Europe hits 75 million COVID cases as it braces for Omicron: Live

Rise in the prevalence of COVID-19 infections in the


Europe has crossed 75 million coronavirus cases, according to a Reuters news agency tally, as the region braces for the new Omicron variant at a time when hospitals in some countries are already strained by the current surge.

A rise in the prevalence of COVID-19 infections in the United Kingdom in the latest week was driven by the dominant Delta variant rather than Omicron, UK’s Office for National Statistics said.

Meanwhile, Russia’s COVID-19 death toll has reached at least 578,020, the third-worst in the world, according to Reuters calculations based on official statistics for October, the country’s deadliest month so far.

In The Netherlands, health authorities said they were worried some passengers arriving from South Africa in the past week were testing positive for COVID-19 on arrival despite having been vaccinated and testing negative before their flight departure.

The U.S. Federal Reserve should tighten monetary policy at a faster pace in light of rising inflation risks, the International Monetary Fund said on Friday.

The Fed decided in early November to start tapering — which refers to a reduction in the amount of bonds it purchases — “later this month” at a pace of $15 billion every month. However, with the identification of a new Covid variant and inflation running above target, the IMF argued this pace should be accelerated.

“We see grounds for monetary policy in the United States — with gross domestic product close to pre-pandemic trends, tight labor markets, and now broad-based inflationary pressures — to place greater weight on inflation risks as compared to some other advanced economies including the euro area,” the IMF said in a blog post.

Another 75 cases of the super-mutant Omicron variant have been identified in England, health officials confirmed, after it was revealed that the majority of sequenced infections of the new variant are in fully vaccinated people.

It comes after health officials revealed earlier today that more than half of England's Omicron Covid cases that have been genetically sequenced were in double-vaccinated people. It is not yet known whether today's additional 75 cases were in double-jabbed or non-vaccinated individuals.

And Boris Johnson insisted last night that he wanted Britons to enjoy Christmas as ‘normally as possible’ – just as Ireland was told it was going into semi-lockdown.

Following a week of mixed messaging from his ministers, the Prime Minister admitted there had been ‘quite a lot of to-ing and fro-ing’ on Christmas parties.

But he said it was ‘not right’ that people should consider cancelling seasonal events – saying that the ‘tough measures’ his Government has taken at the borders should see the country through without the need for further curbs.

It came as Ireland closed nightclubs, imposed restrictions on bars and restaurants and placed curbs on household mixing to slow the spread of the Omicron variant.

Last night it was claimed that the UK’s travel red list could be expanded this weekend with arrivals from Nigeria facing the prospect of hotel quarantine.

Ministers on the Cabinet’s Covid operations sub-committee could meet as early as tomorrow to decide whether to introduce more restrictions.

Today's new cases bring the total number of confirmed Omicron infections in England to 104, while the total for the whole of the UK now stands at 134, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.

Cases of the new variant have been identified in the East Midlands, East of England, London, North East, North West, South East, South West and West Midlands.

Scotland's cases today increased by 16 to 29, while Wales announced this afternoon that its first case had been found in Cardiff. No cases have been found in Northern Ireland.

It came hours after No10's scientists called for the introduction of vaccine passports and work-from-home guidance to counter the spread of the super-mutant Omicron Covid variant, advice published today shows.

Documents released by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) and subgroup Nervtag warned the highly evolved strain could cause a surge in cases 'similar or even larger' than previous waves.

The expert panel admitted that the jury is still out on whether the variant will cause more or less severe illness, with conflicting reports coming out of the epicentre in South Africa, where doctors insist most cases are mild but hospital admissions seem to be rising.

In the minutes from SAGE's 97th meeting on Covid on Monday, the group said the emergence of Omicron meant vaccine passports and reducing social contacts through working from home were 'highly relevant'.

The meeting, chaired by England's Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty and Chief Science Officer Sir Patrick Vallance, concluded that the strain's infectiousness was undisputed but evidence of its effect on vaccines is still murky.

In a separate meeting of SAGE's modelling subgroup Spi-M, scientists also warned that coronavirus would likely put pressure on the NHS for a further five years at least before becoming endemic — weakened to the point of a common cold thanks to jabs and natural immunity.

They said continued monitoring and 'active' measures would be required until 2026, although they did not stipulate what these may involve.

But they conceded that despite the threat posed by, there is not enough evidence yet to suggest its 32 mutations making it significantly more vaccine evasive.

Scientist won't know the full scale of Omicron's infectiousness, vaccine evasiveness or lethality for another two or three weeks, when they can isolate the virus in a lab and study its biology and test it against the blood of previous-infected or vaccinated people.

The individuals who have tested positive for Omicron, and their contacts, have been asked to self-isolate, and work is under way to identify any links to travel, the UKHSA said.

Omicron: 75 new cases of variant identified in England, bringing UK total to 150


A further 75 cases of the omicron variant of Covid-19 have been detected in England, the government has said.

The new infections join the previous 29 confirmed cases of the of the variant known by scientists as B.1.1.529, bringing the total number in England to 104.

WHO says Covid omicron variant detected in 38 countries, early data suggests it’s more contagious than delta

The World Health Organization on Friday said the Covid omicron variant has been detected in 38 countries, up from 23 two days ago, with early data suggesting the strain is more contagious than delta.

“We do see an increasing growth rate, we see increasing numbers of omicron being detected,” Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s Covid-19 technical lead, said during a Q&A livestreamed on the group’s social media channels Friday. “But we have reports of omicron in 38 countries in all six WHO regions.”

“There is a suggestion that there is increased transmissibility, what we need to understand is if it’s more or less transmissible compared to delta,” Van Kerkhove said, noting that the delta variant is still dominant across the globe.

Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies program, said “clearly the virus does appear to be transmitting efficiently.”

“And we saw that before with delta. So again, there’s certain things we shouldn’t be surprised with,” Ryan said.

Omicron has some 30 mutations on the spike protein, which is the mechanism used to bind to human cells. Some of these mutations are associated with higher transmission and the ability to escape immune protection, according to the WHO.

South African scientists this week found that omicron is associated with a “substantial ability” to reinfect people who already had Covid, compared with past variants of the virus. The study, published by the South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, has not yet been peer reviewed.

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WHO says Covid omicron variant detected in 38 countries, early data suggests it’s more contagious than delta

The World Health Organization on Friday said the Covid omicron variant has been detected in 38 countries, up from 23 two days ago, with early data suggesting the strain is more contagious than delta.

“We do see an increasing growth rate, we see increasing numbers of omicron being detected,” Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s Covid-19 technical lead, said during a Q&A livestreamed on the group’s social media channels Friday. “But we have reports of omicron in 38 countries in all six WHO regions.”

“There is a suggestion that there is increased transmissibility, what we need to understand is if it’s more or less transmissible compared to delta,” Van Kerkhove said, noting that the delta variant is still dominant across the globe.

Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies program, said “clearly the virus does appear to be transmitting efficiently.”

“And we saw that before with delta. So again, there’s certain things we shouldn’t be surprised with,” Ryan said.

Omicron has some 30 mutations on the spike protein, which is the mechanism used to bind to human cells. Some of these mutations are associated with higher transmission and the ability to escape immune protection, according to the WHO.

South African scientists this week found that omicron is associated with a “substantial ability” to reinfect people who already had Covid, compared with past variants of the virus. The study, published by the South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, has not yet been peer reviewed.

Europe hits 75 million COVID cases as it braces for Omicron: Live

Rise in the prevalence of COVID-19 infections in the


Europe has crossed 75 million coronavirus cases, according to a Reuters news agency tally, as the region braces for the new Omicron variant at a time when hospitals in some countries are already strained by the current surge.

A rise in the prevalence of COVID-19 infections in the United Kingdom in the latest week was driven by the dominant Delta variant rather than Omicron, UK’s Office for National Statistics said.

Meanwhile, Russia’s COVID-19 death toll has reached at least 578,020, the third-worst in the world, according to Reuters calculations based on official statistics for October, the country’s deadliest month so far.

In The Netherlands, health authorities said they were worried some passengers arriving from South Africa in the past week were testing positive for COVID-19 on arrival despite having been vaccinated and testing negative before their flight departure.

New York officials confirm 5 cases of Covid omicron variant in NYC metro area


New York officials have confirmed five cases of the Covid omicron variant in the New York City metropolitan area, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced late Thursday, hours after cases were detected in Minnesota and Colorado.

One case was discovered in Suffolk County on Long Island and four New York City: two in Queens, one in Brooklyn and another in the city, she said at a press briefing. Minnesota health authorities confirmed the second U.S. case of the Covid omicron variant earlier Thursday, in a resident who recently returned from New York City.New York City Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi said the cases indicate there was community spread, adding the state is sequencing about 15% of all Covid tests, allowing them to “pick up these trends over time.”

“This is not just people who are traveling to southern Africa or to other parts of the world where omicron has already been identified,” he said.

Hochul assured residents that the discovery of omicron cases in New York doesn’t mean she will call for the same kind of widespread lockdowns at the beginning of the pandemic that shuttered businesses and put millions of New Yorkers out of work.

“We are in a far better place, that people are informed. There’s not a panic,” she said Thursday night. “It is still a public health crisis, but does not have to be a crisis that leads to shutdown.”

The first confirmed U.S. case of the heavily mutated strain was detected in California in a resident who had just returned to San Francisco from South Africa, which first reported the variant to the World Health Organization about a week ago. The Colorado case was also confirmed in a traveler who had just returned from southern Africa.

The California, Minnesota and Colorado cases were all diagnosed in fully vaccinated people who had mild cases. Hochul said the Suffolk County case is in a 67-year-old woman who had at least one vaccine shot and just returned from South Africa with mild symptoms. The case in New York City is in another suspected traveler, she said. Officials didn’t yet have any details on the cases in Queens and Brooklyn, but she said they would share them as soon as they were available.

Minutes after New York officials concluded their news conference, health officials in Hawaii confirmed via Twitter their first omicron case, on the island of Oahu.

Health officials in the U.S. and around the world are concerned that omicron is more transmissible and may evade the protection provided by currently available vaccines to some degree. The variant has some 50 mutations, more than 30 of which are on the spike protein that the virus uses to attach to human cells.

“The molecular profile of the kinds of mutations that you see [in omicron] would suggest that it might be more transmissible and that it might elude some of the protection of vaccines,” White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci told reporters Wednesday. “But we don’t know that now.”

WASHINGTON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Six more U.S. states confirmed infections of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 on Friday but the Delta strain likely remains a greater threat as winter sets in and Americans gather for the holidays, experts said.

New Jersey, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Utah each reported their first cases of the Omicron variant on Friday. Missouri was awaiting CDC confirmation of a case involving a St. Louis resident who had recently traveled within the United States.

U.S. Covid vaccinations spike as several states confirm omicron cases

Nearly 2.2 million vaccine doses were reported administered for a 24-hour period ended Thursday, CDC data shows.


Vaccinations peaked at around 3.4 million per day, according to a seven-day average, in April after the shots first became available.


Vaccinations were on the rise again heading into Thanksgiving and crossed the 1.5 million average shots per day mark in mid-November, many of which have been booster doses.

KUALA LUMPUR: The result of a Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test sample of a traveller who was recorded as the first positive COVID-19 Omicron variant in the country was negative.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the results were also negative for seven close contacts of the traveller namely, the driver, a university employee, three students and two roommates.

“The latest were from Perak. All eight RT-PCR samples today were negative including the first Omicron index case in the country (South Africa) and seven close contact cases namely the driver, a university employee, three university students (Two Ghanaians and an Indian national) and two roommates,” he said in a tweet tonight.

Earlier Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin in a media conference this morning said the 19-year-old woman traveller who was confirmed infected with COVID-19 Omicron variant, is studying at a private university in Ipoh, Perak and had a travel record to South Africa.

Khairy said the traveller arrived from South Africa via Singapore on Nov 19 2021 and had taken a RT-PCR COVID-19 test upon arrival at the checkpoint in Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

The individual was given an Order For Supervision and Observation under Section 15 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 and had completed the quarantine period for 10 days at a residence provided by the university, he said. - Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 2): The Ministry of Health (MOH) has issued a ban on travellers from 26 countries which were identified as having reported the spread of the Omicron variant from joining the Langkawi Tourism Bubble (GPL).

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the countries are United Kingdom, Portugal, Netherlands, Australia, Canada, South Korea, Hong Kong (SAR China), Israel, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Nigeria and Belgium.

The others are Japan, Brazil, Norway, Czech Republic, France/Reunion Island, Austria, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Ghana, Republic of Ireland, United Arab Emirates and the United States (California).

KUALA LUMPUR: The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases at Sekolah Seri Puteri in Cyberjaya or the Persiaran Tasik cluster has climbed to 143 today.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, in a statement today, said all positive cases are currently in stable condition.

The 143 cases, he said, comprised 114 students, 19 students and 10 staff with the outbreak having a 14.7 per cent attack rate.

"Of the 143 Covid-19 positive cases, 106 cases were Category One infections while another 35 cases were Category 2A infections and two cases – one student and one teacher – were Category 2B infections. All positive cases are currently in stable condition.

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