(Bloomberg) — Hospitalizations due to coronavirus in Australia’s most-populous state hit the highest level since mid-October, as a surge in omicron cases throughout most of the nation pressures the health system.
Talks are under way between the U.S. and China on possible changes to Beijing’s new aircraft-cleaning requirements that prompted a Delta Air Lines flight to turn back to Seattle and that could trigger the cancellation of some flights to the Asian nation.
The omicron variant is causing an increasing share of coronavirus infections in the U.S., even as it appears to be triggering a lower rate of hospitalizations than earlier outbreaks. An adviser to the U.K. government at the University of Oxford gave a similar assessment.
France, Greece and Portugal reported record daily infections on Tuesday. Germany, which is facing protests against tighter restrictions, is buying 1 million packs of Pfizer Inc.’s Covid-19 pill.
Key Developments:
- Global covid cases hit a daily record of more than 1.44 million Monday
- Virus Tracker: Cases top 282 million; deaths reach 5.4 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 9 billion shots given
- Omicron leaves Biden struggling for message as data roll in
- Flight attendants scorn CDC guidelines matching airlines’ plea
- Truck drivers to seafarers quit as Covid shutters borders again
Sinovac Says Shot Safe for Kids, Pregnant Women (10:06 a.m. HK)
Sinovac Biotech Ltd. said results of a Phase III clinical study of its inactivated vaccine CoronaVac in South Africa indicated that it’s safe for children from 6 months to 17 years. The Chinese company also said that the shot showed good safety in pregnant and postpartum women.
The results are part of a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial being held in South Africa, Chile, Malaysia, the Philippines and Kenya.
Maxwell Judge Warns Omicron Could Cause Mistrial (8:31 a.m. HK)
The judge presiding over Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking trial warned that the “astronomical spike” in Covid cases driven by the Omicron variant could lead to a mistrial.
U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan told lawyers she was concerned that, if too many jurors become ill with the variant, then there may not be a full panel of 12 available to deliberate and she may have to declare a mistrial.
Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to charges that she lured and groomed underage girls for sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein and participated in some of the abuse herself. The trial began on Nov. 29, and the case went to the jury on Dec. 20.
N.Y. Hospitalizations Jump Most Since April 2020 (7:13 a.m. HK)
Covid-19 hospitalizations in New York state are accelerating at a rate that hasn’t been seen since the early days of the pandemic, reigniting concerns about hospital capacity.
On Tuesday the state said hospitalizations rose by 647 to 6,173, marking the largest daily increase since early April 2020, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The total number of New Yorkers hospitalized with the virus remains far below last year’s peak of almost 19,000.
New South Wales Hospitalizations Jump (6:49 a.m. HK)
Hospitalizations due to coronavirus in Australia’s most-populous state reached the highest level since mid-October, as a surge in omicron cases throughout most of the nation pressures the health system.
New South Wales on Wednesday recorded 11,201 new Covid cases in the past 24 hours, up 87% from the previous day’s figure. A total of 625 people in the state, which includes Sydney, are in hospital, including 61 in intensive-care units.
China’s Plane-Cleaning Rule Spurs U.S. Talks (6:45 a.m. HK)
Talks are underway between the U.S. and China on possible changes to the Chinese government’s new aircraft-cleaning requirements that prompted a Delta Air Lines Inc. flight to turn back to Seattle and that could trigger the cancellation of some flights to the Asian nation.
The discussions were confirmed Tuesday by a State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The new sanitation mandates — spurred by the spread of Covid-19 — significantly extend the time planes are on the ground and largely copy steps that U.S. airlines already take to clean between flights, representatives for the industry said. There also is a shortage of available workers to carry out the added steps, they said.
The new requirements are part of the changes that countries and industries are making to try to slow the spread of the highly contagious omicron coronavirus variant.
Argentina Battling Another Wave (5:10 p.m. NY)
Argentina reported 33,902 Covid cases Tuesday, the most since a daily record reached June 18, amid a budding third wave of the pandemic.
The country also reported 20 deaths, a pace that’s remained steady and below three digits since September, according to data from the public health department. Cases in Argentina have been rising steadily since mid-December.
Argentina has fully vaccinated 78% of its population — one of the highest inoculation rates in Latin America — and is now encouraging citizens to take a booster shot, with 10.2% already having received it, according to the Bloomberg vaccine tracker. The country has eased most restrictions and allowed foreign tourists back into the country since Nov. 1.
Omicron Causing Fewer U.S. Hospitalizations (4:30 p.m. NY)
The omicron-fueled U.S. surge in Covid-19 cases appears to be triggering a lower rate of hospitalizations than earlier waves, more evidence that the highly transmissible variant leads to milder symptoms than other strains.
The seven-day average of new cases hit 206,577 on Sunday, roughly 18% lower than the all-time high recorded on Jan. 11, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Meanwhile, hospitalizations rose to a seven-day average of 8,964, only half their earlier peak recorded in January.
Moderna Sheds $98 Billion in Value (2:30 p.m. NY)
Vaccine maker Moderna Inc. is on its longest losing streak in more than two years, extending its slump from a record high in August to more than 50%.
The slide has wiped about $98 billion off the company’s market value since that peak. While the omicron variant is sweeping the world, Moderna’s shares were pressured as coronavirus pills by Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co., Inc. recently received authorization from the FDA.
N.Y. Wants Testing Firm to Give Refunds (2:30 p.m. NY)
ClearMD Health, a private lab offering rush PCR testing in New York City, was slammed by state Attorney General Letitia James over missed deadlines and told to give full refunds to those who didn’t get their results in time.
According to its website, which the boasts that the lab provides “the fastest tests in NYC,” ClearMD charges $150 for next-day results and $389 for results within four hours. There is no charge for a test with results returning in 48 hours.
ClearMD Health “has been charging New Yorkers hundreds of dollars for expedited test results but has repeatedly failed to deliver on that promise,” James said. “With Covid-19 positivity rates skyrocketing due to omicron and New Yorkers gathering with loved ones for the holidays, companies need to stay true to their word and provide Covid-19 test results in the timeframes they are promising.”
The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
CDC Sees Shorter Incubation Period for Omicron (1 p.m. NY)
Omicron may have a shorter incubation period and may be more likely to cause reinfections than other strains, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. The agency’s findings are based on a six-person household in Nebraska, which included one person who was fully vaccinated, four previously infected people, and one person who tested positive for the first time.
The median time from infection to the appearance of symptoms among the group was about three days, the researchers said. That’s shorter than the five days or more that was estimated for other variants. People with confirmed prior infections said their symptoms were similar to or milder than before, the CDC said.
Omicron Estimated at 59% in U.S. (11:30 a.m. NY)
The omicron variant is causing an increasing share of coronavirus infections in the U.S., though its climb to dominance has been shallower than earlier estimates indicated, according to an updated federal model.
Omicron accounted for an estimated 58.6% of sequenced U.S. virus cases in the week ending Dec. 25, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Nowcast model showed Tuesday, up from an estimated 22.5% a week earlier. The once-dominant delta variant accounted for 41.1% of cases in the most recent period, according to the CDC.
The week-earlier figure marks a substantial revision from a previous estimate, which said the omicron variant was responsible for 73% of sequenced infections.
NYC to Double School Testing (10:20 a.m. NY)
New York City will double Covid testing in schools when students return, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
De Blasio and Governor Kathy Hochul both spoke at a virus briefing of the importance of bringing students back to school in January, for kids and for parents. Schools are the “safest places to be in New York City,” de Blasio said.
The new approach for schools in January is called “stay safe and stay open,” the mayor said. Under his plan, the city plans to distribute at-home testing kits to classrooms when a student tests positive. All students who are asymptomatic and test negative will be able to return to schools. Students will take two at-home tests over the course of seven days, he said.
Hochul said she sent 600,000 rapid tests to the city last week. The state and the city are working to make sure there’s no shortage of supply, Hochul said.
Dominican Republic Offers Extra Booster (9:21 a.m. NY)
The Dominican Republic will begin providing a second booster shot against Covid-19 for anyone over 60, those with underlying health conditions and front-line workers.
The Dominican Republic was initially the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the Caribbean, but has become a regional leader in vaccinations.
U.S. Senator Urges Halt to Cruises (9:13 a.m. NY)
Cruise ships are “repeating recent history as petri dishes of Covid-19 infection,” Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said, urging the companies and health agencies to curb operations.
Cruise line operators like Carnival Corp. have implemented Covid-19 safeguards, such as masking and proof of vaccination. Still, the fast-spreading omicron variant triggered reports of ships being turned away at the ports due to infections on board.
Netherlands Girds for Omicron Wave (9:07 a.m. NY)
Omicron has become the dominant coronavirus strain in the Netherlands and infections are expected to rise further, health authority RIVM said in a statement on its website.
The Dutch government introduced new restrictions on social contact on Dec. 19, closing non-essential stores and shuttering hospitality businesses at 5 p.m. The lockdown is in place until at least Jan. 14.
Germany Buys Pfizer Pills (8:03 a.m. NY)
Germany is buying 1 million packs of Pfizer Inc.’s newly approved pill to treat Covid-19, securing supplies as infections from the fast-spreading omicron variant rise rapidly.
The Paxlovid drug is “extremely promising” because it can help people who are at risk of falling seriously ill, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told German news agency DPA. The country’s health authorities reported a total of 10,443 omicron cases as of Tuesday, a 43% jump from the previous day.
Thousands of people across Germany gathered for illegal protests against the government’s Covid rules and the prospect of a vaccine mandate. Stricter limits on private gatherings took effect on Tuesday, with as many as 10 vaccinated and recovered people allowed to meet. If unvaccinated people are involved, only two people from another household are allowed.
U.K. Adviser Upbeat on Outlook (6:33 a.m. NY)
Omicron is “not the same disease we were seeing a year ago” and high Covid death rates in the U.K. are “now history”, according to John Bell, a Oxford University professor advising the government. Although hospitalizations have increased in recent weeks along with Omicron’s spread, the disease “appears to be less severe and many people spend a relatively short time in hospital,” the Guardian newspaper cited Bell as saying. Fewer patients need high-flow oxygen and the average length of stay was down to three days, he said.
(Previous versions were corrected for superlatives of Australia hospitalizations and cases in Argentina, and the name of a testing lab.)
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