(Bloomberg) —
The U.K. aims to accelerate its vaccine booster program, while replacing isolation with testing for vaccinated people in contact with cases, as hospitals start to admit patients with the new omicron strain. On Sunday, new cases of the variant were nearly double the day before at 1,239.
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also under pressure after a report he personally breached Covid lockdown rules a year ago.
The new variant has the potential to fuel almost 75,000 deaths in England this winter, according to the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Yet out of more than 700 omicron cases detected in Europe, no deaths or serious illnesses have been reported so far, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said. Hospital admissions in South Africa remain a fraction of the levels seen in previous infection waves.
Austria ended a nationwide lockdown for most people, while keeping restrictions for the unvaccinated. Russia’s total infections topped 10 million for the first time, according to official data, though the country is seeing the lowest number of new cases in almost two months. South Korea’s critical cases rose to a daily record, a day after the country saw its highest death toll.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases pass 269.7 million; deaths top 5.3 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 8.43 billion shots given
- Two weeks into the omicron outbreak: where to from here?
- What we know about omicron: QuickTake
- Pandemic intelligence chief brings data, AI to omicron fight
- Coronavirus Daily: Japan’s disappearing Covid deaths
- Return-to-office plans are turning ‘shybrid’ with ongoing delays
U.K. Moves to Daily Tests for Vaccinated Covid Contacts (10:28 a.m. NY)
The U.K. government said that double-vaccinated people who come into contact with a Covid-19 case from Tuesday should take a daily rapid lateral flow test for seven days to help slow the spread of the Omicron variant.
The government said in a statement Sunday the move follows a significant rise in cases of omicron, which it expects to become the dominant strain by mid-December. This replaces the requirement for omicron contacts to isolate for 10 days, though unvaccinated people will still have to isolate if they are in contact with any Covid-19 case.
The U.K. confirmed 1,239 new omicron cases on Sunday, almost double the 633 cases reported the day before.
South African Hospital Numbers Edge Higher (8:14 a.m. NY)
South African hospitals have 5,563 Covid-19 patients, including 7.3% in intensive care units, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said in a report on Sunday. The numbers compare with 5,434 who were in the hospital a day earlier.
While admissions have risen in the past month, it’s still a fraction of the total at the height of earlier infection waves. The country’s three biggest private hospital groups have said that so far cases appear to be milder than in previous infection waves.
One in Three London Cases Are Now Omicron (6:07 a.m. NY)
U.K. Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said one-third of new Covid infections in London are now the omicron variant, and cases of the strain in the U.K. are doubling every two to three days. “Very quickly omicron will be the dominant variant,” Zahawi, the U.K.’s vaccine minister until mid-September, told Sky News.
Zahawi said Boris Johnson would speak later Sunday about accelerating the U.K.’s vaccine booster program, though the government later said he would not be appearing. About 33% of people have had a third shot so far.
‘No Red Lines’ to Fight Against Covid, Scholz Says (6:45 p.m. HK)
Germany’s new chancellor Olaf Scholz said his government is ready take all necessary measures to contain the spread of Covid-19 if the situation doesn’t improve quickly. “There must be no red lines, this pandemic has really shown us that. We must always be prepared to rethink if circumstances demand it. And then act quickly and decisively,” he told the Sunday edition of the Bild newspaper.
New cases dropped under 400 per 100,000 inhabitants over the past seven days for the first time since Nov. 23. The country recorded 32,646 new cases and 132 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the Robert Koch Institute. This compares with 42,055 new cases and 94 deaths a week ago.
Johnson Faces Damaging Christmas Report (5:05 p.m. HK)
Boris Johnson, engulfed by a string of crises that have angered Tory lawmakers, could face more ire over a report he personally breached Covid lockdown rules a year ago.
The Mirror reported Saturday night that the U.K. prime minister hosted a Christmas quiz from his Downing Street residence on Dec. 15, when London was under a “no mixing” order.
Polarized Austria Ends Lockdown (3:07 p.m. HK)
Austria ended a nationwide lockdown for most people, while keeping restrictions for the unvaccinated as it presses ahead with the boldest incentive in Europe to boost inoculations.
Starting Sunday, vaccine rejectors can only leave their homes to go to work, where they’ll need to provide a negative coronavirus test every two days, and for essential shopping and daily exercise. Entry to other venues will be barred.
Life will slowly return to normal for people who’ve had a vaccine or have recently recovered from the virus, with regions implementing a patchwork of easing schedules. Concerts are set to restart, museums and restaurants will throw open their doors again and Christmas markets will return to life.
Police estimate about 44,000 people turned out in Vienna for the third large protest in the past month against mandatory vaccinations, organized by the far-right Freedom Party and its leader, Herbert Kickl. Several arrests were reported.
Korea Sees Record Number of Critical Cases (9:54 a.m. HK)
South Korea reported a record number of critical patients on Sunday — 894 — as officials struggle with nearly 80% of intensive care hospital beds occupied. The Asian nation added 43 deaths, following a record 80 on the previous day, raising concerns in a country where more than 90% of adults are fully vaccinated.
Daily cases stood at 6,689, falling slightly from the previous day but still the highest level for a weekend, when fewer testings occur. Cases of the omicron variant rose by 15, to a total of 90. Officials have urged people over 60 to get a booster, as about 92% of deaths have come from that group.
Omicron Found in Japan Quarantine Case (9:48 a.m. HK)
In Japan’s Gifu prefecture, a man traveling from Sri Lanka has tested positive for the omicron variant, Japan’s Health Ministry announced. Though several omicron infections have been detected via screenings at airports, the new case is Japan’s first to be confirmed in a person quarantining at home, according to the Asahi newspaper.
The case highlights the difficulty even a country implementing some of the most stringent border controls faces trying to contain the newly discovered variant. Last month, Japan moved to close its borders to new foreign arrivals and have its own citizens isolate on arrival from countries where the omicron variant has been found.
The foreign national tested negative in initial screenings but came down with symptoms after returning to his home in Gifu last week, according to the Health Ministry.
Australia Adds Moderna as Booster (5:58 p.m. NY)
Australia added the Moderna Inc. Covid-19 vaccine to Pfizer Inc.’s as a recommended booster shot and reduced the waiting time, responding to concerns about the increased spread caused by the omicron variant.
Australia is cutting the standard waiting time for a booster shot to five months from six, following the first two doses. The approval came from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization, the health department said Sunday in a statement.
New South Wales, the most populous state, reported the pace of new cases declined for the first time in six days. The state said Sunday there were 485 new cases, versus 560 reported Saturday. There are 55 omicron variant cases in the state, after 10 were confirmed overnight, and more are expected as results of genomic testing are confirmed, the government said.
Victoria state said it recorded 1,069 additional cases, down from 1,193 cases.
No Omicron Deaths in EU So Far (5:22 p.m. NY)
A total of 732 cases of the omicron variant have been detected in 22 countries in Europe as of Saturday, most of which are locally transmitted, and not related to travel in southern Africa, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said in a statement.
All cases for which there is available information on severity were either asymptomatic or mild, the ECDC said. There have been no omicron-related deaths reported thus far, according to ECDC. “These figures should be assessed with caution, as the number of confirmed cases is too low to understand if the disease clinical spectrum of omicron differs from that of previously detected variants.”
Nurses Deployed to Western N.Y. (3:17 p.m. NY)
New York state’s largest health-care system will send nurses to hospitals in the western part of the state overwhelmed by the surge in Covid-19 cases, Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement on Saturday.
Almost 20 nurses from Northwell Health will assist in intensive care, emergency and surgery in Buffalo and Rochester, starting on Saturday, Hochul said. The positive test rate in western New York is about 10%, compared with the U.S. average of about 7.5%.
Pfizer Boosters Provide Omicron Protection (2:51 p.m. NY)
People who received the second Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine between five and six months ago have no protection against infection or serious disease caused by the omicron variant, Israel’s Sheba Medical Center reported on Saturday from a study of 20 patients.
However, protection against the variant increased by 100 times in those who received the third booster dose of the Pfizer vaccination a month ago. This proves that the booster offers “significant protection” and reduces the chance of severe disease, Gili Regev-Yochay, the director of Sheba’s infectious disease unit, told journalists.
Separate laboratory experiments in South Africa found that a two-shot course of Pfizer Inc.’s vaccine has just 22.5% efficacy against symptomatic infection with the omicron variant, but can thwart severe disease.
Scientists found omicron resulted in about a 41-fold reduction in levels of neutralizing antibodies produced by people who had received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech SE shot, compared with the strain detected in China almost two years ago.
Germans Protest Against Vaccinations (1:18 p.m. NY)
An estimated 8,000 protesters demonstrated in downtown Hamburg against vaccination mandates and shots for children, German broadcaster NDR reported, citing police.
A similar march last Saturday drew about 5,000. Germany’s parliament on Friday backed a limited mandate, including for health-care and nursing home employees, that requires proof of vaccination or recovery from Covid by March 15.
England Could Face 75,000 Winter Deaths (12:22 p.m. NY)
The omicron variant has the potential to cause a wave of infections in England and fuel almost 75,000 deaths this winter if the government doesn’t impose additional precautionary control measures, according to a research report by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Under the government’s ‘Plan B’ rules imposed last week in response to omicron, the most optimistic scenario for England indicates about 175,000 hospital admissions and 24,700 deaths for the five-month period from December to April. The worst-case projection is for 74,800 deaths. That is more than half the 127,154 fatalities registered in England since the start of the pandemic.
The U.K.’s health service is preparing for the mass vaccination of children between the age of 5 and 11 in anticipation of approval from regulators, the Sunday Times reported. Parental consent will be needed, the newspaper said, citing National Health Service documents.
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