Omicron liable for bigger than 73% of fresh US conditions, CDC recordsdata reveals
From CNN’s Michael Nedelman
The Omicron variant causes over 73% of fresh coronavirus conditions in the US, consistent with estimates posted Monday by the US Centers for Disease Take care of watch over and Prevention.
The week ending Dec. 18, Omicron accounted for 73.2% of conditions, with delta making up an additional 26.6%.
The week prior, ending Dec. 11, Omicron used to be estimated at 12.6% of circulating virus, versus Delta’s 87%. Previously, the CDC estimated Omicron accounted for about 3% that week.
The week ending Dec. 4, Omicron triggered no longer as much as 1% of fresh conditions.
Omicron is a ways more prevalent in particular parts of the nation — making up over 95% of circulating virus in parts of the northwest and southeast.
London cancels Contemporary Year’s Eve match in Trafalgar Square over Covid-19 issues
From CNN’s Lauren Kent and Samantha Beech
A deliberate Contemporary Year’s Eve match in London has been canceled over Covid-19 issues, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan tweeted on Monday.
“Attributable to the surge in Covid conditions, we’ve taken the hard decision to demolish our NYE match in Trafalgar Square,” stated the tweet from Khan’s verified fable. “The security of all Londoners must advance first. A spectacular NYE celebration showcasing our metropolis will light be confirmed on midnight on BBC1 – I beg all Londoners to tune in.”
An announcement hooked as much as the tweet stated the deliberate celebration used to be expected to host 6,500 folks in Trafalgar Square.
“This might occasionally be very disappointing for many Londoners, but we must snatch the appropriate steps to nick support the unfold of the virus,” Khan stated. “I’m proud that we are going to light bear an unimaginable broadcast spectacular to explore on our screens, which is able to showcase our vast metropolis to the remainder of the realm.”
Some context: London isn’t the first European metropolis to demolish or amend Contemporary Year’s Eve celebrations over Covid-19 issues. On Saturday, Paris canceled its passe fireworks display over the Champs-Elysées Avenue to welcome the Contemporary Year as a result of the renewed Covid-19 surge. In Italy, Rome is among a complete lot of cities which bear made up our minds to demolish Contemporary Year’s festivities over Covid-19 health issues.
Kentucky governor urges residents to get Covid-19 home tests now
From CNN’s Claudia Dominguez
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear educated residents to get their at home tests ahead of a “vacation flee” on the kits, as Covid-19 conditions amplify in the narrate,
Within the midst of a news conference on Monday, Beshear stated, “at home tests, appropriate now, are bought in comfort stores and pharmacies but there’s going to be a immense flee on them ahead of the vacations and you shouldn’t purchase that you just’re going with a diagram to get one ahead of this vacation.”
Beshear also insisted that residents get vaccinated.
“While you haven’t gotten vaccinated, please snatch into fable doing it now,” he pleaded to Kentuckians.
Kentucky is light reeling from a complete lot of twister outbursts that left no longer no longer as much as 76 dumb, consistent with Beshear’s latest depend. No hospitals are limiting optional procedures for the time being, Beshear stated, other than the health center in Mayfield, which used to be devastated by a twister and for the time being doesn’t bear running water.
Beshear reported the narrate’s first case of the Omicron variant on Friday, and assumes that the variant is presumably “in every county by now.”
Better than 10,300 Kentuckians obtained their first vaccination this weekend and greater than 32,700 had a booster shot, the governor stated.
54% of Kentuckians are vaccinated consistent with Johns Hopkins College.
Ohio Nationwide Guard will workers a free Covid-19 testing website in Cleveland
From CNN’s Raja Razek
A free power-by Covid-19 testing website will delivery on Tuesday in Cleveland, Ohio.
“The positioning, which is positioned on the W.O. Walker Building might be staffed by the Ohio Nationwide Guard and Ohio Division of Properly being,” read a joint news launch. Cleveland Clinic and College Hospitals will strengthen the community Covid-19 testing website.
The positioning will delivery Tuesday and on the muse characteristic by Sunday of this week, but might be closed on Dec. 25, consistent with the launch.
“The testing is free, delivery to everyone and participants build no longer need a health care provider’s expose to receive a take a look at. The positioning will provide PCR tests, and participants will receive their finally ends up in roughly 2-3 days,” the launch stated.
Additionally, the Ohio Division of Properly being is offering free instant at-home antigen testing kits at many sites all by Ohio, consistent with the launch, including native health departments, public libraries, and community health services and products.
Attributable to a surge in Covid-19 infections and an increased demand in healthcare services and products, significantly in emergency departments, Greater Cleveland’s health center programs stated this would perchance restrict coronavirus testing in emergency departments to patients who’re going to be admitted to the health center, consistent with the launch.
On Friday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced that he had mobilized the narrate’s Nationwide Guard to “support meet vital wants at hospitals and testing locations,” consistent with a news launch from his office.
The governor mobilized 1,050 members of the Ohio Nationwide Guard to “support motivate the health center staffing stress triggered by the rising number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients,” consistent with the launch.
“Of the total mobilized guard members, roughly 150 are extremely-educated medical professionals and can deploy to reduction meet vital wants at hospitals and testing locations,” the launch stated. “The final 900 guard members can support with patient transport, housekeeping, and food services and products.”
30 Covid-19 conditions tracked to a native nightclub in Honolulu
From CNN’s Michelle Watson
The Hawaii Division of Public Properly being has tracked no longer no longer as much as 30 fresh Covid-19 conditions to a native evening membership, consistent with a Sunday news launch.
The conditions were tracked to concert events held on the Republik nightclub on Dec. 10 and 11, the department stated. 1000 folks attended the bought-out Dec. 10 concert and 900 folks attended the Dec. 11 concert, consistent with Matty Hazelgrove, one in all the membership’s co-founders.
Masks and negative tests taken inner 48 hours were required for every concert, Hazelgrove stated.
“Our industry has been closed since March 15, 2020. December 10th & 11th used to be our first weekend support in operation, and we adopted all steering given to us by the City and County of Honolulu to re-delivery safely,” Hazelgrove stated. “Perchance it’s a ways time to re-snatch into fable the tricks so folks can derive together while minimizing the seemingly unfold of the virus.”
The actual conditions were among concertgoers and workers, Hazelgrove added.
There are for the time being 31 conditions of the omicron variant in Hawaii, consistent with Brooks Baehr, Covid-19 & Pandemic Response Administrative Assistant for the department of health.
NY narrate calls on federal government to reduction amplify offer of Covid-19 take a look at kits
From CNN’s Laura Ly
Contemporary York’s Director of Command Operations Kathryn Garcia stated the narrate wants more partnership with the federal government on guaranteeing necessary gives, worship take a look at kits, are on hand.
“We build name upon the federal government to invoke the Protection Manufacturing Act to get producers producing more over-the-counter tests,” Garcia stated Monday
Contemporary York narrate will allocate $65 million to give to counties to reduction them with costs related with preventing Covid-19, such as shopping masks or paying staffers working at vaccination or testing sites, Governor Kathy Hochul stated.
Additionally, the narrate’s fatherland security department might be giving six million masks to county emergency managers to distribute inner their counties, Hochul stated.
10 million more at-home take a look at kits are expected to are accessible in Contemporary York narrate in the coming weeks, the governor stated.
Garcia stated that no longer no longer as much as five million of those tests kits are expected to come ahead of the fresh year and might be distributed as follows:
- Two million will stride to school districts all by the narrate
- A million will stride to county emergency managers
- 1.6 million will stride to Contemporary York City
- 400Okay will stride to a complete lot of vaccination sites to be given to folks after they receive their vaccine
Seven fresh narrate testing sites are expected to delivery next week, besides to to the narrate’s reward 1,800 testing sites. Additionally, more healthcare teams, including 30 ambulance and EMS teams, might be added to reduction hospitals with patients, Hochul added.
Quebec will shut colleges and bars and return to teleworking as Covid-19 conditions amplify
From CNN’s Raja Razek
Quebec will put into effect fresh restrictions, closing colleges, bars and casinos as Covid-19 conditions and hospitalizations amplify, Quebec’s Properly being Minister Christian Dubé stated for the length of a news conference on Monday.
“The topic is well-known,” he stated. “With the amplify of conditions and hospitalization, we must put in space fresh measures, starting at 5 p.m. this day, we are closing bars, casinos, movies theaters, and efficiency venues. Teleworking is now necessary.”
“Concerning colleges, we are closing basic and high colleges,” he stated. “The return to class in attendance might be on Monday, January 10.”
Gyms and spas would also be closed, “other than private care,” consistent with the health minister.
Additionally, educated, and novice sports activities performances “need to be in the support of closed doors,” consistent with Dubé, and restaurant hours might perchance presumably be diminutive from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
“I do know the topic is difficult, but now’s the time all once more no longer to get unhappy and to be solid. I put a question to everyone to be section of the difficulty all once more. It’s going to develop the total distinction,” Dubé stated.
Panama detects first case of Omicron Variant
From CNN’s Karol Suarez and Ana Cucalon
Panama’s Properly being Ministry stated the first Omicron coronavirus case has been detected inner the nation.
“We repeat the population that by epidemiological, genomic, and traceability surveillance on the nationwide degree, the presence of the fresh variant of the coronavirus named by the World Properly being Group, Omicron, used to be detected,” the ministry tweeted Monday.
“[The case] used to be detected in a 50-year-passe citizen, whose immigration space is foreigner residing in the nation, who arrived on December 8 with unique hobble historical previous to South Africa to work on a mining mission,” the ministry added.
The health ministry stated the worker is isolated in the mine and had no contact with other folks or other workers. The worker remained asymptomatic for the length of the quarantine and isolation. They added that he’ll bear one other PCR take a look at on Monday.
WHO: “An match cancelled is more healthy than a lifestyles cancelled” this vacation season
From CNN’s Virginia Langmaid
The unfold of Covid-19, significantly the Omicron variant, might perchance presumably mean vacation gatherings must be cancelled, World Properly being Group Director-Overall Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated Monday.
“There might be no query that increased social mixing over the vacation length in many countries will lead to increased conditions, overwhelmed health programs and more deaths,” Tedros stated in a media briefing for Geneva-primarily primarily based mostly journalists.
“All of us are in unhappy health of this pandemic. All of us are seeking to notify time with mates and family. All of us are seeking to get support to current. The quickest methodology to construct that is for all of us – leaders and participants – to develop the hard choices that wants to be made to provide protection to ourselves and others.”
Tedros stated this would perchance well mean cancelling in-particular person events, “but an match cancelled is more healthy than a lifestyles cancelled.”
“It’s greater to demolish now and celebrate later, than to celebrate now and grieve later. None of us are seeking to be here all once more in 12 months’ time, speaking about neglected opportunities, continued inequity, or fresh variants.”
Some context: Stricter Covid-19 measures bear advance into enact all by Europe, as a complete lot of nations bustle to curb the unfold of the Omicron variant. Omicron has also been identified in no longer no longer as much as 45 US states as of Sunday, consistent with narrate officials in their respective states, besides to Puerto Rico and Washington, DC. And with the Delta variant light level to, Covid-19 conditions in some areas are rising. Properly being experts are urging folks to get vaccinated or boosted to shield themselves and others ahead of they face greater potentialities of an infection.
That you must perchance presumably presumably read Tedros’ full assertion here.
