Japan confirms first known local Omicron transmission – latest update

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Japan first confirms known local Omicron transmission

Japan confirmed the first known local infection of a new omicron variant of coronavirus in Osaka.

Hirofumi Yoshimura, the governor of Osaka Prefecture, said the family of three in Osaka had no records of overseas travel and could not track the infection.

According to Yoshimura, these three are the first known cases of community-acquired Omicron mutants in Japan.

“I believe they just happened to be detected, and we must take action based on the assumption that there are already cases of other community infections,” he said.

To minimize the risk of the year-end and New Year holidays when coronavirus infections surged last year, Yoshimura continues to apply the current restrictions on restaurants in Osaka, including a maximum of two hours per table for four people. Said.

Approximately 80 cases of Omicron have been confirmed in Japan in the past, but government officials say that all those who test positive when entering the airport or those related to the airport are involved. ..

China ordered 13 million Xian residents to stay home beyond outbreaks

The city of Xi’An in northern China has ordered all 13 million residents to stay home in a tightly closed state amid growing concerns about a new outbreak of Covid-19.

The city government said in a statement on Weibo’s official social media account that all households could “send one household member out only once every two days to buy essentials” and all other households. Was ordered to stay indoors except in an emergency.

Pfizer will provide the UK with an additional 2.5 million doses of its tablets

Pfizer announced that it will administer the Covid-19 pill Paxlovid 2.5 million more times to the United Kingdom.

According to the pharmaceutical company, a total of 2.75 million tablets are expected to be delivered to the UK by 2022.

Philippines halves booster waiting time to 3 months

The Philippines has halved the waiting time for the booster dose Covid-19 vaccine in three months in a fight to suppress the omicron variant of coronavirus.

Southeast Asian countries have joined the United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea and Thailand in the list of countries that are reducing booster spacing as they are trying to stop the new surge in infectious ions.

According to Presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles, adults are now able to receive boosters at least three months after taking the two’s complement of the two-dose vaccine.

Single-dose vaccinated people are eligible for booster immunization after two months, he said at regular press conferences.

Poland reports the most dead in the fourth wave

Poland reported 775 Covid-related deaths on Friday. This is the highest daily number in the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic, as shown by Ministry of Health data.

Poland has consistently dealt with high daily cases in a fourth wave that has forced authorities to tighten regulations. On Friday, Poland reported a new case of coronavirus with a total of 18,021 infections since the pandemic began to exceed 4 million.

In the UK, self-quarantine has been reduced to 7 days in most parts of the UK

The British government has said it will reduce Covid-19’s self-quarantine period from 10 days to 7 days for British people who get negative results in lateral flow tests for two consecutive days.

The UK Health Security Agency suggested that the analysis showed that the 7-day quarantine period in addition to the two negative lateral flow test results had about the same protective effect as the 10-day quarantine period without the test. Said.

“We want to reduce the disruption to people’s daily lives from COVID-19,” Health Minister Sajid Javid said in a statement.

The rapid lateral flow test, provided free of charge by the United Kingdom National Health Service, allows people at home to manage themselves and yield results in 15-30 minutes.

UK: Omicron kills 14 people and hospitalizes 129

Health Minister Gillian Keegan told Sky News that 129 people are currently hospitalized for the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and 14 have died so far.

She also said the UK government would not hesitate to bring in further Covid-19 restrictions if the data indicated it was necessary.

Nearly $ 100 billion stolen by U.S. relief fund

At least nearly $ 100 billion has been stolen from the Covid-19 Relief Program, which was set up to help people who have lost their businesses or jobs due to a pandemic, according to the US Secret Service.

The estimates are based on the Secret Service case and data from the Ministry of Labor and the Small and Medium Business Administration, Roy Dotson, the agency’s national pandemic fraud recovery coordinator, said in an interview.

The Secret Service did not include the Covid-19 fraud case charged by the Justice Department.

According to Dodson, about 3% of the $ 3.4 trillion is dispersed, but the amount stolen from the pandemic benefit program shows that “the size of the pot attracts criminals.”

Most of that number comes from unemployment scams.

The Ministry of Labor reported that about $ 87 billion in unemployment benefits could have been improperly paid, a significant portion of which was due to fraud.

Spain sets a new daily record for Covid cases

Spain broke previous records of daily coronavirus cases, and Omicron rapidly became the predominant strain, with the Ministry of Health reporting 49,823 new infections.

According to the data, in just one week, Omicron jumped from 3.4% to 47.2% of cases.

Last Tuesday, Spain reported just over 26,000 infections.

Covid’s decline in US population growth

U.S. population growth is the lowest since the country was founded during the first year of the pandemic, as the coronavirus reduced immigration, delayed pregnancy and killed hundreds of thousands of U.S. residents, according to government data. I fell into speed.

According to population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. growth rate is only 0.1%, adding 392,665 to the U.S. population between July 2020 and July 2021, and the U.S. population is 331.8 million. became.

The United States has experienced slow population growth for years, and the pandemic has exacerbated that trend.

Israelis over 60, doctor getting a fourth Covid Jab to suppress Omicron

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Israelis over the age of 60 and the medical team are eligible for a fourth Covid vaccination according to the recommendations of the Expert Committee.

This decision was made because the state struggled to contain the epidemic of Omicron variants and imposed travel and other restrictions while avoiding domestic blockades.

“I ordered immediate preparations for a fourth vaccination,” Bennett said on Twitter, saying Israel would be the first country in the world to receive a fourth vaccination.

“The world will follow in our footsteps.”

Australia’s National Cabinet meets early in the wake of Omicron’s surge

Australia’s national cabinet is unplanned as the state pressures the federal government to further reduce booster vaccine latency amid record surges when fueled by Omicron variants. We are planning to hold a meeting.

Australia is working on a more contagious Omicron variant of coronavirus as restrictions will be relaxed after higher vaccination levels, but authorities are urging people to focus on hospitalizations. ..

State leaders are working with Prime Minister Scott Morrison to reduce booster shot wait times from five months to about four months to contain the spread of Omicron.

Source: TRT World and distributors