brussels, Belgium, against government restrictions to suppress Covid turned violent on Sunday, with police firing teargas and water cannon at demonstrators who threw cobblestones and fireworks.
There has been a “concerning” jump to 183 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant in Denmark, local health authorities said.
Five senior health officers in Jordan were sentenced to three years in prison on Sunday, for causing the deaths of ten Covid patients in March following an oxygen outage.
Russia recorded 32,602 infections and 1,206 deaths.
Poland confirmed 22,389 cases and 45 deaths.
Italy reported 15,021 new Covid cases and 43 deaths on Sunday, 16% up from 12,927 on the same day last week.
The UK detected 43,992 positive Covid infections in the past 24 hours, up 21% from 36,507 cases on Sunday last week. A further 54 deaths were reported.
France recorded 42,252 new Covid infections in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said, a percentage change of 188% from the 14,646 cases recorded on Sunday three weeks ago.
Singapore detected 552 Covid infections and 13 deaths on Sunday, taking the seven-day average to 971 cases a day.
The UK’s NHS will be in a “very, very difficult position” if the Omicron variant were to lead to a surge in hospital admissions in the UK, the president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has warned.
The Omicron variant is highly transmissible, but has a less than 1% chance of re-infection and typically results in “milder” disease, a South African researcher as said.
Covid is not over and the next pandemic could be more lethal, the creator of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine Prof Dame Sarah Gilbert has said.
The World Health Organization continues to reject travel bans against southern African countries, with Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeting it is “disappointing” and “dismaying” to see bans on flights.
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