South Africa has eased a number of coronavirus curbs, despite being hit by a fourth wave of cases driven by the Omicron variant, with contact tracing for anyone who has come into close contact with an infected person also lifted,
Thailand meanwhile reported its first Omicron cluster in the northeast province of Kalasin, saying 21 infections stemmed from a Belgium couple who traveled to the country earlier this month.
In Europe, Italy has reintroduced mandatory masks outdoors, and Greece has ordered people to wear face masks both indoors and outdoors. In South America, Ecuador made vaccines compulsory for nearly all to combat coronavirus infections surging globally just before the Christmas holidays.
Here are the latest updates for Friday:
French regulator recommends boosters 3 months after first course
France’s Haute Autorite de Sante regulator said COVID-19 boosters could be administered three months after the first full course of shots.
The new recommendation was issued as part of an ongoing effort to try to curb the spread of Omicron in the country.
Japan panel approves Merck’s oral COVID treatment
Japanese regulators approved the COVID-19 antiviral pill developed by Merck & Co Inc, national broadcaster NHK reported.
The approval was widely expected and opens the door to shipments of 200,000 doses across the country from this weekend, based on preparations announced by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Duterte ‘nervous’ as Philippines braces for Omicron
President Rodrigo Duterte said he was worried Omicron could ignite a new outbreak that could further strain the government’s finances, especially after a powerful and deadly typhoon devastated several central and southern provinces last week.
“I’m afraid this can be as bad as the previous virus strains. I’m somehow nervous because, let me be frank to the public, the finances of the Philippines have really been depleted,” he said.
Health officials have detected only three omicron infections in recently arrived Filipino and foreign travelers, but the government recalled a decision to reopen the Southeast Asian nation to foreign tourists starting December 1, and to further intensify a vaccination campaign – including the provision of booster shots.
South Africa to roll out COVID-19 boosters immediately
An Orange Farm, South Africa, resident receives her jab against COVID-19 on December 3, 2021 at the Orange Farm multipurpose center. [Jerome Delay/AP Photo]South Africa will start offering booster shots of Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine from Friday, the health department said in a statement, following its approval for use as a booster by the health regulator a day earlier.
Both J&J and Pfizer COVID-19 shots have been authorised as boosters by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), but the move opens up boosters to the general public for the first time.
“From 24th December 2021 the National Vaccination Programme will provide J&J booster vaccinations to anyone who received their last dose at least 2 months prior,” the statement said, adding ideally it would also be within six months of their original shot.
With immediate effect, the health department also lifted contact tracing for anyone who has come into close contact with an infected
person.
The previously obligatory self-isolation has been lifted, health official Ramphelane Morewane told broadcaster eNCA. Tests will only be necessary in future if the person displays symptoms. For those infected, a 10-day quarantine is still necessary, after which tests are no longer necessary.
China punishes dozens of Xi’an officials as city enters COVID lockdown
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said 26 Communist Party officials had been punished over a virus outbreak in the locked-down city of Xi’an for “insufficient rigour in preventing and controlling the outbreak”.
Xi’an reported another 49 cases on Friday, bringing the total outbreak to more than 250 in recent weeks.
The city of 13 million residents has been under lockdown from Thursday, with businesses shuttered and several rounds of mass testing launched.
Thailand reports first Omicron cluster, cancels some New Year events
Thailand reported its first domestic cluster of coronavirus infections from the Omicron variant in Kalasin province in northeastern Thailand, officials said.
“From the Kalasin cluster, there are 21 new infections,” said country’s COVID-19 taskforce spokeswoman Apisamai Srirangsan.
The infections stem from a couple who travelled from Belgium through the country’s Test & Go scheme that waived quarantine for vaccinated arrivals, she said.
The announcement comes as Thailand’s capital city Bangkok cancelled government-sponsored New Year activity, including midnight prayers.
Indian court urges delay in state elections as Omicron spreads
An Indian court has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to suspend political rallies and election campaigns in poll-bound states amid the rising number of Omicron cases, a variant of COVID-19.
Judges of the Allahabad High Court in the country’s most populous Uttar Pradesh (UP) state said the number of people infected with Omicron is on the rise and could result in a third wave of the coronavirus.
Elections to the state assembly in UP , home to over 220 million people, are scheduled for early next year but final dates are yet to declared. Three other states are also scheduled to hold local elections at the same time.
Health expert: Omicron variant spreads efficiently indoors
Given rapid Omicron spread
Should we be calling for outdoor masking?
No
I’ve seen no evidence that Omicron spreads efficiently outdoors
I’m wearing a high quality mask indoors in crowded public places
But not when I’m outside
Lets focus on where Omicron spreads
Indoors
— Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@ashishkjha) December 23, 2021
Australia to shorten COVID-19 booster dose intervals from January
Australia will shorten the interval for people to receive their COVID-19 booster shots to four months from five from January 4, Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Friday, as the country grapples with record infections fuelled by the Omicron variant.
The wait time will be further reduced to three months from January 31, Hunt said during a media conference.
Mexico adds 149 COVID-19 deaths, official death toll nears 300,000
Mexico’s health ministry reported 149 new confirmed deaths from COVID-19, bringing the official death toll since the pandemic began to 298,508.
The ministry has previously said the real number of victims of the coronavirus pandemic is likely significantly higher.
55 people test positive for COVID on US cruise ship
Fifty-five people have tested positive for COVID-19 on board a Royal Caribbean International cruise ship that set sail Saturday from the southeastern US state of Florida, the company said.
The infections on the ship, the Odyssey of the Seas, involved passengers and crew members, even though 95 percent of the people on board were vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The vessel will remain at sea until it returns to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on December 26. It is carrying 3,587 passengers and 1,599 crew members, according to the USA Today newspaper.
Montenegro’s president tests positive for COVID-19
Montenegro’s president, Milo Djukanovic, has tested positive for COVID-19 after being in contact with an infected person.
“The president has mild symptoms and feels well. In line with epidemiological measures he will remain in self-isolation from where he will perform his regular presidential duties,” his office said in a statement on Thursday.
So far, 161,944 people in Montenegro — with a population of only 620,000 — have fallen ill from the coronavirus and 2,385 people have died.
Many Americans continue with holiday travel plans despite Omicron
Millions of Americans are pushing ahead with holidays that include cross-country flights, busy tourist attractions, and indoor dining — even as the surge in COVID-19 infections, fuelled by the Omicron variant, forces them to adapt plans on the fly.
While people scramble for COVID-19 tests and weigh varying public health guidance about how to gather safely for a second Christmas marked by the pandemic, many showed they were willing to brave the latest surge to enjoy holiday traditions such as worshipping and eating out.
The Transportation Security Administration on Wednesday screened 2,081,297 passengers through the nation’s airports, an increase of 144,000 over the number of travellers it screened pre-pandemic on the same date in 2019.
Spain’s Catalonia imposes nighttime curfew to stem surging cases
The northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia won court approval for a night curfew on Thursday as Madrid pledged to distribute millions of more test kits to tackle the Omicron variant that is driving up infections and overshadowing Christmas.
Spain lifted most COVID-19 restrictions over their summer — thanks to a high vaccination rate that suppressed infection — but Omicron’s arrival has sent daily cases soaring to a record of more than 72,900 on Thursday.