Omicron spreading at unprecedented rate: WHO

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Europe's healthcare groans under Omicron's swift spread

Europe's healthcare systems are being strained once again by the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus over the holiday period, with large numbers of key staff ill or self-isolating and experts predicting the peak of infections is yet to come.

Despite early studies showing a lower risk of severe disease or hospitalisation from Omicron compared to the previously-dominant Delta variant, healthcare networks across Spain, Britain, Italy and beyond have found themselves in increasingly desperate circumstances.

The country also began deploying military personnel to support hospitals on Friday due to record Covid-19 cases.

 

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Putin says Russia has two weeks to prepare for Omicron wave

President Vladimir Putin said Russia had two weeks to prepare for a fresh wave of coronavirus infections driven by the Omicron variant after the WHO warned of a surge in Europe.

Russia has lifted nearly all the restrictions designed to limit new cases, despite an increasing caseload and growing Omicron infections. It is currently the worst-hit country in Europe in terms of virus-related deaths, according to AFP.

“We see what is happening in the world,” the Russian leader told a meeting of cabinet ministers. “We have at least a couple of weeks to prepare.”

Regional and federal authorities should take steps with businesses to limit the impact of the new variant, he added.

 

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Peak Omicron?: Experts wary of calling time on variant wave in Europe

A surge in coronavirus cases caused by the Omicron variant may have peaked in some parts of Europe but medics say the impact will continue to be felt across the region, with hospitals still at risk of facing a rush of admissions.

Health experts and politicians warn against complacency, saying it is not yet clear whether their data reflect the full impact of the Christmas and New Year holidays, when families gathered for long periods indoors and the risk of intergenerational spread of the virus may be greater.

 

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Brazil reels as Omicron spreads, weighing on hospitals and economy


Brazil is suffering a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases as the Omicron variant spreads through the country, putting pressure on health services and weighing on an already sputtering economy.

Insufficient testing and a data blackout caused by hackers have made it harder for experts to track the spread of Omicron in Brazil, but there are increasingly clear signs that the variant is hitting Latin America's largest nation hard.

Confirmed cases have almost doubled since last week, with the rolling average for the past seven days surging to 52,500, from 27,267 last Wednesday.

People wait to receive medical attention and to be tested for Covid-19 at Princess Isabel Palace, where a healthcare unit specialising in Covid-19 and flu symptoms has been set up, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. — Reuters/File

 

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Italy reports 149,512 coronavirus cases on Sunday, 248 deaths

Reuters

People wait to get a dose of the vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), on the day Italy brings in tougher rules for the unvaccinated, at a Red Cross vaccination centre by Termini main train station in Rome, Italy, January 10, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane


MILAN, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Italy reported 149,512 COVID-19 related cases on Sunday, after 180,426 the day before, the health ministry said, while the number of deaths fell to 248 from 308.

Italy has registered 141,104 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February 2020, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the ninth highest in the world. The country has reported 8.71 million cases to date.

Patients in hospital with COVID-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 18,719 on Sunday, up from 18,370 a day earlier.

There were 128 new admissions to intensive care units, down from 141 on Saturday. The total number of intensive care patients increased to 1,691 from a previous 1,677.
Some 927,846 tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the past day, compared with 1.22 million previously, the health ministry said.

 

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Omicron exposes inflexibility of Europe's public hospitals

World Health Organisation official warned last week of a closing window of opportunity for European countries to prevent their health care systems from being overwhelmed as the omicron variant produces near-vertical growth in coronavirus infections, AP reports.

In France, Britain and Spain, nations with comparatively strong national health programmes, that window may already be closed.

The director of an intensive care unit at a hospital in Strasbourg is turning patients away. A surgeon at a London hospital describes a critical delay in a man's cancer diagnosis. Spain is seeing its determination to prevent a system collapse tested as omicron keeps medical personnel off work.
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Italy reports 171,263 coronavirus cases on Saturday, 333 deaths​

Reuters
22 Jan, 2022

MILAN: Italy reported 171,263 COVID-19 related cases on Saturday, against 179,106 the day before, the health ministry said, while the number of one-day deaths fell to 333 from 373.

Italy has registered 143,296 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February 2020, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the ninth highest in the world. The country has reported 9.8 million cases to date.

Patients in hospital with COVID-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 19,442 on Saturday, down from 19,485 a day earlier.

There were 121 new admissions to intensive care units, down from 148 on Friday. The total number of intensive care patients decreased to 1,676 from a previous 1,707.

Some 1.04 million tests for COVID-19 were carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 1.12 million, the health ministry said.

 

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Poland reports new daily record of 40,876 COVID cases​

Reuters
22 Jan, 2022

WARSAW: Poland reported a record 40,876 new daily COVID-19 infections on Saturday, the health ministry said, as the Omicron variant takes hold across the country.

Authorities have said the latest wave of the pandemic will drive case numbers to levels not yet seen in Poland, with estimates of the peak ranging from 60,000 to as many as 140,000 daily infections.

Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said on Twitter that the number of tests being conducted had grown steadily over the past week, with some 151,000 test results, including 100,000 PCRs, reported on Saturday.

Poland, a country of around 38 million, has one of the world's highest COVID-19 death rates per capita and its vaccination rate is below the European Union average. It has so far reported 4,484,095 COVID-19 cases and 103,819 deaths.

It has limited restrictions in place, including wearing masks in enclosed public spaces, but they are often not strictly enforced.

 

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South Korea reports second-highest COVID count ahead of holiday​

Reuters
23 Jan, 2022


SEOUL: South Korea posted its second-highest daily number of coronavirus cases on Sunday, despite extended COVID-19 curbs and a high vaccination rate, raising concerns of further spread during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.

The country recorded 7,630 new cases on Saturday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said, above the 7,009 cases reported a day earlier and near the mid-December record of 7,848 logged.

South Korea in mid-January extended tougher social distancing rules for three weeks, including a 9 p.m. curfew for restaurants, cafes and bars, and limits on private gatherings, ahead of the holiday that starts on Saturday.

Tens of millions of Koreans across the country typically travel during Lunar New Year for family gatherings during one of the country's main holidays.

South Korea has recorded 733,902 COVID-19 infections and 6,540 deaths, KDCA data showed, although nearly 95% of adults have been fully vaccinated and more than half having received a booster shot.

To contain the rapid spread of the virus, health officials have required proof of vaccination and a booster to gain access to most public facilities, but a court ruled that large shops and teenagers should be temporarily excluded from COVID-19 vaccine pass mandates.

 

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Canadian hospitals strain as Omicron hits health workers​

The Covid-19 pandemic and its highly contagious Omicron variant have made a challenging staffing situation in Canada's hospitals worse.

Interviews with a dozen health care workers, including eight current and former nurses, reveal a health system strained by a pandemic wave that hit at the worst possible time - sickness sidelining staff as more Covid-19 patients than ever need hospitalization, forcing health workers exhausted by two unrelenting years to take on more work.

Hospitals have been asking staff to forego holidays or take on overtime shifts.

 

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PRAGUE: The Czech Republic, battling the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, has recorded 39,614 new COVID-19 infections for its highest daily tally since the pandemic began, health ministry data showed on Wednesday.

Tuesday's figure is the week's second daily record, after 30,367 infections found on Monday in the country of 10.7 million people, which is bracing for an expected peak in Omicron infections this month.

 

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Russia's daily Covid-19 cases exceed 100,000 for first time​

Russia's daily coronavirus cases have exceeded 100,000 for the first time since the pandemic began, the coronavirus task force said.

Russia confirmed 113,122 new daily infections, setting a record high for a ninth consecutive day, which the authorities blame on the spread of the Omicron variant.

Russia's coronavirus task force said that 668 deaths had been confirmed in the past 24 hours, after Russia's coronavirus death toll exceeded 700,000 on Friday.

 

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Hungary's daily Covid cases could reach 30,000, says minister​

Hungary's daily tally of new Covid-19 cases could reach 30,000 in the next one to two weeks, up from about 20,000 this week, a government minister has said. according to Reuters.

Miklos Kasler, minister for human resources, blamed the Omicron variant for the rise.

In a Facebook video, he said the variant was causing less severe illness, but the third of Hungarians not vaccinated were at higher risk.

 

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... CHICAGO, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The highly transmissible Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus - the most common form of which is known as BA.1 - now accounts for nearly all of the coronavirus infections globally, although dramatic surges in COVID cases have already peaked in some countries.

 

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Hong Kong leader says city 'overwhelmed' by Omicron wave.​

Hong Kong's health facilities have been overloaded by an “onslaught” of Covid-19 infections, its leader said, even as authorities cling to a “zero-Covid” policy despite an unprecedented rise in cases fuelled by the Omicron variant.

“The onslaught of the fifth wave of the epidemic has dealt a heavy blow to Hong Kong and overwhelmed the city's capacity of handling,” leader Carrie Lam said in a statement.

The surge in cases has increased wait times “for admitting people who test positive to isolation facilities,” she added.

Surrounded by patients queuing for tests all of last week, the city's hospitals told people who have “stable or have mild symptoms” to stay at home.

A man talks on the phone in front of a banner for a restaurant in Hong Kong on February 14. — AFP..